H. B. 2496
(By Delegates White, Marcum, Boggs, Reynolds and Ferns)
[Introduced February 15, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §5H-2-1, §5H-2-2 and
§5H-2-
3
, all relating to creating the "West Virginia School
Personnel Survivor Benefit Act
"; providing a short title and
legislative intent; definitions; and providing a $12,000 death
benefit to the surviving spouse, designated beneficiary,
children or parents of teachers and other school personnel
killed while in the performance of their duties at a primary
or secondary education school.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §5H-2-1, §5H-2-2 and
§5H-2-3, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA SCHOOL PERSONNEL SURVIVOR BENEFIT ACT.
§5H-2-1. Short title and legislative intent.
_____(a) This article is known as the "West Virginia School
Personnel Survivor Benefit Act."
_____(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for the
payment of death benefits to the surviving spouse, designated
beneficiary, children or parents of school personnel killed by an
act of violence while in the performance of their duties at a
primary or secondary education school.
§5H-2-2. Definitions.
_____As used in this article:
_____(a) "Extracurricular activity" means any voluntary activity
sponsored by a school, a county board or an organization sanctioned
by a county board or the State Board of Education and includes, but
is not limited to, preparation for and involvement in public
performances, contests, athletic competitions, demonstrations,
displays, organizations and clubs.
_____(b) "School" means a public or private educational facility in
this state for students in grades prekindergarten through twelve
comprised of one or more buildings, including school grounds, a
school bus or any premises upon which a school-sponsored function
or extracurricular activity was occurring at the time of the death
or injury as described in section one of this article.
_____(c) "School grounds" includes the land on which a school is
built together with such other land used by students for play,
recreation or athletic events while attending school, and adjacent lands, roads or structures which are used by school personnel or
volunteers to facilitate the ingress and egress of the students.
_____(d) "School personnel" means all personnel employed by a
county board of education, or employed by the governing entity or
chief administrator of a nonpublic school, whether employed on a
regular full-time basis, an hourly basis or otherwise, including
student teachers and volunteers approved by the school for duties
in aid of the functions of the school.
§5H-2-3. Death benefit for survivors.
_____(a) On and after the effective date of this article, if a
school personnel is killed by an act of violence while engaged in
the performance of his or her duties as a school personnel at a
school, the county superintendent of schools or, in the case of a
nonpublic school, the governing entity or chief administrator of
the school, shall within thirty days from the date of death submit
a certification of the death to the Governor's office.
_____(b) Certification shall include the name of the school; the
name of the deceased school personnel; the name and address of the
surviving spouse, designated beneficiary, children or parents; any
documentation designating a beneficiary or beneficiaries; and a
statement setting forth the circumstances that qualify the deceased
individual for death benefits under this article. Upon receipt of
the certification from the county superintendent of schools or, in
the case of a nonpublic school, the governing entity or chief administrator of the school, the state shall, from moneys from the
State Treasury, General Revenue Fund, pay to the county
superintendent of schools or, in the case of a nonpublic school,
the governing entity or chief administrator of the school, the sum
of $12,000 in the name of the certified recipient of the death
benefit. Within five days of receipt of this sum from the state,
the county superintendent of schools or, in the case of a nonpublic
school, the governing entity or chief administrator of the school,
shall pay the sum as a benefit to the surviving spouse or
designated beneficiary of the death benefit. If there is no
surviving spouse or designated beneficiary, then to the minor
children of the school personnel. When no spouse, designated
beneficiary or children survive, the benefit shall be paid to the
parent or parents of the deceased individual. It is the
responsibility of the county superintendent of schools or, in the
case of a nonpublic school, the governing entity or chief
administrator of the school, to document the surviving spouse or
other beneficiary for purposes of reporting to the Governor's
office.
_____(c) Any death ruled by a physician to be a result of an injury
inflicted by an act of violence that was sustained by a school
personnel while engaged in the performance of his or her duties as
a school personnel at a school as described in subsection (a) of
this section is eligible for this benefit, even if the death occurs at a later time.
_____(d) Those individuals who are covered by this article are
eligible for only one death benefit payment.
_____(e) Each county superintendent of schools or, in the case of
a nonpublic school, the governing entity or chief administrator of
the school, to which this article applies shall provide notice of
the benefit provided hereby to such employees and encourage covered
employees to provide a written designation of beneficiary to be
maintained in the employee's personnel file.
NOTE:
The purpose of the bill is to provide a $12,000 death
benefit to the surviving spouse, designated beneficiary, children
or parents of teachers and other school personnel killed by an act
of violence while in the performance of their duties at a primary
or secondary education school.
This article is new; therefore, it has been completely underscored.