Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the West Virginia Legislature, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026 REGULAR SESSION
Enrolled
Committee Substitute
for
Senate Bill 899
By Senators Thorne, Grady, and Deeds
[Passed March 14, 2026; in effect 90 days from
passage (June 12, 2026)]
Enr CS for SB 899
1 AN ACT to amend and reenact §18A-2-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating
2 to permitting teachers with a minimum of 15 years of experience teaching at the
3 elementary, middle, or high school level to be certified to work as school principals at the
4 school level in which they have the 15 years of experience teaching if they also
5 successfully complete a year-long program developed and administered by the West
6 Virginia Department of Education to ensure the candidate demonstrates competence in
7 the core elements of school administration, including but not limited to, instructional
8 leadership, school finance, personnel management, student discipline, and school law.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
§18A-2-9. Duties and responsibilities of school principals; assistant principals.
1 (a) Upon the recommendation of the county superintendent of schools, the county board of
2 education shall employ and assign, through written contract, public school principals who shall be
3 the principal instructional leader of the school and shall supervise the management and the
4 operation of the school or schools to which they are assigned to improve student performance and
5 progress. The principals shall hold valid administrative certificates appropriate for their
6 assignments.
7 (b)(1) Beginning on July 1, 1994, the prerequisites for issuance of an administrative
8 certificate for principals shall include that the person has successfully completed at least six credit
9 hours of approved course work in public school management techniques at an accredited
10 institution of higher education and has successfully completed education and training in evaluation
11 skills approved by the state board.
12 (2) Beginning on July 1, 2019, the prerequisites for issuance of an administrative certificate
13 for principals shall include that the person has successfully completed at least six credit hours of
14 approved course work in public school instructional leadership and management techniques at an
15 accredited institution of higher education, including, but not limited to, the standards for high
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Enr CS for SB 899
16 quality schools, the school accreditation process and strategic planning for continuous
17 improvement.
18 (3) Beginning on July 1, 2026, the prerequisites for issuance of an administrative certificate
19 for principals for elementary schools shall be satisfied by teaching at the elementary school level
20 for a minimum of 15 years: Provided, That the applicant successfully completes a year-long
21 program developed and administered by the West Virginia Department of Education to ensure the
22 candidate demonstrates competence in the core elements of school administration, including, but
23 not limited to, instructional leadership, school finance, personnel management, student discipline,
24 and school law.
25 (4) Beginning on July 1, 2026, the prerequisites for issuance of an administrative certificate
26 for principals for middle schools shall be satisfied by teaching at the middle school level for a
27 minimum of 15 years: Provided, That the applicant successfully completes a year-long program
28 developed and administered by the West Virginia Department of Education to ensure the
29 candidate demonstrates competence in the core elements of school administration, including, but
30 not limited to, instructional leadership, school finance, personnel management, student discipline,
31 and school law.
32 (5) Beginning on July 1, 2026, the prerequisites for issuance of an administrative certificate
33 for principals for high schools shall be satisfied by teaching at the high school level for a minimum
34 of 15 years: Provided, That the applicant successfully completes a year-long program developed
35 and administered by the West Virginia Department of Education to ensure the candidate
36 demonstrates competence in the core elements of school administration, including but not limited
37 to, instructional leadership, school finance, personnel management, student discipline, and school
38 law.
39 (c) Prior to employment as a principal or assistant principal, or in another administrative
40 position the duties of which require conducting personnel performance evaluations, the principal,
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Enr CS for SB 899
41 assistant or administrator shall successfully complete education and training in evaluation skills
42 approved by the state board.
43 (d) Under the supervision of the superintendent and in accordance with the rules and
44 regulations of the county board of education, the principal:
45 (1) Shall assume administrative and instructional leadership responsibility for the planning,
46 management, operation, and evaluation of the total educational program of the school or schools
47 to which he or she is assigned;
48 (2) May submit recommendations to the superintendent regarding the appointment,
49 assignment, promotion, transfer and dismissal of all personnel assigned to the school or schools
50 under said principal’s control. The recommendations shall be submitted in writing as prescribed by
51 the superintendent; and
52 (3) Shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the superintendent pursuant to
53 the rules and regulations of the county board of education.
54 (e) Upon recommendation of the county superintendent of schools, the county board of
55 education shall, when needed, employ and assign, through written contract, assistant principals
56 who shall work under the direction of the school principal. Such assistant principals shall hold valid
57 administrative certificates appropriate for their assignments.
58 (f) The assignment of principals and assistant principals by each county board of education
59 is subject to the following:
60 (1) A certificated principal shall be assigned to each school;
61 (2) A principal may not be assigned more than two schools;
62 (3) No additional schools may be assigned to the principal of a school where enrollment
63 exceeds 400 students;
64 (4) A principal assigned to more than one school may not be assigned any teaching duties
65 except on a temporary emergency basis;
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Enr CS for SB 899
66 (5) A principal shall be assigned full-time at each school whose net enrollment equals or
67 exceeds 170 students and may not be assigned any teaching duties except on a temporary
68 emergency basis;
69 (6) A principal assigned on a full-time basis to a school whose net enrollment is more than
70 75 students but less than 170 students shall have a minimum of 20 hours per week for non-
71 teaching duties;
72 (7) A principal assigned on a full-time basis to a school with 75 students or less shall have a
73 minimum of 10 hours per week for non-teaching duties;
74 (8) Nothing in this section prohibits a county board of education from assigning a full-time
75 principal to a school with a net enrollment of less than 170 students; and
76 (9) The State Board of Education may not deny a county board of education the right to
77 place a principal in a school with less than 170 students.
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Enr CS for SB 899
The Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Delegates hereby
certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.
...............................................................
Clerk of the Senate
...............................................................
Clerk of the House of Delegates
Originated in the Senate.
In effect 90 days from passage.
...............................................................
President of the Senate
...............................................................
Speaker of the House of Delegates
__________
The within is ................................................ this the...........................................
Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2026.
.............................................................
Governor
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