WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
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to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance
A BILL to amend and
reenact §18-2E-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating
generally to process for improving education; removing reference to No Child
Left Behind Act; adding digital literacy to list of areas that State Board of Education
is required to adopt high-quality education standards in; making findings with
respect to Legislature’s constitutional authority; defining “academic
standards”; recognizing state board’s adoption and renaming of certain
standards; establishing academic standards evaluation panel; establishing
membership of panel; establishing duties of panel; requiring withdrawal from
memorandum of agreement relating to adoption of Common Core State Standards;
requiring withdrawal as governing state in Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium; establishing criteria for any academic standards adopted by state
board; requiring Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability
to review any proposed rules relating to academic standards; removing
requirement for state board rule establishing comprehensive statewide student
assessment program; removing requirement that assessment be aligned with
certain standards and associated alternative; removing state board authority to
require ACT EXPLORE and ACT PLAN or other comparable assessments; requiring
state board to review and approve summative assessment for certain grade levels
to assess in certain subject areas; requiring summative assessment include
students as required by certain federal laws; requiring that summative
assessment meet certain requirements; requiring state board to review and
approve college readiness assessment for students in eleventh grade; requiring
college readiness assessment to be administered at least once to each
eleventh-grade student; requiring college readiness assessment meet certain
requirements; requiring state board to review and approve career-readiness
assessments and assessment-based credentials; providing that career-readiness
assessment is voluntary for students; requiring that assessment-based
credentials be available to any student that achieves at required level on the
required assessments; requiring career-readiness assessments meet certain
requirements; prohibiting implementation of any assessment or test items
developed specifically to align with Common Core State Standards; requiring
online assessment preparation for any online assessment; requiring state board
to develop plan and make recommendations regarding end-of-course assessments
and student accountability measures; establishing reporting requirements; establishing
maximum percentage of instructional time for summative assessment; and removing
required report to Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability
pertaining to on-site review finding appeals.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-2E-5 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2E. HIGH QUALITY
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
§18-2E-5. Process for improving education; education standards;
statewide assessment program; accountability measures; Office of Education
Performance Audits; school accreditation and school system approval;
intervention to correct low performance.
(a)
Legislative findings, purpose and intent. -- The Legislature makes the
following findings with respect to the process for improving education and its
purpose and intent in the enactment of this section:
(1) The
process for improving education includes four primary elements, these being:
(A)
Standards which set forth the knowledge and skills that students should know
and be able to perform as the result of a thorough and efficient education that
prepares them for the twenty-first century, including measurable criteria to
evaluate student performance and progress;
(B)
Assessments of student performance and progress toward meeting the standards;
(C) A
system of accountability for continuous improvement defined by high-quality standards
for schools and school systems articulated by a rule promulgated by the state
board and outlined in subsection (c) of this section that will build capacity
in schools and districts to meet rigorous outcomes that assure student
performance and progress toward obtaining the knowledge and skills intrinsic to
a high-quality successful education
rather than monitoring for compliance with specific laws and regulations; and
(D) A
method for building the capacity and improving the efficiency of schools and
school systems to improve student performance and progress;
(2) As the
Constitutional body charged with the general supervision of schools as provided
by general law, the state board has the authority and the responsibility to
establish the standards, assess the performance and progress of students
against the standards, hold schools and school systems accountable and assist
schools and school systems to build capacity and improve efficiency so that the
educational standards are met, including, when necessary, seeking additional
resources in consultation with the Legislature and the Governor;
(3) As the
Constitutional body charged with providing for a thorough and efficient system
of schools, the Legislature has the authority and the responsibility to
establish and be engaged constructively in the determination of the knowledge
and skills that students should know and be able to do as the result of a
thorough and efficient education. This determination is made by using the
process for improving education to determine when school improvement is needed,
by evaluating the results and the efficiency of the system of schools, by
ensuring accountability and by providing for the necessary capacity and its
efficient use;
(4) In
consideration of these findings, the purpose of this section is to establish a
process for improving education that includes the four primary elements as set
forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection to provide assurances that the high-quality
educational standards are, at a minimum, being met and that a thorough and
efficient system of schools is being provided for all West Virginia public
school students on an equal education opportunity basis; and
(5) The
intent of the Legislature in enacting this section and section five-c of this
article is to establish a process through which the Legislature, the Governor
and the state board can work in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration
intended in the process for improving education to consult and examine the
performance and progress of students, schools and school systems and, when
necessary, to consider alternative measures to ensure that all students
continue to receive the thorough and efficient education to which they are
entitled. However, nothing in this section requires any specific level of
funding by the Legislature.
