Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/wvcode/code.cfm?chap=18&art=5B
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 11:05:36+00:00

Document:
§18-5B-2. Legislative findings and purpose.
§18-5B-3. School innovation zones; application for designation; state board rule.
§18-5B-4. Innovation zones; required plans; plan approval; state board rule.
§18-5B-5. Approval of innovation zone plans; waiver of statutes, policies, rules or interpretations.
§18-5B-6. Employee approval of innovation plan application and plan; transfer of employees.
§18-5B-7. Progress reviews and annual reports.
§18-5B-8. Teacher vacancies in an innovation zone; job postings exceeding certain qualifications and requirements; approval of postings.
§18-5B-9. Establishment of new innovation zone schools by state institutions of higher education.
§18-5B-10. Exceptions to statutes granted to innovation zones; limitations.
§18-5B-11. Local Solution Dropout Prevention and Recovery Innovation Zone Act.
§18-5B-12. School system collaborative innovation zone; requirements to qualify; application for designation; required plans for innovation zones; plan approval; waiver of statutes, policies, rules or interpretations; progress reviews and annual reports; teacher vacancies, job postings and approval.
§18-5B-13. Innovation school district Act; legislative findings, intent and purpose; eligibility; application; innovation plan and plan approval; designation; waiver of statutes, policies, rules or interpretations; exceptions; progress reviews and annual reports; state board rule.
§18-5B-14. Termination of funding for School Innovation Zones and Local Solution Dropout Prevention and Recovery Innovation Zones.
This article shall be known as the "School Innovation Zones Act".
(4) Providing greater flexibility at innovation zone schools will enable school-level, professional educators to exercise more fully their professional judgment to improve student learning for the twenty-first century by instituting creative and innovative practices.
(6) Increase the accountability of the state's public schools for student achievement as measured by the state assessment programs and local assessment processes identified by the schools.
(a) A school, a group of schools, a subdivision or department of a group of schools, or a subdivision or department of a school may be designated as an innovation zone in accordance with this article.
(2) Standards for the state board to review applications for designation as innovation zones and to make determinations on the designation of innovation zones.
(c) The state board shall review innovation zone applications in accordance with the standards adopted by the board and shall determine whether to designate the applicant as an innovation zone. The state board shall notify an applicant of the board's determination within sixty days of receipt of an innovation zone application.
When initially designating innovation zones after the enactment of this article by the first extraordinary session of the 2009 Legislature, the state board shall consider applicants for designation in the following order: (1) A school and groups of schools; (2) a group of schools seeking designation across the same subdivision or department of the schools; and (3) a school seeking designation of a subdivision or a department.
(d) When designating innovation zones under these provisions following the amendment and reenactment of this section by the Legislature at its regular session 2014, and for each of the four succeeding school years, the state board shall establish a priority for applications that include the establishment of entrepreneurship education programs as a curricular offering for students. To qualify under this priority, the program strategy must include the active involvement of one or more partners from the business community in program delivery. Nothing in this subsection requires the state board to designate all applicants that include the establishment of entrepreneurship education programs as innovation zones, or to exclude other qualified applicants for innovations in other areas from designation.
(C) Any other information the state board requires.
(B) An emphasis on innovative strategies that allows academically advanced students to pursue academic learning above grade level or not available through the normal curriculum at the school.
(b) Each school, group of schools, subdivision or department of a group of schools or subdivision or department of a school designated or seeking designation as an innovation zone shall submit its innovation zone plan to the school's employees, the county superintendent and county board having jurisdiction over the school, the state board, and the state superintendent in accordance with section five of this article.
(B) If the plan is disapproved, the state superintendent, the state board or both, as applicable, shall communicate the reasons for the disapproval to the school, the group of schools, the subdivision or department of a group of schools or the subdivision or department of a school and shall make recommendations for improving the plan. The school, the group of schools, the subdivision or department of a group of schools or the subdivision or department of a school may amend the plan pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.
