reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-5b. County Salary Supplements for School Service Personnel

The county board of education may establish salary schedules which shall be in excess of the state minimums fixed by this article.
These county schedules shall be uniform throughout the county with regard to any training classification, experience, years of employment, responsibility, duties, pupil participation, pupil enrollment, size of buildings, operation of equipment or other requirements. Further, uniformity shall apply to all salaries, rates of pay, benefits, increments or compensation for all persons regularly employed and performing like assignments and duties within the county: Provided, That in establishing such local salary schedules, no county shall reduce local funds allocated for salaries in effect on January 1, 1990, and used in supplementing the state minimum salaries as provided for in this article, unless forced to do so by defeat of a special levy, or a loss in assessed values or events over which it has no control and for which the county board has received approval from the state board prior to making such reduction.
Counties may provide, in a uniform manner, benefits for service personnel which require an appropriation from local funds including, but not limited to, dental, optical, health and income protection insurance, vacation time and retirement plans excluding the state Teachers Retirement System. Nothing herein shall prohibit the maintenance nor result in the reduction of any benefits in effect on January 1, 1984, by any county board of education.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-7. Substitute Teachers Pay

The pay of a substitute teacher shall not be less than eighty percent of the daily rate of the state basic salary paid to teachers: Provided, That any substitute teacher who teaches in excess of ten consecutive instructional days in the same position shall, thereafter, not be paid less than eighty percent of the daily rate of the state advanced salary based upon teaching experience: Provided, however, That any substitute teacher who teaches in excess of thirty days in the same position shall be paid the daily rate of the advanced salary, within that teacher's county.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-7b. Calculation of Seniority for Professional Personnel

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, seniority for professional personnel as defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a of this code shall be calculated pursuant to the provisions of section seven-a of this article as well as the following: Provided, That any recalculation of seniority of a professional personnel employee that may be required in order to remain consistent with the provisions contained herein shall be calculated retroactively, but shall not be utilized for the purposes of reversing any decision that has been made or grievance that has been filed prior to the effective date of this section:
(a) A professional employee shall begin to accrue seniority upon commencement of the employee's duties.
(b) An employee shall receive seniority credit for each day the employee is professionally employed regardless of whether the employee receives pay for that day: Provided, That no employee shall receive seniority credit for any day the employee is suspended without pay pursuant to section eight, article two of this chapter: Provided, however, That an employee who is on an approved leave of absence shall accrue seniority during the period of time that the employee is on the approved leave of absence.
(c) Any professional employee whose employment with a county board of education is terminated either voluntarily or through a reduction-in-force shall, upon reemployment with the same Board of Education in a regular full-time position, receive credit for all seniority previously accumulated with the board of Education at the date the employee's employment was terminated.
(d) Any professional employee whose employment has been terminated through reduction in force and whose name is on the preferred recall list shall retain all accumulated seniority for the purpose of seeking reemployment with the county from which he or she was terminated and nothing in this section may be construed to the contrary.
(e) Any professional employee employed for a full employment term but in a part-time position shall receive seniority credit for each day of employment prorated to the proportion of a full employment day the employee is required to work: Provided, That nothing herein allows a regular full-time employee to be credited with less than a full day of seniority credit for each day the employee is employed by the board: Provided, however, That this calculation of seniority for part-time professional personnel is prospective and does not reduce any seniority credit accumulated by any employee prior to the effective date of this section: Provided further, That for the purposes of this section a part-time employee shall be defined as an employee who is employed less than three and one-half hours per day.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-7c. Summer Employment of Professional Educators

A county board shall hire professional educators for positions in summer school programs in accordance with section thirty-nine, article five, chapter eighteen of this code or section seven-a of this article, as applicable, except that a professional educator who is regularly employed by the county board on a full-time basis shall be given employment preference over applicants who are not regularly employed by the county board on a full-time basis.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-8c. Seniority Rights for Personnel Employed by Multicounty Vocational Centers

