Bill Text: WV HB4528 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to transfers and enrollment policies for students in public schools
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-13 - To House Education [HB4528 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2018-HB4528-Introduced.html
WEST virginia legislature
2018 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 4528
By Delegate Blair
[Introduced February 13,
2018; Referred
to the Committee on Education.]
A BILL to repeal §18-5-16A of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, and to amend and reenact §18-5-16 of said code, all relating to transfers and enrollment policies for students in public schools.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-16. Student transfers; legislative findings; appeals; calculating net enrollment; fees for transfer.
(a) Definitions. - For the purposes of this section, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
“Nonresident pupil” means a pupil who resides in this state and who is enrolled in or is seeking enrollment in a school district other than the school district in which the pupil resides.
“Open enrollment” means a policy adopted and implemented by a school district governing board to allow nonresident pupils to enroll in any school within the district pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(a) (b) County districts and school attendance.
-- The county board may divide the county into such districts as
are necessary to determine the schools the students of its county shall
attend. Upon the written request of any parent or guardian, or person legally
responsible for any student, or for reasons affecting the best interests of the
schools, the superintendent may transfer students from one school to another
within the county. Any aggrieved person may appeal the decision of the county
superintendent to the county board, and the decision of the county board shall
be is final.
(b) (c) Transfers between counties. -- legislative
findings
(2) Legislative
findings. -- Over the past several years, counties have been forced to
close a number of schools because of declining student enrollment. School
officials predict that an additional eighteen percent loss in enrollment may occur
between 2002 and 2012. This continued decrease in the number of students
enrolled in the public schools of the state may result in more instances of
consolidation which will increase the problem of long bus rides for students if
they remain in a school in their county of residence.
Therefore the
Legislature makes the following findings:
(A) County lines may
impede the effective and efficient delivery of education services;
(B) Students often must
endure long bus rides to a school within their county of residence when a
school in an adjacent county is a fraction of the distance away;
(C) The wishes of
parents or guardians to have their children transferred to a county other than
their county of residence should be considered by the county boards; and
(D) Where counties
cannot agree, it is necessary to establish a process to determine when
transfers are appropriate.
(3) The state board
shall establish a process whereby a parent or guardian of a student may appeal
the refusal of a county board to enter into an agreement to transfer or accept
the transfer of the student.
(A) The process shall
designate the state superintendent to hear the appeal. In determining whether
to overturn a decision of a county board, the state superintendent shall
consider such factors as the following:
(i) Travel time for the
student;
(ii) Impact on levies or
bonds;
(iii) Other financial
impact on the county of residence; and
(iv) Such other factors
as the state superintendent may determine.
(B) If, during the
appeal process, the state superintendent discovers that the education and the
welfare of students in the transferring county could be enhanced, the state
superintendent may direct that students may be permitted to attend a school in
another county.
(C) If multiple appeals
are received from the same geographical area of a county, the state
superintendent may impose on the receiving county restrictions including, but
not limited to, requiring the receiving county to accept all students in that
geographical area of the sending county who wish to transfer to the receiving
county.
(D) If a student is
transferred on either a full-time or a part-time basis without the agreement of
both boards by official action as reflected in the minutes of their respective
meetings and if the student's parent or guardian fails to appeal or loses the
appeal under the process established in subdivision (3) of this subsection, the
student shall be counted only in the net enrollment of the county in which the
student resides.
(4) If, after two county
boards have agreed to a transfer arrangement for a student, that
(1) Enrollment policies. - School district governing boards may establish and implement an open enrollment policy without charging tuition and without approval from any resident district from which a pupil transfers. These policies shall include admission criteria, application procedures, and transportation provisions. A school district may give enrollment preference to siblings of pupils already enrolled through the open enrollment policy, to children who are in foster care, and to children who meet the definition of unaccompanied youth prescribed in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 United States Code §11434a). A school district may give enrollment preference to and reserve capacity for pupils who are children, grandchildren, or legal wards of persons who are employed by or at a school in the school district. A copy of the district policies for open enrollment shall be posted on the district's website and shall be available to the public on request.
(A) The governing board of the district educating the pupil may provide transportation limited to no more than 20 miles each way to and from the school of attendance or to and from a pickup point on a regular transportation route or for the total miles traveled each day to an adjacent district for eligible nonresident pupils who meet the economic eligibility requirements established under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts (42 United States Code §§ 1751 through 1785) for free or reduced price lunches.
(B) The governing board of the district educating the pupil shall provide transportation limited to no more than 20 miles each way to and from the school of attendance or to and from a pickup point on a regular transportation route or for the total miles traveled each day to an adjacent district for nonresident pupils with disabilities whose individualized education program specifies that transportation is necessary for fulfillment of the program.
(2) Net enrollment. — For purposes of net enrollment as defined in §18-9A-2 of this code, whenever a pupil is transferred on a full-time basis from one school district to another district pursuant to the provisions of this section, the county to which the pupil is transferred shall include the pupil in its net enrollment.
(3) If, after
transferring to another county, a student
chooses to return to a school in his or her county of residence after the
second month of any school year, the following shall apply applies:
(A) The county of residence may issue an invoice to the county from which the student transferred for the amount, determined on a pro rata basis, that the county of residence otherwise would have received under the state basic foundation program established in §18-9A-1 et seq. of this code; and
(B) The county from which the student transferred shall reimburse the county of residence for the amount of the invoice.
(c) (d) Transfers between high schools. --
In any county where a high school is maintained, but topography, impassable
roads, long bus rides, or other conditions prevent the practicable
transportation of any students to such high school, the board may transfer them
to a high school in an adjoining county. In any such case, the county boards
may enter into an agreement providing for the payment of the cost of
transportation, if any, of the students.
(d) (e) Transfers between states. --
Transfer of students from this state to another state shall be upon such terms
as shall be mutually agreed upon by the board of the transferring county and
the authorities of the school to which the transfer is made.
(e) (f) No parent, guardian, or person acting as
parent or guardian shall be is required to pay for the transfer
of a student or for the tuition of the student after the transfer when such
the transfer is carried out under the terms of this section.
§18-5-16a. Authorization to transfer pupils from one district to another; mandatory transfer; payment of tuition; net enrollment.
[Repealed]
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to modify the transfer and enrollment policies for students in public schools.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
