West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 126 - Education › Title 126 - LEGISLATIVE RULE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Series 126-136 - Minimum Requirements for the Licensure of Professional/Paraprofessional Personnel and Advanced Salary Classifications (5202) › Section 126-136-22 - Salary Classifications for Educators

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
22.1. State Minimum Salary (W. Va. Code
				§
									18A-4-2). The intent of advanced
				salary classifications is to recognize educators for completing
				college/university coursework which will contribute to the improvement of
				instruction or other services in the public schools. The legal basis for these
				regulations is W. Va. Code §
									18A-4-1 and §
									18A-4-4.
22.2. Advanced Salary Classification for
				Teaching, Student Support, or Administrative Certificates or equivalent. The
				following governing principles shall apply: the advanced salary classifications
				recognized by the WVDE are BA+15, MA, MA+15, MA+30, MA+45 and doctorate. These
				classifications are defined in section 4.
22.2.a. Coursework. All college/university
				coursework used for advanced salary purposes must be completed at an accredited
				IHE except that coursework completed for a CTE advanced salary classification
				recognized on the CTE Certificate must have been completed at a regionally
				accredited IHE. Equivalent certificates are defined in section 4.
22.2.b. Graduate coursework completed after
				July 1, 1994, shall be related to the public school program, as defined in
				section 9.10.g, and as follows: any course offering included in a degree
				program in the field of education; content and/or professional education
				coursework related to the current licensure; content and/or professional
				education coursework required for an additional endorsement held; professional
				learning/special topics coursework approved by the WVDE; coursework identified
				in the personnel evaluation process; coursework related to technology for
				education; and/or coursework related to the mission and goals of the WVBE.
				Undergraduate level coursework for advanced salary purposes shall be related to
				the public school program, as defined in section 9.10.g.
22.2.c. Duplicate credit shall not be
				accepted for advanced salary purposes.
22.2.d. Master's Degree Salary
				Classification. An individual who holds a professional certificate or
				equivalent and also holds an MA based on fewer than 30 semester hours of credit
				may qualify for the MA+15, MA+30, MA+45 advanced salary classification by
				completing 15, 30, or 45 semester hours of college/university credit
				respectively, beyond the degree requirements. All college/university coursework
				hours verified as completed toward the MA must appear on the official
				college/university transcript, or the foreign credential evaluation.
22.2.e. Permits and Salary Class. An
				individual employed on a permit in a specialization which requires completion
				of an MA program for the Initial Professional Student Support or Administrative
				Certificate or equivalent may be granted a BA+15 salary classification upon
				completion of 15 semester hours of coursework leading to the MA in the
				specialization for which the permit is issued. Other eligible permits and
				authorizations are granted the required degree recognition only. Advanced
				degree level recognition is not allowable on permits or authorizations under W.
				Va. Code §
										18A-4-1. Equivalent certificates
				are treated as professional equivalents and therefore are allowable for
				advanced salary.
22.2.e.1. Exception for
				Degree Recognition. An individual who holds a Juris Doctor (JD) or Education
				Specialist (Ed.S) advanced degree equivalent to a master's degree or above,
				which is not recognized by the WVBE, may be granted the degree level of MA
				without salary classification to satisfy the degree requirements for the
				purposes of obtaining a Professional Certificate requiring a master's
				degree.
22.2.f.
				Undergraduate Hour Requirements. Fifteen semester hours of undergraduate level
				credit from a regionally accredited IHE may be utilized for an advanced salary
				classification if such hours are related to the public school program as
				defined in section 9.10.g. Undergraduate level coursework must be completed
				after the issuance of the specialization on the Professional Teaching, Student
				Support, or Administrative Certificate. Undergraduate level coursework must be
				earned on or after July 1, 1984, and after the issuance of the Initial
				Professional Teaching, Student Support, or Administrative Certificate, to be
				eligible for advanced salary classification.
22.2.g. Effective Date. Upon appropriate
				application to the WVDE, the effective date of any advanced salary is limited
				to the date that all requirements were completed as verified on an official
				college/university transcript, but not exceeding three months prior to the date
				the application is received by the WVDE, as defined in section 9.10.
22.2.h. Expired certification is ineligible
				for issuance of an advanced salary or advanced degree level. The certification
				must be valid for issuance of any advanced salary or advanced degree
				level.