Professional and service personnel employed by a multicounty vocational center shall establish seniority on the basis of the length of time the employee has been employed by the multicounty vocational center, except that any professional or service personnel whose employment with the multicounty vocational center was immediately preceded by employment with one of the county boards participating in the operation of the center or whose employment contract was with one of the county boards participating in the operation of the center (1) shall retain any seniority accrued during employment by said county board; (2) shall accrue seniority as a regular employee with said county board during employment with the center; (3) shall attain continuing contract status with both the county and the center if the sum of the years employed by the county and the center equals the statutory number required for continuing contract status; and (4) shall retain and continue to accrue county and center seniority in the event of reemployment by said participating county as a result of direct transfer from the center or recall from the preferred list.
Reductions in work force in the center or employment by the center or county board shall be made in accordance with the provisions of sections seven-a and eight-b of this article: Provided, That only years of employment within the multicounty vocational center shall be considered for purposes of reduction in force within the center.
The seniority conferred herein shall apply retroactively to all affected professional and service personnel, but the rights incidental thereto shall commence as of the effective date of this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-8d. Consolidation of Services and Seniority Rights for Administrative Personnel

Where two or more counties join together to share the services of central office administrative personnel, any employee whose services are no longer needed by virtue of such sharing may have his or her contract terminated for lack of need, as provided in sections two and six, article two of this chapter, notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary. Any employee whose contract is so terminated shall be afforded all rights pursuant to section eight-b of this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-8h. Limitation on Number of School Service Personnel Positions to Be Held by an Employee

Upon the effective date of this section, no school service personnel shall be permitted to become employed in more than one regular full-day position, nor more than two one-half day positions at the same time: Provided, That nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a school service personnel from holding an extracurricular assignment or assignments, as provided in section sixteen of this article, or summer positions, as provided in section thirty-nine, article five, chapter eighteen of this code, nor from performing extra-duty assignments, as provided in section eight-b of this article, in addition to his or her regular position.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-9. Payment of Teachers and Other Employees; Withholdings

Teachers and all other employees whose salaries or wages are payable out of the school current fund shall be paid for their services by orders duly signed by the president and secretary of the board in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter and 18-1-1
et seq
. of this code, the number of pays to be made during the school year to the various classes of employees shall be determined by the board:
Provided
, That the sum of such pays for any employee does not exceed the equivalent of an annual salary based upon 12 calendar months.
(2) In the event a teacher or other employee is not paid the full salary or wage earned in the fiscal year in which the work is performed, the unpaid amount may be paid during July and August of the following fiscal year.
(3) Adjustments for time loss due to absence may be made in the next paycheck following such time loss.
(4) The county board may withhold the pay of any teacher or employee until he or she has made the reports required by the board or the state superintendent.
(5) Accompanying the pay of each employee shall be an accounting of gross earnings, all withholdings, and the dollar value of all benefits provided by the state on behalf of the employee.
(6) No deductions or assignments of earnings shall be allowed for union, labor organization, or club dues or fees from the compensation of teachers and other employees covered by this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-10c. Personal Leave Banks for Care Givers

