WV SB282

Retired teachers and bus operators receiving Teachers Retirement System benefits may work as critical needs substitutes for unlimited days per fiscal year without affecting their retirement benefits, provided county boards adopt approved policies addressing staffing shortages

County boards must post vacant positions only twice per year (beginning and mid-year) when filled by retired critical needs substitutes, rather than continuously, with exceptions for positions covering leave of absence or when a qualified employee has accepted but is not yet available

Retired employees who return to work as critical needs substitutes in the same fiscal year they retired will lose annuity reserve retirement benefits from their first day of substitute employment until the month after they stop working

Counties must demonstrate that non-retired qualified substitutes are unavailable before employing retired teachers or bus operators, and superintendents must submit affidavits to the State Board of Education verifying compliance

These provisions expire on June 30, 2030, and the State Board must report annually to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance on program effectiveness