WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
ENROLLED
House Bill 4838
BY DELEGATES HOLSTEIN, STATLER, DITTMAN, SHAMBLIN,
BARNHART, E. PRITT, HOUSEHOLDER, HORNBY,
MAZZOCCHI, FORSHT, AND CANNON
[Passed March 1, 2024; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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1 AN ACT to amend and reenact §18A-2-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating
2 to requiring county boards of education to inform persons, who are hired as long-term
3 substitute teachers, about IEP and 504 plans, detailing their uses and what those long-
4 term substitute teachers should do to implement these plans upon their hiring.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
§18A-2-3. Employment of substitute teachers; and employment of retired teachers as
substitutes in areas of critical need and shortage.
1 (a) The county superintendent, subject to approval of the county board, may employ and
2 assign substitute teachers to any of the following duties:
3 (1) Fill the temporary absence of any teacher or an unexpired school term made vacant
4 by resignation, death, suspension, or dismissal;
5 (2) Fill a teaching position of a regular teacher on leave of absence; and
6 (3) Perform the instructional services of any teacher who is authorized by law to be absent
7 from class without loss of pay, providing the absence is approved by the board of education in
8 accordance with the law.
9 The substitute shall be a duly certified teacher.
10 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, a substitute teacher
11 who has been assigned as a classroom teacher in the same classroom continuously for more
12 than one half of a grading period and whose assignment remains in effect two weeks prior to the
13 end of the grading period, shall remain in the assignment until the grading period has ended,
14 unless the principal of the school certifies that the regularly employed teacher has communicated
15 with and assisted the substitute with the preparation of lesson plans and monitoring student
16 progress or has been approved to return to work by his or her physician. For the purposes of this
17 section, teacher and substitute teacher, in the singular or plural, mean professional educator as
18 defined in §18A-1-1 of this code.
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19 (c) Persons who are hired as long-term substitute teachers shall be provided information
20 by the county board relating to an IEP plan and 504 plan, detailing their uses and what those
21 long-term substitute teachers should do to implement these plans upon their hiring.
22 (d) (1) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that due to a shortage of qualified
23 substitute teachers, a compelling state interest exists in expanding the use of retired teachers to
24 provide service as substitute teachers in areas of critical need and shortage. The Legislature
25 further finds that diverse circumstances exist among the counties for the expanded use of retired
26 teachers as substitutes.
27 (2) For the purposes of this subsection:
28 (A) "Area of critical need and shortage for substitute teachers" means an area of
29 certification and training in which the number of available substitute teachers in the county who
30 hold certification and training in that area and who are not retired is insufficient to meet the
31 projected need for substitute teachers; and
32 (B) "Teacher or substitute teacher" includes speech pathologists, school nurses, and
33 school counselors.
34 (3) A person receiving retirement benefits under §18-7A-1 et seq. of this code or who is
35 entitled to retirement benefits during the fiscal year in which that person retired may accept
36 employment as a critical needs substitute teacher for an unlimited number of days each fiscal
37 year without affecting the monthly retirement benefit to which the retirant is otherwise entitled if
38 the following conditions are satisfied:
39 (A) The county board adopts a policy recommended by the superintendent to address
40 areas of critical need and shortage for substitute teachers;
41 (B) The policy sets forth the areas of critical need and shortage for substitute teachers in
42 the county in accordance with the definition of area of critical need and shortage for substitute
43 teachers set forth in subdivision (2) of this subsection;
44 (C) The policy provides for the employment of retired teachers as critical needs substitute
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45 teachers during the school year on an expanded basis in areas of critical need and shortage for
46 substitute teachers as provided in this subsection;
47 (D) The policy provides that a retired teacher may be employed as a substitute teacher in
48 an area of critical need and shortage for substitute teachers on an expanded basis as provided
49 in this subsection only when no other teacher who holds certification and training in the area and
50 who is not retired is available and accepts the substitute assignment;
51 (E) The policy is effective for one school year only and is subject to annual renewal by the
52 county board;
53 (F) The state board approves the policy and the use of retired teachers as substitute
54 teachers on an expanded basis in areas of critical need and shortage for substitute teachers as
55 provided in this subsection; and
56 (G) Prior to employment of a retired teacher as a critical needs substitute teacher beyond
57 the post-retirement employment limitations established by the Consolidated Public Retirement
58 Board, the superintendent of the affected county submits to the state board in a form approved
59 by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board and the state board, an affidavit signed by the
60 superintendent stating the name of the county, the fact that the county has adopted a policy to
61 employ retired teachers as substitutes to address areas of critical need and shortage, the name
62 or names of the person or persons to be employed as a critical needs substitute pursuant to the
63 policy, the critical need and shortage area position filled by each person, the date that the person
64 gave notice to the county board of the person’s intent to retire, and the effective date of the
65 person’s retirement. Upon verification of compliance with this section and the eligibility of the
66 critical needs substitute teacher for employment beyond the post-retirement limit, the state board
67 shall submit the affidavit to the Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
68 (4) Any person who retires and begins work as a critical needs substitute teacher within
69 the same fiscal year in which that person retired shall lose those retirement benefits attributed to
70 the annuity reserve, effective from the first day of employment as a retiree critical needs substitute
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71 teacher in that fiscal year and ending with the month following the date the retiree ceases to
72 perform service as a critical needs substitute teacher.
73 (5) Retired teachers employed to perform expanded substitute service pursuant to this
74 subsection are considered day-to-day, temporary, part-time employees. The substitutes are not
75 eligible for additional pension or other benefits paid to regularly employed employees and may
76 not accrue seniority.
77 (6) A retired teacher is eligible to be employed as a critical needs substitute teacher to fill
78 a vacant position without any loss of retirement benefits attributed to the annuity reserve only if
79 the retired teacher’s retirement became effective before the first day of July preceding at least the
80 fiscal year during which he or she is employed as a critical needs substitute teacher.
81 (7) When a retired teacher is employed as a critical needs substitute to fill a vacant
82 position, the county board shall continue to post the vacant position until it is filled with a regularly
83 employed teacher who is fully certified or permitted for the position.
84 (8) When a retired teacher is employed as a critical needs substitute to fill a vacant
85 position, the position vacancy shall be posted electronically and easily accessible to prospective
86 employees as determined by the state board.
87 (9) Until this subsection is expired pursuant to subdivision (10) of this subsection, the state
88 board shall report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance, prior to February 1 of each
89 year, information indicating the effectiveness of the provisions of this subsection on reducing the
90 critical need and shortage of substitute teachers including, but not limited to, the number of retired
91 teachers, by critical need and shortage area position filled and by county, employed beyond the
92 post-retirement employment limit established by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board, the
93 date that each person gave notice to the county board of the person’s intent to retire, and the
94 effective date of the person’s retirement. A copy of the report shall also be provided to the
95 Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.
96 (10) The provisions of this subsection shall expire on June 30, 2025.
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The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate hereby certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.
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Clerk of the House of Delegates
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Clerk of the Senate Originated in the House of Delegates.
In effect ninety days from passage.
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Speaker of the House of Delegates
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President of the Senate __________
The within is ................................................ this the...........................................
Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2024.
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Governor
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Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 18A-2-3
Enrolled Version: 18A-2-3