(b) Electronic county and school strategic
improvement plans. -- The state board shall promulgate a rule consistent
with the provisions of this section and in accordance with article three-b,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code establishing an electronic county strategic
improvement plan for each county board and an electronic school strategic
improvement plan for each public school in this state. Each respective plan
shall be for a period of no more than five years and shall include the mission
and goals of the school or school system to improve student, school or school
system performance and progress, as applicable. The strategic plan shall be
revised annually in each area in which the school or system is below the
standard on the annual performance measures. The plan shall be revised when
required pursuant to this section to include each annual performance measure
upon which the school or school system fails to meet the standard for
performance and progress, the action to be taken to meet each measure, a
separate time line and a date certain for meeting each measure, a cost estimate
and, when applicable, the assistance to be provided by the department and other
education agencies to improve student, school or school system performance and
progress to meet the annual performance measure.
The
department shall make available to all public schools through its website or
the West Virginia Education Information System an electronic school strategic
improvement plan boilerplate designed for use by all schools to develop an
electronic school strategic improvement plan which incorporates all required
aspects and satisfies all improvement plan requirements. of the No Child
Left Behind Act
(c) High-quality
education standards and efficiency standards.
-- In accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a
of this code, the state board shall adopt and periodically review and update
high-quality education standards for student, school and school system
performance and processes in the following areas:
(1)
Curriculum;
(2)
Digital literacy;
(2) (3) Workplace
readiness skills;
(3) (4) Finance;
(4) (5) Transportation;
(5) (6) Special
education;
(6) (7)
Facilities;
(7) (8)
Administrative practices;
(8) (9) Training
of county board members and administrators;
(9) (10) Personnel
qualifications;
(10) (11)
Professional development and evaluation;
(11) (12) Student
performance, progress and attendance;
(12) (13)
Professional personnel, including principals and central office administrators,
and service personnel attendance;
(13) (14) School
and school system performance and progress;
(14) (15) A code of
conduct for students and employees;
(15) (16) Indicators
of efficiency; and
(16) (17) Any other
areas determined by the state board.
(d) West Virginia Academic Standards.
(1) Legislative authority – Sections one, two and twelve, article XII of
the Constitution of the State of West Virginia impose a duty upon the
Legislature, as a separate but equal branch of government:
(A) To “provide, by general
law, for a thorough and efficient system of free schools”;
(B) To prescribe by law the
duties of the state board in the general supervision of free public schools;
(C) To prescribe by law the
powers and duties of the state superintendent; and
(D) To foster and encourage
moral, intellectual, scientific and agricultural improvement in schools.
(2) For purposes of this
subsection, “academic standards” are concise, written descriptions of what
students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their
education. Academic standards describe what students should have learned by the
end of a course, grade level or grade span.
(3) The Legislature
recognizes that on December 15, 2015, the state board adopted what it
represented were academic standards no longer aligned with Common Core State
Standards and renamed them “West Virginia College–and–Career–Readiness
Standards for English Language Arts (Policy 2520.1A)” and “West Virginia
College–and–Career–Readiness Standards for Mathematics (Policy 2520.1B)”.
(4) The Legislature hereby
establishes an Academic Standards Evaluation Panel. The panel shall consist of six appointed
members and one ex officio member. The
deans responsible for the math programs, the deans responsible for the English
programs and the deans responsible for the science programs at West Virginia
University and Marshall University shall each appoint one member: Provided,
That any dean that is responsible for more than one of the three programs shall
appoint one member for each program he or she is responsible for. The Chancellor of the Higher Education Policy
Commission, or his or her designee, shall serve as an ex officio member and be
responsible for facilitating the work of the panel. The Academic Standards Evaluation Panel
shall:
(A) Using the West Virginia
College–and–Career–Readiness Standards for English Language Arts and
Mathematics as a framework, evaluate and recommend revisions to the standards
based on empirical research and data to ensure grade-level alignment to the
standards of states with a proven track record of consistent high-performing
student achievement in English Language Arts on the National Assessment of
Educational Progress; and in Mathematics, on both the National Assessment of
Educational Progress and Trends in Math and Science Study International
Assessment;
(B)
Review the Next Generation Content Standards and Objectives for Science in West
Virginia Schools and recommend revisions that it considers appropriate;
(C) Remove common core
strategies that require instructional methods;
(D) Use facilities, staff
and supplies provided by the Higher Education Policy Commission;
(E) Submit its evaluation
and recommended revisions to the state board and the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability by October 1, 2017.
(5) The state board shall
withdraw from the Memorandum of Agreement entered into with the Council of
Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association for Best
Practices, which required the state board to agree that common core represents eighty-five
percent of West Virginia’s standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics
and withdraw as a governing state in the Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium.
(6) Any academic standard
adopted by the state board shall meet the following criteria:
(A) Be age level and
developmentally appropriate, particularly as it relates to sequencing of
content standards and the measurement of student academic performance;
(B) Be free of
instructional strategies;
(C) Meet national and
international benchmarks empirically proven to increase and sustain student
achievement; and
(D) Be based solely on
academic content.
