H. B. 2551
(By Delegates Armstead, Schadler, Anderson and C. Miller)
[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-2-9 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to required courses of school
instruction generally; instituting a "Celebrate Freedom Week";
and requiring in-depth study of the Declaration of
Independence and other founding American historical documents
including the Bill of Rights; penalty.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-2-9
of
the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-9. Required courses of instruction; violation and penalty.
(a) In all public, private, parochial and denominational
schools located within this state, there shall be given prior to
the completion of the eighth grade at least one year of instruction
in the history of the State of West Virginia. The These schools shall require regular courses of instruction by the completion of
the twelfth grade in the history of the United States, in civics,
in the Constitution of the United States, and in the government of
the State of West Virginia for the purpose of teaching, fostering
and perpetuating the ideals, principles and spirit of political and
economic democracy in America and increasing the knowledge of the
organization and machinery of the government of the United States
and of the State of West Virginia. The state board shall, with the
advice of the state superintendent, prescribe the courses of study
covering these subjects for the public schools. It shall be is the
duty of the officials or boards having authority over the
respective private, parochial and denominational schools to
prescribe courses of study for the schools under their control and
supervision similar to those required for the public schools. To
further such their study, every high school student eligible by age
for voter registration shall be afforded the opportunity to
register to vote pursuant to section twenty-two, article two,
chapter three of this code.
(b) In order to educate students about the sacrifices made for
freedom in the founding of this country and the values this country
was founded upon, a full week of classes, during the week that
September 11 occurs, shall be recognized in all public schools
located within this state as "Celebrate Freedom Week." "Celebrate
Freedom Week" must include at
least three hours of appropriate instruction, including an in-depth study of the intent, meaning and
importance of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
of the United States with an emphasis on the Bill of Rights, using
the historical, political and social environments surrounding each
document at the time of its initial passage or ratification, and
shall include the study of historical documents leading to the
establishment of the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of
Rights by the founding fathers for the purposes of safeguarding our
constitutional republic.
(b) (c) The state board shall cause to be taught in all of the
public schools of this state the subject of health education,
including instruction in any of the grades six through twelve as
considered appropriate by the county board, on: (1) The
prevention, transmission and spread of acquired immune deficiency
syndrome and other sexually transmitted diseases; (2) substance
abuse, including the nature of alcoholic drinks and narcotics,
tobacco products, and other potentially harmful drugs, with special
instruction as to their effect upon the human system and upon
society in general; (3) the importance of healthy eating and
physical activity to maintaining healthy weight; and (4) education
concerning CPR and First Aid. The course curriculum requirements
and materials for the instruction shall be adopted by the state
board by rule in consultation with the Department of Health and
Human Resources. The state board shall prescribe a standardized health education assessment to be administered within health
education classes to measure student health knowledge and program
effectiveness.
An opportunity shall be afforded to the parent or guardian of
a child subject to instruction in the prevention, transmission and
spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome and other sexually
transmitted diseases to examine the course curriculum requirements
and materials to be used in the instruction. The parent or
guardian may exempt the child from participation in the instruction
by giving notice to that effect in writing to the school principal.
(c) (d) Any person violating the provisions of this section
shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not exceeding $10 for each violation, and each week
during which there is a violation shall constitute constitutes a
separate offense. If the person so convicted occupy occupies a
position in connection with the public schools, that person shall
automatically be removed from that position and shall be is
ineligible for reappointment to that or a similar position for the
period of one year.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to institute a "Celebrate
Freedom Week" and require the instruction in the study of the
Declaration of Independence and other founding American historical
documents, including the Bill of Rights, during this week.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.