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Introduced Version House Bill 4062 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 4062


(By Delegates M. Poling, Paxton, Perry and Shaver)
[Introduced January 17, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Education.]




A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-3-1 and §18A-3-1a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to certification of professional educators; authorizing holders of K-8 certificates to teach departmentalized courses for which certified; authorizing alternative education programs for certified teachers to obtain additional endorsement; providing for state board rule; report on proposed rule to Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability prior to implementation.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-3-1
and §18A-3-1a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

§18A-3-1. Teacher preparation programs; program approval and
standards; authority to issue teaching certificates.

(a) The education of professional educators in the state is under the general direction and control of the state board after consultation with the Secretary of Education and the Arts and the Chancellor for Higher Education who shall represent the interests of educator preparation programs within the institutions of higher education in this state as those institutions are defined in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code.
The education of professional educators in the state includes all programs leading to certification to teach or serve in the public schools including:
(1) Those programs in all institutions of higher education, including student teaching as provided in this section;
(2) Beginning teacher internship programs;
(3) The granting of West Virginia certification to persons who received their preparation to teach outside the boundaries of this state, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section;
(4) Any alternative preparation programs in this state leading to certification, including programs established pursuant to the provisions of section one-a of this article and programs which are in effect on the effective date of this section; and
(5) Any continuing professional education, professional development and in-service training programs for professional educators employed in the public schools in the state.
(b) The state board, after consultation with the Secretary of Education and the Arts and the Chancellor for Higher Education, shall adopt standards for the education of professional educators in the state and for awarding certificates valid in the public schools of this state. The standards shall include, but not be limited to the following:
(1) A provision for the study of multicultural education. As used in this section, multicultural education means the study of the pluralistic nature of American society including its values, institutions, organizations, groups, status positions and social roles;
(2) A provision for the study of classroom management techniques, including methods of effective management of disruptive behavior which shall include societal factors and their impact on student behavior; and
(3) Subject to the provisions of section ten of this article, a teacher from another state shall be awarded a teaching certificate for a comparable grade level and subject area valid in the public schools of this state, if he or she:
(A) Holds a valid teaching certificate or a certificate of eligibility issued by another state;
(B) Has graduated from an educator preparation program at a regionally accredited institution of higher education;
(C) Possesses the minimum of a bachelor's degree; and
(D) Meets all of the requirements of the state for full certification except employment; and
(4) A certificate to teach any one or more of the subjects taught at grade levels kindergarten through grade eight means that the holder is highly qualified to teach each of the subjects for which certified and may be assigned to teach any of those subjects in a departmentalized or self-contained school structure.

(c) To give prospective teachers the teaching experience needed to demonstrate competence as a prerequisite to certification to teach in the West Virginia public schools, the state board may enter into an agreement with county boards for the use of the public schools.
(d) An agreement established pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall recognize student teaching as a joint responsibility of the educator preparation institution and the cooperating public schools and shall include:
(1) The minimum qualifications for the employment of public school teachers selected as supervising teachers, including the requirement that field-based and clinical experiences be supervised by a teacher fully certified in the state in which that teacher is supervising;
(2) The remuneration to be paid public school teachers by the state board, in addition to their contractual salaries, for supervising student teachers;
(3) Minimum standards to guarantee the adequacy of the facilities and program of the public school selected for student teaching;
(4) That the student teacher, under the direction and supervision of the supervising teacher, shall exercise the authority of a substitute teacher; and
(5) A provision requiring any higher education institution with an educator preparation program to document that the student teacher's field-based and clinical experiences include participation and instruction with multicultural, at-risk and exceptional children at each programmatic level for which the student teacher seeks certification.
(e) Beginning the fall, two thousand six - two thousand seven academic term, in lieu of the student teaching experience in a public school setting required by this section, an institution of higher education may provide an alternate student teaching experience in a nonpublic school setting if the institution of higher education:
(1) Complies with the provisions of this section;
(2) Has a state board approved educator preparation program; and
(3) Enters into an agreement pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g) of this section.