(7) The Legislative
Oversight Commission on Education and Accountability shall review any proposed
rules relating to academic standards to determine whether the board has
exceeded the scope of its statutory authority in approving the proposed
legislative rule and whether the proposed legislative rule is in conformity
with the legislative intent of the provisions of this subsection. The Legislative Oversight Commission on
Education and Accountability may, at its discretion, hold public hearings,
recommend to the board any changes needed to comply with the legislative intent
of this subsection and make recommendations to the Legislature for any statutory
changes needed to clarify the legislative intent of this statute.
(d) (e) Comprehensive
statewide student assessment program. -- The state board shall establish
a comprehensive statewide student assessment program to assess student
performance and progress in grades three through through twelve. The assessment
program is subject to the following:
(1) The
state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with the provisions of
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code establishing the comprehensive
statewide student assessment program;
(2)
Prior to the 2014-2015 school year, the state board shall align the
comprehensive statewide student assessment for all grade levels in which the
test is given with the college-readiness standards adopted pursuant to section
thirty-nine, article two of this chapter or develop other aligned tests to be
required at each grade level so that progress toward college readiness in
English/language arts and math can be measured.
(3) The
state board may require that student proficiencies be measured through the ACT
EXPLORE and the ACT PLAN assessments or other comparable assessments, which are
approved by the state board and provided by future vendors;
(1)
For federal and state accountability purposes, the state board shall review and
approve a summative assessment system for administration to all public school
students, beginning in school year 2016-2017, in grades three through eight
that assesses students in English, reading, writing, science and mathematics: Provided, That the assessment in science
may only be administered once during the grade span of three through five and
once during the grade span of six through eight. The assessment shall include
those students as required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act and by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The
summative assessment system must meet the following requirements:
(A)
Be a vertically-scaled, benchmarked, standards-based system of summative
assessments;
(B)
Document student progress toward national college and career readiness
benchmarks derived from empirical research and state standards;
(C)
Be capable of measuring individual student performance in English, reading,
writing, science and mathematics: Provided,
That the assessment in science may only be administered once during the grade
span of three though five and once during the grade span of six through eight;
(D)
Be available in paper-and-pencil and computer-based formats;
(E)
Be a predictive measure of student progress toward a national college readiness
assessment used by higher education institutions for admissions purposes; and
(F)
Be aligned or augmented to align with the standards in effect at the time the
test is administered.
(2)
The state board shall review and approve a college readiness assessment to be
administered to all students in the eleventh grade for the first time in school
year 2017-2018 and subsequent years. The
eleventh grade college readiness assessment shall be administered at least once
to each eleventh grade student and shall meet the following requirements:
(A)
Be a standardized, curriculum-based, achievement college entrance examination;
(B)
Assess student readiness for first-year, credit-bearing coursework in
postsecondary education;
(C) Test in the areas of English, reading, writing,
science and mathematics;
(D) Have content area benchmarks for measuring student
achievement;
(E) Be administered throughout the United States;
(F) Be relied upon by institutions of higher education
for admissions; and
(G)
Be aligned or augmented to align with the standards in effect at the time the
test is administered.
(3)
The state board shall review and approve career readiness assessments and
assessment-based credentials that measure and document foundational workplace
skills. The assessments shall be administered to public secondary school
students in grades eleven or twelve for the first time in school year 2017-2018
and subsequent years: Provided, That
the career readiness assessment is voluntary and may only be administered to
students who elect to take the assessment. The assessment-based credential
shall be available to any student who achieves at the required level on the
assessments. The assessments shall meet the following requirements:
(A)
Be a standardized, criterion-referenced, measure of broadly relevant
foundational workplace skills;
(B)
Assess and document student readiness for a wide range of jobs;
(C)
Measure skills in all or any of the following areas:
(i)
Applied mathematics;
(ii)
Locating information; or
(iii)
Reading for information;
(D)
Align with research-based skill requirement profiles for specific industries
and occupations;
(E)
Lead to a work readiness certificate for students who meet the minimum
proficiency requirements on the component assessments; and
(F)
Be available in paper-and-pencil and computer-based formats.
(4) The state board
shall not acquire or implement any assessment instrument or instruments or test
items developed to specifically align with the Common Core State Standards
including Smarter Balanced Assessment or Partnership for Assessment of
Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).
(5) For any online
assessment, the state board shall provide online assessment preparation to
ensure that students have the requisite digital literacy skills necessary to be
successful on the assessment.
(6) The state board
shall develop a plan and make recommendations regarding end-of- course
assessments and student accountability measures and submit its findings to the
Legislative Oversight Commission on Education and Accountability by December
31, 2017.
(7) Any summative
assessment approved by the state board shall take no more than two percent of a
student’s instructional time.
