Adjusting to Change: A
Legal and Legislative
Update
RESA 7 – 2010 Administrators Forum
August 9, 2010
Howard Seufer, Jr.
hseufer@bowlesrice.com 304-347-1776
The Education Law Group at Bowles
Rice McDavid Graff & Love
Primary Attorneys
Adjunct Attorneys
Greg Bailey - Morgantown
Rick Boothby - Parkersburg
Howard Seufer - Charleston
Rebecca Tinder - Charleston
Gene Bailey - Prevailing Wage
Bob Bays - Eminent Domain
Rick Brown - Employee Disability
Joe Caltrider - Personal Injury Defense
Pat Clark - Contracts
Mark D’Antoni - Real Estate
Carl Fletcher - Building Construction Disputes
Kit Francis - Creditors Rights
Jill Hall - Employee Benefits
Bob Kent - Personal Injury Defense
Ellen Maxwell-Hoffman – Ethics
Edd McDevitt – Bonds, QZABs & Levies
Marion Ray - Workers Compensation
Lesley Russo – Employee Benefits
Cam Siegrist – Finance
Beth Walker - Wage & Hour
Ken Webb - Construction Litigation
Kim Croyle - Morgantown
Ashley Hardesty - Morgantown
Legal Assistants
Sarah Plantz - Charleston
Dianne Wolfe - Parkersburg
Our Agenda
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Some school law resources to help you
keep up-to-date all year long
An overview of new legislation affecting
public education in West Virginia
Recent decisions of the courts impacting
public education
Recent Significant Public Employees
Grievance Board decisions
Some School Law Resources To
Help You Keep Up-to- Date All
Year Long
“School Laws of West Virginia”
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Beware! The latest edition and its CD-ROM are
already out of date!
Current versions of the new statutes are typically
available at the West Virginia Legislature’s website
shortly after they go into effect
Once the Governor signs bills enacted by the
Legislature and we have carefully reviewed them,
we post on the Bowles Rice website
(www.bowlesrice.com),and send to people on our
eNewsletter list, summaries of new educationrelated legislation with active links to the House
and Senate bills
E-Updates
E-Newsletter Mailing List
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E-Newsletter Mailing List
Send an email to Sarah Plantz:
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splantz@bowlesrice.com
Tell Sarah:
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Who you are
Your position in public education
Your school board’s name
That you want to receive the E-Newsletter

Is There a Doctor in the House? Serious
Student Health Care Issues in the Public
Schools
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
September 15, 2010 – Charleston
By the Book: The Fundamentals of
Professional and Service Employee RIFs,
Transfers and Non-Renewals
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November 3, 2010 -- Charleston
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Beyond the Basics: Sticky Issues Involving
Professional and Service Employee RIFs,
Transfers, and Non-Renewals
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November 4, 2010 -- Charleston
Signature Series E-Invitation List
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Signature Series E-Invitation List
Send an email to Sarah Plantz:


splantz@bowlesrice.com
Tell Sarah:




Who you are
Your position in public education
Your school board’s name
That you want to receive Signature Series EInvitations
Caution!
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These materials are presented with the
understanding that the information provided is
not legal advice
The law changes. Information contained in
this presentation may become outdated
Before using this information, always research
original sources of authority and update the
information to ensure accuracy when dealing
with a specific matter
No person should act or rely upon the
information contained in this presentation
without seeking the advice of an attorney
An Overview of New Legislation
Affecting Public Education in
West Virginia
Handout, pages 1-21
Despite What You May Have Heard,
These Bills Did Not Pass in the Regular
Session or Were Vetoed
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Revising the professional vacancy-filling provisions
of W. Va. Code § 18A-4-7a
Creating calendar committees in each county
Authorizing a four-day school week
Preventing a professional educator from taking a
coaching position away from a citizen coach
Restoring the “old” personnel action deadlines
Authorizing use of retirees as substitute teachers
for more than 140 days per year
Seven Categories of Legislation
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
Personnel
Quality Instruction
Students
Public Officials
Finance
Business
Insurance
Retirement
Miscellaneous
A. Personnel
House Bill 3152
Athletic Trainers Registration
Act
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 1
House Bill 3152
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Can’t be an “athletic trainer” without
registering with WV Board of Physical
Therapy
Grandfather clause: Secondary school
trainers practicing under State Board policy
before July 1, 2011
Board of Physical Therapy regulates and
polices registered athletic trainers
House Bill 3301
Verifying Employees’ Legal
Employment Status
(In Effect June 7, 2010)
Handout, Page 1
House Bill 3301
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Misdemeanor: not keeping, at place of
employment, proof of employee status. $100
per offense.
Labor Commissioner can order employer to
produce records verifying workers legal
employment status
Failure to produce records in 72 hours:
citation “prominently presented” to magistrate
or Circuit Court judge
House Bill 4512
Service Personnel
(In Effect July 1, 2010)
Handout, Page 6
House Bill 4512