(f) At the discretion of the higher education institution, an agreement for an alternate student teaching experience between an institution of higher education and a nonpublic school shall require that either:
(1) The student teacher complete at least one half of the clinical experience in a public school; or
(2) The educator preparation program include a requirement that any student performing student teaching in a nonpublic school complete at least:
(A) Two hundred clock hours of field-based training in a public school; and
(B) A course, which is a component of the institution's state board approved educator preparation program, that provides to prospective teachers information that is equivalent to the teaching experience needed to demonstrate competence as a prerequisite to certification to teach in the public schools in West Virginia. The course shall include instruction on at least the following elements:
(i) State board policy and provisions of this code governing public education;
(ii) Requirements for federal and state accountability, including the mandatory reporting of child abuse;
(iii) Federal and state mandated curriculum and assessment requirements, including multicultural education, safe schools and student code of conduct;
(iv) Federal and state regulations for the instruction of exceptional students as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq.;
(v) Varied approaches for effective instruction for students who are at-risk;
(g) In addition to the requirements set forth in subsection (f) of this section, an agreement for an alternate student teaching experience between an institution of higher education and a nonpublic school shall:
(1) Require that the higher education institution with an educator preparation program document that the student teacher's field-based and clinical experiences include participation and instruction with multicultural, at-risk and exceptional children at each programmatic level for which the student teacher seeks certification; and
(2) Include the minimum qualifications for the employment of school teachers selected as supervising teachers, including the requirement that field-based and clinical experiences be supervised by a teacher fully certified in the state in which that teacher is supervising.
(h) The state superintendent may issue certificates to graduates of educator preparation programs and alternative educator preparation programs approved by the state board. The certificates are issued in accordance with this section and rules adopted by the state board after consultation with the Secretary of Education and the Arts and the Chancellor for Higher Education.
(1) A certificate to teach may be granted only to any person who is:
(A) A citizen of the United States, except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection;
(B) Is of good moral character;
(C) Physically, mentally and emotionally qualified to perform the duties of a teacher; and
(D) At least eighteen years on or before the first day of October of the year in which his or her certificate is issued.
(2) A permit to teach in the public schools of this state may be granted to a person who is an exchange teacher from a foreign country, or an alien person who meets the requirements to teach.
(i) In consultation with the Secretary of Education and the Arts and the Chancellor for Higher Education, institutions of higher education approved for educator preparation may cooperate with each other, with the center for professional development and with one or more county boards to organize and operate centers to provide selected phases of the educator preparation program. The phases include, but are not limited to:
(1) Student teaching;
(2) Beginning teacher internship programs;
(3) Instruction in methodology; and
(4) Seminar programs for college students, teachers with provisional certification, professional support team members and supervising teachers.
The institutions of higher education, the center for professional development and county boards may by mutual agreement budget and expend funds to operate the centers through payments to the appropriate fiscal office of the participating institutions, the center for professional development and the county boards.
(j) The provisions of this section do not require discontinuation of an existing student teacher training center or school which meets the standards of the state board.
(k) All institutions of higher education approved for educator preparation in the one thousand nine hundred sixty-two--sixty-three school year shall continue to hold that distinction so long as they meet the minimum standards for educator preparation. Nothing in this section infringes upon the rights granted to any institution by charter given according to law previous to the adoption of this code.
(l) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, nor any other provision of rule, law or this code to the contrary, an institution of higher education may enter into an agreement with a nonpublic school:
(1) For the purposes of this section regarding student teaching;
(2) For the spring, two thousand six academic term only;
(3) If the institution is approved for educator preparation by the state board; and
(4) If the institution had entered into the agreement for that academic term prior to the effective date of this section.
(m) As used in this section:
(1) "Nonpublic school" means a private school, parochial school, church school, school operated by a religious order or other nonpublic school that elects to:
(A) Comply with the provisions of article twenty-eight, chapter eighteen of this code;
(B) Participate on a voluntary basis in a state operated or state sponsored program provided to such schools pursuant to this section; and
(C) Comply with the provisions of this section;
(2) "At-risk" means having the potential for academic failure, including, but not limited to, the risk of dropping out of school, involvement in delinquent activity or poverty as indicated by free or reduced lunch status; and
(3) "Exceptional children" has the meaning ascribed pursuant to section one, article twenty, chapter eighteen of this code, but does not include gifted students.