(b) Upon the approval of an innovation zone plan by the state board and state superintendent, all exceptions to county and state board rules, policies and interpretations listed within the plan are granted, subject to the limitations contained in subdivision (B), subparagraph (2), subsection (a) of section four of this article.
(c) If an innovation zone plan, or a part thereof, may not be implemented unless an exception to a statute is granted by Act of the Legislature, the state board and state superintendent may approve the plan, or the part thereof, only upon the condition that the Legislature acts to grant the exception. If the state board and state superintendent approve a plan on that condition, the state board and state superintendent shall submit the plan with the request for an exception to a statute, along with supporting reasons, to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability. The commission shall review the plan and exemption request and make a recommendation to the Legislature regarding the exception requested.
(d) The rule promulgated by the state board pursuant to section three of this article shall include a process for amending or revising an innovation zone plan. The process shall require that any amendments or revisions to an innovation zone plan are subject to the approval requirements of subsection (a) of this section.
(a) An employee shall be eligible to vote in accordance with the provisions of this section if: (1) The employee is regularly employed at the school; and (2) the employee's primary job duties will be affected by the implementation of the innovation zone plan. The panel created in subsection (c) of this section and the principal shall determine which employees are eligible to vote in accordance with this subsection. No employee may be eligible to vote unless both the panel and the principal determine that the employee is eligible to vote.
(2) The approval of an innovation zone plan as required by section five of this article.
(c) A panel consisting of the elected officers of the faculty Senate of the school or schools, one representative of the service personnel employed at the school and three parent members appointed by the local school improvement council shall call the meeting required in subsection (b) of this section, conduct the votes and certify the results to the principal, the county superintendent and the president of the county board. The panel shall provide notice of the special meeting to all employees eligible to vote at least two weeks prior to the meeting and shall provide an absentee ballot to each employee eligible to vote who cannot attend the meeting to vote.
(d) At least eighty percent of the employees who are eligible to vote in accordance with this section must vote to apply for designation as an innovation zone and to approve the school's innovation zone plan before the level of staff commitment at the school is sufficient for the school to apply for designation and before the plan is approved by the school.
(e) An employee regularly employed at a school applying for or designated as an innovation zone whose job duties may be affected by implementation of the innovation zone plan or proposed plan may request a transfer to another school in the school district. The county board shall make every reasonable effort to accommodate the transfer.
(a) At least annually, the state board or its designated committee shall review the progress of the development or implementation of an innovation zone plan. If, following such a review, the state board determines that a designated school, group of schools, subdivision or department of a group of schools, subdivision or department of a school or a school created by a state institution of higher education in accordance with section nine of this article has not made adequate progress toward developing or implementing its plan, the board shall submit a report to the designated school, group of schools, subdivision or department of a group of schools, subdivision or department of a school or a school created by a state institution of higher education in accordance with section nine of this article identifying its areas of concern. The state board or its designated committee may conduct an additional review within six months of submitting a report in accordance with this section. If, following such additional review, the state board or its designated committee determines that the designated school, group of schools, subdivision or department of a group of schools, subdivision or department of a school or a school created by a state institution of higher education in accordance with section nine of this article has not made adequate progress toward developing or implementing its innovation zone plan, the state board may revoke the designation as an innovation zone or, if the innovation zone plan has been approved in accordance with section five of this article, rescind its approval of the plan.
(b) The state board shall provide an annual report on innovation zones and the progress of innovation zone plans to the Legislative Oversight Committee for Educational Accountability.
A school, group of schools, subdivision or department of a group of schools, or a subdivision or department of a school whose school innovation zone plan has been approved in accordance with section five of this article may make a job posting for a teacher vacancy at the school, the group of schools, the subdivision or department of a group of schools, or the subdivision or department of a school designated as an innovation zone that sets forth standards or qualifications that exceed the standards and qualifications provided in section seven-a, article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code: Provided, That teachers in the county approve the job posting by majority vote: Provided, however, That the county superintendent administers the vote and the record of the vote remains on file in the personnel office of the county board until the school group of schools, subdivision or department of a group of schools, or a subdivision or department of a school is no longer designated as an innovation zone.
