H. B. 2859
(By Delegate M. Poling, (By Request), and
Fragale and Crosier)
[Introduced
February 6, 2007
; referred to the
Committee on Education then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to repeal §18-2E-8a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; and to amend and reenact §18-2-6 of said code; and to
amend and reenact §18-2E-8 of said code, all relating to the
award of value-added credentials in addition to the high
school diploma; repealing code section voiding electronic
portfolio and removing provisions providing for electronic
portfolio; removing provisions for and requirements for
granting certificates of proficiency; providing for college
readiness and work readiness credentials; providing for state
board to establish requirements; redesignating Jobs Through
Education Employer Panel; and removing obsolete provisions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-2E-8a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be repealed; that §18-2-6 of said code be amended and reenacted;
and that §18-2E-8 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-6. Classification and standardization of schools; standards
for degrees, diplomas and other credentials and
certificates; establishment of alternative education
programs.
(a) The state board shall promulgate rules for the
accreditation, classification and standardization of all schools in
the state, except institutions of higher education, and shall
determine the minimum standards for the granting of diplomas and
other credentials and certificates of proficiency by those schools.
The certificates of proficiency shall include specific information
regarding the graduate's skills, competence and readiness for
employment or honors and advanced education and shall be granted,
along with the diploma, to every eligible high school graduate.
The certificate of proficiency shall include the program of study
major completed by the student only for those students who have
completed the required major courses, or higher level courses,
advanced placement courses, college courses or other more rigorous
substitutes related to the major, and the recommended electives.
(b) An institution of less than collegiate or university
status may not grant any diploma or certificate of proficiency on
any basis of work or merit below the minimum standards prescribed
by the state board.
(c) A charter or other instrument containing the right to issue diplomas or certificates of proficiency may not be granted by
the State of West Virginia to any institution or other associations
or organizations of less than collegiate or university status
within the state until the condition of granting or issuing such
diplomas or other certificates of proficiency has first been
approved in writing by the state board.
(d) The state board shall promulgate a rule for the approval
of alternative education programs for disruptive students who are
at risk of not succeeding in the traditional school structure.
This rule may provide for the waiver of other policies of the state
board, the establishment and delivery of a nontraditional
curriculum, the establishment of licensure requirements for
alternative education program teachers, and the establishment of
performance measures for school accreditation.
(e) If a student attends an approved alternative education
program or the Mountaineer Challenge Academy, which is designated
as a special alternative education program pursuant to section
twenty-four, article one-b, chapter fifteen of this code, and the
student graduates or passes the General Equivalency Development
(GED) tests within five years of beginning ninth grade, that
student shall be considered graduated for the purposes of
calculating the high school graduation rate used for school
accreditation and school system approval, subject to the following:
(1) The student shall only be considered graduated to the extent that this is not in conflict with any provision of federal
law relating to graduation rates;
(2) If the state board determines that this is in conflict
with a provision of federal law relating to graduation rates, the
state board shall request a waiver from the United States
Department of Education; and
(3) If the waiver is granted, notwithstanding the provisions
of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the student graduating or
passing the General Educational Development (GED) tests within five
years shall be considered graduated.
(f) The state board shall promulgate a rule to support the
operation of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program operated by
the Adjutant General and known as the "Mountaineer Challenge
Academy" which is designated as a special alternative education
program pursuant to section twenty-four, article one-b, chapter
fifteen of this code, for students who are at risk of not
succeeding in the traditional school structure. The rule shall set
forth policies and procedures applicable only to the Mountaineer
Challenge Academy that provide for, but are not limited to, the
following:
(1) Implementation of provisions set forth in section
twenty-four, article one-b, chapter fifteen of this code;
(2) Precedence of the policies and procedures designated by
the National Guard Bureau for the operation of the Mountaineer Challenge Academy special alternative education program;
(3) Consideration of a student participating in the
Mountaineer Challenge Academy special alternative education program
at full enrollment status in the referring county for the purposes
of funding and calculating attendance and graduation rates, subject
to the following:
(a) The student shall only be considered at full enrollment
status for the purposes of calculating attendance and graduation
rates to the extent that this is not in conflict with any provision
of federal law relating to attendance or graduation rates;
(b) If the state board determines that this is in conflict
with a provision of federal law relating to attendance or
graduation rates, the state board shall request a waiver from the
United States Department of Education;
(c) If the waiver is granted, notwithstanding the provisions
of paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the student shall be
considered at full enrollment status in the referring county for
the purposes of calculating attendance and graduation rates; and
(d) Consideration of the student at full enrollment status in
the referring county is for the purposes of funding and calculating
attendance and graduation rates only. For any other purpose, a
student participating in the academy is considered withdrawn from
the public school system.
