West Virginia Code 18-5E-2 – Innovation in Education school defined
(a) An Innovation in Education school is a public school in this state that applies to and is designated by the state board in accordance with this article as an Innovation in Education School with a principal focus in one of the following areas:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 18-5E-2
- board: means a county board of education. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
- Donor: The person who makes a gift.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- School: means the students and teachers assembled in one or more buildings, organized as a unit. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- State board: means the West Virginia Board of Education. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
- superintendent: means a county superintendent of schools. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
(1) Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM);
(2) Community school partnership;
(3) Entrepreneurship;
(4) Career pathways; and
(5) The arts.
(b) Nothing in this article prohibits an Innovation in Education school from incorporating more than one of the attributes of STEM education, community school partnerships, entrepreneurship, career pathways or the arts into its program design, notwithstanding the primary designation under which it applies or is subsequently designated.
(c) An Innovation in Education school:
(1) Shall provide a program of public education that includes one or more of the grade levels prekindergarten to grade twelve, including any associated post-secondary dual credit, advanced placement and industry or workforce credential programs;
(2) Shall design its educational program to meet or exceed the student performance standards required under section five, article two-e of this chapter and is subject to all student assessment, accreditation and federal accountability requirements applicable to other public schools in this state. However, nothing shall prohibit an Innovation in Education school from establishing additional student assessment measures or implementing competency-based course completion strategies that go beyond state requirements;
(3) Shall operate according to an Innovation in Education plan developed by the school’s principal and faculty with input from its local school improvement council, the county board, the county superintendent and, if the school is a high school, the students of the school;
(4) Shall, if designated by the state board as an Innovation in Education Demonstration School, host visits and tours of its facility and programs to provide information and an opportunity to observe any successful innovations which may be replicated in other schools. The school may require the payment of a fee to off-set the cost of hosting such visits and tours; and
(5) May solicit and accept gifts, donations or grants for school purposes from public or private sources in any manner that is available to a local school district and expend or use such gifts, donations or grants in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the donor except that a gift, donation or grant may not be accepted if subject to a condition that is contrary to any provision of law or term of the school’s Innovation in Education plan. Any monies received by an Innovation in Education school from any source remaining in the school’s accounts at the end of a fiscal year shall remain in its accounts for use during subsequent fiscal years.