Each service personnel posting
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Each aide classification posting
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Work site
Starting and ending times
Program or primary assignment of position
“Director or Coordinator of Services”
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Can’t be “exclusively assigned to perform the
duties of any other class title”
Can be multi-classified
House Bill 4512

School Bus Supervisor
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Must be or have been certified to operate a bus
After July 1, 2010, a person first employed with
the class title must have five years experience
working in a county board’s transportation
department as a
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bus operator, or
bus aide, or
mechanic, assistant mechanic, or chief mechanic, or
clerical employee
House Bill 4512
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“Itinerant Status”
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“A service person who does not have a fixed work
site and may be involuntarily reassigned to
another work site”
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Does not include a worker assigned to a beginning and
ending work site who, at county expense, travels during
the daily schedule
Obtained only by bidding or agreeing to accept
Only allowed
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for aide and autism mentor classification categories, and
if job duties involve exceptional students
House Bill 4512

(Itinerant status)

Itinerant status employee may be assigned to a
different work site without posting or consent

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with 10 days prior notice
Involuntarily, only 2 times per school year
At end of school year, must post positions that
have been filled, without posting, by an itinerant
Bus operator certification test frequency
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Substitutes and probationary: annually
Continuing contract, retiree subs with 10 years
regular experience: triennially
Senate Bill 183
Diesel-Powered Motor Vehicle
Idling Act
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 11
Senate Bill 183
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Generally prohibits driver or owner from causing
engine to idle more than 15 minutes in any 60
minute period
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Diesel vehicles with GVW over 10,000 lbs.
18 exceptions
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Highway traffic or control
Prevent safety/health emergency with defroster or air
conditioner (not a rest period)
Installing equipment
Manufacturer’s requirement or warranty
Required for maintenance or federal/state inspection
Maintain adequate temperature for passengers on board
Queuing up off school grounds to pickup or discharge
students, and required by physical configuration
Senate Bill 183
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Owner or operator of location where vehicles
load or unload, or that provides more than 15
parking spaces for such vehicles: must post
permanent sign
Violations of Act: misdemeanors with $150300 fine
Senate Bill 396
Commercial Driver’s License
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 14
Senate Bill 396
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Bus operator must have appropriate DMV
license and comply with Uniform Commercial
Driver’s License Act and State Board rules
Must surrender old license to renew or get
duplicate with updated information from DMV
DMV must suspend license of CDL holder
when another state or jurisdiction reports a
failure to pay fines or appear for violation of
state or local traffic laws
Senate Bill 396

Increased fine on employer that allows or
requires driver of commercial vehicle to
violate any RR highway grade crossing law
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Was $10,000
Now $25,000
Longer disqualification period for operating
commercial vehicle after conviction for
violating out-of-service order

And greater fine and civil penalty
Senate Bill 2006
School Committees & Teams
(In Effect July 21, 2010)
Enacted at the Special Session in July
Senate Bill 2006

