We often receive questions related to insurance coverage for
volunteer coaches1 through the Boards of Education
policies with the Board of Risk and Insurance Management
("BRIM"). West Virginia Ethics Commission ("Ethics
Commission") Advisory Opinion 2005-03 (April 7, 2005),
regarding a Board of Education member serving as an athletic coach,
relied on a fact that the Board member was paid a nominal salary of
$1.00 per year for liability insurance coverage for the actions of
the coach. Based on that fact, which was provided to the Ethics
Commission, a number of Boards of Education seemed to assume over
the past several years that a nominal salary was required for
BRIM's coverage of volunteers. Nevertheless, BRIM has advised
that it does not require that any salary be paid to volunteers
serving as coaches or otherwise. So long as the volunteer is acting
within the scope of what the Board of Education asks them to do,
they are covered by BRIM's policy. So the practice of paying a
$1.00 nominal salary to volunteers that many counties have done for
years is not necessary.
A common scenario involving volunteers is the fact pattern
identified above, the volunteer coach. By volunteer, we are
referring to a non-posted position not subject to an
extracurricular contract. Simply a head coach looking for a
volunteer coach to assist (for non-payment). What is important, is
that anyone seeking a position as a volunteer coach or asked to
participate as a volunteer coach, will need to apply for coaching
authorization, the same as a paid coach or citizen coach would do.
This is often a practice that is overlooked by counties. Per State Board Policy 5202 the training shall
be provided by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities
Commission ("WVSSAC") or approved by the local board of
education training if the sport is not within the jurisdiction of
the WVSSAC.
Finally, to address the issue of posting, if a coach under an
extracurricular contract wants to have a volunteer coach assist,
the volunteer position does not need to be posted in accordance
with W. Va. Code § 18A-4-16, so long as the
Board of Education approves a volunteer who meets all of the
requirements for the position (background check, training, and
coaching authorization). We recommend that a Board of Education
have a volunteer policy in place requiring that all volunteers,
among other things, be board approved.
Should you have any questions on this issue or any issues please
feel free to contact a member of
Dinsmore & Shohl's Education Law Practice
Group.2
Footnotes
1. An individual who is not under an extracurricular contract per W. Va. Code 18A-4-16 with a Board of Education, and is not a certified professional educator employed by a Board of Education.
2. Coaching Vacancies in Public Education, Who Gets the Vacant Position? Dinsmore & Shohl, Education Law Monthly. (January 2010).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.