(4) Articulation of the knowledge, skills and competencies gained through alternative education so that students who return to
regular education may proceed toward attainment or attain the
standards for graduation without duplication; and
(5) Consideration of eligibility to take the General
Educational Development (GED) Tests by qualifying within the
extraordinary circumstances provisions established by state board
rule of a student participating in the Mountaineer Challenge
Academy special alternative education program who does not meet any
other criteria for eligibility.
(g) Nothing in this section or the rules promulgated hereunder
compels the Mountaineer Challenge Academy to be operated as a
special alternative education program or to be subject to any other
laws governing the public schools except by its consent.
(h) The state board shall report to the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability on or before the first day
of January of each year on its efforts to cooperate with and
support the Mountaineer Challenge Academy pursuant to this section
and section twenty-four, article one-b, chapter fifteen of this
code.
ARTICLE 2E. HIGH QUALITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
§18-2E-8. Creating jobs through education.
(a) Findings and intent. -- The Legislature finds that the
Governor, the Legislature, the state board and the people of West
Virginia established goals for education through an education summit and series of town meetings in the summer of the year one
thousand nine hundred ninety, and that these goals were codified in
section four, article one of this chapter during the third
extraordinary session of the Legislature of that year. Among these
goals is the goal that high school graduates will be prepared fully
for college, other post-secondary education or gainful employment
and that the number of high school graduates entering
post-secondary education will increase by fifty percent. The
Legislature finds that this goal reflects a fundamental belief that
the result of a thorough and efficient system of free schools is
that the youth of the state exit the system equipped with the
skills, competencies and attributes necessary to succeed, to
continue learning throughout their lifetimes and to attain economic
self-sufficiency.
The Legislature further finds that the full preparation of
youth as indicated in these findings cannot be accomplished by the
school system alone, but requires the full and active partnership
with parents and people from business, labor, higher education,
economic development and other organizations and entities in the
community that have an interest in providing quality education.
Therefore, the intent of this section is to establish a policy
framework and strategy for the state board in fulfilling its
responsibility for the general supervision of free schools in order
to encourage and utilize actively involved partnerships in the formulation of rules and practices to achieve the goal that
high school graduates will be prepared fully for college, other
post-secondary education or gainful employment, particularly in the
delivery of programs that provide work-based learning opportunities
for students within the school or at the workplace. The
Legislature recognizes that many skilled jobs require education
beyond the high school level, that the goals of West Virginia
include increased post-secondary attendance and that the goals for
post-secondary education as set forth in section one-a, article
one, chapter eighteen-b of this code include an increased focus
within higher education on relevancy, responsiveness to business,
industry, labor and community needs, and on the current and future
work force needs of the state. Therefore, it is further the intent
of this section to enhance the linkages between secondary and
post-secondary education.
(b) Comprehensive goals for jobs through education. -- The
Legislature hereby establishes the following goals to be
accomplished by the year two thousand one for all students in all
schools:
(1) The elimination of student grouping or tracking systems
that result in high school students completing a general curriculum
that does not prepare them fully for college, other post-secondary
education or gainful employment;
(2) The replacement of the general curriculum, as stated in subdivision (1) of this subsection, with a system of career
clusters and education majors that increases the academic
expectations for all students, includes a system of career
information and guidance and incorporates structured work-based
learning;
(3) The requirement that every student, in consultation with
his or her parents and school advisor, establish an individualized
student transition plan covering grades nine through twelve and the
first year beyond graduation from high school;
(4) The active involvement of partners at the state, regional
and local levels in assuring the full preparation of graduates for
college, other post-secondary education or gainful employment;
(5) The creation of a process through which qualified
graduates will receive a portable credential that is recognized and
valued by employers as an indicator of the skills, competence and
readiness for employment of the graduates; and
(6) The implementation of continuous program assessment,
program improvement and staff development.
