SB 911 creates a new adjunct teaching permit in West Virginia and amends the state’s educator certification laws to add that permit as a recognized pathway for staffing public schools. The bill allows the state superintendent to issue an adjunct teaching permit to an individual with at least four years of relevant experience in a content area, or a college degree in that area, so long as the person passes a criminal history check and has no disqualifying felony or sexual misconduct history. The permit is valid for one year and may be renewed if the teacher meets a basic performance standard under an evaluation process to be established by the state board.
The bill authorizes county boards to hire adjunct permit holders to fill vacant teaching positions, launch new programs or classes, or supplement existing programs, but only when no certified teacher in the subject area is available and accepts the assignment. It also allows adjunct teachers to work full- or part-time, sets compensation by agreement between the county board and the teacher, and makes benefits optional unless separately agreed to. County boards must contract with adjunct teachers and include specified terms such as duties, schedule, pay, and any benefits. Adjunct teachers may teach in any content area aligned with their experience, including career and technical education, but may not provide special education instruction.
Impact
SB 911 expands the state’s teacher staffing options by creating a new nontraditional permit category within West Virginia’s educator licensing framework and by setting detailed conditions for county board employment of adjunct teachers. It amends §18A-3-2a and adds §18A-3-2b to establish eligibility, renewal, evaluation, training, mentoring, reporting, and contract requirements, while also directing the state board to incorporate an evaluation process for adjunct permit holders. The bill affects county boards, the West Virginia Department of Education, and individuals with subject-matter experience who are not fully certified teachers, and it changes how vacant teaching positions may be filled in public schools.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad legislative support and little visible opposition in the available record. It passed the Senate 31-0 and the House 98-0, indicating unanimous approval in both chambers. The absence of recorded committee debate or dissent suggests the measure was viewed favorably as a workforce flexibility tool for schools facing staffing shortages.
Contention
The main policy tension in SB 911 is between staffing flexibility and maintaining traditional certification standards. Supporters likely view the adjunct permit as a way to address hard-to-fill vacancies, expand course offerings, and bring real-world experience into classrooms, while the bill’s safeguards—criminal background checks, mentoring, training, and limits on special education instruction—appear designed to address quality and student-safety concerns. Potential points of concern include the bill’s allowance for county boards and adjunct teachers to negotiate pay and benefits outside standard salary schedules, the requirement that certified teachers be unavailable before an adjunct may be hired, and the reporting and public-notice provisions that suggest lawmakers wanted transparency around the use of these permits.
Making a supplementary appropriation to the Department of Human Services, Bureau for Medical Services – Policy and Programming and State Board of Education – State Department of Education