(4) (8) The state
board may require that student proficiencies be measured through the West
Virginia writing assessment at any grade levels determined by the state board
to be appropriate.
(6) (9) The state
board may provide through the statewide assessment program policy other
optional testing or assessment instruments applicable to grade levels
kindergarten through eight and grade eleven which may be used by each school to
promote student achievement. The state board annually shall publish and make
available, electronically or otherwise, to school curriculum teams and teacher
collaborative processes the optional testing and assessment instruments.
(e) (f) State
annual performance measures for school and school system accreditation. -
The state
board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with the provisions of article
three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that establishes a system to assess
and weigh annual performance measures for state accreditation of schools and
school systems. The state board also may establish performance incentives for
schools and school systems as part of the state accreditation system. On or
before December 1, 2013, the state board shall report to the Governor and to
the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability the proposed
rule for establishing the measures and incentives of accreditation and the
estimated cost therefore, if any. Thereafter, the state board shall provide an
annual report to the Governor and to the Legislative Oversight Commission on
Education Accountability on the impact and effectiveness of the accreditation
system. The rule for school and school system accreditation proposed by the
board may include, but is not limited to, the following measures:
(1)
Student proficiency in English and language arts, math, science and other
subjects determined by the board;
(2)
Graduation and attendance rate;
(3)
Students taking and passing AP tests;
(4)
Students completing a career and technical education class;
(5)
Closing achievement gaps within subgroups of a school's student population;
and
(6) Students
scoring at or above average attainment on SAT or ACT tests.
(f) (g)Indicators
of efficiency. -- In accordance with the provisions of article three-b,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the state board shall adopt by rule and
periodically review and update indicators of efficiency for use by the
appropriate divisions within the department to ensure efficient management and
use of resources in the public schools in the following areas:
(1)
Curriculum delivery including, but not limited to, the use of distance
learning;
(2)
Transportation;
(3)
Facilities;
(4)
Administrative practices;
(5)
Personnel;
(6) Use of
regional educational service agency programs and services, including programs
and services that may be established by their assigned regional educational
service agency or other regional services that may be initiated between and
among participating county boards; and
(7) Any
other indicators as determined by the state board.
(g)(h) Assessment and
accountability of school and school system performance and processes. -- In
accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code, the state board shall establish by rule a system of education
performance audits which measures the quality of education and the preparation
of students based on the annual measures of student, school and school system
performance and progress. The system of education performance audits shall
provide information to the state board, the Legislature and the Governor, upon
which they may determine whether a thorough and efficient system of schools is
being provided. The system of education performance audits shall include:
(1) The
assessment of student, school and school system performance and progress based
on the annual measures established pursuant to subsection (e) (f)
of this section;
(2) The
evaluation of records, reports and other information collected by the Office of
Education Performance Audits upon which the quality of education and compliance
with statutes, policies and standards may be determined;
(3) The
review of school and school system electronic strategic improvement plans; and
(4) The on-site
review of the processes in place in schools and school systems to enable school
and school system performance and progress and compliance with the standards.
(h)(i) Uses of school and
school system assessment information. -- The state board shall use information from the
system of education performance audits to assist it in ensuring that a thorough
and efficient system of schools is being provided and to improve student,
school and school system performance and progress. Information from the system
of education performance audits further shall be used by the state board for
these purposes, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1)
Determining school accreditation and school system approval status;
(2)
Holding schools and school systems accountable for the efficient use of
existing resources to meet or exceed the standards; and
(3)
Targeting additional resources when necessary to improve performance and
progress.
The state
board shall make accreditation information available to the Legislature, the
Governor, the general public and to any individual who requests the
information, subject to the provisions of any act or rule restricting the
release of information.
(i)(j) Early detection
and intervention programs. -- Based on the assessment of student, school
and school system performance and progress, the state board shall establish
early detection and intervention programs using the available resources of the
Department of Education, the regional educational service agencies, the Center
for Professional Development and the Principals Academy, or other resources as
appropriate, to assist underachieving schools and school systems to improve
performance before conditions become so grave as to warrant more substantive
state intervention. Assistance shall include, but is not limited to, providing
additional technical assistance and programmatic, professional staff
development, providing monetary, staffing and other resources where
appropriate.
(j)(k) Office of
Education Performance Audits. --
(1) To
assist the state board in the operation of a system of education performance
audits, the state board shall establish an Office of Education Performance
Audits consistent with the provisions of this section. The Office of Education
Performance Audits shall be operated under the direction of the state board
independently of the functions and supervision of the state Department of
Education and state superintendent. The Office of Education Performance Audits
shall report directly to and be responsible to the state board in carrying out
its duties under the provisions of this section.
