Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION
         Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 842
                 BY SENATOR GRADY
 [Originating in the Committee on Education; reported February 23, 2024]
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  A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-1a and §18-5-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
         amended, all relating to county boards of education members; increasing the number of
         annual training hours for county board members; modifying the subjects on which county
         board members must be trained; authorizing the State Board to require board members
         to complete additional training upon request from the State Superintendent; adding ex
         officio members to the county board member training standards review committee;
         requiring the State Superintendent to make an annual report to the Legislative Oversight
         Commission on Education Accountability relating to county board member training;
         increasing compensation for attending meetings; reducing the number of meetings board
        members may be compensated to attend; and prohibiting county board members from
        receiving compensation if training requirements are not met.
     Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
     §18-5-1a. Eligibility of members; training requirements.
         (a) A person who is a member of a county board:
         (1) Shall be a citizen and resident in the county in which he or she serves on the county
  board. Also, a A person who is a candidate for membership on a county board or who is a
  member-elect of a county board shall be a citizen and resident in the county in which he or she
  seeks to serve on the county board;
         (2) May not be employed by the county board on which he or she serves, including
  employment as a teacher or service person;
         (3) May not engage in the following political activities:
         (A) Become a candidate for or hold any other public office, other than to succeed him
 himself or herself as a member of a county board subject to the following:
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        (i) A candidate for a county board, who is not currently serving on a county board, may
 hold another public office while a candidate if he or she resigns from the other public office prior
 to taking the oath of office as a county board member.
        (ii) The term "public office" as used in this section does not include service on any other
 board, elected or appointed, profit or nonprofit, under the following conditions:
        (I) The person does not receive compensation; and
        (II) The primary scope of the board is not related to public schools.
        (B) Become a candidate for, or serve as, an elected member of any political party
 executive committee;
        (C) Become a candidate for, or serve as, a delegate, alternate or proxy to a national
 political party convention;
        (D) Solicit or receive political contributions to support the election of, or to retire the
 campaign debt of, any candidate for partisan office;
        (4) May engage in any or all of the following political activities:
        (A) Make campaign contributions to partisan or bipartisan candidates;
        (B) Attend political fund raisers fundraisers for partisan or bipartisan candidates;
        (C) Serve as an unpaid volunteer on a partisan campaign;
        (D) Politically endorse any candidate in a partisan or bipartisan election; or
        (E) Attend a county, state or national political party convention.
        (b) A member or member-elect of a county board, or a person desiring to become a
 member of a county board, may make a written request to the West Virginia Ethics Commission
 for an advisory opinion to determine if another elected or appointed position held or sought by the
 person is an office or public office which would bar service on a county board pursuant to
 subsection (a) of this section.
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        (1) Within 30 days of receipt of the request, the Ethics Commission shall issue a written
 advisory opinion in response to the request and also shall publish the opinion in a manner which,
 to the fullest extent possible, does not reveal the identity of the person making the request.
        (2) A county board member who relies in good faith upon an advisory opinion issued by
 the West Virginia Ethics Commission to the effect that holding a particular office or public office
 is not a bar from membership on a county board and against whom proceedings are subsequently
 brought for removal from the county board on the basis of holding that office or offices is entitled
 to reimbursement by the county board for reasonable attorney's fees and court costs incurred by
 the member in defending against these proceedings, regardless of the outcome of the
 proceedings.
        (3) A vote cast by the member at a meeting of the county board may not be invalidated
 due to a subsequent finding that holding the particular office or public office is a bar to membership
 on the county board.
        (4) Good faith reliance on a written advisory opinion of the West Virginia Ethics
 Commission that a particular office or public office is not a bar to membership on a county board
 is an absolute defense to any civil suit or criminal prosecution arising from any proper action taken
 within the scope of membership on the county board, becoming a member-elect of the county
 board or seeking election to the county board.
        (c) To be eligible for election or appointment as a member of a county board, a person
 shall possess at least a high school diploma or a general educational development (GED)
 diploma. This provision does not apply to members or members-elect who have taken office prior
 to May 5, 1992, and who serve continuously from that date forward.
        (d) A person elected to a county board after July 1, 1990 May 1, 2024, may not assume
 the duties of county board member unless he or she has first attended and completed a course
 of an orientation training relating to boardsmanship, and governance effectiveness, and fiscal
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 management which shall be given provided between the date of election and the beginning of the
 member's term of office under the following conditions:
        (1) A portion or portions of subsequent training such as that offered in the orientation
 training may be provided to members after they have commenced their term of office;
        (2) Attendance at the session of in the orientation given training provided between the
 date of election and the beginning of the member's term of office permits the member-elect to
 assume the duties of county board member, as specified in this section: Provided, That any
 county board member who is unable to attend the initial orientation training for good cause, is
 required to complete the orientation training within 30 days of being sworn in as a county board
 member.
        (3) Members appointed to the county board shall attend and complete the next orientation
 training course offered following their appointment: Provided, That any county board appointee
 who is unable to attend the initial training course for good cause, is required to complete the
 orientation training within 30 days of being appointed; and
        (4) The provisions of this subsection relating to orientation training do not apply to
 members who have taken office prior to July 1, 1988 July 1, 2024, and who serve continuously
 from that date forward.
        (c) (e) Annually, each member of a county board shall receive seven clock 12 hours of
 training in areas relating to boardsmanship, governance effectiveness, fiscal management, and
 school performance issues including, but not limited to, pertinent state and federal statutes such
 as the "Process for Improving Education" set forth in §18-2E-5 of this code and the "No Child Left
 Behind Act", the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education
 and Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), and their respective administrative rules: Provided, That
 the State Board may require any county board member to attend additional training if they believe
 that the training would be beneficial in assisting the member in successfully fulfilling their duties
 on the county board as requested by the State Superintendent.