State Board to study each school team and
committee created by state law or policy
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Assess time and paperwork requirements
Consider alternatives
A school may apply to replace or augment its
strategic planning committees, technology
team, and/or school support team
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Application
State Board to approve after faculty senate, LSIC,
county superintendent and county board approve
Appeals process if county superintendent or board
disapprove
B. Quality Instruction
House Bill 4040
180-Day Instructional Term
(In Effect July 1, 2010)
Handout, Page 3
House Bill 4040
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Eliminates August 26 and June 8 limits on
beginning and end of instructional term
Each board must have an “icy conditions and
emergencies plan” to guarantee 180 days of
instruction
HB 4040 does NOT change requirements
that
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the instructional term fall within 200-day minimum
employment term, and
the 10-month minimum employment term for
service personnel fall within 43 weeks
House Bill 4436
High Quality Educational
Programs
(In Effect June 9, 2010)
Handout, Page 5
House Bill 4436
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“Process for Teacher Collaboration to
Improve Instruction and Learning”
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Established by faculty senate, with principal’s
approval as either an alternative, or in addition to,
the school curriculum team
Mission:
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Review student performance with multiple measures
Identify strategies to improve it
Make recommendations for improvement to be
implemented if principal approves
Members: faculty senate selects
House Bill 4436

State Board-provided optional testing and
assessment instruments
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School may use with approval of school
curriculum team or the teacher collaborative
process
School cannot be cited, nor can principal in
his/her evaluation, for exercising discretion in
using them (or for implementing instructional
strategies & programs the school determines best
to promote student achievement)
House Bill 4436

School curriculum teams may apply for
waivers from:

policies requiring that students be assessed using
a specific assessment
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except WESTEST2, Alternative Performance Task
Assessment, Online Writing Assessment, and NAEP
policies requiring a specific instructional strategy
or program to achieve content standards for
courses required by the State Board
approved and adopted instructional resources if
the team judges that resources best suited to
teach school’s curriculum aren’t available through
the normal adoption process
House Bill 4436

Revised element of process for improving
education
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A “system of accountability for continuous
improvement”
High quality standards to build capacity to meet
rigorous outcomes
Additional trigger for low performing school
status

When the most recent statewide assessment in
reading and math, or other multiple measures
determined by the State Board, show that school was
low performing at its programmatic level in 3 of the last
5 years
House Bill 4436

Team of consultants for low performing
school now comes from the “WV Department
of Education State System of Support”
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No longer a 60-day deadline to make
recommendations for correction
No longer must State Board approve team’s
recommendations
County board has one year (not 6 months) to
make satisfactory progress
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Additional time possible
A failure to make satisfactory progress = temporary
approval status
House Bill 4669
Statutory Exceptions for
Certain Innovation Zones
(In Effect June 9, 2010)
Handout, Page 10
House Bill 4669

The Legislature grants exemptions for State
Board-approved innovation plans

Piedmont Elementary (Kanawha County)
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Putnam County Secondary Schools Consortium
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School calendar statute
Nellis Elementary (Boone County)
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Planning period statute, class size statute
LSIC statute
Cabell County Secondary Schools
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Compulsory attendance statute; beginning teacher
internship statute
House Bill 4669
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An approved exemption automatically ends if
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purpose for exemption is changed by plan
modification or implementation, or
State Board withdraws plan or revokes zone
Senate Bill 631
Updating Textbook Selection
Process
(In Effect July 1, 2010)
Handout, Page 18
Senate Bill 631
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The textbook adoption process is altered
“Textbooks” are now “instructional resources”
and include electronic resources and resources
that are updated on an ongoing basis
Adoption cycle: a single 6-year limit within which
State Board schedules periods of adoption
County “instructional resource adoption
committees” may request waivers of the
adoption cycle
Senate Bill 631
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Without having to comply with adoption
procedures, counties may, to supplement items
on the state multiple list, purchase
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software
print and electronic magazines
print and electronic newspapers
other electronic periodicals
licensed or subscription-based resources
Excess levies for “textbooks” now cover
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software
electronic periodicals
print and electronic magazines & newspapers
Senate Bill 631
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With State Board approval, counties may,
before the end of a contract period, choose
not to renew an electronic instructional
resource and replace it with another from the
official multiple listing
Vendors, with notice to the State Board, may
change and update the navigational features
and content of adopted electronic resources
Vendors must continue to support adopted
versions & cannot require purchase of a new
operating system
Senate Bill 631
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State Board may create a standing committee
for each subject and grade level to review new
or revised instructional resources submitted after
the initial approvals for adoption
With agreement of all RESA county
superintendents, a RESA instructional resources
team (with representatives of all the RESA
counties) may
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review resources on the multiple list and
make recommendations to each superintendent for
consideration and adoption by each county board
Senate Bill 631