(2) The
office shall be headed by a director who shall be appointed by the state board
and who serves at the will and pleasure of the state board. The annual salary
of the director shall be set by the state board and may not exceed eighty
percent of the salary of the state superintendent of Schools.
(3) The
state board shall organize and sufficiently staff the office to fulfill the
duties assigned to it by law and by the state board. Employees of the state Department
of Education who are transferred to the Office of Education Performance Audits
shall retain their benefits and seniority status with the Department of
Education.
(4) Under
the direction of the state board, the Office of Education Performance Audits
shall receive from the West Virginia education information system staff
research and analysis data on the performance and progress of students, schools
and school systems, and shall receive assistance, as determined by the state
board, from staff at the state Department of Education, the regional education
service agencies, the Center for Professional Development, the Principals
Academy and the School Building Authority to carry out the duties assigned to
the office.
(5) In
addition to other duties which may be assigned to it by the state board or by
statute, the Office of Education Performance Audits also shall:
(A) Assure
that all statewide assessments of student performance used as annual
performance measures are secure as required in section one-a of this article;
(B)
Administer all accountability measures as assigned by the state board,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(i)
Processes for the accreditation of schools and the approval of school systems;
and
(ii)
Recommendations to the state board on appropriate action, including, but not
limited to, accreditation and approval action;
(C)
Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and accountability processes,
what capacity may be needed by schools and school systems to meet the standards
established by the state board and recommend to the state board plans to
establish those needed capacities;
(D)
Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and accountability processes,
whether statewide system deficiencies exist in the capacity of schools and
school systems to meet the standards established by the state board, including
the identification of trends and the need for continuing improvements in
education, and report those deficiencies and trends to the state board;
(E)
Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and accountability processes,
staff development needs of schools and school systems to meet the standards
established by the state board and make recommendations to the state board, the
Center for Professional Development, the regional educational service agencies,
the Higher Education Policy Commission and the county boards;
(F)
Identify, in conjunction with the assessment and accountability processes,
school systems and best practices that improve student, school and school
system performance and communicate those to the state board for promoting the
use of best practices. The state board shall provide information on best
practices to county school systems; and
(G)
Develop reporting formats, such as check lists, which shall be used by the
appropriate administrative personnel in schools and school systems to document
compliance with applicable laws, policies and process standards as considered
appropriate and approved by the state board, which may include, but is not
limited to, the following:
(i) The
use of a policy for the evaluation of all school personnel that meets the
requirements of sections twelve and twelve-a, article two, chapter eighteen-a
of this code;
(ii) The
participation of students in appropriate physical assessments as determined by
the state board, which assessment may not be used as a part of the assessment
and accountability system;
(iii) The
appropriate licensure of school personnel; and
(iv) The
appropriate provision of multicultural activities.
Information
contained in the reporting formats is subject to examination during an on-site
review to determine compliance with laws, policies and standards. Intentional
and grossly negligent reporting of false information are grounds for dismissal
of any employee.
(k)(l) On-site reviews.
--
(1) The
system of education performance audits shall include on-site reviews of schools
and school systems which shall be conducted only at the specific direction of
the state board upon its determination that circumstances exist that warrant an
on-site review. Any discussion by the state board of schools to be subject to
an on-site review or dates for which on-site reviews will be conducted may be
held in executive session and is not subject to the provisions of article nine-a,
chapter six of this code relating to open governmental proceedings. An on-site
review shall be conducted by the Office of Education Performance Audits of a
school or school system for the purpose of making recommendations to the school
and school system, as appropriate, and to the state board on such measures as
it considers necessary. The investigation may include, but is not limited to,
the following:
(A)
Verifying data reported by the school or county board;
(B)
Examining compliance with the laws and policies affecting student, school and
school system performance and progress;
(C)
Evaluating the effectiveness and implementation status of school and school
system electronic strategic improvement plans;
(D)
Investigating official complaints submitted to the state board that allege
serious impairments in the quality of education in schools or school systems;
(E)
Investigating official complaints submitted to the state board that allege that
a school or county board is in violation of policies or laws under which
schools and county boards operate; and
(F)
Determining and reporting whether required reviews and inspections have been
conducted by the appropriate agencies, including, but not limited to, the State
Fire Marshal, the Health Department, the School Building Authority and the
responsible divisions within the Department of Education, and whether noted
deficiencies have been or are in the process of being corrected.
(2) The
Director of the Office of Education Performance Audits shall notify the county
superintendent of schools five school days prior to commencing an on-site
review of the county school system and shall notify both the county
superintendent and the principal five school days before commencing an on-site
review of an individual school: Provided, That the state board may
direct the Office of Education Performance Audits to conduct an unannounced on-site
review of a school or school system if the state board believes circumstances
warrant an unannounced on-site review.
(3) The
Office of Education Performance Audits shall conduct on-site reviews which are
limited in scope to specific areas in which performance and progress are
persistently below standard as determined by the state board unless
specifically directed by the state board to conduct a review which covers
additional areas.
