CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) adopted two policies and placed another two on 30-day public comment during its November meeting in Charleston today. Adopted policies were previously available online for a 30-day comment period, and comments were considered in the adopted policies. A brief description of each policy can be found below.

Adopted Policies

• 3234 – School Calendar: Six faculty senate meetings are now required, with one being held before the commencement of the instructional term, and one at the end of the employment term. The revised policy also states that instructional minutes are now part of state code requiring a minimum of 315 instructional minutes for elementary schools, 330 instructional minutes for middle schools and 345 instructional minutes for high schools. Additionally, counties now have the option to add 30 minutes to the minimum instructional day to accumulate time equivalent for up to five days to use for school cancellations due to inclement weather, and up to five days for professional learning experiences for teachers when students are not present. This policy will be effective on December 11, 2017.
• 5202 – Minimum Requirements for the Licensure of Professional/ Paraprofessional Personnel and Advanced Salary Classifications: Policy revisions are intended to provide additional flexibility for the licensure of aspiring educators. Requirements have not changed, but have been expanded and provide additional options to meet existing requirements. Additional options include exemption from the Praxis content test for individuals who hold a master’s degree and five years of directly related work experience or a doctorate in a content area. The revised policy also allows for individuals who hold a master’s degree and who completed a Speech Language Pathology Program, are licensed to practice in another state, hold a valid West Virginia Board of Examiners in Speech Pathology and Audiology license and valid national certification by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and passing scores on the current Praxis exam to teach in West Virginia for two years conditionally without a school certificate. The revised policy also allows for the use of eLearning courses to be used for certification renewal with the option to renew for one year with only three semester hours. Finally, the revised policy allows an individual in a medical field to serve as a temporary replacement for up to three days for the assigned coach or trainer during a season, while individuals holding a valid Professional Student Support certificate are eligible to coach without the Coaching Authorization. This policy will be effective on December 11, 2017.

Policies Out for 30-Day Public Comment

• 2510 – Approval for Educator Preparation Programs: The revised policy is intended to ensure students are college and career ready, while providing additional flexibility to counties. Major revisions include changing the minimum number of required graduation credits from 24 to 21 and changing the number of required high school social studies credits from four to three. Finally, the revised policy changes the non-weighted course grading scale to a grading scale used by virtual schools and most colleges, which will make 0-59 an F, 60-69 a D, 70-79 a C, 80-89 a B and 90-100 an A. The additional changes focus on personalizing education to meet the needs of individual students while maintaining rigorous educational standards.
• 2460 – Educational Purpose and Acceptable Use of Electronic Resources, Technologies and the Internet: The revised policy is designed to set forth recommendations, guidelines and responsibilities for any individual using the K-12 network and electronic devices. Districts must use Policy 2460 as their Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) but may incorporate additional, more stringent guidelines closely aligned with local directives. Each user on the K-12 network is made aware of the contents and must agree to the AUP prior to using any electronic device on the K-12 network. Individuals without a signed AUP would be prohibited from using any electronic device on the K-12 network. For students under 18, a parent signature is required. Language throughout the document was updated to encompass the ever-widening presence of social media and to comply with updated local, state and federal laws and policies.

To review Board policies and comment online, visit: http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/

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