Equity: If a county adopts electronic
instructional resources, it must:
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ensure equity of access to all students
have a plan to provide equity of access at home, if
necessary, through alternate avenues such as

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print
software
hardware support
Senate Bill 2009
Pilot Programs to Increase
Academic Achievement
(In Effect July 21, 2010)
Enacted at the Special Session in July
Senate Bill 2009


State Superintendent to establish one 5-year
“special community development” pilot
program in one public school with significant
enrollments of disadvantaged, minority, and
underachieving students
Pilot school to collaborate with
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Higher education organizations
State Board
Goal: Develop and implement strategies that
could be replicated in other schools
C. Students
House Bill 4223
School Bus Safety
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 3
House Bill 4223

Increased penalties for overtaking and passing a
stopped school bus
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1st offense: $150-300 fine and/or up to 6 months in jail;
mandatory license suspension for 30 days
2nd offense: $300 fine and/or up to 6 months in jail;
license suspension for 90 days
3rd and additional offenses: $500 fine, at least 24
hours (and up to 6 months) in jail; license suspension
for 180 days
Willful violations


Serious injury: Felony. $500-2,000 fine; 1-3 years in
prison
Death: Felony. $1000-3000 fine; 1-10 years in prison
House Bill 4223
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Driver, not owner, may be charged
Boards are authorized to mount a camera on
any school bus to help enforce the law
State Police must publicize new provisions of
law

But only to the extent of available funds

Only the driver can now be penalized, not the
owner
House Bill 4593
High School Graduation
Improvement
(In Effect July 1, 2010)
Handout, Page 7
House Bill 4593

The “High School Graduation Improvement Act”
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Increased age for compulsory attendance
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Shift in focus from compelled attendance to programs
that engage and inspire students
Until the 17th birthday (rather than the 16th)
Effective with the 2011-2012 high school freshman
class
Exemption for high school graduation is
amended

Now includes completion of an alternate secondary
program approved by State Board
House Bill 4593
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Commits State of West Virginia to
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Continue exploring instruction delivery strategies
to accommodate different learning styles
Focus on statewide dropout intervention and
prevention for students who have academic
difficulty
Statewide credit recovery program, to include
virtual schools
Establish up to 5 more juvenile drug courts
Invest in programs to engage disconnected and
discouraged student
House Bill 4593

Directs State Superintendent and Board to:

Pursue GED Option designation for state, then

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implement program for students in high school to pursue
GED diploma
offer the GED option at Mountaineer Challenge
Academy
Expand Techademics (subjects and available
credit) and HSTA (to any school with any grades
of eligible students
Provide dropout information to Mountaineer
Challenge Academy
House Bill 4593

Requires each county board to:
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Develop a plan for using available funds to implement
the intent of the new Act
Include in its alternative ed. program a plan, to be
approved by the State Board, with strategies to

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Increase the graduation rate
Identify at the earliest possible age students at risk of dropping
out
Provide more options for delivering academic credentials and
career-technical training to interested at-risk students
(examples in statute)
Students at grade 9 and higher at risk of dropping out
may be allowed in career and technical education
programs that only accept students in certain upper
grade levels
Senate Bill 533
Revising Statutory Language
Related to Child Abuse
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 16
Senate Bill 533

Technical correction ensures that parents,
guardians, custodians, and persons in
positions of trust can be convicted of abuse
not only for procuring a person to engage in
sexual exploitation of a child, but also for
allowing that to occur
Senate Bill 2010
Pilot Programs for Alternative
Schools in Elementary and
Middle Schools
(In Effect July 21, 2010)
Enacted at the Special Session in July
Senate Bill 2010

