More on the Budget and Prefiled Bills

This promises to be an extremely busy and interesting year in the General Assembly for K12. We have reported to you on the Governor's Budget proposal. In addition to dollars and cents matters, the Budget Bill contains language that indicates legislation to come. As we noted in an earlier blog posting, language in the Budget Bill references a conversion from continuing to annual contracts for teachers and principals. In reviewing the remarks of Ric Brown, Secretary of Finance, to the joint meeting of House Appropriations and Senate Finance on December 19 we were interested to see a reference to a $10 Million reduction in revenues going to the General Fund in the second year of the biennium due to a "Private School Tax Credit." This would appear to indicate that the Administration is anticipating that the General Assembly will pass a tuition assistance tax credit this year.

On a more positive note, three bills have been introduced to date regarding the post-Labor Day Opening law. House Bills 15 (Habeeb) and 86 (Greason) would repeal the law outright and leave the setting of the school calendar entirely to the discretion of the local school board. Obviously, we believe that this is the correct approach. House Bill 43 (Tata) would also amend the current law, but it would prohibit schools from opening earlier than two weeks before Labor Day.

We reported to you earlier about language in the Budget Bill that directs the DOE of develop a methodology based on the SOQ to measure instructional spending and authorizing DOE to develop an additional methodology based on other criteria, including the Census Bureau definition of instructional spending. A bill has now been introduced (HB 78-Habeeb) that does much the same, but that also requires the BOE to annually report instructional spending by school divisions to the General Assembly. Neither the Budget Bill nor the House Bill mandate any particular level of instructional spending. Presumably, that will come later.

Lastly, a bill has been introduced (HB 76-Habeeb) changing the date by which probationary teachers must be notified of non-renewal from April 15 to June 15. This change in date is undoubtedly a reaction to the new teacher evaluation guidelines that require that student academic progress counts 40% of the evaluation. SOL test scores are not reported until late May.

More on the Governor's Proposed Budget

Buried in the Governor's proposed budget for the 2013-2014 biennium are a couple of noteworthy items. First, Item 137 F specifies an appropriation for performance evaluation training "in support of the transition from continuing employment contracts to annual employment contracts for teachers and principals." This language signals possible legislation to be introduced by the Governor to replace the current continuing contract law with term contracts for teachers and principals. We expect to learn more about this and other initiatives on Thursday of this week.

Also, in Item 139 B 26 DOE is directed to include in the annual School Performance Report Card for each school division the percentage of the school division's annual operating budget allocated to instructional costs. This is the precursor to the 65% rule. One bright spot is that DOE is directed to develop a methodology for allocating expenditures consistent with the funding of the Standards of Quality. This should include expenditures for such things as guidance counselors, principals, librarians, etc. On the other hand, the Item goes further and states that "at the discretion of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Education may also report on other methods of measuring instructional spending such as those used by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Education." As we have mentioned to you on several occasions, the Census Bureau methodology would exclude expenditures for, among other things, guidance counselors, principals, librarians, occupational and physical therapists, etc. This budget language may signify a shift in battle on this issue from the General Assembly to DOE. We will have more to say on these two issues in the future.

Governor Announces FY 2013-2014 Budget

This morning, Governor McDonnell announced his proposed biennial budget.  The proposed budget includes $438 million of new funding for K-12 and would require each school division to report to VDOE the percentage of its operating budget allocated to instruction spending. 

Below is an excerpt from the summary of the Governor’s Budget that highlights the proposals for K-12 funding. 

K-12 Education Funding

• We cannot expect to grow our economy in the future if we do not educate our children today.
• The proposed budget provides an additional $438 million in total new funding for public education for the next biennium.
• This funding recognizes the rising costs of the Standards of Quality and demonstrates our commitment to make significant investments in the retirement system for teachers.
• The proposed budget identifies more than $1.6 million dollars each year that will be redirected to new programs to be more effective at reaching those children who are most at-risk.
• Beginning with this budget, we are going to get serious about measuring the return on our investment of taxpayer dollars by requiring all school divisions to report the percentage of spending on instruction.
• The proposed budget provides funding to support the transition to new performance-based evaluation models for our public schools.
• Total funding for public education has outpaced enrollment growth significantly using the time period of FY2002-2011 as used by the recent JLARC review. During this time period, the public education direct aid appropriation grew by 41% and unadjusted ADM enrollment grew by 6%, which resulted in funding 6.8 times the rate of enrollment growth.

The budget includes:

• $913,016 in each year of the biennium to pay the testing fees for all 10th grade students enrolled in a public school in Virginia to take the Preliminary SAT exam
• $1,000,000 in each year of the biennium for Communities in Schools
• $308,655 in each year of the biennium to provide support grants to school divisions for standard diploma graduates

    o As part of this effort, the Department of Education will be reducing the types of

diplomas offered in Virginia from seven to three – standard, advanced and special

diplomas

• Reform initiatives for K-12 education that focus on performance by requiring the Department of Education to include in the annual School Performance Report Card for school divisions the percentage of each division’s annual operating budget allocated to instructional costs
• $300,000 in fiscal year 2013 and $400,000 in fiscal year 2014 to establish a comprehensive pilot initiative to recruit students to major in the fields of mathematics and science to help alleviate the shortage of qualified teachers in these fields
• $500,000 in fiscal year 2013 and $100,000 in fiscal year 2014 to fund a pilot initiative to attract, recruit, and retain high-quality diverse individuals to teach science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) subjects in Virginia’s middle and high schools
• $80,000 in fiscal year 2013 to provide one-time planning and implementation grants to support the establishment of Governor’s Health Science Academies
• $67,897 in each year of the biennium to support implementation of a Youth Development Academy pilot program for rising 9th and 10th grade students in a selected region of the Commonwealth
• $325,000 in each year of the biennium for the Virtual Virginia program to support the statewide implementation of the required Economics and Personal Finance course, ensuring that sufficient student slots are available to accommodate statewide demand for the course. This increase is being supported by the transfer of funding from the Mentor Teacher in Hard-to-Staff Schools account, which is being eliminated.
• $385,138 in each year of the biennium to address an increase in GED testing costs. This increase is being supported by the transfer of funding from the Mentor Teacher in Hard-to-Staff Schools account, which is being eliminated.

Click here to open the Governor’s press release on his proposed budget.  You can read the Governor’s remarks to the Joint Money Committees here.  The Governor’s full budget is available here and the summary document is available here.    