(a) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Care giver" means any employee of a county board who:
(A) Is a spouse, child or parent of any employee who meets the following qualifications:
(i) He or she is an employee of the same county board of education as the care giver; and
(ii) He or she currently is eligible to receive benefits from the personal leave bank established in section ten of this article; or
(B) Is a parent of a dependent child who is suffering from a catastrophic illness or injury;
(2) "Catastrophic illness or injury" means a medical or physical condition that incapacitates a family member of the care giver and results in the care giver being required to take time off from work as defined by the rules of the board to care for the family member.
(b) A county board of education may establish a personal leave bank for care givers which is separate from any personal leave bank as defined in section ten of this article. The personal leave bank shall be operated pursuant to rules adopted by the county board which shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) An employee may contribute no more than two days of personal leave per school year;
(2) The bank shall be established either jointly or separately for both professional personnel and school service personnel and shall be available to all school personnel;
(3) The rules may limit the maximum number of days used by a care giver;
(4) Where the care giver is caring for an absent employee as defined in paragraph (A), subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section, the rules shall require that leave bank days be used only by a care giver who is absent from work during the same time period as the absent employee for whom care is being provided; and
(5) The rules shall require that the care giver is an active employee with less than five days accumulated personal leave.
(c) The use of these days by the care giver for the extension of insurance coverage pursuant to section twelve, article sixteen, chapter five of this code is prohibited.
(d) Contributions shall reduce, to the extent of the contribution, the number of personal leave days to which a contributing employee is entitled by section ten of this article: Provided, That the employee's contribution may not reduce the number of entitled personal leave days without cause.
(e) No employee may be compelled to contribute to a personal leave bank.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-10d. Use of Personal Leave Days by Surviving Spouse in Certain Circumstances

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) "Surviving spouse" means an employee of a county board whose spouse was also employed by the same county board at the time of his or her death; and
(2) "Deceased spouse" means a person who, at the time of his or her death, was employed by the same Board of Education as his or her spouse.
(b) Beginning January 1, 1999, a county board of education may credit a surviving spouse with any or all personal leave days to which the deceased spouse was entitled at the time of the death of the deceased spouse.
(c) The provisions of this section only shall apply if all the following conditions are met:
(1) Both spouses were employed by the same county board of education at the time of the death of the deceased spouse;
(2) The deceased spouse had unused personal leave days which he or she was entitled to use;
(3) The surviving spouse is an active employee with less than five days accumulated personal leave;
(4) The death of the deceased spouse was by accident;
(5) It is determined by the county board, on evidence provided by a licensed physician, that the surviving spouse is physically disabled to work at the position held by the surviving spouse; and
(6) It is determined by the county board that the cause of the disability to the surviving spouse arose from the same accident that resulted in the death of the deceased spouse.
(d) The county board periodically shall review the status of the surviving spouse and, upon a determination of the county board that the surviving spouse is able to work at his or her assigned position, any personal leave days credited to the surviving spouse pursuant to the terms of this section shall be extinguished.
(e) Personal leave days credited to the surviving spouse pursuant to this section may be used only for the purposes of this section and may not be used for any other purpose, including, but not limited to, the enhancement of retirement or health insurance benefits.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-11. Group Insurance

Whenever a majority of the full-time instructional and administrative employees of a county or state Board of Education, or a majority of the full-time nonteaching employees of such board shall indicate in writing to the board of Education that it has adopted a group plan or plans of insurance for life, health and accident, hospitalization or surgery insurance, or death benefit plan on a group basis, and such majority has selected a licensed insurance company or companies duly licensed to do business in this state to write or provide for any one or more of such group insurance, or death benefit coverages, the board shall make proper periodical premium deductions from the regular salary of any such employee as specified in a written assignment furnished it by each such employee subscribing thereto, and pay the aggregate of such salary deductions over to the insurance company or companies or voluntary association so selected. Only those companies whose plan or plans receive the majority vote shall have the privilege of such deductions.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-12. Tax Deferred Investments for Teachers and Other Employees

For the purpose of this section, when an employee shall have attained the age of eighteen years the said employee may be eligible to participate in the defined group plans.
A county board of education, the Teachers Retirement Board and the West Virginia Board of Education and their agencies may provide by written agreement between any such board or agency and any teacher or other employee to reduce the cash salary payable to such teacher or other employee, and, in consideration thereof, to pay an amount equal to the amount of such reduction as premiums on an annuity contract or payments on a custodial account or other investment owned by such teacher or other employee, which annuity contract, custodial account or other investment is in such form and upon such terms as will qualify the payments thereon for tax deferment under the United States Internal Revenue Code. The amount of such reduction shall not exceed the amount excludable from income under the United States Internal Revenue Code, and amendments and successor provisions thereto, and shall be considered a part of the teachers or employees salary for all purposes other than federal and state income tax.
The purchase of such tax deferred investment for a teacher or other employee by a Board of Education, the Teachers Retirement Board and the West Virginia Board of Education and their agencies shall impose no liability nor responsibility whatsoever on said boards or members thereof except to show that the payments have been remitted for the purposes for which deducted.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-18. Department of Education Certified Staff Salaries