Goal:
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Remove disruptive students from the regular
classroom
Make it possible for them to return without further
disruptive behavior
State Board must amend alternative
education policy to add uniform


definitions of disruptive student behavior
standards for placing students in alternative
settings or other intervention
Senate Bill 2010

State Board to establish five pilot projects
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elementary or middle schools or both
employ alternative schools or other placements
for disruptive students to learn appropriate
behaviors
reports to State board and Legislature will gauge
effectiveness of projects in maintaining student
discipline
D. Board Members
Senate Bill 391
Board Members’ Eligibility
(In Effect February 22, 2010)
Handout, Page 13
Senate Bill 391

2009 legislation barred school board
candidates and members-elect from:
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also being employed by the board on which they
seek to serve
running for or holding any other public office
being a candidate for or serving as an elected
member of a political party executive committee
being a candidate for or serving as a delegate or
alternate to a national political convention
Soliciting or receiving political contributions to
support or retire campaign debt of a candidate for
partisan office
Senate Bill 391


Senate Bill 391 repealed those rules as to
candidates and members-elect
Note: However, sitting school board
members are bound by all those restrictions
E. Finance
House Bill 4031
Flexibility in Funding RESAs
(In Effect July 1, 2010)
Handout, Page 2
House Bill 4031

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Keeps state aid formula RESA allowance at
.63% of allowance for professional educators
Caps the RESA allowance at $3,990,000
instead of $4,200,000
Authorizes State Board to decide distribution
to RESAs
House Bill 4037
Federal Subsidy Bonds
(In Effect February 25, 2010)
Handout, Page 2
House Bill 4037

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
Allows entities with bonding authority to issue
federal subsidy bonds, including some Build
America Bonds under the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Exempt from West Virginia tax
Issuing agency may elect to receive periodic
credit payments from the U.S. Treasury to
offset interest paid on bonds and pay future
debt service
House Bill 4211
Funding of Programs for
Limited English Proficient
Students
(In Effect June 9, 2010)
Handout, Page 3
House Bill 4211

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
Appropriations funneled through the State
Department to supplement required programs
for LEP students must be used by counties to
supplement the cost of programs for which
they have insufficient funds
State Department must consider the
proficiency levels of student and a county’s
capacity to deliver needed programs
Counties must apply for funding
Senate Bill 229
School Building Authority
Bonds
(In Effect March 13, 2010)
Handout, Page 12
Senate Bill 229


Allows the SBA to have $500 million in bonds
outstanding at any one time
Excludes certain bonds from the $500 million
calculation
Senate Bill 237
Lottery Revenue Bond Act
(In Effect March 13, 2010)
Handout, Page 12
Senate Bill 237


Certain county boards may issue revenue
bonds secured by and payable only from
lottery revenue
To be eligible, a county board must be



in a county that has adopted the Local Powers
Act, and
in a county that has a racetrack that has
participated since January 2, 1991, in the W. Va.
Thoroughbred Development Fund, and
receiving lottery revenues.
Senate Bill 401
Ad Valorem Property Taxes
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 14
Senate Bill 401

Adjusts the calculation of available local
funds under the state aid formula’s
calculation of local share to account for any
final decision of a Board of Assessment
Appeals to refund or credit property taxes
paid in prior years
Senate Bill 547
School Board Levies
(In Effect March 13, 2010)
Handout, Page 16
Senate Bill 547

Corrects an inconsistency in the date when a
county board must meet as a levying body if
a levy is on the ballot for the primary election

The March 7-28 meeting window and the
resumption of the levying meeting on the third
Thursday of April, are postponed so that the board
may lawfully meet before June 1
Senate Bill 548
Boone County Board of
Education Meeting as a
Levying Body
(In Effect February 26, 2010)
Handout, Page 16
Senate Bill 548


Gave extra time (until May 28) to the Boone
County Board, in 2010, to meet as a levying
body, set the levying rate, and certify its
actions
Purpose: To allow time for the Board to
submit an excess levy renewal to the voters