(6) A school established in accordance with this section may not be funded with: (1) Moneys appropriated by the Legislature to fund the innovation zone program; or (2) state or county moneys that result from the school aid formula.
(C) Factors to be considered by the state board when evaluating an application and plan, which shall include, but are not limited to, support from parents, students, county board or boards of education, the local school improvement council or councils and school business partners and the potential for a school to be successful as an innovation zone.
(E) Any other information the state board requires.
(3) Standards for the state board to review applications for designation as innovation zones and to make determinations on the approval of innovation zone plans.
(c) The state board and state superintendent shall review innovation zone applications and plans of a school created by a state institution of higher education in accordance with the standards adopted by the board and shall determine whether to designate it as an innovation zone or approve it plan, as applicable. The state board and state superintendent shall notify an applicant of the board's determination within sixty days of receipt of an innovation zone application and receipt of an innovation zone plan. If the plan is disapproved, the state board and state superintendent shall communicate the reasons for the disapproval to the school and make recommendations for improving the plan. The school may amend and resubmit the plan to the state board.
(d) Upon the approval of an innovation zone plan by the state board and state superintendent, all exceptions to county and state board rules, policies and interpretations listed within the plan are granted. If an innovation zone plan, or a part thereof, may not be implemented unless an exception to a statute is granted by Act of the Legislature, the state board and state superintendent may approve the plan, or the part thereof, only upon the condition that the Legislature acts to grant the exception. If the state board and state superintendent approve a plan on that condition, the state board and state superintendent shall submit the plan with the request for an exception to a statute, along with supporting reasons, to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability. The commission shall review the plan and request and make a recommendation to the Legislature on the exception requested.
(a) The Legislature hereby grants an exception to the statute or statutes indicated for the following schools pursuant to and for the purposes enumerated in their innovation zone plans approved by the state board at its meeting on the date specified. The grant of an exception to a statute means that the school or schools granted the exception may implement the actions as specifically described in their approved innovation zone plan notwithstanding the provisions of this code from which they are specifically excepted. These exceptions are limited to the purposes as specifically described in the plan approved on the date indicated and are expressly repealed for any plan modification or plan implementation which changes those purposes. However, nothing in this section prohibits a school or schools with an approved innovation zone plan from requesting plan modifications, subject to approval of the state board, and if the modifications change the purposes for which an exception to a statute was granted, the state board shall request an exception to achieve the new purposes in the manner provided in section five of this article for requesting exceptions to a statute. If the approved innovation zone plan of a school or schools is withdrawn by the state board, or the innovation zone designation of a school or schools is revoked by the state board, the exception granted to that school or those schools is expressly repealed.
(7) Nicholas County Schools is excepted from sections four, eight and eleven, article eight of this chapter only to the extent necessary to permit up to two unexcused absences per semester on regular instructional days to be erased from a student's attendance record and not used toward the initiation of the attendance enforcement actions as set-forth in those sections, if the student successfully completes the county's Saturday instruction program operated as part of the county's county-wide Attendance Recovery dropout prevention initiative as more specifically described in the Nicholas County School's Local Solutions Dropout Prevention and Recovery Innovation Zone plan approved by the state board on October 3, 2012.
(a) Legislative findings, intent and purpose.
(7) Increasing high school graduation rates is an important factor in preparing a college and career-ready citizenry. Higher education institutions, including community and technical colleges, are essential partners in creating local and statewide solutions.
(5) Document educational strategies that increase graduation rates, prevent dropouts and enhance student success.
(c) Local Solution Dropout Prevention and Recovery Innovation Zones.