(a) Personnel employed by the state Department of Education who are required to hold a teaching certificate shall receive a salary that is at least equal to the salary paid to comparable professional personnel employed by the county board in the county in which their office is located, minus the $600 authorized pursuant to section two of this article for classroom teachers with twenty years of experience.
(b) Effective July 1, 2002, service personnel employed by the Department of Education shall receive a salary that is at least equal to the salary paid to comparable personnel employed by the county board in the county in which their principal place of employment is located. The Department of Education shall establish a salary schedule that phases in the necessary salary increases before July 1, 2002.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-19. Alteration of Contract

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section seven-a of this article relating to professional personnel or any other section of this code to the contrary, any alteration of an employment contract of a professional educator who is employed for more than two hundred days, which alteration changes the number of days in the employment term, shall not be deemed a creation of a new position, nor shall such alteration require the posting of the position.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section seven-a of this article relating to professional personnel or any other section of this code to the contrary, any alteration of an employment contract of a professional educator which reduces or eliminates the local salary supplement or the benefits provided to such employee due to a defeat of a special levy, or a loss in assessed values or events over which it has no control and for which the county board has received approval from the state board prior to making such reduction or elimination in accordance with section five-a of this article, shall not require termination of said employment contract as set forth in sections two and eight-a, article two of this chapter, nor shall it be deemed a creation of a new position, nor shall such alteration require the posting of the position.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section eight-b of this article relating to school service personnel or any other section of this code to the contrary, any alteration of an employment contract of a service personnel employee who is employed for more than two hundred days, which alteration changes the number of days in the employment term, shall not be deemed a creation of a new position, nor shall such alteration require the posting of the position.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section eight-b of this article relating to school service personnel or any other section of this code to the contrary, any alteration of an employment contract of a service personnel employee which reduces or eliminates the local salary supplement or the benefits provided to such employee due to a defeat of a special levy, or a loss in assessed values or events over which it has no control and for which the county board has received approval from the state board prior to making such reduction or elimination in accordance with section five-b of this article, shall not require termination of said employment contract as set forth in sections six and eight-a, article two of this chapter, nor shall it be deemed a creation of a new position, nor shall such alteration require the posting of the position.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-20. Moving Expenses Allowed for Teachers Laid Off in Counties Due to Lack of Need

(a) From funds appropriated, the Department of Education may pay the moving expenses for a teacher who meets the following criteria:
(1) The teacher's position was eliminated as part of a reduction in force by a West Virginia county school board;
(2) The teacher has secured employment for a West Virginia county school board in another county;
(3) The teacher has moved his or her residence to the West Virginia county in which he or she has gained employment or to an adjacent county in West Virginia;
(4) The teacher is to be employed in a county where shortages exist either in numbers of teachers or in subject matter areas as determined by the state board; and
(5) As a result of the new employment, it would be impractical for the teacher to maintain his or her previous residence.
(b) The reimbursement shall be for actual expenses and shall not exceed $2,500, subject to the availability of funds.
(c) Each county board of education shall send the state board by May 1, annually, a report that includes:
(1) The available teacher positions in the county;
(2) Any shortages in subject matter areas in the county; and
(3) The name of all teachers reduced in force: Provided, That the teacher has permitted the county board to submit his or her name.
(d) The state board shall compile a report including all information submitted to the state board based on the reports provided in subsection (c) of this section. The state board shall send this report to each county board of education. Additionally, the state board shall send a letter to all teachers reduced in force. This letter shall identify all teacher positions available in West Virginia and identify those counties where shortages exist either in numbers of teachers or in subject matter areas.
(e) The state board shall promulgate a rule pursuant to the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that implements the provisions of this section. The rule shall include, but is not limited to:
(1) Standards sufficient to define and measure the criteria set forth in subsection (a) of this section; and
(2) A procedure for allocating the funds if the funds appropriated are insufficient.
(f) Nothing in this section shall require any level of appropriation by the Legislature.
(g) The state board shall report to the Legislature by January 1, of each year on the number of teachers being reimbursed.
(h) This section shall expire on July 1, 2005, unless continued by the Legislature.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 4. Salaries, Wages and Other Benefits › §18A-4-22. Prohibition on Aiding and Abetting Sexual Abuse