Unless renewed, the levy would expire on June
30, 2010
F. Business
House Bill 4359
Local Labor for Public
Construction Contracts
(In Effect June 9, 2010)
Handout, Page 4
House Bill 4359

Old West Virginia Jobs Act:


On public improvement construction projects of $1
million or more, 75% of the employees must come
from any West Virginia county or from within 75
miles of the state boarder
Amended West Virginia Jobs Act:

On public improvement construction projects of
$500,000 or more, 75% of the employees must
come from any West Virginia county or from within
50 miles of the state border
House Bill 4615
Workers’ Compensation Risk
Pools
(In Effect March 12, 2010)
Handout, Page 9
House Bill 4615

Political subdivisions may establish risk pools
to insure their workers compensation risk, but
only in accordance with regulations to be
enacted by the Insurance Commissioner
Senate Bill 573
Publishing Audits
Electronically
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 17
Senate Bill 573


A county board’s annual audit report will now
be published electronically if it discloses
misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance
by a public officer or employee
Written notices of the electronic publication
go to the school board’s legal authority, the
prosecuting attorney, and the Attorney
General
Senate Bill 633
Depositing Public Funds
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 19
Senate Bill 633

School board funds may now deposited in
accounts that are periodically swept into
multiple federally fully insured deposit
accounts through a deposit placement
program with full federal insurance
G. Insurance
Senate Bill 442
Offsetting Certain PEIA
Retiree Premium Increases
(In Effect March 13, 2010)
Handout, Page 15
Senate Bill 442

Allows for annual retiree PEIA premium
increases to be offset with monies from the
Retirement Health Benefit Trust Fund
Senate Bill 446
Insurance for Deceased Public
Employees’ Survivors
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 15
Senate Bill 446


Clarifies that deceased public employee’s
surviving spouse and dependents may
participate only in PEIA comprehensive group
health insurance coverage to which the
deceased was entitled
Surviving spouse and dependents bear the
premium cost
Senate Bill 449
PEIA Preexisting Conditions
Limitations
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 15
Senate Bill 449


Repeals prior rule prohibiting PEIA from
paying for expenses incurred by participants
in their first year in connection with a
preexisting condition
PEIA enrollment and plan selections may be
made only



at the time of hire, or
during the annual open enrollment period, or
when a “qualifying event” occurs
H. Retirement
Senate Bill 553
Extended Time to Purchase
Full Service Credit
(In Effect March 6, 2010)
Handout, Page 17
Senate Bill 553

Extended the time for certain members of the
State Teachers Retirement System to
purchase additional service credit for service
in the Teachers’ Defined Contribution
Retirement System
I. Miscellaneous
Senate Bill 648
Repealing Outdated and
Obsolete Education Code
Provisions
(In Effect June 11, 2010)
Handout, Page 19
Senate Bill 648

Repeals outdated and obsolete Code
provisions:


The West Virginia Share in Your Future Act
Certain Teachers Retirement Board provisions
Resolutions
Resolutions

HCR 58: Labor History Week


HCR 102: Fostering Innovative Planning
Strategies


The week following Labor Day
Matching grant program
SR 17: Encouraging a New Approach to
Truancy