Governor Announces Historic VRS Funding Proposal

Governor McDonnell has announced that his proposed biennial budget will recommend the largest employer contribution in history to VRS. The Governor’s proposed VRS rate for teachers is 11.6 % and his budget calls for employer contributions for teachers of $1.61 billion (state and local) ($605.6 million GF) for FY2013 and FY2014. In comparison, the total projected employer VRS contributions for teachers for the last biennium (FY2011 and FY2012) was $732.6 million. As the Governor’s press release points out, a "significant" portion of the $1.61 billion proposed by the Governor would be borne by localities.

Click here to read the Governor’s full press release.

The VSBA Executive Committee in its meeting yesterday approved a motion to support a “Request for Waiver of Certain Accrediting Standards and/or Approval of an Innovative or Experimental Program” that was submitted to the Virginia Board of Education by five school divisions in Virginia (Albemarle County, Fairfax County, Henrico County, Roanoke County and Virginia Beach City).  

In general, the goal of the waiver request is to allow the school divisions to implement a pilot program that will provide middle school students with multiple opportunities to pass Virginia’s SOL tests within the existing end-of-course test administration windows.  For the 2011/2012 school year, the waiver request applies to Grade 8 Reading, Mathematics, and Plain English Mathematics.  Specifically, the waiver will allow SOL tests to be administered in pilot middle schools during the January Non-Writing test administration window to students who have demonstrated that they are well ahead in their learning although they will not complete classes until the spring.  Students who pass the January SOL test will then participate in project-based learning units for the balance of the school year designed to increase the depth of their knowledge in the content area.  Students who do not take the SOL test in January, or who do not pass the January SOL test, will receive additional instruction, and, where necessary, intensive, focused remediation prior to retesting and retakes which will occur during the regular spring Non-Writing test administration windows in May and June.

The waiver request will also allow for the inclusion of passing scores from all administrations of SOL tests and retests, with passing scores overriding previous failing scores in the same school year, for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and Accreditation calculations.

VSBA President Jeff Bain requested that this information be shared ASAP as the issue will be on the upcoming July 28, 2011 Virginia Board of Education agenda. As he stated during consideration of this item, “I saw applicability in VSBA supporting the waiver request because of this sentence in the waiver request, ‘As Virginia moves toward linking teacher data to student data, additional testing windows to support mastery learning for middle school students appear to be the next logical step’”.

To date the Board of Education agenda has not been published but those interested in supporting/following this item may find more information on the Virginia Board of Education website http://www.doe.virginia.gov/.

PE Bill Finally Dies in the Senate!

In the reconvened session of the 2011 General Assembly today, an attempt was made in the Senate to override the Governor's veto of SB 966 (Sen. Northam).  The bill would have required school boards to provide 150 minutes of physical education per week to students in grades K-8.  The bill was passed by the Senate in late January on a vote of 37 to 2 and then passed by the House in mid-February on a vote of 55 to 40.  The Governor vetoed the bill on March 25, 2011. 

To override a veto, both chambers of the General Assembly must approve the bill with a two-thirds majority.  When the bill came before the Senate today, only 16 Senators voted in favor of the bill.  The vote was far short of the 27 needed for a two-thirds majority to override the veto.  In case you are keeping score, 21 Senators changed their minds about this bill between late January and today!          

As many of you know, we opposed this bill (and its House counterpart) throughout the session. Then we teamed with VASS, VEA, VML, and VACo to ask the Governor to veto the bill and we continued to work with those organizations to ask Senators to oppose efforts to override the Governor's veto.  Most importantly, however, were the calls, emails, and letters to Senators from our school board members, superintendents, and others.  Thanks to all who responded to the requests to contact Senators! 

Governor's Amendments to the Budget

The Governor has sent the General Assembly 86 amendments to the State budget.  Of particular interest to school boards is an amendment he did not submit.  Many educational groups had requested the Governor to remove the language adopted during the 2011 session that provided that the $87 Million in new funding for K-12 education was one time only money that could not be considered during the rebenchmarking process.  Unfortunately, the Governor did not propose deleting this provision from the budget.  There is one amendment that will be of interest to some school boards.  It allows school boards and local governments to require current employees hired before July 1, 2010, to pay all or a portion of the 5% employee VRS premium.  The amendment does not require school boards to provide the employees with a raise to offset the employee premium.   Here is the language of the recommended amendment:

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 51.1-144.F., each county, city, town, local public school board, or other local employer who has elected to pay an equivalent amount in lieu of the member contributions required of an employee who is not a person who becomes a member on or after July 1, 2010, may require such employee to pay member contributions on a salary reduction basis in accordance with § 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, in whole percentages, up to five percent of the creditable compensation otherwise required of such employee, provided that the employer pays the same percentage of creditable compensation for all such employees. Any portion of the five percent of creditable compensation required that is not paid by such

employee shall be paid by the county, city, town, local public school board, or other local employer. Such employer may pay all or a portion of the member contributions required of an employee who is not described in this paragraph, as provided in § 51.1-144.F.2., which portion may be different than that paid by the employer for an employee who is described in this paragraph.”

Explanation:

(This language allows a local employer who is currently paying all member contributions for certain employees to elect to have those employees pay member contributions up to a fixed percent of compensation.)

More on PE Bill Veto

Click here to view the Governor's statement regarding the PE bill.  Among other things, the Governor stated "In my Inaugural Address I stated very clearly that Washington does not always know better than Richmond, and, equally, that Richmond does not always know better than Fairfax or Galax. I have long opposed significant unfunded mandates passed from one level of government to another. Thus, I cannot in good conscience sign this legislation."

The bill will now go back to the General Assembly for reconsideration during the reconvened session on April 6.  The General Assembly can override the Governor's veto with a 2/3 vote in each chamber.  We are very pleased with the Governor's decision to veto this bill and we will continue to lobby against this bill as the reconvened session approaches.   

PE Bill to be Vetoed by Governor McDonnell

We just received word from the Governor's office that a statement will be released very shortly from his office that the Governor will veto SB 966.  This bill would have required school boards to provide 150 minutes of physical education per week to all students in grades K through 8.  Last Friday, VSBA along with VASS, VEA, VML, and VACO sent a joint letter to the Governor requesting that he veto the bill because it is, among other things, an unfunded mandate. 

VSBA, VASS, VEA, VML, and VACO Jointly Request Veto of PE Bill

Today, VSBA along with VASS, VEA, VML and VACO sent the following letter to Governor McDonnell requesting that he veto SB 966:

Virginia Association of Counties

Virginia Association of School Superintendents

Virginia Education Association

Virginia Municipal League

Virginia School Boards Association

March 18, 2011

The Honorable Robert McDonnell, Governor

Commonwealth of Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Dear Governor McDonnell:

We are writing on behalf of the Virginia School Boards Association, the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, the Virginia Education Association, the Virginia Municipal League, and the Virginia Association of Counties to request that you veto SB 966, a bill that would mandate that public schools provide a minimum of 150 minutes of physical education per week in grades kindergarten through eight. We recognize that the bill’s intent of fighting childhood obesity is a laudable goal. We ask, however, that you exercise your discretion to veto this bill because of two major concerns: (1) the bill imposes a substantial unfunded mandate on school divisions and localities and (2) due to time constraints and other requirements imposed on the public schools, the bill’s implementation will pose very significant instructional and practical problems.