(4) The
Office of Education Performance Audits shall reimburse a county board for the
costs of substitutes required to replace county board employees who serve on a
review team.
(5) At the
conclusion of an on-site review of a school system, the director and team
leaders shall hold an exit conference with the superintendent and shall provide
an opportunity for principals to be present for at least the portion of the
conference pertaining to their respective schools. In the case of an on-site
review of a school, the exit conference shall be held with the principal and
curriculum team of the school and the superintendent shall be provided the
opportunity to be present. The purpose of the exit conference is to review the
initial findings of the on-site review, clarify and correct any inaccuracies
and allow the opportunity for dialogue between the reviewers and the school or
school system to promote a better understanding of the findings.
(6) The
Office of Education Performance Audits shall report the findings of an on-site
review to the county superintendent and the principals whose schools were
reviewed within thirty days following the conclusion of the on-site review. The
Office of Education Performance Audits shall report the findings of the on-site
review to the state board within forty-five days after the conclusion of the on-site
review. A school or county that believes one or more findings of a review are
clearly inaccurate, incomplete or misleading, misrepresent or fail to reflect
the true quality of education in the school or county or address issues
unrelated to the health, safety and welfare of students and the quality of
education, may appeal to the state board for removal of the findings. The state
board shall establish a process for it to receive, review and act upon the
appeals.
(7) The
Legislature finds that the accountability and oversight of some activities and
programmatic areas in the public schools are controlled through other
mechanisms and agencies and that additional accountability and oversight may be
unnecessary, counterproductive and impair necessary resources for teaching and
learning. Therefore, the Office of Education Performance Audits may rely on
other agencies and mechanisms in its review of schools and school systems.
(l) (m) School
accreditation. --
(1) The
state board shall establish levels of accreditation to be assigned to schools.
The establishment of levels of accreditation and the levels shall be subject to
the following:
(A) The
levels will be designed to demonstrate school performance in all the areas
outlined in this section and also those established by the state board;
(B) The
state board shall promulgate legislative rules in accordance with the
provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to establish
the performance and standards required for a school to be assigned a particular
level of accreditation; and
(C) The
state board will establish the levels of accreditation in such a manner as to
minimize the number of systems of school recognition, both state and federal,
that are employed to recognize and accredit schools.
(2) The
state board annually shall review the information from the system of education
performance audits submitted for each school and shall issue to every school a
level of accreditation as designated and determined by the state board.
(3) The
state board, in its exercise of general supervision of the schools and school
systems of West Virginia, may exercise any or all of the following powers and
actions:
(A) To
require a school to revise its electronic strategic plan;
(B) To
define extraordinary circumstances under which the state board may intervene
directly or indirectly in the operation of a school;
(C) To
appoint monitors to work with the principal and staff of a school where
extraordinary circumstances are found to exist, and to appoint monitors to
assist the school principal after intervention in the operation of a school is
completed;
(D) To
direct a county board to target resources to assist a school where
extraordinary circumstances are found to exist;
(E) To
intervene directly in the operation of a school and declare the position of
principal vacant and assign a principal for the school who will serve at the
will and pleasure of the state board. If the principal who was removed elects
not to remain an employee of the county board, then the principal assigned by
the state board shall be paid by the county board. If the principal who was
removed elects to remain an employee of the county board, then the following
procedure applies:
(i) The
principal assigned by the state board shall be paid by the state board until
the next school term, at which time the principal assigned by the state board
shall be paid by the county board;
(ii) The
principal who was removed is eligible for all positions in the county,
including teaching positions, for which the principal is certified, by either
being placed on the transfer list in accordance with section seven, article
two, chapter eighteen-a of this code, or by being placed on the preferred
recall list in accordance with section seven-a, article four, chapter eighteen-a
of this code; and
(iii) The
principal who was removed shall be paid by the county board and may be assigned
to administrative duties, without the county board being required to post that
position until the end of the school term; and
(F) Other
powers and actions the state board determines necessary to fulfill its duties
of general supervision of the schools and school systems of West Virginia.
(4) The
county board may take no action nor refuse any action if the effect would be to
impair further the school in which the state board has intervened.
(m)(n) School system
approval. -- The state board annually shall review the information
submitted for each school system from the system of education performance
audits and issue one of the following approval levels to each county board:
Full approval, temporary approval, conditional approval or nonapproval.
(1) Full
approval shall be given to a county board whose schools have all been given
full, temporary or conditional accreditation status and which does not have any
deficiencies which would endanger student health or safety or other
extraordinary circumstances as defined by the state board. A fully approved
school system in which other deficiencies are discovered shall remain on full
accreditation status for the remainder of the approval period and shall have an
opportunity to correct those deficiencies, notwithstanding other provisions of
this subsection.
