Senate Bill No. 444

(By Senators Edgell, Unger and Yost)

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[Introduced January 27, 2012; referred to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-32 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to including substitute teaching in the job duties of certain professional educators employed by county boards of education in certain administrative and supervisory positions.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §18-5-32 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§18-5-32. Assistant superintendents; directors and supervisors of instruction and other educational activities.

    (a) The county board, upon the recommendation of the county superintendent, may employ an assistant whose term of employment shall be not less than one nor more than four years: Provided, That his or her term shall not extend beyond that of the incumbent county superintendent.

    (b) The board shall not employ more than one assistant for each two hundred teachers or major fraction thereof.

    (c) The county board, upon the recommendation of the county superintendent, is authorized to employ general and special supervisors or directors of instruction and of other educational activities as may be considered necessary.

    (d) The employment of the assistant superintendent shall be on a twelve-month basis. The period of employment for all others named herein shall be at the discretion of the county board.

    (e) Rules for qualifications of assistant superintendents, and directors and supervisors of instruction and of other educational activities shall be fixed by the state board: Provided, That the qualifications required for any assistant superintendent shall in no event be higher than those required for the county superintendent: Provided, however, That the rules do not affect the status of any incumbent nor his or her right to succeed himself or herself in his or her assigned position.

    (f) The county board of education is authorized to reimburse the employees for their necessary traveling expenses upon presentation of a monthly, itemized, sworn statement approved by the county superintendent.

    (g) Any person employed under the foregoing provision of this section, provided he or she holds a valid teacher's certificate, shall be given continuing contract status as a teacher and shall hold that status unless dismissed for statutory reasons.

    (h) The job duties of a professional educator employed under

the provisions of this section, including a professional educator employed as a “supervisor” or central office administrator” as defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a of this code, except the superintendent, shall include substitute teaching on at least three instructional days each school year.

    (h) (i) All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this section are hereby repealed.

    NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to include substitute teaching on at least three instructional days each school year as a job duty of certain professional educators employed by county boards of education in the county board central office.

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