The projected personnel costs alone are substantial. In order to provide 150 minutes of physical education per week, many school divisions will have to hire additional physical education teachers, a cost which will be borne solely by the localities. For example, Fairfax County Public Schools has estimated that the personnel costs associated with SB 966 will be $18 to $24 million per year; Chesterfield County estimates that the bill would require an additional 102 elementary teachers and an additional 35 middle school teachers at a cost of $6.9 million; Pittsylvania County estimates that the bill will require an additional 10 elementary teachers and 4 middle school teachers at a cost of $800,000; and Louisa County estimates that the bill will require 16 elementary teachers at a cost of $720,000.

In addition to the personnel costs, this bill will have significant capital costs for many school divisions. While physical education can certainly be conducted outdoors during certain times of the year, the legislation has no inclement weather provision and schools simply were not built with this physical education requirement in mind. Many elementary schools throughout the Commonwealth do not have gymnasiums or other facilities sufficient to meet the requirements of this bill. Supporters of the bill have argued that physical education can take place in the classrooms or the hallways. Anyone who has spent any time in an elementary school – or even around elementary school-aged children – knows this is not a feasible solution. Classrooms are too small and too crowded for physical activity of the type contemplated by SB 966.

This bill also poses an untenable time constraint on the school day. The Standards of Accreditation require an instructional day of 330-minutes, 75% of which (248 minutes) must be spent on core academic subjects. The Virginia Code also requires that elementary teachers have at least 30 minutes per day of unencumbered planning time. If 30 minutes per day are added for physical education, then only 22 minutes per day are left for any other subjects, such as art and music (which elementary schools are also required to teach), foreign languages and computer instruction (which elementary schools are encouraged to teach), or for remediation (which many students need in order to pass the SOLs).

Proponents of this legislation have argued that it will not require the hiring of additional personnel because classroom teachers can provide the physical education instruction. This argument ignores the planning time requirement. Most teachers have their planning time while their students are receiving resource instruction, such as art, music, or physical education. If classroom teachers are to provide the physical education instruction, many school divisions will have to hire additional personnel to relieve the classroom teachers for their planning time. Extending the school day may relieve these time constraints, but only at a very significant additional cost which, again, would be borne entirely by the localities.

For these reasons, we respectfully request that you veto SB 966.

UPDATE ON THE BUDGET

The conference committees have finished their work and the General Assembly is expected to adopt their report on the budget.  Our earlier blog gave you a link to the conference report.  The good news is that the final product is much closer to the Senate amendments than to the House amendments.  It appears that 38 school divisions will share in approximately $16.6 Million in LCI hold harmless funds and all school divisions will share in approximately $60 Million.  It is important to note that it appears that none of this money will be built into the basic aid for rebenchmarking purposes. 

Here is how the House Appropriations staff described the additional funds for K-12:

Conference Report includes a one‐time supplemental payment to all school divisions for the state’s share of a $129.62 per pupil amount (PPA) that totals $87.7 million in FY 2012

• The intent of this payment is to be one‐time in nature and shall be taken out of the base expenditure totals for the purposes of calculating the cost of the FY 2012‐2014 biennial budget and for future rebenchmarking considerations

• Reprograms $55.0 million from the Hold Harmless payments and $5.9 million from textbooks in the adopted budget for this allocation

The Conference Report also includes $16.6 million to make whole the remaining 38 school divisions that would have received Hold Harmless in Chapter 874.

The Conference Report increases the employer rate in the adopted budget from 5.16% to 6.33% for a cost of $31.0 million in FY 2012.

Click here for links to more information about the budget from the House Appropriations Committee.

Click here to see the House Appropriation Committee's projected distribution of additional funding to each school division.

Click here to open a presentation on the budget prepared by the Senate Finance Committee staff. 

Budget Alert

The Conference Report on Budget Amendments was released earlier today.  You can access the report here. 

The House and Senate will reconvene this evening to consider the final budget amendments.

Check back for often for updates.

UPDATE ON THE BUDGET

It appears that the budget conferees may have reached agreement on the K-12 portion of the budget. Consistent with what was reported in the newspapers this morning, it appears the conferees agreed yesterday to $75 Million in additional money (over the Governor's introduced budget) for K-12. What had not been agreed to was how that money was going to be parceled out. We understand that the conferees may have agreed to utilize the approach set forth in the Senate amendments with appropriate pro rata reductions. The Senate amendments had approximately $17 Million for the LCI hold harmless and $83 Million for discretionary operating dollars solely for educational use, including, but not limited to, bonuses, retaining instructional positions, and textbooks. If what we hear is correct, the $17 Million and the $83 Million should each be reduced by 1/4th to get the appropriate amounts for hold harmless and for discretionary educational use.


While it has been reported that state employees will be given a 5% raise to offset having to pay the 5% employees' share of the VRS premiums, the budget will not contain a requirement that school board employees pay their share of the VRS premiums or money to give school board employees a raise.

There are still some unresolved budget issues. Consequently, the final budget amendments may not be voted on before tomorrow or early next week.

HB 1483 Passed by the Senate

HB 1483 (Del. Cleaveland) provides a narrow exception to the post-Labor Day school opening requirement for a school division that is entirely surrounded by a school division that has received a waiver from the Board of Education to open before Labor Day. Del. Cleaveland has explained that the purpose of his bill is to address a unique situation faced by the Roanoke City Public Schools, which has a high percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch (70%+). The school system makes every effort to keep the schools open during inclement weather so that the students are fed. Consequently, Roanoke City Public Schools are not closed due to inclement weather as frequently as the surrounding school divisions and, therefore, they do not qualify for a waiver to the post-Labor Day opening requirement under the current waiver system. Del. Cleaveland’s bill would allow Roanoke City Public Schools to have a waiver and operate on the same schedule as the surrounding school divisions. 

The tourism industry strenuously opposed this bill, claiming, incredibly, that it would be detrimental to tourism in the Commonwealth to allow Roanoke City Schools to start before Labor Day because the families of Roanoke City students would otherwise travel during the Labor Day holiday. Efforts earlier this week to rerefer the bill to the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (where the tourism industry would again try to defeat the bill) were unsuccessful. The bill was debated extensively on the floor of the Senate this week and was ultimately passed by the Senate today on a vote of 22 to 18. 