(a) No school personnel, contractor or agent, or any employee of any state, regional or local educational agency including any employee of a public or private school, may assist an individual employed as school personnel, a contractor or an agent in obtaining a new job if the individual or agency knows, or has probable cause to believe, that such school employee, contractor or agent engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student in violation of the law: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the routine transmission of administrative and personnel files.
(b) The requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply if:
(1) The information giving rise to probable cause has been properly reported to a law- enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the alleged misconduct and reported to any other authorities as required by federal, state or local law; and
(2) One of the following has happened:
(A) The matter has been officially closed, or the prosecutor or police with jurisdiction over the alleged misconduct has investigated the allegations and notified school officials that there is insufficient information to establish probable cause that the school personnel, contractor or agent engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student in violation of the law;
(B) The school personnel, contractor or agent has been charged with and acquitted or otherwise exonerated of the alleged misconduct; or
(C) The case or investigation remains open and there have been no charges filed against, or indictment of, the school personnel, contractor or agent within four years of the date on which the information was reported to a law-enforcement agency.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to override a statute, regulation or policy that provides greater or additional protections to prohibit any individual who is school personnel, contractor or agent, or any state, regional or local educational agency from assisting a school employee who engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student in violation of the law in obtaining a new job.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-1b. Alternative Procedures for Expulsion Hearings by County Boards

The county boards may employ a hearing examiner to conduct the expulsion hearings required by this article. The hearing examiner shall be an attorney, duly licensed to practice law in the State of West Virginia and shall not be employed by the state or county boards for any other reason.
The hearing examiner shall conduct hearings in compliance with the guidelines of section one-a of this article. All hearings shall be recorded by mechanical means, unless recorded by a certified court reporter. The hearing examiner shall issue a decision and written findings of fact and conclusions of law within five days of the conclusion of the hearing. Hearings by a hearing examiner shall have the same force and effect as a decision made by a county board. Upon the written request of a parent, guardian, or custodian of the student, or the county superintendent, the county board shall review the decision of the hearing examiner. Within ten calendar days from the date of the request of the review, the county board shall enter an order affirming, reversing, or modifying the decision of the hearing examiner. A county board may, in its own discretion, hold a hearing to determine any issues in question.
The authority of the county superintendent shall be the same as contained in section one-a of this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-1c. Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Students and School Personnel

(a) The Legislature finds that:
(1) The mission of public schools is to prepare students for equal and responsible citizenship and productive adulthood;
(2) Democratic citizenship and productive adulthood begin with standards of conduct in schools;
(3) Schools should be safe havens for learning with high standards of conduct for students; and
(4) Rights necessarily carry responsibilities.
(b) In recognition of the findings in this section, the following Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Students and School Personnel is established:
(1) The right to attend a school and ride a bus that is safe, orderly and drug free;
(2) The right to learn and work in a school that has clear discipline codes with fair and consistently enforced consequences for misbehavior;
(3) The right to learn and work in a school that has alternative educational placements for violent or chronically disruptive students;
(4) The right to be treated with courtesy and respect;
(5) The right to a attend a school and ride on a bus that is free from bullying;
(6) The right to support from school administrators when enforcing discipline policies;
(7) The right to support from parents, the community, public officials and businesses in their efforts to uphold high standards of conduct; and
(8) The responsibility to adhere to the principles in this Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Students and School Personnel, and to behave in a manner that guarantees that other students and school personnel enjoy the same rights.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-1d. Return to School Through Juvenile Drug Court for Certain Students