Nicholas and Taylor County Circuit Courts
Recent Decisions of the Courts
Impacting Public Education
Handout, pages 22-23
United States Supreme Court
City of Ontario, California
v.
Quon
(Searching Government Cell Phones)
Handout, Page 22
WV Supreme Court of Appeals
1. Associated Press
v.
Canterbury
(Email under FOIA)
Handout, Page 23
WV Supreme Court of Appeals
2. State ex rel Marshall County
Commission
v.
Carter
(Executive sessions aren’t sacrosanct)
Handout, Page 23
WV Supreme Court of Appeals
3. Rissler
v.
Jefferson County Board of
Zoning Appeals
(The appearance of partiality)
Handout, Page 23
Recent Significant Public
Employees Grievance Board
Decisions
Handout, pages 24-35
1. Lanham v. Putnam County
Second grievance on same claim
Time for grieving discrimination
2. Hatcher v. Raleigh County
Didn’t apply? Can’t grieve selection process
3. Bennett v. Randolph County
Excuses for untimely grievances
4. Stephens v. Wayne County
Bus operator’s primary employment
5. Jones v. Fayette County
Bus operator’s DUI charge has nexus
6. Midcap v. Fayette County
Driving board-owned vehicles to & from work
7. Robertson v. Wayne County
Misclassification; reclassification
8. Wimmer v. Braxton County
Rules re getting paid from two public jobs
9. Schifano v. Monongalia County
Planning period work not always teacher’s choice
10. Hoke v. Monroe County
Retaking service personnel competency tests
11. Shroads v. Hancock County
Board member relying upon faulty information
12. Young v. Marshall County
No application? Can’t grieve posting or selection
13. Young v. Marshall County
Service personnel preference in consolidations
14. Conrad v. Grant County
Disciplinary letter detail; off-work misconduct
15. Seeley v. Upshur County
Evaluations & improvement plans aren’t discipline
16. Brockman v. Kanawha County
Disciplinary labels; immorality
17. Walker v. Fayette County
Expanded service personnel duties
18. McMann v. Jefferson County
Harassment requires more than one incident
Bad language toward supervisor = insubordination
19. McMann v. Jefferson County
Correctable incompetency?
20. Mullins v. Hancock County
No policy changes absent a legal mandate
21. Kirk v. Lincoln County
Employee Code of Conduct violation
Deference to employer’s judgment on punishment
22. Kimble v. Kanawha County
Hostile or abusive work environment defined
Nexus misdemeanors may warrant dismissal
23. Clark v. Putnam County
Discrimination is a continuing practice
24. Guido v. Harrison County
Late appointment doesn’t itself warrant relief
Assistant superintendent contract terms
25. Baker v. Pocahontas County
When part-time teachers get planning periods
26. French v. Mercer County
Administrator hiring need not be mathematical
27. Prickett v. Monongalia County
Bus operator schedules need not be uniform
Seniority needn’t control service transfers
28. Shanklin v. Kanawha County
Partial RIF: multiclassified service personnel
29. Evans v. Marshall County
Arbitrary and capricious decisions
30. Layne v. Boone County
Bus operators taking insulin
31. Richards v. Kanawha County
Reminders and notices by email
32. Bishop v. Preston County
Probationary nonrenewals are not disciplinary
Treasurer’s bond
33. Clark v. Wayne County
Policy changes and discrimination theory
34. Lucas and Tucker v. Raleigh County
Summer workers contracted by third party
35. Brewer v. Mercer County
New burden in service nonselection cases?
36. Redd v. McDowell County
Functional demotion
37. Webster v. Wood County
Evaluations based on matters not observed
38. Ellison v. Fayette County
Extra-duty v. extracurricular service work
39. Hill v. Barbour County
Reclassifications & the non-relegation clause
40. Powell v. Hancock County
When substitute service seniority begins
41. Withrow v. Kanawha County
Put extra service qualifications in the posting
42. Samples v. Kanawha County
Filling summer professional vacancies; Reprisal
43. Dunlap v. Marshall County
Secretary III v. executive secretary
44. Cottrill v. Gilmer County
Intemperance; cruelty; misdemeanor nexus
45. Eaves v. Wayne County
Two years experience to be autism mentor
46. Eisentrout v. Preston County
Summer school “same assignment” as last summer
47. Stephens v. Wayne County
No relief if not “next in line”
48. King v. Hancock County
Offering service substitute assignments in rotation
TSSI systems; calling times
49. Bennett v. Randolph County
Appeal disciplinary suspensions & expulsions one of
two ways
Thanks for your input
today!
And genuine best wishes for a safe and
successful school year 2010-2011!
Red Flag Legal Issues for
2010-11
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Assignment and use of aides
Bullying and harassment
Unauthorized use of funds
Misconduct outside of school and
work
Evaluations and improvement plans
Red Flag Legal Issues for
2010-11
Divulging student information
7. Disciplining students with disabilities
8. Private matters that come to school
9. Searches of students and their
possessions
10. Technology-assisted misconduct
6.