Bill Text: WV SB842 | 2020 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Requiring Superintendent of Schools establish a Behavior Interventionist Pilot Program in two school districts for five years
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 8-5)
Status: (Passed) 2020-04-14 - Chapter 115, Acts, Regular Session, 2020 [SB842 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2020-SB842-Engrossed.html
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2020 regular session
Engrossed
Senate Bill 842
By Senators Azinger, Baldwin, Boley, Cline, Pitsenbarger, Plymale, Roberts, Romano, Stollings, Trump, Unger, Weld, and Rucker
[Originating in the Committee on Education; reported on February 21, 2020]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-3-13, all relating to requiring the State Superintendent of Schools to immediately establish a Behavior Interventionist Pilot Program in two county school districts for the duration of five years; setting forth criteria to be used in the selection of the two county school districts; allowing the two county school districts to immediately create a new behavior interventionist position; requiring the county superintendent to convene a committee consisting of certain school personnel and the education organizations to establish qualifications and hiring; requiring behavior interventionists to be designated by the county board as either a professional person or a service person; requiring the designated county school districts to establish the qualifications and training requirements; and requiring annual report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 3. STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
§18-3-13. Behavior Interventionist Pilot Program.
(a) The Legislature finds that:
(1) Behavior problems of special education students can be better addressed by personnel who specialize in addressing student behavior issues;
(2) With the advent of the opioid crisis in recent years in West Virginia, behavior problems in the state’s elementary and secondary education system have increased significantly;
(3) Behavior problems impact not just the student who is misbehaving, but also other students at the school;
(4) The state should explore various ways to address this issue;
(5) One such method of successfully addressing behavioral problems could be through the use of behavior interventionists; and
(6) A behavior interventionist who is trained to address student behavior issues at a school could free classroom teachers from having to address behavior issues and allow them to focus exclusively on teaching students which could result in academic achievement increases for other students in the classroom.
(b) The state superintendent shall immediately establish a Behavior Interventionist Pilot Program to be implemented in two county school districts for the duration of five years. In selecting the two county school districts, the state superintendent shall select districts meeting the following criteria:
(1) The districts shall have among the highest number in the state of students with an individual education program;
(2) The districts designated by the state superintendent for the pilot program shall have schools that have a significant number of students enrolled with behavior issues; and
(3) The districts shall have the resources to hire and train personnel who specialize in addressing students with behavior issues.
(c) The county school districts designated for the pilot programs pursuant to this section may immediately create a new employment position, entitled “behavior interventionist”, which is a school-based position that specializes in addressing behavior issues at a school. Once the counties are chosen, the county superintendent shall convene an advisory committee consisting of principals, teachers, classroom aides, and the education organizations to advise the county superintendent and county board on qualifications and hiring. Behavior interventionists shall be designated by the county board as either a professional person or a service person. If the behavior interventionist is designated as a service person, he or she shall be assigned a pay grade D for the purpose of the salary schedule set forth in §18A-4-8a of this code. The county school districts designated for the pilot programs shall establish the qualifications for personnel employed in the behavior interventionist position and shall establish the initial and continuing training requirements for the personnel employed in the position.
(d) Annually, for the duration of the pilot programs and once after the conclusion of the pilot programs, the county superintendents of the county school districts designated for the pilot programs shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on:
(1) Progress toward and methods of implementation of the pilot programs, including the required qualifications and training for personnel employed in the behavior interventionist position;
(2) Indicators of the success of the pilot programs, which may include reductions in disciplinary actions and increases in student achievement at the schools in which the behavior interventionists are assigned;
(3) Their recommendation on whether the pilot programs should continue beyond the current duration of the pilot programs; and
(4) Their recommendation on whether the pilot programs should be replicated in other school districts that have a high percentage of students with an individual education program, that have schools with significant student behavior problems, or both, and if so, how the pilot programs could best be replicated based on the experience and knowledge gained from the pilot programs established pursuant to this section.
