W. Va. Code R. § 126-75-4

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 126-75-4 - Application for Innovation in Education school designation

4.1. Applicants must submit an application and a plan outlining their Innovation in Education focus in STEM, community school partnership, entrepreneurship, career pathways, or the arts to the West Virginia Department of Education (hereinafter WVDE). The application and Innovation in Education Plan guidelines are available through the WVDE Division of Teaching and Learning.

4.2. Application and Innovation in Education Plans must follow the established timelines and rubrics, as well as all regulations indicated in law and policy, secure the necessary support, and include all the components outlined in WVDE guidance documents.

4.3. Application and plans must include:

4.3.a. documentation of participation of the principal, faculty, if the school is a high school, students, with input from the local school improvement council, the county board of education, and the county superintendent in the plan's development;

4.3.b. the proposed mission and vision of the school as it pertains to becoming an Innovation in Education school, including identification of the designation it seeks to obtain as a primary focus on which may include:

(1) STEM;

(2) community school partnership;

(3) entrepreneurship;

(4) career pathways; or

(5) the arts;

4.3.c. an executive summary and the school's proposed academic program, including a description of the school's instructional design, learning environment, class structure, curriculum overview, teaching methods, research basis, and other elements required in the school's Innovation in Education Plan;

4.3.d. a clear articulation of the areas of autonomy and flexibility in curriculum, budget, school schedule and calendar, professional learning, and staffing policies and procedures which would require a exception of policy or code;

4.3.e. requests for exceptions of any state policy, rule, statute, or interpretation except from an assessment program administered by the WVDE; or required approved content standards any provision of law or policy required by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (hereinafter ESSA), Public Law No. 107-110, or other federal law.

4.3.e.1. A request for an exception to a statute, policy, rule, or interpretation must contain the following information:

4.3.e.1.A. a description of the program or initiative the school system intends to implement as an innovative strategy to improve student achievement if the request is approved by the WVBE;

4.3.e.1.B. an explanation of the specific exception to a statute, policy, rule, or interpretation, in the singular or plural, that the school system has identified as prohibiting or constraining the implementation of the program or initiative;

4.3.e.1.C. why the exception is necessary; and

4.3.e.1.D. an explanation of how the program or initiative contributes to the activities contemplated in the school system Innovation in Education Plan.

4.3.e.2. A request for an exception to a state policy, rule, statute or interpretation must be approved by a vote of the affected employees. Requests for exceptions may be submitted at any point during the Innovation in Education designation.

W. Va. Code R. § 126-75-4