(6) Upon approval by the state board and state superintendent of the application, all exceptions to county and state board rules, policies and interpretations listed within the plan are granted. The applicant school, group of schools or school district shall proceed to implement the plan as set forth in the approved application and no further plan submissions or approval are required, except that if an innovation zone plan, or a part thereof, may not be implemented unless an exception to a statute is granted by Act of the Legislature, the state board and state superintendent may approve the plan, or the part thereof, only upon the condition that the Legislature acts to grant the exception as provided in this article.
(d) Local solutions dropout prevention and recovery fund.
There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue fund to be known as the "Local Solutions Dropout Prevention and Recovery Fund." The fund shall consist of all moneys received from whatever source to further the purpose of this article. The fund shall be administered by the state board solely for the purposes of this section. Any moneys remaining in the fund at the close of a fiscal year shall be carried forward for use in the next fiscal year. Fund balances shall be invested with the state's consolidated investment fund and any and all interest earnings on these investments shall be used solely for the purposes that moneys deposited in the fund may be used pursuant to this section.
(8) In accordance with the intent of this section as an additional tool for planning and implementing new approaches to improve the performance and progress of the students, schools and school system to achieve full approval at the earliest possible date, the state board shall rescind the state of emergency and nonapproval status of a school system designated as a school system collaborative innovation zone as soon as the requisite conditions are met as provided in section five, article two-e of this chapter, notwithstanding the designation. If a school system that has been designated as a school system collaborative innovation zone is subsequently issued a school system approval status that would make it ineligible for the designation, the designation shall remain in effect as provided in this section.
(b) The state board is authorized to choose one county school system currently under a declared state of emergency by the state board due to nonapproval status to participate in a program to test the effectiveness of allowing such county school systems to be considered school system collaborative innovation zones. Due to the reasons set forth in subsection (a) of this section, the McDowell County Board of Education shall be provided the first opportunity to submit a school system collaborative innovation zone application under this article. If the McDowell County Board of Education has not submitted an application by April 1, 2013 or less than fifty percent cast ballots in an election to approve a school system collaborative innovation zone plan, the state board may accept applications from other county boards under a declared state of emergency by the state board due to nonapproval status.
(4) Standards for the state board to review applications for designation as a school system collaborative innovation zone and to make determinations on the designation of a school system collaborative innovation zone.
(d) The state board shall review school system collaborative innovation zone applications in accordance with the standards adopted by the board and shall determine whether to designate the applicant as a school system collaborative innovation zone. The state board shall notify an applicant of the board's determination within thirty days of receipt of the application.
(4) Allowing a collaborative process which provides input and demonstrative buy-in from education personnel regarding appropriate professional development, supports, resources and working conditions.
(8) Other innovation zone plans approved under the provisions of this article and being implemented in other schools and school systems throughout the state.
(4) At the meeting required by subdivision (3) of this section, the county superintendent shall direct that a vote of all regularly employed school employees in the county be conducted to determine the level of school employee support for the school system collaborative innovation zone plan. The vote shall be completed within fifteen days after the meeting required by subdivision (3) of this subsection. The vote shall be by secret ballot administered by the panels created in subsection (c), section six of this article for each school and shall be administered in accordance with that subsection. For the vote to be valid, ballots must be cast by at least fifty percent of all regularly employed school employees in the county. The plan may not be submitted to the state board and the state board may not designate the school system as a school system collaborative innovation zone unless at least two-thirds of the employees voting vote to submit the plan.
(g) Approval of a school system collaborative innovation zone plan pursuant to this section is at the sole discretion of the state board. Any approval requirement not contained within this section does not apply.
(h) The plan is intended to serve as the basis for the innovation zone activities of the school system and to provide a vision for the school improvement goals it will work to accomplish in collaboration with its school and community partners. The plan is not intended as a limit on the normal school improvement activities that all school systems are expected to pursue, nor is the plan intended as a restriction on the ability of the school system or its schools to pursue other innovative strategies in accordance with the other provisions of this article, specifically the designation as a Local Solution Dropout Prevention and Recovery Innovation Zone in accordance with section eleven of this article.