Waiver Bill Passed by the Senate

Late last week, we asked for your assistance in seeking support for Del. Scott's waiver bill (HB 2494). This bill will permit a school board to seek waivers from the Board of Education from state regulations and for an Individual School Accreditation Plan on behalf of one or more of its schools. We are very pleased to report that this bill was passed by the Senate today on a vote of 33 to 7. Thanks to all of you who urged your Senators to support this important bill.

Parental Notification Bill Defeated in Senate

HB 1548 (Del. Kory) would have required that the school principal or designee notify the parents of any student who violates a school board policy or the compulsory attendance requirements when such violation "is likely to" result in the student's suspension or the filing of a court petition. We opposed the bill because it imposes additional reporting requirements on school personnel and because it may lead to parental interference with investigations of student misconduct and challenges to disciplinary decisions. Yesterday we, along with VASS and VEA, distributed a letter to every Senator seeking their support in opposing the bill. On the floor of the Senate, several Senators spoke in opposition to the bill, reading from and citing to our joint letter. Yesterday, the Senate defeated the bill on a vote of 28 to 12.

Update on Family Life Education Bills

SB 967 (Sen. Northam) would have required every school division to implement a family life education curriculum.  Under current law, school boards may, but are not required to, teach family life education. This bill died in the Teachers and Administrative Action subcommittee of the House Education Committee on a vote of 4 to 4.

SB 906 (Sen. Deeds) requires that those school divisions that choose to teach family life education must teach the SOLs relating to dating violence and abusive relationships at least once in middle school and twice in high school. This bill was recommended for reporting by the Teachers and Administrative Action Subcommittee on a vote of 8 to 0.

65% Solution Bill Killed by Senate Education and Health Committee

Del. Loupassi’s HB 1416 was before the Senate Education and Health Committee yesterday. At the Delegate’s request, the bill was amended to remove the requirement that school boards allocate at least 65% of their funds to "instructional spending." As amended, the bill would have required that school boards annually report their "instructional spending" to VDOE and that VDOE, in turn, report to the money committees. The bill would have allowed the Board of Education to define what is meant by "instructional spending." We opposed the bill even in its amended form because school boards already report all expenditures annually to the Board of Education and we were concerned that the 65% requirement would be reinserted at a later date. The bill failed to report out of the Committee.

Del. Cleaveland’s Labor Day Opening Bill Advances

HB 1483 (Del. Cleaveland) was considered by the full Senate Education and Health Committee yesterday. This bill would allow Roanoke City Public Schools (which does not often close due to inclement weather because school officials want to ensure that students eligible for free and reduced lunch are fed) to obtain a waiver from the Board of Education to open before Labor Day. You can read more about this bill here. When the bill was heard in subcommittee earlier this week, a representative from the Virginia Tourism Authority testified that the Governor was opposed to this bill. Interestingly, the Governor has softened his position. Before the full Committee, the representative of the Virginia Tourism Authority testified that while the Governor is opposed to generally applicable bills to change the post-Labor Day opening requirement, he was not taking a position on this particular, narrowly-drawn bill. The bill was reported out of the Committee on a vote of 10 to 5.

CTE Bill Reported by Committee

Del. Greason’s CTE bill (HB 1493), which would require that every automotive career and technical education program maintain industry certification and that the instructor of such program be certified, was considered by the Senate Education and Health Committee yesterday. Representatives of the Virginia Auto Dealers Association represented again that the association would work with school divisions to enable them to obtain and maintain certification for their programs and personnel. The bill was reported by the Committee on a vote of 11 to 4.

HB 1775 Dies in Subcommittee

HB 1775 (Del. Gilbert) was considered by the Immigration Subcommittee of the Senate Courts Committee earlier this week. In its original form, the bill would have required schools to inquire about the immigration status of students’ parents and then report that information to the Secretary of Education. The bill was amended in the House to require school boards to report to the Board of Education the number of students enrolled in ESL courses and the number of students who were enrolled without birth record. The bill died in the Immigration Subcommittee.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED ON HB 2494

HB 2494 (Del. E. Scott) was reported out of the Senate Education and Health Committee today and will go to the full Senate. This bill will permit a school board to seek waivers from the Board of Education from state regulations and for an Individual School Accreditation Plan on behalf of one or more of its schools. This is purely permissive legislation. It does not require a school board to seek waivers, nor does it require the Board of Education to grant any waivers. This bill simply extends to all schools the same opportunity to seek waivers and an alternative accreditation plan that is now granted to charter schools and regional schools. Please contact your Senator now and ask him or her to VOTE FOR HB 2494.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED ON HB 1548

HB 1548 (Del. Kory) was reported out of the Senate Education and Health Committee today and will be before the full Senate soon. This bill requires that the school principal or designee notify the parents of any student who violates a school board policy or the compulsory attendance requirements when such violation "is likely to" result in the student's suspension or the filing of a court petition. We already have elaborate reporting procedures in place for absences and student discipline. This bill would impose additional reporting requirements on school personnel. Moreover, we are concerned that this bill will enable parents to interfere with investigations of student misconduct and to challenge disciplinary decisions on the grounds that the notice required by this bill was not given early enough. Please contact your Senator now and ask him or her to vote AGAINST HB 1548.

PE Bills Continue to Advance

As we have previously reported, there are two bills – SB 966 (Sen. Northam) and HB 1644 (Del O’Bannon) – that would require school boards to provide 150 minutes of physical education (not health) per week in grades K-8. Both bills have been passed by their respective Houses of introduction. Sen. Northam’s bill has also been amended and passed by the House. Most recently, Del. O’Bannon’s bill was recommended for reporting by the Public Education Subcommittee of the Senate Education and Health Committee. We expect this bill to come before the full committee on Thursday. We will continue to oppose this bill as an unfunded mandate.

CTE Bill is Amended and Recommended for Reporting

Del. Greason’s CTE bill (HB 1493) was amended in subcommittee, at the patron’s request, to apply only to automotive programs. The bill, as amended, would require that every automotive career and technical education program maintain industry certification and that the instructor of such program be certified. According to testimony from the bill’s supporters, only about 48 of the approximately 120 automotive CTE programs in the state currently carry the industry certification. During the subcommittee meeting, Senator Ruff extracted a promise from the representatives of the Virginia Auto Dealers Association to work with school divisions to enable them to obtain and maintain certification for their programs and personnel. The bill, as amended, was recommended for reporting by the Public Education Subcommittee of the Senate Education and Health Committee.

Parental Notification Bill Fails to Report Out of Subcommittee

Del. Kory’s HB 1548 was considered by the Public Education Subcommittee of the Senate Education and Health Committee earlier this week. The bill would require principals to notify the parents of a student who violates school board policy if the violation is "likely" to result in suspension or the filing of a compulsory attendance petition. Sen. Howell made a motion to report the bill out of the subcommittee but there was no second to that motion. The full Committee may still consider and act upon the bill.

