§18-2-23a Annual professional staff development goals established by State Board; coordination of professional development programs; program development, approval and evaluation. - West Virginia Statutes

§18-2-23a. Annual professional staff development goals established by State Board; coordination of professional development programs; program development, approval and evaluation.
(a) Legislative intent. -- The intent of this section is:

(1) To provide for the coordination of professional development programs by the State Board;

(2) To promote high-quality instructional delivery and management practices for a thorough and efficient system of schools; and

(3) To ensure that the expertise and experience of state institutions of higher education with teacher preparation programs are included in developing and implementing professional development programs.

(b) Goals. -- The State Board annually shall establish goals for professional staff development in the public schools of the state. As a first priority, the State Board shall require adequate and appropriate professional staff development to ensure high quality teaching that will enable students to achieve the content standards established for the required curriculum in the public schools.

The State Board shall submit the goals to the State Department of Education, the Center for Professional Development, the regional educational service agencies, the Higher Education Policy Commission and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on or before the fifteenth day of January each year.

The goals shall include measures by which the effectiveness of the professional staff development programs will be evaluated. The professional staff development goals shall include separate goals for teachers, principals and paraprofessional service personnel and may include separate goals for classroom aides and others in the public schools.

In establishing the goals, the State Board shall review reports that may indicate a need for professional staff development including, but not limited to, the report of the Center for Professional Development created in article three-a, chapter eighteen-a of this code, student test scores on the statewide student assessment program, the measures of student and school performance for accreditation purposes, school and school district report cards and its plans for the use of funds in the strategic staff development fund pursuant to section thirty-two, article two, chapter eighteen of this code.

(c) The Center for Professional Development shall design a proposed professional staff development program plan to achieve the goals of the State Board and shall submit the proposed plan to the State Board for approval as soon as possible following receipt of the State Board goals each year. In developing and implementing this plan, the Center first shall rely upon the available expertise and experience of state institutions of higher education before procuring advice, technical assistance or consulting services from sources outside the state.

The proposed plan shall include a strategy for evaluating the effectiveness of the professional staff development programs delivered under the plan and a cost estimate. The State Board shall review the proposed plan and return it to the Center for Professional Development noting whether the proposed plan is approved or is not approved, in whole or in part. If a proposed plan is not approved in whole, the State Board shall note its objections to the proposed plan or to the parts of the proposed plan not approved and may suggest improvements or specific modifications, additions or deletions to address more fully the goals or eliminate duplication. If the proposed plan is not wholly approved, the Center for Professional Development shall revise the plan to satisfy the objections of the State Board. State board approval is required prior to implementation of the professional staff development plan.

(d) The State Board approval of the proposed professional staff development plan shall establish a Master Plan for Professional Staff Development which shall be submitted by the State Board to the affected agencies and to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability. The Master Plan shall include the State Board-approved plans for professional staff development by the State Department of Education, the Center for Professional Development, the state institutions of higher education and the regional educational service agencies to meet the professional staff development goals of the State Board. The Master Plan also shall include a plan for evaluating the effectiveness of the professional staff development delivered through the programs and a cost estimate.

The Master Plan shall serve as a guide for the delivery of coordinated professional staff development programs by the State Department of Education, the Center for Professional Development, the state institutions of higher education and the regional educational service agencies beginning on the first day of June in the year in which the Master Plan was approved through the thirtieth day of May in the following year. This section does not prohibit changes in the Master Plan, subject to State Board approval, to address staff development needs identified after the Master Plan was approved.