(a) When a student is expelled from school pursuant to §18A-5-1a of this code, the county board, county superintendent, or principal for the school from which the student was expelled or the parent, guardian, or custodian may refer the student to a Juvenile Drug Court, operated pursuant to §49-4-703 of this code. Upon referral, the judge assigned to Juvenile Drug Court shall determine whether the student is an appropriate candidate for Juvenile Drug Court.
(b) If the judge determines the student is an appropriate candidate for Juvenile Drug Court, then the court has jurisdiction over the student in the same manner as it has jurisdiction over all other persons in Juvenile Drug Court. Jurisdiction over students includes the ability to issue any of the various sanctions available to the Juvenile Drug Court, including temporary detention.
(c)(1) Successful completion of Juvenile Drug Court or certification by the Juvenile Drug Court judge that the student is making satisfactory progress toward successful completion of Juvenile Drug Court warrants consideration for reduction of the expulsion period, pursuant to §18A-5-1a of this code.
(2) The Juvenile Drug Court shall notify the county superintendent of the completion or certification. The county superintendent shall arrange a meeting with the Juvenile Drug Court treatment team, the court, and the student assistance team of the school from which the student was expelled to discuss the student’s history, progress, and potential for improvement.
(3) The student assistance team shall evaluate and recommend whether the student’s expulsion period should be reduced, and the student reinstated in school.
(4) The student assistance team’s recommendation shall be presented to the superintendent, who shall make the final determination. The superintendent shall prepare a statement detailing reasons for or against school reinstatement and submit the statement to the county board. If the superintendent determines to reduce the expulsion period, he or she shall submit the statement required by §18A-5-1a(i) of this code and place the student in an appropriate school within the district.
(5) A student to be reinstated shall be permitted to return to school no later than the 10th regular school day following notice by the court to the superintendent regarding the student’s successful completion or satisfactory progress toward successful completion of Juvenile Drug Court.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-2. Holidays; Closing of Schools; Time Lost Because of Such; Special Saturday Classes

(a) Schools shall be closed on Saturdays and on the following days which are designated as legal school holidays: Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's birthday, Memorial Day and West Virginia Day. Schools also shall be closed on any day on which a primary election, general election or special election is held throughout the state or school district and on any day appointed and set apart by the president or the Governor as a holiday of special observance by the people of the state.
(b) When any of the above designated holidays, except a special election, falls on Saturday, the schools shall be closed on the preceding Friday. When any designated holiday falls on Sunday, the schools shall be closed on the following Monday.
(c) Special classes may be conducted on Saturdays for pupils and by teachers and service personnel. Saturday classes shall be conducted on a voluntary basis and teachers and service personnel shall be remunerated in ratio to the regularly contracted pay.
(d) Any school or schools may be closed by proper authorities on account of the prevalence of contagious disease, conditions of weather or any other calamitous cause over which the board has no control.
(1) Under any or all of the above provisions, the time lost by the school closings may not be counted as days of employment and may not be counted as meeting a part of the requirements of the minimum term of one hundred eighty days of instruction. A school employee's pay per pay period may not change as a result of a school closing not being counted as a day of employment, and the employee shall be paid the same amount during any pay period in which a school closing occurs that the employee would have been paid during the pay period if a school closing had not occurred.
(2) On the day or days when a school or schools are closed, county boards may provide appropriate alternate work schedules for professional and service personnel affected by the closing of any school or schools under any or all of the provisions of this subsection. Professional and service personnel shall receive pay the same as if school were in session.
(3) Insofar as funds are available or can be made available during the school year, the board may extend the employment term for the purpose of making up time that might affect the instructional term.
(e) In addition to any other provisions of this chapter, the board further is authorized to provide in its annual budget for meetings, workshops, vacation time or other holidays through extended employment of personnel at the same rate of pay.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-3. Exemption From Jury Service