Narrow Exception to Labor Day Opening Advances

HB 1483 (Del. Cleaveland) provides a narrow exception to the post-Labor Day school opening requirement for a school division that is entirely surrounded by school divisions that have received waivers from the Board of Education to open before Labor Day. Del. Cleaveland has explained that the purpose of his bill is to address a unique situation faced by the Roanoke City Public Schools. Roanoke City Public Schools has a high percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch (70%+). The school system makes every effort to keep the schools open during inclement weather so that the students are fed. Consequently, Roanoke City Public Schools are not closed due to inclement weather as frequently as the surrounding school divisions and, therefore, they do not qualify for a waiver to the post-Labor Day opening requirement under the current waiver system. Del. Cleaveland’s bill would allow Roanoke City Public Schools to have a waiver and operate on the same schedule as the surrounding school divisions. This bill was recommended for reporting by the Public Education Subcommittee of the Senate Education and Health Committee. It was opposed by the hospitality industry and the Governor.

Bills Requiring Implementation of Economics and Financial Literacy SOAs Beginning July 1, 2011 Advance

Two bills were introduced this year, HB 1554 (Del. Wilt) and SB 810 (Sen. Obenshain) to delay the implementation of certain Standards of Accreditation until July 1, 2012. We supported both bills in their original form. Similar bills were introduced and passed last year in recognition that the General Assembly has not appropriated funds for school boards to meet the new requirements of the SOAs. The patrons of both bills, however, with the support of the Governor, agreed to amendments urged by the banking industry to exempt from delay the implementation of the SOAs related to economics and financial literacy. While the financial literacy curriculum is important, we opposed the amendment because it is, at present, an unfunded mandate. Both bills were passed by their respective Houses of introduction with the amendment. The Senate bill, SB 810, was reported by the House Education Committee earlier this week and is now on the House floor. The House bill, HB 1554, has been referred to the Senate Education and Health Committee.

Voucher Bill Killed in Senate Finance Committee!

Del. Massie’s HB 2314, which would have provided a tax credit for companies that donate money for scholarships for kindergarten and first grade students eligible for free and reduced lunch to attend private schools, came before the Senate Finance Committee this morning. This bill was one of Governor McDonald's initiatives this year. It was strongly supported by the private and parochial schools. Supporters of the bill argued that it would not take money away from public education, but that it wouldl actually result in a profit for the state! We are adamantly opposed to this bill because we firmly believe that it will take money away from the general fund and away from public education. We are very pleased to report that HB 2314 was passed by indefinitely by the Senate Finance Committee this morning on a vote of 9 to 6.

THE BUDGET - NEW DEVELOPMENTS

THE BUDGET - NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Today the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Appropriations reported their respective amendments to the 2010-2012 budget.  By far, the Senate committee treated K-12 more favorably than the House Committee.  As stated in the Senate Committee's report on K-12, "K-12 education is so vital to the higher education pipeline and to ongoing workforce efforts of the Commonwealth that we felt strongly that reinvestments in school aid must occur in tandem with initiatives this year in higher education and economic development.  To the end, we are recommending a net $100 million more than the budget as introduced for elementary and secondary education to regain some of the ground lost during the last two Sessions."  Included in this amount is $87 million representing the state's share of an additional $130 per student, and $18.4 million for the state's share of $76 per student for textbooks.  The Committee also noted that "[t]he final FY 2010 general fund Direct Aid to Education appropriation was reduced almost 20 percent from the original appropriation, to below the FY 2007 level."  The additional $100 million proposed by the Senate Committee will make us some of this reduced funding and is appreciated. 

As stated above, the House Appropriations' Committee was not nearly as generous to K-12 as its Senate counterpart.  Here are the guts of the House proposal: "included in our recommendations are a number of adjustments that will provide nearly $66.0 million in state allocations to provide a 2% bonus for teachers.  School divisions will be permitted to use their Job Funds funding towards the local match.  However, for those school divisions who choose not to offer a bonus, these dollars can be used to purchase buses and textbooks or be used for other high- priority educational expenditures."  On the other hand, the House Committee took the second year of the LCI hold harmless funding and it reduced funding for resource teachers to pay for the state's share of a 3.3% VRS rate increase.  The "good" news is that school boards do not have to pay their share of this rate increase, but the committee warned that school boards will be paying higher rates in 2013. 

Here are the links to the Senate and House reports on the amendments to the 2010-2012 budget, including the reports on subcommittees on K-12 budget:

http://sfc.virginia.gov/index.shtml

http://hac.state.va.us/documents/documents.htm

MORE URGENT ACTION NEEDED NOW

The Senate Committee on Education and Health reported out SB 1031 (Barker-Fairfax), which provides that any local funds appropriated to a school board that are left over at the end of a year shall remain the funds of the school board and can be spent the next year without the need for an appropriation. This legislation has been a priority of school boards for many years. As can be expected, boards of supervisors and city councils are contacting the Senators asking them to vote against this bill.

We need for you to call or email your Senator NOW to ask him or her to VOTE FOR SB 1031.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED! Contact your Delegate Today!

The House of Delegates will be taking a vote on Monday on HB 2314, the voucher bill sponsored by Delegate Massie (Henrico) and supported by the Governor. The bill provides tax credits to companies that donate money for "scholarships" for kindergarten and first grade students eligible for free and reduced lunch to attend private schools. While the immediate impact of this bill is limited to $25 Million, it represents the proverbial camel's nose under the tent. When this voucher bill was first announced, both the Governor and the patron said it was a Florida-type program. Florida has a full-blown voucher program that sucks a tremendous amount of money out of the state treasury and away from public education. The proponents of this bill claim that it will not cost school systems anything because they will be relieved of the cost of educating the students, but nothing could be further from the truth. If you take a student off of a school bus, it does not reduce the cost of the fuel to run the bus or the bus driver to operate the bus. It simply increases the per capita cost of operating the bus. This voucher bill, which is just the beginning, will take tax money away from public education and drive up the per capita cost of educating our students. It is bad public policy and it is harmful to our students at a time when state funding for public education has dropped to the 2007 level or below.

PLEASE CALL YOUR DELEGATE TODAY AND ASK THAT HE OR SHE VOTE AGAINST HB 2314!

Highlights from House Ed

HB 2494 (Del. E. Scott), which will allow school boards to request from the Board of Education a waiver from certain state regulations and approval of an Individual School Accreditation Plan, was reported by the House Education Committee this morning. This bill will allow school boards to apply on behalf of one or more of its schools for waivers just like charter and regional schools are now permitted to do.