(2)
Temporary approval shall be given to a county board whose education system is
below the level required for full approval. Whenever a county board is given
temporary approval status, the county board shall revise its electronic county
strategic improvement plan in accordance with subsection (b) of this section to
increase the performance and progress of the school system to a full approval
status level. The revised plan shall be submitted to the state board for
approval.
(3)
Conditional approval shall be given to a county board whose education system is
below the level required for full approval, but whose electronic county
strategic improvement plan meets the following criteria:
(A) The
plan has been revised in accordance with subsection (b) of this section;
(B) The
plan has been approved by the state board; and
(C) The
county board is meeting the objectives and time line specified in the revised
plan.
(4)
Nonapproval status shall be given to a county board which fails to submit and
gain approval for its electronic county strategic improvement plan or revised
electronic county strategic improvement plan within a reasonable time period as
defined by the state board or which fails to meet the objectives and time line
of its revised electronic county strategic improvement plan or fails to achieve
full approval by the date specified in the revised plan.
(A) The
state board shall establish and adopt additional standards to identify school
systems in which the program may be nonapproved and the state board may issue
nonapproval status whenever
extraordinary circumstances exist as defined by the state board.
(B)
Whenever a county board has more than a casual deficit, as defined in section
one, article one of this chapter, the county board shall submit a plan to the
state board specifying the county board's strategy for eliminating the casual deficit. The
state board either shall approve or reject the plan. If the plan is rejected,
the state board shall communicate to the county board the reason or reasons for
the rejection of the plan. The county board may resubmit the plan any number of
times. However, any county board that fails to submit a plan and gain approval
for the plan from the state board before the end of the fiscal year after a
deficit greater than a casual deficit occurred or any county board which, in
the opinion of the state board, fails to comply with an approved plan may be
designated as having nonapproval status.
(C)
Whenever nonapproval status is given to a school system, the state board shall
declare a state of emergency in the school system and shall appoint a team of
improvement consultants to make recommendations within sixty days of
appointment for correcting the emergency. When the state board approves the
recommendations, they shall be communicated to the county board. If progress in
correcting the emergency, as determined by the state board, is not made within
six months from the time the county board receives the recommendations, the
state board shall intervene in the operation of the school system to cause
improvements to be made that will provide assurances that a thorough and
efficient system of schools will be provided. This intervention may include,
but is not limited to, the following:
(i)
Limiting the authority of the county superintendent and county board as to the
expenditure of funds, the employment and dismissal of personnel, the
establishment and operation of the school calendar, the establishment of
instructional programs and rules and any other areas designated by the state board
by rule, which may include delegating decision-making authority regarding these
matters to the state superintendent;
(ii)
Declaring that the office of the county superintendent is vacant;
(iii)
Declaring that the positions of personnel who serve at the will and pleasure of
the county superintendent as provided in section one, article two, chapter
eighteen-a of this code, are vacant, subject to application and reemployment;
(iv)
Delegating to the state superintendent both the authority to conduct hearings
on personnel matters and school closure or consolidation matters and,
subsequently, to render the resulting decisions and the authority to appoint a
designee for the limited purpose of conducting hearings while reserving to the
state superintendent the authority to render the resulting decisions;
(v)
Functioning in lieu of the county board of education in a transfer, sale,
purchase or other transaction regarding real property; and
(vi)
Taking any direct action necessary to correct the emergency including, but not
limited to, the following:
(I)
Delegating to the state superintendent the authority to replace administrators
and principals in low performing schools and to transfer them into alternate
professional positions within the county at his or her discretion; and
(II)
Delegating to the state superintendent the authority to fill positions of
administrators and principals with individuals determined by the state
superintendent to be the most qualified for the positions. Any authority
related to intervention in the operation of a county board granted under this
paragraph is not subject to the provisions of article four, chapter eighteen-a
of this code.
(n)(o) Notwithstanding any
other provision of this section, the state board may intervene immediately in
the operation of the county school system with all the powers, duties and
responsibilities contained in subsection (m) (n) of this section,
if the state board finds the following:
(1) That
the conditions precedent to intervention exist as provided in this section; and
that delaying intervention for any period of time would not be in the best
interests of the students of the county school system; or
(2) That
the conditions precedent to intervention exist as provided in this section and
that the state board had previously intervened in the operation of the same
school system and had concluded that intervention within the preceding five
years.