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, professional personnel and other persons actively engaged in school work in this state shall be required to serve on any jury during the period of his contract with a Board of Education unless excused therefrom by judge of the court. In the case of service on a jury the board shall pay the difference between that allowed for such jury service and the amount of salary due the person for such period of time.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-3a. Answering Witness Subpoenas

Any teacher, principal, supervisor, service personnel or other person employed by a Board of Education who is subpoenaed to appear as a witness but not as a defendant in any criminal proceeding in any court of law may make such appearance without any loss of pay. The board shall pay to such employee the difference between the witness fee, exclusive of travel allowances, payable for such appearance by the court and the amount of salary due to the person for the time such employee is absent from his employment by reason of answering such subpoena.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-4. Educational Meetings

A county board of education may approve the attendance of any or all teachers at educational conventions, conferences, or other professional meetings of teachers on school days when in the judgment of the superintendent it is necessary or desirable. Attendance at such meetings may be substituted for an equal amount of teaching or employment and teachers attending shall not suffer loss of pay. Further, the board is authorized to pay all or any part of expenses of any personnel whom it may designate to represent the board at any such professional or educational meetings or in visitation to another school system.
Every county board of education shall adopt a policy under which professional educators serving as mentor teachers, serving on state and county professional staff development councils, serving on school curriculum teams, and serving on professional support teams will be granted professional time if required for performance of their duties during the instructional day or extra duty compensation if required at other times and for reimbursement for necessary expenses actually incurred in attending meetings of the bodies upon which they serve upon. Such policy shall provide for the coverage of the professional personnel's regular duties during such release times through the use of paraprofessional aides, substitutes and other methods if necessary to avoid the interruption of instruction.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-4a. Educational or Service Meetings

A county board of education may approve the attendance of any or all service personnel at educational conventions, conferences, or school service meetings of service personnel on school days when in the judgment of the superintendent it is necessary or desirable. Attendance at such meetings may be substituted for an equal amount of employment and service personnel so attending shall not suffer loss of pay. Further, the board is authorized to pay all or any part of expenses of any personnel whom it may designate to represent the board at any such educational conventions, conferences or school service meetings or in visitation to another school system.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-5. Records; Reports by Professional and Other Personnel

Every teacher, principal, supervisor, or other person employed by a Board of Education shall keep such records and shall make such reports as may be required by the state Superintendent of Schools, and such records shall be kept and such reports shall be made according to the forms and blanks prescribed and furnished by the state superintendent. Teachers shall also keep such other records and make such other reports as may be required by the board of Education employing them.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-6. School Census

A school census of youths from birth through twenty years of age as of September first of the year in which taken, or of such ages as otherwise may locally be determined and of mentally and physically handicapped persons of all ages, may be made as directed by a county board of education. The school census may be taken by the teachers or as otherwise directed by the county board of education. Teachers taking the school census shall be entitled to use school hours not to exceed a total of one school day, and shall be compensated for such time as for time taught.
The State Superintendent of Schools shall have authority to require a statewide enumeration by the counties at such times as he may direct and may establish the procedures therefor.
In order that the census record may be as currently accurate as possible, and a reliable source of reference through the school year, it shall be the duty of each county superintendent of schools to establish and administer through the office of the county director of school attendance a system of cumulative census records which may be prescribed by the state Superintendent of Schools.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 5. Authority; Rights; Responsibility › §18A-5-7. Oath Required of Teachers

Every teacher shall, at the time of signing his contract to teach, take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, and to honestly demean himself in the teaching profession and to the best of his ability execute his position of teacher. Such oath shall be printed on the contract form prescribed by the state superintendent.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18A. School Personnel › Article 7. Severability › §18A-7-1. Severability