HB 2009 (Del. LeMunyon) was reported by the House Education Committee. In its original form, the bill would have required school boards to adopt open enrollment policies and would have dictated the contents of such policies. The bill was amended in committee to allow, but not require, school boards to adopt open enrollment policies and it lists certain items that school board may, but is not required to, consider when adopting such a policy.

HB 1554 (Del. Wilt) which, as amended, delays implementation of certain SOAs, except those relating to the economics and financial literacy curriculum, was reported by the House Education Committee. We are opposed to the provision letting the economics curriculum become effective now because it is an unfunded mandate.

Paraprofessional Autism Training Bill Tabled by House Appropriations Subcommittee

HB 1720 (Del. Massie), which was already reported by the House Education Committee would, among other things, require school divisions to provide 80 hours of training in student behavior management to any aide assigned to work with a teacher who has primary responsibility for students with an autism spectrum disorder.   We, along with VASS, opposed this bill.  The bill was tabled this evening by the Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriation.  

The subcommittee tabled two other bills, HB 2204 (Del. Comstock) and HB 2484 (Del. Watts).   

SOQ Subcommittee of the House Education Committee

This morning the SOQ subcommittee voted to recommend reporting HB 2494 (Del. Scott).  This bill would allow school boards to request from the Board of Education a waiver from certain state regulations and approval of an Individual School Accreditation Plan.  We, along with VASS, strongly support this bill.   

The SOQ subcommittee also voted to report HB 1554 (Del. Wilt), which delays implementation of certain SOAs for another year.  Before reporting the bill, however, the subcommittee adopted an amendment that provides a carve out for economics and financial literacy.  The bill, as amended, would require school boards to implement the economics and financial literacy curriculum beginning on July 1, 2011.  As we reported here, a similar attempt to amend the identical Senate bill was defeated.  We will continue to oppose the amendment and to support the bill in its original form.

Updates from Monday at the GA

There is a lot going on at the GA as we approach cross-over next week.  Here is a quick look at what happened on Monday:

Del. Dickie Bell’s bill (HB 1435) to require school boards and Virginia colleges and universities to give foreign language credit for American Sign Language courses was reported out of the House Committee on Education on an 18 to 1 vote. 

Del. Cleaveland’s school opening bill (HB 1483), which permits a waiver to the post-Labor Day opening requirement for a school division that is completely surrounded by school divisions that open prior to Labor Day, was reported by the House Education Committee on a vote of 13 to 8.

HB 1493 (Del. Greason) mandates that the Board of Education require that every career and technical education program for which there is a national or industry certification (automotive, culinary, and printing) be certified.  The bill was amended in committee to make the effective date July 1, 2012.  According to testimony from the bill’s supporters, only about 40 of the approximately 120 automotive CTE programs in the state currently carry the industry certification.  While we applaud those programs that obtain national or industry certification, we fear that the requirement imposed by this bill, particularly in the current budget climate, will lead to the closing of many CTE programs.  The bill was reported by the House Education Committee.

Del. Kory’s HB 1548, which, as amended, requires school principals to notify a student’s parents of policy violations that are likely to lead to a suspension, was reported  by the House Education Committee.

SB 810 (Sen. Obenshain) would delay the implementation of certain Standards of Accreditation.  We supported this bill as originally drafted.  The patron offered an amendment which exempted the implementation of financial responsibility (so that the SOAs related to financial literacy would have to be implemented beginning July 1, 2011).  The Public Education Subcommittee of the Senate Education and Health Committee adopted the proposed amendment.  We, along with many others, expressed our opposition to this amendment.  While we believe that the financial literacy curriculum is important, we cannot support the implementation of this curriculum until the necessary funding is available.  The subcommittee reversed its decision on the amendment and the recommended the bill as it was originally drafted for reporting. 

Sen. Barker introduced a bill (SB 1031) to allow school boards to carry over unexpended funds from one fiscal  year to the next.  This bill was opposed by VACO.  We, along with VASS, VEA, and others, supported this bill.  The bill was recommended for reporting by the subcommittee.  

  

Important Bills Coming Up This Week - Physical Education, Vouchers, and Paraprofessional Training

Two significant physical education bills are winding their way through their respective houses of introduction, HB 1644 (Del. O'Bannon) and SB 966 (Sen. Northam).  Both would require school boards to provide 150 minutes a week of physical education (not health) to every elementary and middle school student.  Advocates for the bills argue that this should not cause a problem because if we do not have enough physical education teachers, we can use regular classroom teachers to provide the phys ed.   You and your superintendent need to determine whether your school system can comply with this requirement should it pass.  In discussing it, please remember that we only get funding for 1 resource teacher per 1,000 elementary school students and no funding for resource teachers in middle school.  Phys ed teachers are considered resource teachers, along with music, art, foreign language and library personnel.  Complying with this requirement may mean the demise of your resource teachers and the subjects they teach.  You might also consider how you will provide elementary teachers with the state mandated 30 minute planning time per day.  When the mandate was passed it was argued that the teachers could do their planning when the resource teachers to the class.  Something has to give.

Among the significant bills we expect to come up this week are Delegate Jimmie Massie's school voucher bill (HB 2314) and his bill requiring 80 hours of training for paraprofessionals (aides) who work with students with autism (HB 1720).  Both bills are being touted as having no fiscal impact. The voucher bill will draw tax revenues away from the general fund of the state budget.  The school systems will have to pick up the tab for the aide training. Even if the courses are made available for free, which is not free from doubt, we still must pay for substitutes for the aides while they take the courses or pay the aides overtime for taking the courses.  This is no free lunch.

Highlights from the Second Full Week of the General Assembly Session

We are now 19 days into the 45-day session.  Things really heated up this past week at the GA as we count down to crossover on February 8.  Below are highlights on some of the most important bills we are following this session.      

House Education Committee and Subcommittees

HB 2525 (Dels. Keam and Hugo) was passed by indefinitely by the Teachers and Administrative Action subcommittee of the House Education Committee on Thursday. HB 2525 was identical to SB 840 which was killed in the Senate Education and Health Committee last week. Both bills, which we opposed, would have greatly expanded the ability of parents, including parents of children who do not attend the public schools, to bring court actions to challenge school board decisions.

Three generally applicable school opening bills, HB 1433 (Del. Greason), HB 1543 (Del. Kory), and HB 2008 (LeMunyon) were considered by the Teachers and Administrative Action subcommittee on Thursday. All three bills failed. Two more specific school opening bills, HB 1480 (Del. Cleaveland) and HB 1537 (Del. Merricks), each relating to a particular school division or divisions, also failed. HB 1483 (Del. Cleaveland), however, which grants an automatic waiver for any school division that is entirely surrounded by school divisions that have been granted a waiver to open prior to Labor Day, was recommended for reporting by the subcommittee. All of the school opening bills were fiercely opposed by the tourism and hospitality industries.