(c) Increased academic expectations and career development for
all students. -- The Legislature finds that there is a need to
establish higher academic expectations and a system of career
development for all students that contains the following elements:
(1) Assessment. -- The implementation of an assessment program
that measures student performance by grade level and assesses student attainment of the basic academic foundation skills;
(2) Focus on basic skills in kindergarten through fourth
grade. -- The strengthening and refocusing of kindergarten through
fourth grade in order to assure that all students perform at grade
level at the completion of the fourth grade by concentrating on
teaching the basics of reading, writing, mathematics and computer
skills;
(3) Development of rigorous curriculum. -- The development and
implementation of a rigorous and relevant curriculum of basic
academic requirements that lays a foundation for further learning
and skill development. The proficiencies of the students shall be
assessed at the end of the eighth grade and all students should
attain the basic academic requirement levels by no later than the
end of the tenth grade;
(4) Career exploration in grades five through eight. -- The
exploration by students in the fifth through eighth grades of their
interests and abilities in career clusters through accessing
information about occupational skills and labor markets;
(5) Creation and initial implementation of individual student
transition plan for grades nine and ten. -- The creation, by the
end of the eighth grade, of the first two years of an
individualized student transition plan that builds upon career
awareness and exploration activities in the earlier grades and
enables the student in consultation with his or her parents and school advisor to select a broad career cluster for further
exploration in grades nine and ten;
(6) Choosing career majors for grades eleven through
post-secondary. -- The creation of the second part of the
individualized student transition plan by the end of the tenth
grade. The second part of the individualized student transition
plan shall establish a career major for the final years of high
school and the first year after high school that will prepare the
student for college, other post-secondary education or gainful
employment;
(7) Implementation of career majors. -- The fulfillment of the
secondary education component of the career major in grades eleven
and twelve, including the successful completion of the necessary
curriculum and participation in work-based learning experiences;
and
(8) Completion of individualized student transition plan and
assessment. -- The completion of the individualized student
transition plan in the first year following graduation from high
school by attending college, other post-secondary education or
securing gainful employment. The state board shall provide an
assessment form to be completed by the student and returned to the
high school upon the completion of the individualized student
transition plan. The form shall provide for the student to report
his or her success in completing the plan and the strengths and weaknesses of his or her education preparation.
(d)
Report of recommendations on comprehensive career
development.
-- To assist in the establishment of a comprehensive
career development system, the state school-to-work steering
committee shall report to the state board and the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability by the first day
of November, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, the
recommendations of the career guidance committee established
pursuant to the state school-to-work implementation plan.
(e) Guidelines for increasing the ability of all students to
meet higher academic expectations and become self-motivated
learners. -- Practices that increase the academic expectations for
all students and help them to succeed in achieving those higher
expectations include, but are not limited to:
(1) Utilizing instructional methods that require the student
to be a worker who is actively engaged in the learning process;
(2) Utilizing methodologies that require students to apply
academic knowledge in practical situations and problem solving;
(3) Utilizing computers and other technologies to provide
opportunities for creative instruction, both individually and in
groups in all subjects;
(4) Providing structured opportunities for students to
participate in credit and noncredit learning activities outside
the school that are integrated with and are an extension of the school-based program of study for the student through such
activities as field trips, job shadowing, community service,
entrepreneurship development, mentoring, internships,
apprenticeships, school-based enterprises in partnership with the
private sector and other cooperative learning experiences connected
to student education majors and school-based instructional
programs;
(5) Integrating and interrelating academic and technical
content throughout the curriculum and ensuring numerous
opportunities for cross-disciplinary learning to emphasize the
importance of reading, writing, speaking, listening and viewing;
and
(6) Encouraging teachers to plan and work together and
exercise their professional judgment in the classroom.
(f) Establishing partnerships. -- As soon as practicable
following the effective date of this section, the Governor shall
appoint or designate a "Jobs Through Education Employer Panel" an
advisory panel, to assure the high quality preparation of our youth
for college, other post-secondary education or gainful employment.
The jobs through education employer panel shall advise and assist
the state board, the higher education governing boards and
institutions, other post-secondary education training programs and
agencies and employers in assuring that graduates are prepared
fully for further education and training or gainful employment and shall perform other functions as set forth in this section. In
providing such advice and assistance and in the performance of such
other functions, the jobs through employer panel shall solicit
input from the county steering committees.
As soon as practicable, following the effective date of this
section, county boards shall appoint a county steering committee
that includes parents and people from business, labor, higher
education, economic development, local school improvement councils,
faculty Senates and other organizations and entities in the
community as valuable partners in developing and implementing a
system within the county that meets the intent of this section and
adheres to the rules of the state board. The membership of the
county steering committee and participation in the community and
technical college district consortia committee, as created by
section three-a, article three, chapter eighteen-b of this code,
shall be coordinated to the extent that it is practical.