(i) The designation as a school system collaborative innovation zone authorizes the school system to submit requests as provided in subsection (j) of this section to the state board for exceptions to statutes, policies, rules and interpretations that are required to permit implementation by the school system of the innovative strategies contemplated in its school system collaborative innovation zone plan. The designation shall be for a period of five years, during which the school system may submit multiple individual requests for exceptions to permit implementation of different strategies contemplated in the plan as the strategies are developed. Each request for an exception shall be submitted and may be approved by the state board in accordance with subsection (j) of this section.
(E) Any other information the state board requires as set forth in its rule pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(2) The state board shall review the request in accordance with the standards adopted by the board in its rule and shall determine whether to approve or disapprove the request. The approval or disapproval of a request is at the sole discretion of the state board. Any approval requirement not contained within this section does not apply.
(B) If the request is disapproved, the state board shall communicate its reasons for the disapproval to the school system and shall make recommendations for improving the request. The school system may amend and resubmit the request.
(5) If a request, or a part thereof, may not be implemented unless an exception to a statute is granted by an Act of the Legislature, the state board may approve the request, or the part thereof, only upon the condition that the Legislature acts to grant the exception. If the state board approves a request on that condition, the state board shall submit the request for an exception to a statute, along with supporting reasons, to the Legislative Oversight Commission of Education Accountability. The commission shall review the request and make a recommendation to the Legislature regarding the exception requested.
(C) Sections two and seven, article two, chapter eighteen-a of this code and sections seven-a, seven-b, eight and eight-b, article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code, except that a school system collaborative innovation zone may make a job posting for a teacher vacancy in accordance with the procedures and the approval by a vote of the teachers as provided in section eight of this article.
(l) A county board designated as a school system collaborative innovation zone pursuant to this section that has an approved innovation zone plan may revise its plan and resubmit its plan to the state board for approval after conducting the vote pursuant to subdivision (4), subsection (f) of this section and complying with all other applicable plan requirements set forth in this section except for holding the public town hall meetings required by subdivision (1), subsection (f) of this section.
(m) The designation of a county school system as a school system collaborative innovation zone shall be for a period of five years. The state board, upon request of the school system, may extend the designation for an additional two years if the school system has outstanding items in its school system collaborative innovation zone plan that it still wants to pursue and only for the purpose of pursuing those outstanding items. The expiration of the designation does not negate any exceptions to statutes, policies, rules or interpretations granted to the school system, unless and until specifically revoked, repealed or modified by the state board or by the Legislature, as applicable.
(n) The state board or its designated committee shall perform annual performance reviews and provide annual reports in accordance with section seven of this article.
(o) A county school system whose plan has been approved may make a job posting for a teacher vacancy in accordance with the procedures and approval provided by section eight of this article.
(3) Area institutions of higher education, such as Concord University and the June Harless Center at Marshall University, are authorized to work with the county board on innovative strategies to address challenges facing the school system and community, including, but not limited to, the areas of critical need and shortage in the teaching force, educator professional development and improving the college-going rate. In addressing the areas of critical need shortage in the teaching force, consideration should be given to the implementation of an intensively supervised and mentored teacher-in-residence program for prospective teachers during their senior year in lieu of student teaching.
(8) When educators, parents, elected officials, business leaders, faith-based leaders, human service personnel, judicial personnel and civic leaders collectively work together, they are often able to find innovative solutions to address school and community problems and implement a variety of innovative improvements that increase student engagement, develop more flexible schedules, enhance student and teacher ownership of the learning process and increase student achievement.
(2) Provides multiple opportunities over a period of five years for a school system designated as an innovation school district to seek and receive exceptions to certain statutes, policies, rules and interpretations applicable throughout the county or at certain schools within the county as needed to best meet the needs of its students as the system moves forward with its partners toward fulfillment of its innovation school district plan.