§18A-3-1a. Alternative programs for the education of teachers.
(a) By the fifteenth day of August, two thousand five, the state board, after consultation with the Secretary of Education and the Arts, shall promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the approval and operation of teacher education programs which are an alternative to the regular college or university programs for the education of teachers. To participate in an approved alternative teacher education program, the candidate must hold an alternative program teacher certificate issued by the superintendent and endorsed for the instructional field in which the candidate seeks certification. An alternative program teacher certificate is a certificate issued for one year to a candidate who does not meet the standard educational requirements for certification. The certificate may be renewed no more than two times. No individual may hold an alternative program teacher certificate for a period exceeding three years. The alternative program teacher certificate shall be considered a professional teaching certificate for the purpose of the issuance of a continuing contract. To be eligible for an alternative program teacher certificate, an applicant shall:
(1) Possess at least a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education in a discipline taught in the public schools except that the rules established by the board may exempt candidates in selected vocational and technical areas who have at least ten years' experience in the subject field from this requirement;
(2) Pass an appropriate state board approved basic skills and subject matter test in the area for which licensure is being sought;
(3) Be a citizen of the United States, be of good moral character and physically, mentally and emotionally qualified to perform the duties of a teacher, and have attained the age of eighteen years on or before the first day of October of the year in which the alternative program teacher certificate is issued;
(4) Have been offered employment by a county board in an area of critical need and shortage; and
(5) Qualify following a criminal history check pursuant to section ten of this article.
Persons who satisfy the requirements set forth in subdivisions (1) through (5) of this subsection shall be granted a formal document which will enable them to work in a public school in West Virginia.
(b) The rules adopted by the board shall include provisions for the approval of alternative teacher education programs which may be offered by schools, school districts, consortia of schools or regional educational service agency and for the setting of tuition charges to offset the program costs. An approved alternative teacher education program shall be in effect for a school, school district, consortium of schools or regional educational service agency before an alternative program teacher may be employed in that school, school district, consortium of schools or regional educational service agency. An approved alternative program shall provide essential knowledge and skills to alternative program teachers through the following phases of training:
(1) Instruction. -- The alternative preparation program shall provide a minimum of eighteen semester hours of instruction in the areas of student assessment; development and learning; curriculum; classroom management; the use of educational computers and other technology; and special education and diversity. All programs shall contain a minimum of three semester hours of instruction in special education and diversity out of the minimum eighteen required semester hours.
(2) Phase I. -- Phase I shall consist of a period of intensive on-the-job supervision by an assigned mentor and the school administrator for a period of not less than two weeks and no more than four weeks. The assigned mentor shall meet the requirements for mentor set forth in section two-b of this article and be paid the stipend pursuant to that section. During this time, the teacher shall be observed daily. This phase shall include an orientation to the policies, organization and curriculum of the employing district. The alternative program teacher shall begin to receive formal instruction in those areas listed in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(3) Phase II. -- Phase II shall consist of a period of intensive on-the-job supervision beginning the first day following the completion of Phase I and continuing for a period of at least ten weeks. During Phase II, the alternative program teacher shall be visited and critiqued no less than one time per week by members of a professional support team, defined in subsection (c) of this section, and shall be observed and formally evaluated at the end of five weeks and at the end of ten weeks by the appropriately certified members of the team. At the end of the ten-week period, the alternative program teacher shall receive a formal written progress report from the chairperson of the support team. The alternative program teacher shall continue to receive formal instruction in those areas listed above under subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(4) Phase III. -- Phase III shall consist of an additional period of continued supervision and evaluation of no less than twenty weeks duration. The professional support team will determine the requirements of this phase with at least one formal evaluation being conducted at the completion of the phase. The alternative program teacher shall continue to receive formal instruction in those areas listed above under subdivision (1) of this subsection, and receive opportunities to observe the teaching of experienced colleagues.