(g) Guidelines for work-based learning. -- Work-based learning
is a structured activity that correlates with and is mutually
supportive of school-based learning for the student, and includes
specific objectives to be mastered by the student as a result of
the activity. It is central to the education preparation process
to develop within the student an awareness of the work environment
and how the skills the student is acquiring will be applied in that
environment. Broadly defined, work-based learning opportunities are activities that assist students to gain an awareness of the
workplace, develop an appreciation of the relevancy of academic
subject matter to workplace performance and gain valuable work
experience and skills while exploring their occupational interests
and abilities. Incorporating work-based learning as a central part
of the education process and also as a final step in the formal
education process includes, but is not limited to:
(1) Providing students in the early grades with activities
such as field trips, career-oriented speakers in the classroom,
courses such as junior achievement which are taught by volunteers
in the classroom, job shadowing and other such activities to
increase student awareness of the workplace; and
(2) Providing students in the later grades, including college
and other post-secondary education, with activities such as
structured community service, apprenticeships, internships,
clinical experiences, cooperative education and other work-site
placements, school-based enterprises, workplace simulations and
entrepreneurial development, that provide students with more
specific work experience in an occupational area associated with
their education major.
To the extent possible, student work-based learning, and
particularly workplace learning, should be jointly assessed by a
school-based educator or advisor and a work-based mentor who
possesses the skills set forth in the work-based learning objectives of the student, and who has been trained in mentoring
and assessing student performance.
(h) Special consideration for providing work-based learning in
counties with few opportunities for employment. -- Providing
work-based learning opportunities for all students in counties with
few employers will be particularly difficult. While the following
additional examples of ways to increase opportunities for
work-based learning are applicable for all counties, they are most
important in counties with few employers. Additional examples
include, but are not limited to:
(1) Computer software that simulates workplace situations and
problem solving;
(2) Interactive and other technology to bring an exposure to
the workplace into the classroom;
(3) Community service;
(4) Partnerships with city, state and county government for
work-based placements;
(5) Volunteer programs, such as junior achievement and other
programs that utilize volunteers trained to deliver work-related
instruction;
(6) Assumption of recordkeeping and other measures by the
schools, or through the use of community-based organizations or
other intermediaries, that make it easier for small businesses to
participate in accepting students for workplace learning;
(7) Rural entrepreneurship through action learning programs;
(8) School-based enterprises;
(9) Projects through 4-H, scouts, junior ROTC and other school
and nonschool student and civic organizations;
(10) Multiple partnerships with existing employers, such as
hospitals that have multiple departments;
(11)Agricultural education, FFA projects and supervised work
experience programs; and
(12)Programs at vocational-technical education centers.
The state board shall make recommendations to the Legislature
by the first day of November, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six,
on any further actions that may be appropriate to assist counties
with few employers in providing work-based learning opportunities
for all students.
(i) Electronic portfolio of student accomplishments and
preparation College readiness credential and work readiness
credential. -- For the purpose of better documenting the
preparation of high school graduates for college, other
post-secondary education or gainful employment, students may
acquire value-added credentials in addition to their diploma by
meeting the requirements for a college readiness credential or a
work readiness credential or both established by the state board.
The state board shall establish these requirements to certify to
colleges and employers that the student has demonstrated the competencies needed to be successful. The college readiness
credential and work readiness credential shall be issued by the
appropriate county board in accordance with the requirements
established by the state board. develop an electronic portfolio
which will be a permanent record for every student. The electronic
portfolio shall be issued by the appropriate county board and shall
include the accomplishments of the student during his or her
education preparation. Upon request, students shall receive the
contents of the electronic portfolio in written or computer
readable form. The electronic portfolio shall be subject to the
same confidentiality and disclosure laws and rules as any other
student records. The electronic portfolio shall include, but not
be limited to:
(1) Documentation of attendance, grades, accomplishments,
education plans, education major interests, curriculum, special
activities, honors and advanced education and other items
appropriate for inclusion in the portfolio as determined by state
board rule to present the accomplishments and achievements of the
student;
(2) A separate area for the student to enter presentations,
examples and other information on his or her special areas of
interest and advanced achievement;
(3) Certification of student attainment of the minimum level
of proficiency in the basic skills that lays the foundation for further learning and skill development for success in college,
other post-secondary education or gainful employment; and
(4) Certification of the skills, competence and readiness for
college, other post-secondary education or employment, as indicated
by: (i) College entrance tests; (ii) specialized assessments that
measure the attainment of necessary skills and competencies
required in the workplace; (iii) the attainment of industry
recognized credentials, licensure or certification; (iv) the
completion of nationally accredited technical education programs;
(v) performance in specialized learning experiences such as paid
and unpaid structured work-based learning in the private or public
sectors, including, but not limited to, registered youth
apprenticeships, internships, cooperative education, community
service, entrepreneurship development and school-based enterprises
in partnership with the private sector; and (vi) other indicators
relevant to the student's skills, competence and readiness for
college, other post-secondary education or gainful employment.