All county boards are eligible to apply for designation as an innovation school district: Provided, That a district that has expended funds or incurred obligations in violation of section twenty-six, article eight, chapter eleven of this code is not eligible to apply for designation as an innovation school district, unless otherwise determined by the state board. The applications shall be taken in four categories: Sparse Density County; Low Density County; Medium Density County; and High Density County, as those terms are defined in section two, article nine-a of this chapter. The state board is authorized to designate no more than one county from each category as an innovation school district beginning July 1, 2015: Provided, That the State Board, after July 1, 2016, may designate one additional county from each category as an innovation school district as long as the number of counties designated at any one time does not exceed two counties from each category as innovation school districts, subject to other considerations included herein. The designation of counties as innovation school districts shall be on a competitive basis.
(5) An innovation zone application review committee and recommendation process which shall be the same committee and process as used for all other innovation zones under this article.
(7) Allows input and demonstrative buy-in from education personnel regarding appropriate professional development, supports, resources and working conditions.
(12) Other innovation zone plans approved under the provisions of this article and being implemented in other schools and school systems throughout the state.
The innovation school district plan shall include a general description of the innovations the county school district seeks to institute, a proposed time line for implementation and measures for judging the success of the innovation school district plan.
(7) The plan may then be submitted by the county superintendent to the county board for a vote to submit the plan to the state board. The authority of a county board to vote to submit an innovation school district plan and the right to submit the plan and be designated as an innovation school district, if selected, in accordance with this section are not subject to or affected by the approval status of the school system or intervention in the authority of county board for school system operation pursuant to section five, article two-e of this chapter.
The state board shall review the innovation school district applications in accordance with the standards adopted by the board, shall determine the highest rated applicants in each category and shall determine whether to designate those applicants as innovation school districts. The designation of an applicant as an innovation school district is at the sole discretion of the state board. The state board shall notify each applicant of the board's determination within thirty days of the final determinations.
(E) Any other information the state board requires as set forth in its rule to implement this section.
(2) The state board shall review the request in accordance with the standards in its rule and shall determine whether to approve or disapprove the request. The approval or disapproval of a request is at the sole discretion of the state board in accordance with the requirements of this section.
(B) If the request is disapproved, the state board shall communicate its reasons for the disapproval to the county board and shall make recommendations for improving the request. The county board may amend and resubmit the request.
(D) Any statute, policy, rule or other requirements of the state board or other agency related to the health and safety of students or employees, any requirements imposed by ethics laws or opinions, any requirements imposed by open records or open meetings laws, any requirements related to financial or academic reporting or transparency, or any requirements designed to protect the civil rights of students or employees.
(1) The county board of a school system designated as an innovation school district pursuant to this section may revise its innovation school district plan and resubmit its plan to the state board for approval after complying with all other applicable plan requirements set forth in this section for initial plan approval.
(2) The designation of a school system as an innovation school district shall be for a period of five years. The state board, upon request of the county board, may extend the designation for an additional two years if the school system has outstanding items in its school system collaborative innovation zone plan that it still wants to pursue and only for the purpose of pursuing those outstanding items.
(3) The state board after periodic review of an established innovation school district may, upon recommendation of the innovation zone application review committee, revoke the school district's designation as an innovation school district for noncompliance or nonperformance.
The expiration of a school system's designation as an innovation school district does not negate any exceptions to statutes, policies, rules or interpretations granted to the school system unless and until specifically revoked, repealed or modified by the state board or by the Legislature, as applicable.
The state board shall adopt, in accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, a rule for the implementation of this section. The state board or its designated committee shall perform annual performance reviews and provide annual reports in accordance with section seven of this article.
No school, group of schools, district, subdivision or department of a group of schools, or a subdivision or department of a school designated or to be designated as an Innovation Zone or Local Solution Dropout Prevention and Recovery Innovation Zone shall receive any funding pursuant to this article after June 30, 2016.

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