A bill that would have allowed school divisions to substitute "supervised instructional time" for recess in order to make up for days instruction time to inclement weather (HB 2241 - Del. Torian) also failed in subcommittee.

HB 1548 (Del. Kory) was amended in subcommittee. The bill, as amended, would require school principals to notify the parents of a student who violates school board policy if the violation is "likely" to result in suspension or the filing of a compulsory attendance petition. (Before the amendments, the bill would have required parental notification every time a violation was entered on a student's scholastic record.) The bill, as amended, was recommended for reporting by the Students and Day Care subcommittee.

Del. Englin's HB 1575 on bullying was tabled by the subcommittee so that the issues could be studied. HJ 625 (Del. R. B. Bell), a study resolution regarding antibullying, was recommended for reporting by the House Rules subcommittee on studies.

HB 1550 (Del. Englin), which would have required textbook publishers to be certified by the Board of Education, was passed by in the full House Education Committee.

HB 2077 (Del. Landes) would amend the Code sections regarding secure testing to make it a violation of test security to exclude from testing students who are required to be assessed. Currently, test security violations include allowing unauthorized access to the tests, copying or disclosing the contents of the tests, altering the tests or responses, making an answer key, or making a false certification regarding test security. These violations could result in, among other things, civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation. The bill was amended to make clear that students enrolled in the public schools could not be subject to civil penalties.

Senate Education and Health Committee

SB 1320 (Sen. Obenshain) regarding charter school employees was passed by indefinitely by the Senate Committee on Education and Health.  See our post here for more about this bill.

SB 946 (Sen. Howell) regarding video monitoring systems for school buses was reported by Senate Committee on Education and Health.  See our post here for more about this bill.  

SB 967 (Sen. Northam) requires every school division to implement a family life education curriculum.  Under current law, school boards may, but are not required to, teach Family Life.  This bill would take that choice away from local school boards.  We will continue to oppose this bill.

House Courts of Justice 

In its original form, HB 1775 (Del. Gilbert) would have required schools to inquire about the immigration status of students’ parents and then report that information to the Secretary of Education.  The Secretary would then report annually to the Governor and General Assembly the number of students whose parents were not citizens or lawful residents and the approximate cost of educating those students.  The Immigration Subcommittee of the House Committee on Courts of Justice adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute which substantially changed the bill.  The bill, as amended, requires school boards to report to the Board of Education the number of students enrolled in ESL courses and the number of students who were enrolled without birth certificates.  The bill, as amended, was recommended for reporting by the subcommittee.

Updates from the House Education Committee and the Senate Public Education Subcommittee

As expected, HB 1720 (Del. Massie), which requires school boards, among other things, to provide 80 hours of training for aides assigned to teachers of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, was reported out of the House Education Committee and referred to the House Appropriations Committee today. We will continue to oppose this bill.

HB 2395 (Del. Rob Bell), which would have required the VHSL to permit home schooled students who meet certain requirements to participate in interscholastic athletics, was passed by indefinitely in the House Education Committee today. The Committee referred the issue for study by a special subcommittee to be composed of members of the House Education and the Senate Education and Health Committees. The Senate Committee must still agree to have its members participate in the study.

SB 1320 (Sen. Obenshain) would have, among other things, allowed charter schools to employ unlicensed teachers. Under this bill, up to 25% of charter elementary school teachers and up to 50% of charter middle and high school teachers, could be unlicensed. We opposed this bill. The Public Education Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Education and Health voted to recommend to the full Committee that SB 1320 be passed by indefinitely. 

SB 946 (Sen. Howell) was reported out of the Public Education Subcommittee today. This bill allows school divisions to utilize video monitoring systems on school buses to detect drivers passing stopped school buses. This bill is permissive only. It does not require school divisions to use this new technology.

Highlights After the First Full Week of the GA Session

We are a week and a half - or twelve days - into the 45 day General Assembly Session.  We are following nearly 200 education related bills.  Below we have highlighted the status of several important bills that were acted upon this week.   

65% Solution – HB 1416 (Del. Loupassi) was narrowly passed by the House Friday on a vote of 48Y-46N.  The bill is identical to one that passed the House last year by a vote of 63Y-35N.  The bill would require school boards to allocate at least 65% of their operating budget to “instructional spending” and it would require the Board of Education to define what constitutes "instructional spending."  We will continue to oppose the bill in the Senate, where it was killed last year.     

Judicial review of school board actions – We reported earlier in the week that SB 840, which would greatly expand the ability of parents (even parents of children who do not attend the public schools) to bring court actions to challenge school board decisions, was not reported out of subcommittee.  The bill was killed by the full Senate Education and Health Committee on Thursday.  Interestingly, an identical bill was introduced in the House on Friday (HB 2525) by Dels. Keam and Hugo.  We will oppose the House bill just as we opposed the Senate bill. 

Failing to Stop at a School Bus – HB 1469 (Del. Surovell) was incorporated into HB 2043 (del. Anderson).  Both bills correct the unintentional removal of an operative word from the Code that caused some courts to dismiss charges for passing stopped school buses.  See our blog post on this topic here.  It may soon be unlawful in Virginia to pass a stopped school bus! 

Two bills introduced by Del. Kory, HB 1548 and HB 1583, were stricken at her request.  HB 1548 would have required principals to notify a student’s parents of every violation of school board policy entered in the student’s scholastic record.  HB 1583 would have required the Board of Education to make available the nutritional content of all food served in school breakfast and lunch programs.   

Required Training for Teachers and Aides Working with Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders - HB 1720 (Del. Massie) would require teachers who have primary responsibility for working with students with autism spectrum disorders to demonstrate proficiency in student behavior management.  In addition, the bill would require school divisions to provide 80 hours of training in student behavior management to any aide assigned to work with a teacher who has primary responsibility for students with an autism spectrum disorder.  This bill was reported out of the Teachers and Administrative Action Subcommittee of the House Education Committee with a recommendation that it be referred to the House Appropriations Committee.  A similar bill was reported out of the House Education Committee last year and was defeated in the House Appropriations Committee. 

Statewide Uniform Grading Policy – HB 2044 (Del. Anderson) would require the Board of Education to establish a statewide uniform grading policy.  The Students and Daycare Subcommittee of the House Education Committee recommended that the bill be passed by with a letter recommended that a study be conducted by the Board of Education. 

Fees for AP and IB Tests – HB 2082 (Del. Kory) would prohibit school boards from charging a fee for AP or IB tests, if such tests are required for academic credit.  The bill was passed by indefinitely by the subcommittee. 