Pursuant to section ten, article two, chapter two of this code, if any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held unconstitutional or invalid, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18B. Higher Education › Article 1. Governance › §18B-1-4. Prior Transfer of Powers, etc., to Board of Regents; Board of Regents Abolished

(a) All the powers, duties and authorities which the board of Governors of West Virginia University, previously established by article eleven of chapter eighteen of the code or by any other provisions of law, may have had immediately prior to July 1, 1969, shall be the powers, duties and authorities of the West Virginia board of regents until July 1, 1989. Until such date, all of the policies and affairs of West Virginia University shall be determined, controlled, supervised and managed by the West Virginia board of regents, who shall exercise and perform all such powers, duties and authorities.
All powers, duties and authorities which the West Virginia Board of Education may have had with respect to state colleges and universities immediately prior to July 1, 1969, shall be the powers, duties and authorities of the West Virginia board of regents until July 1, 1989 Until such date, all of the policies and affairs of the state colleges and universities shall be determined, controlled, supervised and managed by the West Virginia board of regents, who shall exercise and perform all such powers, duties and authorities: Provided, That the standards for education of teachers and teacher preparation programs at the state colleges and universities shall continue to be under the general direction and control of the West Virginia Board of Education, and the West Virginia Board of Education shall have sole authority to continue, as authorized by section six, article two, chapter eighteen of this code, to enter into agreements with county boards of education for the use of the public schools to give prospective teachers teaching experience.
All powers, duties and authorities vested in the state commission on higher education by previous provisions of chapter eighteen of this code or by any other provisions of law shall be the powers, duties and authorities of the West Virginia board of regents until July 1, 1989. Until such date, all of the powers, duties, and authorities of the state commission on higher education shall be exercised and performed by the West Virginia board of regents.
(b) The board of regents shall be abolished on July 1, 1989.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18B. Higher Education › Article 1. Governance › §18B-1-8. Student Rights When Institutional Affiliations or Governance Structures Change

(a) When a conflict exists between academic program requirements at an institution to be consolidated, merged, separated from, or administratively linked to another state institution of higher education, the requirements of the institution at which the student initially enrolled prevail. A student may not be required to earn additional credits toward the degree pursued, or to take additional courses, that were not included in the program of study at the time the student declared that major at the enrolling institution.
(b) A student enrolled in an institution to be consolidated, merged, separated from, or administratively linked to another state institution of higher education shall continue to receive any state-funded student financial aid for which he or she would otherwise be eligible.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18B. Higher Education › Article 1. Governance › §18B-1-11. Colleges and Universities to Provide Appropriate Services to Meet Needs of Students With Handicapping Conditions

Each state funded institution of higher education accepting students with handicapping conditions, such as physical, learning, or severe sensory disabilities, shall provide services in accordance with Rehabilitation Act 504 appropriate to meet the educational needs of these students. Such information shall be provided to local boards of education for information dissemination to students and parents to fulfill the goals of transition.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 18B. Higher Education › Article 1A. Compact With Higher Education for the Future of West Virginia › §18B-1A-4. Legislative Financing Goals

(a) The Legislature recognizes that the higher education goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter are of utmost importance. The Legislature further recognizes that meeting the goals may require the appropriation of funds above the current operating budgets of the institutions.
(b) It is, therefore, the desire of the Legislature to increase funding annually for higher education at a rate not less than the annual percentage increase in the overall general revenue budget.
(c) If the commission or council, or both, determines that appropriations are insufficient to fund the requirements of the institutional compacts under its jurisdiction, the commission or council first shall consider extending the length of the compacts or otherwise modifying the compacts to allow the institutions to achieve the benchmarks in the compacts. If modifications to the institutional compacts are not sufficient to allow the institutions to meet their benchmarks, the commission or council, or both, shall recommend to the Legislature methods of making the higher education system more efficient. The methods may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Administrative efficiencies;
(2) Consolidation of services;
(3) Elimination of programs;
(4) Consolidating institutions; and
(5) Closing institutions.