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         (1) The orientation and training All training required in this section shall be approved by
  the state board and conducted by the West Virginia School Board Association or other
  organization or organizations approved by the state board:
         (A) The state board may exclude time spent in training on school performance issues from
  the requisite seven hours herein required 12-hour requirement; and
         (B) If the state board elects to exclude time spent in training on school performance issues
  from the requisite seven 12 hours, the state board shall limit the training to a feasible and
  practicable amount of time.
         (2) Failure to attend and complete the approved course of orientation and training relating
  to boardsmanship and governance effectiveness the orientation training, annual training, or
  training required by the State Board, without good cause as determined by the state board by
  duly promulgated legislative rules constitutes neglect of duty under §6-6-7 of this code.
         (3) Training completed by a member to cure a default pursuant to §18-5-4(e) of this code
  shall be so designated by the member and shall not also fulfill any other training requirement
 under this section.
        (f) In the final year of any four-year term of office, a member shall satisfy the annual training
 requirement before January 1, unless the county board member is not seeking re-election. Failure
 to comply with the training requirements of this section without good cause as defined by the state
 board by duly promulgated legislative rules constitutes neglect of duty under §6-6-7 of this code.
        (g) The state board shall appoint a committee named the "county board member training
 standards review committee" whose members shall include the chair of the House Committee on
 Education and the chair of the Senate Committee on Education, or their designee, which shall
 serve as non-voting ex officio members. The county board member training standards review
 committee shall, at a minimum, meet at least annually.         Subject to state board approval, the
 committee shall determine which particular trainings and training organizations shall be approved
 and whether county board members have satisfied the annual training requirement. Members of
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 the committee serve without compensation but may be reimbursed by their agencies or employers
 for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties
 under this subsection.
        (h) On or before January 1, 2026, the State Superintendent shall report annually to the
 Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on the activities of the county
 board member training standards review committee, the types of training provided to county board
 members, the level of training participation by county board members, and the number of board
 meetings held.
      §18-5-4.   Meetings;     employment and assignment of   teachers;   budget hearing;
             compensation of members; affiliation with state and national associations.
         (a) The county board shall meet upon on the dates provided by law, and at any other times
  the county board fixes upon its records deems necessary. Subject to adequate public notice,
  nothing in this section prohibits the county board from conducting regular meetings in facilities
  within the county other than the county board office. At any meeting as authorized in this section
  and held in compliance with the provisions of §18A-1-1 et seq. of this code, the county board may
  employ qualified teachers, or those who will qualify by the time they enter upon assume their
  duties, necessary to fill existing or anticipated vacancies for the current or next ensuing school
  year. Meetings of the county board shall be held in compliance with the provisions of §18A-1-1 et
  seq. of this code for purposes relating to the assignment, transfer, termination and dismissal of
  teachers and other school employees.
         (b) Special meetings may be called by the president or any three members, but no
  business may be transacted other than that designated in the call.
         (c) In addition, a public hearing shall be held concerning the preliminary operating budget
  for the next fiscal year not fewer than ten days after the budget has been made available to the
  public for inspection and within a reasonable time prior to the submission of the budget to the
  state board for approval. Reasonable time shall be granted at the hearing to any person who
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 wishes to speak regarding any part of the budget. Notice of the hearing shall be published as a
 Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of §59-3-1 et seq. of this code.
        (d) A majority of the members of the county board is constitutes the quorum necessary for
 the transaction of official business.
        (e) Board members may receive compensation at a rate not to exceed $160 $260 per
 meeting attended, but they may not receive pay for more than fifty 40 meetings in any one fiscal
 year. Board members who serve on an administrative council of a multicounty vocational center
 also may receive compensation for attending up to 12 meetings of the council at the same rate
 as for meetings of the county board: Meetings of the council Provided, That council meetings are
 not counted as board meetings for purposes of determining the limit on compensable board
 meetings: Provided, however, That a county board member who is in default of a training
 requirement established in §18-5-1a of this code shall not, until after the default is cured, receive
 compensation for any meeting held during the period of default. For purposes of compensation,
 a member in default of a training requirement may cure the default by completing the unfulfilled
 training requirements within six months of the default. Upon curing the default, the member shall
 receive compensation, without interest, for the meetings held during the period of default:
 Provided, further, That up to five paid meetings may be provided when planning for activities such
 as running an election for excess levy, construction bond hearings, school closure hearings,
 personnel hearings, student expulsion hearings, and in the case of a disaster: And provided
 further, That members shall be paid for up to two trainings.
        (f) Members also shall be paid, upon the presentation of an itemized sworn statement
 receipts, for all necessary traveling expenses, including all authorized meetings, incurred on
 official business, at the order of the county board.
        (g) When, by a majority vote of its members, a county board considers it a matter of public
 interest, the county board may shall join the West Virginia School Board Association and may join
 the National School Board Association and may shall pay the dues prescribed by the associations
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 and approved by action of the respective county boards. Membership dues and actual traveling
 expenses incurred by board members for attending meetings of the West Virginia School Board
 Association may shall be paid by their respective county boards out of funds available to meet
 actual expenses of the members, but no allowance may be made except upon sworn itemized
 statements presentation of receipts.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced Version: 18-5-1a, 18-5-4
Committee Substitute: 18-5-1a, 18-5-4