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Innovation Zones Act

There will be 10 pilot projects that establishes zones of educational innovation (by a group of schools implementing school-wide innovation projects, or a single school conducting a school-wide innovation project, or a group of schools implementing department wide innovation projects, or a single school plan that focuses on a department/division innovation project - applications will be considered in that order) to allow school employees to collaboratively devise and implement 21st century school improvement strategies that are currently restrained and/or restricted by policies issued by the state board or the West Virginia Code. Provisions discussed to date include:

It will be a two-step process.
1. A school must first apply to the State Board of Education to be included as an innovation zone, of which there will be ten.
2. Once accepted, the school must then submit a plan for State Board approval as well. (Once the plan is approved by the school, it must be submitted to the county superintendent and the county BOE for review and then to the State Board prior to approval).
The application and submission of the plan both require a vote by all affected employees (school service and teachers) who are regularly employed at the school. Both votes will be by secret ballot and 80% of the school staff must vote in favor in order to move forward.
However, a regularly employed employee who is or will be affected by the implementation of the plan may request a transfer.
All plans must include a list of all county and state board rules, policies and statutes, if any, that the school has identified as prohibiting or constraining implementation of the plan.
The plan can’t waive any provision of law or policy required by NCLB or Section 7, article 2, and Sections 7a, 7-b, 8 and 8-b, article 4, chapter 18A of the WV code. These sections refer to important employment and work laws such as hiring, promotions, transfers, job postings, RIFs, and seniority etc.
However, for new positions, the job postings can be expanded beyond the seven criteria.

Public higher education institutions will be able to implement innovation zones (schools) with the agreement of their county board (or boards). However, neither innovation zone or school-aid formula funds may be used to provide financial support for the higher education innovation zones/school. Counties that have students that participate in a higher education innovation zone/school will still have those students counted as part of their net enrollment.

School Innovation Zones Act (as prepared by the Counsel for the House Education Committee)

This Act creates a process for designating a school, a group of schools, a subdivision or department of a group of schools or a subdivision or department of a school as an innovation zone. The State Board is required to promulgate a rule, which may be an emergency rule, to implement the innovation zone provisions. The bill requires that the rule include a process for a school (or other authorized applicant) to apply for designation as an innovation zone and sets forth the minimum requirements for the process to include.

When initially designating innovation zones, the State Board must consider applicants for designation in the following order: (1) A school and groups of schools; (2) a group of schools seeking designation across the same department or subdivision of the schools; and (3) a school seeking designation of a subdivision or a department.

The State Board rule also must include the requirement that each innovation zone develop and innovation zone plan. The plan must include a description of the programs, policies or initiatives the innovation zone intends to implement and a list of all county and state board rules, policies and interpretations, and all statutes identified as prohibiting or constraining the implementation of the plan. An innovation zone may not request an exception and an exception cannot be granted from an assessment program administered by the Department of Education; any provision of law or policy required by NCLB or other federal law; or certain provisions of law relating to school personnel seniority, dismissals, transfers, etc. The State Board can require the plan to include other information also. The bill also sets forth what an innovation zone may include.

Each school (or other entity designated as an innovation zone) is required to submit its plan to each employee regularly employed at the school if the employee’s primary job duties would be affected by the implementation of the plan. If approved by a vote of the school employees, the plan must be submitted to the county superintendent and the board for review. Within 60 days of receipt of the plan, the board must review the plan and with recommendations from the county superintendent report its support or concerns, or both, and return the plan and report to the school principal, faculty senate and LSIC. Next, the plan along with the report of the county board must be submitted to the State Board and State Superintendent for review. The State Board and State Superintendent must approve or disapprove of the plan within 60 days of receipt.

Upon approval of an innovation zone plan, all exceptions to county and state board rules, policies and interpretations listed in the plan are granted. If a plan cannot be implemented unless an exception to a statute is granted by Act of the Legislature, the state board and state superintendent may approve the plan only upon condition that the Legislature grants the exception. If the State Board and State Superintendent approve the plan on that condition, the plan along with the request for an exception to a statute shall be submitted to LOCEA (Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accounability). LOCEA is then required to review the plan and exemption request and make a recommendation to the full Legislature.

A secret ballot vote at a special meeting of all employees eligible to vote must be conducted to determine the level of employee commitment to apply for designation as in innovation zone and to determine the approval of an innovation zone plan. An employee is eligible to vote if the employee is regularly employed at the school and the employee’s primary job duties will be affected by the implementation of the innovation zone plan. An election panel and the principal must determine which employees are eligible to vote. No employee is eligible to vote unless both the panel and the principal determine that the employee is eligible to vote. 

A  panel consisting of the elected officers of the faculty senate, one representative of the service personnel employed at the school and three parent members appointed by the LSIC is responsible for calling the special meeting, conducting the votes, and certifying the results to the principal, the county superintendent and the president of the county board. The panel must provide at least two weeks notice of the special meeting, and must provide an absentee ballot to each employee eligible to vote who cannot attend the special meeting.

At least 80% of the employees who are eligible to vote must vote to apply for designation as an innovation zone and to approve the plan before the level of staff commitment is sufficient to apply for designation as an innovation zone and before the innovation zone plan is approved.

An employee regularly employed at a school applying for or designated as an innovation zone whose job duties may be affected by implementation of the innovation zone plan or proposed plan may request a transfer to another school in the school district. The county board must make every reasonable effort to accommodate the transfer.

The State Board or a designated committee must review the progress of the development or implementation of an innovation zone plan, and under certain circumstances allows the state board to revoke an innovation zone designation or to rescind its approval of an innovation zone plan. The state board must report annually to LOCEA on innovation zones and the progress of innovation zone plans.

If the teachers in a county approve by majority vote, a school (or other applicable innovation zone) whose innovation zone plan has been approved may post a job for a teacher vacancy that sets forth standards or qualifications that exceeds certain statutory, standards and qualifications.

The Act also contains provisions allowing a state institution of higher education to establish a new innovation zone school. The school would be under the jurisdiction of the state institution of higher education. The county board must approve the establishment of the new innovation zone school. The state institution of higher education must enter into cooperative agreements with the county board or boards whose students attend the new innovation zone school. Students attending the school are enrolled in a school in their county of residence.

Additionally, the bill requires the State Board to promulgate a rule, including an emergency rule if necessary, that at least includes a process for a state institution of higher education to apply for designation as an innovation zone and for approval of its innovation zone plan; the requirement that the school develop an innovation zone plan; and standards for the State Board to review applications for designation as innovation zones and to make determinations on approval of innovation zone plans.

A school established by an institution of higher education cannot be funded with moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the innovation zone program, or state or county moneys that result from the school aid formula.