(c) Training and supervision of alternative program teachers shall be provided by a professional support team comprised of a school principal, an experienced classroom teacher who satisfies the requirements for mentor for the Beginning Educator Internship as specified in section two-b of this article, a college or university education faculty member and a curriculum supervisor. Districts or schools which do not employ curriculum supervisors or have been unable to establish a relationship with a college or university shall provide for comparable expertise on the team. The school principal shall serve as chairperson of the team. In addition to other duties assigned to it under this section and section one-b of this article, the professional support team shall submit a written evaluation of the alternative program teacher to the county superintendent. The written evaluation shall be in a form specified by the county superintendent and submitted on a date specified by the county superintendent that is prior to the first Monday of May. The evaluation shall report the progress of the alternative program teacher toward meeting the academic and performance requirements of the program.
(d) The training for professional support team members shall be coordinated and provided by the Center for Professional Development in coordination with the school district, consortium of schools, regional educational service agency, and institution of higher education, or any combination of these agencies as set forth in the plan approved by the state board pursuant to subsection (e) of this section.
(e) A school, school district, consortium of schools or regional educational service agency seeking to employ an alternative program teacher must submit a plan to the state board and receive approval. Each plan shall describe how the proposed training program will accomplish the key elements of an alternative program for the education of teachers as set forth in this section. Each school, school district, consortium of schools or regional educational service agency shall show evidence in its plan of having sought joint sponsorship of their training program with institutions of higher education.
(f) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the approval and operation of alternative education programs to prepare highly qualified special education teachers that are separate from the programs established under the other provisions of this section and are applicable only to teachers who have at least a bachelor's degree in a program for the preparation of teachers from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. These programs are subject to the other provisions of this section only to the extent specifically provided for in the rule. These programs may be an alternative to the regular college and university programs for the education of special education teachers and also may address the content area preparation of certified special education teachers. The programs shall incorporate professional development to the maximum extent possible to help teachers who are currently certified in special education to obtain the required content area preparation. Participation in an alternative education program pursuant to this subsection shall not affect any rights
, privileges or benefits to which the participant would otherwise be entitled as a regular employee, nor does it alter any rights , privileges or benefits of participants on continuing contract status. The state board shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on the programs authorized under this subsection during the July, two thousand five, interim meetings or as soon thereafter as practical prior to implementation of the programs.
(g) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the approval and operation of alternative education programs to prepare highly qualified special education teachers that are separate from the programs established under the other provisions of this section and are applicable only to persons who hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. These programs are subject to the other provisions of this section only to the extent specifically provided for in this rule. These programs may be an alternative to the regular college and university programs for the education of special education teachers and also may address the content area preparation of such persons. The state board shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on the programs authorized under this subsection during the July, two thousand five, interim meetings or as soon thereafter as practical prior to implementation of the programs.
(h) For the purposes of this section, "area of critical need and shortage" means an opening in an established, existing or newly created position which has been posted in accordance with the provisions of section seven-a, article four of this chapter, and for which no fully qualified applicant has been employed.
(i) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the approval and operation of alternative education programs to provide a route for teachers who hold a valid West Virginia teaching certificate to obtain an additional endorsement or endorsements in another area or areas of certification granted by the West Virginia Department of Education. These programs are subject to the other provisions of this section only to the extent specifically provided in this rule. The state board shall report a proposed rule on the programs authorized under this subsection to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability during the July, two thousand eight, interim meetings or as soon thereafter as practical prior to implementation of the programs.
(i) (j) The recommendation to rehire an alternative education program teacher pursuant to section eight-a, article two of this chapter is subject to the position being posted and no fully qualified applicant being employed: Provided, That this provision does not apply to teachers who hold a valid West Virginia professional teaching certificate and who are employed under a program operated pursuant to subsection (f).
(j) (k) When making decisions affecting the hiring of an alternative program teacher under the provisions of this section, a county board shall give preference to applicants who hold a valid West Virginia professional teaching certificate.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is for certification of professional educators; authorizing holders of K-8 certificates to teach departmentalized courses for which certified; authorizing alternative education programs for certified teachers to obtain additional endorsement; providing for state board rule; report on proposed rule to Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability prior to implementation.


Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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