Two Virtual Charter School Bills Stricken and Other News from the GA

Two of the three virtual charter school bills (HB1680 and HB2313) introduced in the House as of today were stricken from the docket at the request of the patron, Delegate Dickie Bell.  We appreciate Delegate Bell’s willingness to listen and be responsive to our concerns with these bills.

Also of note today, the House Committee on Education voted to report Delegate Bell’s HB1885 which deletes references in the Code of Virginia to educational programs that either were never funded or do not exist and to bring other sections of the Code into sync with current practices.  Among those changes are changing references to “electronic classroom” in the Code to “Virtual Virginia” and also allowing school divisions to post proposed and approved budgets on their Web sites rather than in hard-copy, except upon request.   

Lastly, VSBA, PTA, VEA, VASS, VML and VACO held a joint press conference today to decry the lack of any mention of K-12 education in the Governor’s State of the Commonwealth address and the fact that K-12 education is not a priority for the Governor.  VSBA was ably represented at the press conference by our president, Jeff Bain, who made it clear that the association is opposed to the voucher legislation and the so-called pay for performance plan supported by the Governor.   

Judicial Review of School Board Action – Bill Not Reported out of Subcommittee

SB 840 (Sen. Petersen) was considered today by the Public Education Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Education and Health.  This bill would amend Va. Code § 22.1-87 (which provides for judicial review of school board actions) to allow the parent of any school-aged child eligible to attend a school directly affected by an action of a school board to challenge such school board action.  The bill was intended to allow parents to file a court action to challenge school closings but, as written, would also allow parents of children who do not even attend the public schools (i.e. private school or home schooled students) to challenge decisions of the school board.  The bill would also allow challenges to nearly every decision of a school board – from assigning principals and teachers to particular schools to setting class schedules and lunch menus.  We opposed this bill on these and other grounds.  There was no motion to report the bill out of the subcommittee.  Unlike the House, however, in the Senate the full Committee may still consider and act upon the bill.        

65% Solution – Bill Reported out of House Education Committee

You may recall that last year, a version of the “65% solution” was passed by the House and then killed in the Senate.  That same bill was reintroduced this year by Del. Loupassi as HB 1416.  The bill requires school boards to allocate at least 65% of their operating budget to “instructional spending” and requires the Board of Education to define that term.  We opposed this bill, however, it was reported out of the House Committee today by a vote of 11 to 9.  (Last year the Committee’s vote was 13 to 8 in favor of the bill.) We will continue to oppose this bill.

And they're off!

The 2011 session of the Virginia General Assembly began at noon today.  A couple things of particular interest to us occurred today.  First, Del. Roxann L. Robinson was appointed to the House Education Committee.  Then, in its first meeting of the session, the House Appropriations Committee received a budget briefing from committee staff.  Click here to see a copy of the presentation. 

The bills continued to pour in today as legislators return to Richmond.  Over the next few days, we will continue to highlight some important bills that we will be following this session.

  

Budget Briefing to the Education Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee

At its meeting today, the Education Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee received a briefing by staff on the Governor's proposed budget amendments for public education.  You can view the presentation here.  

Bullies and Bus Stops – More Highlights from Prefiled Bills

     

Two bills related to bullying have been introduced. The first, HB 1575 (Dels. Englin and Ebbin) provides a detailed definition of bullying, harassment, and intimidation and requires training for all instructional personnel on bullying, harassment, and intimidation prevention. It also requires that the bullying, harassment, or intimidation of any student be reported to the division superintendent and it requires that school boards include in the code of student conduct procedures to separate the perpetrator (i.e. bully) from the victim in a way that does not punish the victim. The second bill, HB 1576, also introduced by Delegates Englin and Ebbin, makes certain acts of bullying (defined more narrowly than HB 1575) a crime. The definition of bullying in this bill specifically includes bullying through the use of "information or communication technology," also know as cyberbullying.

Virginia Code § 18.2-370.5 prohibits violent sex offenders from, among other things, being on school property during school hours or during school-related and school-sponsored activities. A bill has been introduced (HB 1523 - Del. Landes) to extend that prohibition to any property, public or private, that is being used solely for a school-related or school-sponsored activity and to school bus stops, when children are waiting to be picked up or are being dropped off. Speaking of school bus stops, another bill has been introduced (HB 1596 – Del. Iaquinto) to extend "gang free zones" to include school bus stops during the time that students are waiting to be picked up or are being dropped off. The bill also adds public parks, libraries and hospitals to the list of "gang free zones." Similar legislation that also included community centers and recreation centers was introduced last year. (HB 682) That bill ultimately passed (Ch. 346), but not before it was amended to remove school bus stops, parks, parks, libraries, and hospitals from the list of gang free zones.

Grant's Tomb and Stopped School Buses - Highlights from Prefiled Bills

The 2011 session of the General Assembly is right around the corner. Proposed legislation is streaming in and we have identified a number of bills that we will be following this session. Over the next few days, we will highlight just a few of the education related bills that you will be hearing about during this year's session.

Everyone is familiar with the fiasco of the mistake-riddled history texts approved by the State Board of Education and used by a number of our school divisions. It should not come as a surprise, therefore, for you to hear that a bill has been introduced (HB 1550 - Delegate Englin) to, among other things, require publishers to employ content experts to review the textbooks, to list the experts who reviewed the textbooks and to pay for correcting any mistakes that may appear in the textbooks. This bill will afford welcome relief to our school systems that have come to rely on the current State Board approval process to ensure accurate textbooks. Now if we could just get the publishers to figure out when the war of 1812 began and who is buried in Grant's tomb!

You may have also heard about the Fairfax man who recently beat a charge of reckless driving for passing a stopped school bus. Currently, Va. Code § 46.2-859 says "A person is guilty of reckless driving who fails to stop, when approaching from any direction, any school bus which is stopped on any highway, private road or school driveway for the purpose of taking on or discharging children." The Fairfax man's attorney pointed out to the judge that when this code section was amended in 1970, the word "at," which originally appeared after the word "stop," was apparently inadvertently dropped from the statute. Thus, the attorney argued, the statute only applies to a person who fails to stop a school bus. The judge agreed with the attorney’s interpretation. Not surprisingly, a bill has been introduced (HB1469 - Dels. Surovell, Bulova, Kory, Sen. Petersen) to insert the word "at" at the appropriate place in the statute and to clarify that the statute applies to "[t]he driver of a motor vehicle." Remember this: while it is not currently unlawful (at least in one judge’s opinion) to pass a stopped school bus in Virginia, we do not recommend that you try it!

Remember to check back often over the next few days as we will be highlighting some of the other bills that we will be following this session.