West Virginia Legislature
2016 Regular Session
Introduced
House
Bill 2672
[Introduced January 13, 2016; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18‑2‑5 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the State Board of
Education; and providing that the board require that public schools provide
facilities for students of all faiths and religions to have a place of
fellowship, prayer and worship.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18‑2‑5
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18‑2‑5.
Powers and duties generally; public school entrance age; "public
schools" not to include kindergartens.
Subject to and in conformity with the Constitution and
laws of this state, the State Board of Education shall exercise general
supervision of the public schools of the state, and shall make propose
rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of
article three‑b, chapter twenty‑nine‑a of this code for
carrying into effect the laws and policies of the state relating to education,
including rules relating to standards for performance and measures of
accountability, the physical welfare of pupils, the education of all children
of school age, school attendance, evening and continuation or part‑time
day schools, school extension work, the classification of schools, the issuing
of certificates upon credentials, the distribution and care of free textbooks
by the county boards of education, the general powers and duties of county
boards of education, and of teachers, principals, supervisors and
superintendents, the requirement that public schools provide facilities for
students of all faiths and religions to have a place of fellowship, prayer and
worship and such other matters pertaining to the public schools of the
state as may seem to the state board to be necessary and expedient.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law which may be to
the contrary, and notwithstanding the rule‑making powers given to the
State Board of Education by this section, a child shall may not
be permitted to enter the public schools of this state in any school year,
beginning with the school year 1983‑1984, unless such the
child be is six years of age prior to September 1, of such
the school year or is attending public school in accordance with article
twenty of this chapter: Provided, That children who have
successfully completed a kindergarten program in the school year 1982‑1983,
may enter the public schools notwithstanding the provisions of this section.
The term "public schools" as used in the preceding sentence shall
does not be deemed to include public kindergartens, but nothing
herein shall may prevent a county board from permitting a child
enrolled in kindergarten from entering public schools for attendance in
particular curriculum areas.
The state board shall develop a three‑year plan to
provide for the transition to developmental programming and instruction to be
provided to the students in kindergarten through fourth grade and further
shall, include the method of information dissemination in order to provide for
parental preparation, and further shall, in conjunction with the professional
development center, develop an ongoing program for training of principals and
classroom teachers in methods of instruction to implement the developmental
program. The existing developmental programs throughout the state shall be
involved in this process and shall be provided an opportunity to assist in
pilot programs to begin no later than September 1, 1991. The plan shall be
fully implemented by September 1, 1993.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that the State Board
of Education require that public schools provide facilities for students of all
faiths and religions to have a place of fellowship, prayer and worship.
Strike‑throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be
added.