(o)(p) Capacity. -- The process for
improving education includes a process for targeting resources strategically to
improve the teaching and learning process. Development of electronic school and
school system strategic improvement plans, pursuant to subsection (b) of this
section, is intended, in part, to provide mechanisms to target resources
strategically to the teaching and learning process to improve student, school
and school system performance. When deficiencies are detected through the
assessment and accountability processes, the revision and approval of school
and school system electronic strategic improvement plans shall ensure that
schools and school systems are efficiently using existing resources to correct
the deficiencies. When the state board determines that schools and school
systems do not have the capacity to correct deficiencies. The state board shall take one or more of the
following actions:
(1) Work
with the county board to develop or secure the resources necessary to increase
the capacity of schools and school systems to meet the standards and, when
necessary, seek additional resources in consultation with the Legislature and
the Governor;
(2)
Recommend to the appropriate body including, but not limited to, the
Legislature, county boards, schools and communities methods for targeting
resources strategically to eliminate deficiencies identified in the assessment
and accountability processes. When making determinations on recommendations,
the state board shall include, but is not limited to, the following methods:
(A)
Examining reports and electronic strategic improvement plans regarding the
performance and progress of students, schools and school systems relative to
the standards and identifying the areas in which improvement is needed;
(B)
Determining the areas of weakness and of ineffectiveness that appear to have
contributed to the substandard performance and progress of students or the
deficiencies of the school or school system and requiring the school or school
system to work collaboratively with the West Virginia Department of Education
State System of Support to correct the deficiencies;
(C)
Determining the areas of strength that appear to have contributed to
exceptional student, school and school system performance and progress and
promoting their emulation throughout the system;
(D)
Requesting technical assistance from the School Building Authority in assessing
or designing comprehensive educational facilities plans;
(E)
Recommending priority funding from the School Building Authority based on
identified needs;
(F)
Requesting special staff development programs from the Center for Professional
Development, the Principals Academy, higher education, regional educational
service agencies and county boards based on identified needs;
(G)
Submitting requests to the Legislature for appropriations to meet the
identified needs for improving education;
(H) Directing
county boards to target their funds strategically toward alleviating
deficiencies;
(I)
Ensuring that the need for facilities in counties with increased enrollment are
appropriately reflected and recommended for funding;
(J)
Ensuring that the appropriate person or entity is held accountable for
eliminating deficiencies; and
(K)
Ensuring that the needed capacity is available from the state and local level
to assist the school or school system in achieving the standards and
alleviating the deficiencies.
(p) Building
leadership capacity B To help build the
governance and leadership capacity of a county board during an intervention in
the operation of its school system by the state board, and to help assure
sustained success following return of control to the county board, the state
board shall require the county board to establish goals and action plans,
subject to approval of the state board, to improve performance sufficiently to
end the intervention within a period of not more than five years. The state superintendent
shall maintain oversight and provide assistance and feedback to the county
board on development and implementation of the goals and action plans. At a
minimum, the goals and action plans shall include:
(A) An
analysis of the training and development activities needed by the county board
and leadership of the school system and schools for effective governance and
school improvement;
(B)
Support for the training and development activities identified which may
include those made available through the state superintendent, regional
education service agencies, Center for Professional Development, West Virginia
School Board Association, Office of Education Performance Audits, West Virginia
Education Information System and other sources identified in the goals and
action plans. Attendance at these activities included in the goals and action
plans is mandatory as specified in the goals and action plans; and
(C) Active
involvement by the county board in the improvement process, working in tandem
with the county superintendent to gather, analyze and interpret data, write
time-specific goals to correct deficiencies, prepare and implement action plans
and allocate or request from the State Board of Education the resources,
including board development training and coaching, necessary to achieve
approved goals and action plans and sustain system and school improvement.
At least
once each year during the period of intervention, the Office of Education
Performance Audits shall assess the readiness of the county board to accept the
return of control of the system or school from the state board and sustain the
improvements, and shall make a report and recommendations to the state board
supported by documented evidence of the progress made on the goals and action plans.
The state board may end the intervention or return any portion of control of
the operations of the school system or school that was previously removed at
its sole determination. If the state board determines at the fifth annual
assessment that the county board is still not ready to accept return of control
by the state board and sustain the improvements, the state board shall hold a
public hearing in the affected county at which the attendance by all members of
the county board is requested so that the reasons for continued intervention
and the concerns of the citizens of the county may be heard. The state board
may continue the intervention only after it holds the public hearing and may
require revision of the goals and action plans.
Following
the termination of an intervention in the operation of a school system and
return of full control by the state board, the support for governance education
and development shall continue as needed for up to three years. If at any time
within this three years, the state board determines that intervention in the
operation of the school system is again necessary, the state board shall again
hold a public hearing in the affected county so that the reasons for the
intervention and the concerns of the citizens of the county may be heard.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to prevent the State Board of Education from implementing common core academic
standards and assessments; to establish a process and criteria for the state to
develop alternate academic standards and assessments; to prohibit the state
board from entering into any agreement which requires implementation of common
core standards or limits Constitutional authority and obligation to provide a
thorough and efficient system of education; and requiring the state board to
report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education and Accountability.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.