(j) Guidelines for certification on the electronic portfolio
of student skills, competencies and readiness for employment. --
The certification of student skills, competencies and readiness for
a particular industry or occupation to be included on the
electronic portfolio, including certification offered by an
institution of higher education or other job training programs,
shall require the approval of an appropriate entity designated by the jobs through education employer panel. Local education
agencies, institutions of higher education and other job training
programs desiring to issue such certification to meet local labor
market or community needs and circumstances may apply to the panel
for such approval. To the extent possible, such certification
shall provide the student with a proficiency credential that is
widely recognized and accepted within an industry or occupational
area as a reliable indicator of the ability of the student. The
jobs through education employer panel shall consult other
established skill standards for use in certifying proficiency in
skills, competencies and readiness within specific industries and
occupations. The intent of these provisions is to provide a formal
mechanism for the ongoing alignment of the certification of student
skills, competencies and readiness with current minimum
requirements for success in the industry or occupational area for
which the student is preparing, including requirements which will
be met through additional education in college or other
post-secondary education.
(k) (j) Staff development. -- Meeting the intent and
objectives of this section will require a continued focus on staff
development to increase the ability of teachers and administrators
to employ various methodologies for strengthening the rigor,
content and relevance of the learning process and help all students
achieve at higher levels. Teachers and administrators must know about workplace requirements to help students internalize the
relationship between learning in school and success in the careers
they envision for themselves in adult life. The use of student
assessment and program evaluation information continually to check
and improve the curriculum, instruction, school climate and school
organization and management, is critical to maintaining high
quality instruction that is relevant to changing workplace
requirements. Staff development opportunities shall include, but
not be limited to:
(1) Designation by the state board of exemplary counties and
schools that have implemented comprehensive school-to-work systems
as model demonstration sites to be visited and observed;
(2) Collaboration and utilization of the resources of the
State Department of Education, institutions of higher education,
the center for professional development and county staff
development councils for both in-service and preservice preparation
programs;
(3) Teacher and business exchange programs that enable
teachers to gain exposure and experience in the workplace and
business persons to gain exposure and experience in the schools;
(4) Structured programs or institutes that take educators into
the workplace to observe the work environment and skills necessary
to perform work tasks; and
(5) Staff development activities which include joint participation by public school, college and other post-secondary
faculty where appropriate.
(l) Study committee for staff development credits. -- There is
hereby created a study committee to make recommendations on the
feasibility of, and the possible process for, crediting staff
development activities toward fulfilling the requirement for
renewal of certificates, pursuant to section three, article three,
chapter eighteen-a of this code, and the progression through the
state minimum salary schedule, pursuant to section two, article
four of said chapter. The committee shall consist of the
chancellor of the university of West Virginia board of trustees, or
a designee; the state superintendent, or a designee, who shall
serve as chair of the committee; a member of the state board, to be
selected by the state board; a representative of West Virginia
university to be selected by the president of the university; a
representative of Marshall university, to be selected by the
president of the university; a representative of the West Virginia
graduate college, to be selected by the president of the college;
four classroom teachers to be appointed by the Governor within
thirty days of the effective date of this section; and the director
of the center for professional development or a designee. Such
committee shall report its recommendations to the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability by the first day
of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven.
(m) (k) State board rule. -- On or before the first day of
November, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six two thousand seven,
the state board, with advice from the jobs through education
employer panel advisory panel, and in consultation with the higher
education governing boards, shall adopt a rule in accordance with
the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code for the implementation of this section. The rule shall allow
flexibility for local variation to meet local circumstances. and
shall establish a five-year plan for phased implementation The
proposed rule developed pursuant to this section shall contain a
financial impact statement as well as a job impact statement.
(n)(l) Any study groups or committees created by the state
board to assist in development of policies or rules for the
implementation of this section shall contain significant
representation by classroom teachers as defined by section one,
article one, chapter eighteen-a of this code. Further, the state
board shall include in its annual budget request sufficient funds
to implement programs, policies or rules adapted to meet the goals
set out in this section: Provided, That nothing in this section
shall be construed to require any specific level of funding by the
Legislature.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the state board
to establish requirements for college readiness and work readiness credentials that certify to colleges and employers that a student
has demonstrated the proficiencies needed to be successful. These
would be value-added credentials granted to qualifying students by
the county in addition to the high school diploma. Existing code
provisions on more general certificates of proficiency and
electronic portfolio are deleted or repealed.
Strike-throughs indicate existing language that would be
removed, and underscoring indicates new language that would be
added.