Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Afternoon Update - 1/31

Several other bills that may impact public education were considered today.  Below is a summary of some of those bills.


The Senate Local Government Committee reported Sen. Sturtevant's SB795, which will require localities and school boards to post of their websites a register of all funds expended, showing vendor name, date of payment, amount, and a description of the type of expense, including credit card purchases with the same information.  The bill contains exemptions for certain information. 


The House General Laws Subcommittee #2 considered two FOIA bills carried by Del. Morris.  The first bill, HB2401, which would have required public bodies to take minutes of all closed meetings and to record all closed meetings, was tabled. 


The second bill, HB2402 provides that if the court finds that any officer or employee of a public body (i) receives a request for records that was sent by a requester by certified mail, return receipt requested, and (ii) without legal excuse or justification, deliberately, willfully, and knowingly fails to make a response to such request, such officer or employee may be terminated for cause by his appointing authority or agency head.  The subcommittee recommended reporting HB2402. 

House Appropriations - Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Committee

The Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee of House Appropriations met and considered the following bills today:


HB1400 (R.P. Bell) would create a statewide Virginia Virtual School that would be open to any student in the Commonwealth.  The subcommittee recommended reporting. 


HB1408 (Ware) was amended to permit school boards to have the vision of students in grade 2 or 3 and in grades 7 and 10 be screened by a qualified nonprofit vision health organization that uses a digital photoscreening method pursuant to a comprehensive vision program.  The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB1605 (LaRock) creates Parental Choice Educational Savings Accounts which will allow parents to receive state SOQ funding to use for education expenses, including private and sectarian schools. The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB2174 (Murphy) was amended to require school boards to report class size in middle and high school. The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB2395 (Cline) would require that if a school board employs reading specialists, one of the reading specialists must have training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder and to serve as an advisor on dyslexia and related disorders.  The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB1498 (LeMunyon), which would have reduced class size limits, was tabled.


HB1690 (Dudenhefer), which would have eliminated the requirement of a local match for VPI funds, was tabled.


HB1757 (Dudenhefer), which would have required one nurse in each school or a ratio of 1 nurse per 550 students, was tabled.


HB1764(Bulova), which would have required every school division to offer a full-time virtual program, was tabled.


HB1805 (J.J. Bell), which would have required school boards to develop a plan to fund and phase in full day kindergarten, was tabled. 


HB1923 (Bagby), which would have allowed middle school students to participate in Virtual Virginia, was tabled.


HB2173 (Murphy), which would have reduced class sizes in science and lab classes, was tabled.







House Education Committee - Education Innovation Subcommittee

The Education Innovation Subcommittee met this morning and considered the following bills:


HB1829 (Dudenhefer) requires hands-on CPR training for teacher licensure and recertification.  The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB1981 (Greason) requires BOE to promulgate regulations for the designation of School Divisions of Innovation in the local school divisions.  A School Division of Innovation would be an opportunity for a school division to innovate and be exempted from certain regulatory requirements.  The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB2141 (LeMunyon) requires BOE to report on the need to retain or maintain the frequency of reports that local school divisions are required to submit.  The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB2142 (LeMunyon) originally delayed the implementation of the redesigned high school graduation requirements by one year.  The bill was amended substantially to now alter the graduation requirements but not extend the deadline for implementation.  The subcommittee recommended reporting. 


HB2218 (Miyares) was amended to authorize BOE to notify the local school board if the school board denies a charter school application and BOE finds the school board's rationale for such denial to be insufficient.  The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB2232 (Tyler) states that it is a goal of the Commonwealth for teacher salaries to be competitive.  The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB2342 (Landes) was amended with a substitute.  The substitute would allow the BOE to establish regional charter school divisions, consisting of up to 3 underlying local school divisions that each have an enrollment of 3000 students and that each have one or more schools that have been denied accreditation for two of the last three years.  The regional charter school division would be governed by a separate board of eight members appointed by BOE and one member appointed from each underlying locality (not school board).  The regional charter school would get the per pupil state funding associated with the jurisdiction in which each student resides.  The regional charter school would not be entitled to receive any local share for such students.  The subcommittee recommended that the bill be reported and referred to Appropriations.


HB2352 (Freitas) allows a teacher licensed in another jurisdiction to be exempt from certain assessments that are required for licensure, subject to the approval of the superintendent or school board employing such teacher.  The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB2431 (Bulova) permits a school board have a retail fee-based electric vehicle charging stations on school property.  The charging station must be limited to school board employees, students, and authorized visitors.  The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB2432 (Bulova) requires BOE to make changes to its regulations regarding license revocation.  The bill will require that a superintendent investigate all complaints "immediately," that the school board hold a hearing on a petition for revocation within 90 days, and that the school board provide a copy of its investigative file to the Superintendent of Public Instruction before the hearing is held.  The subcommittee recommended reporting.


HB1807 (J.J. Bell) would have reinstated the fact finding panel as an option for teacher grievances.  It would also have removed the deadline for conducting grievance hearings which would have resulting in the grievance process being subject to delays.  The bill failed to report.


HB1949 (Peace) regarding initial license fee waivers was tabled. 


HB2434 (Rasoul) would have created a pilot program for "community schools."  The bill failed to report.    












 

Monday, January 30, 2017

Two Constitutional Amendments Tabled

HJ629 (R.B. Bell) would have allowed the Board of Education to establish charter schools.  VSBA opposed this constitutional amendment.  The amendment was tabled by the House Committee on Privileged and Elections Constitutional Subcommittee on a vote of 4Y to 3N.


HJ634 (Cole) would have permitted the General Assembly to authorize an elected school board to impose real property tax.  VSBA supported this amendment.  The amendment was tabled by the House Committee on Privileged and Elections Constitutional Subcommittee on a vote of 4Y to 3N.

House Education Committee - 1/30

This morning, the House Education Committee considered the following bills:


HB1400 (R.P. Bell) would create a statewide Virginia Virtual School that would be open to ant student in the Commonwealth.  The bill was reported and referred to the Appropriations Committee.


HB1414 (Austin) was amended to require VDOE to review multipart questions on SOL assessments determine the feasibility of awarding students partial credit.  The bill was reported.


HB1661 (Greason) would permit (but not require) schools to stock and administer, pursuant to a prescriber's written order, injectable medication for the treatment of adrenal crisis in students with adrenal insufficiency. The bill also provides liability protection to school staff who administer such medications.  The bill was reported.


HB1663 (Greason) was amended to authorize the Northern Virginia Community College to create an advisory committee and to develop computer science training and professional development activities for public school teachers.  The bill reported.


HB1690 (Dudenhefer), which eliminates the requirement that local governing bodies to commit to providing the required matching funds in order to qualify for grants under the Virginia Preschool Initiative, was reported. 


HB1708 (Filler-Corn) would require the BOE to consider for inclusion in the student outcome measures included in the Standards of Accreditation the number of industry certification credentials obtained by high school students. The bill reported.


HB1764 (Bulova) was amended to require every school division to offer a full-time virtual program.  This is one of the Governor's bills.  The bill was reported and referred to the Appropriations Committee.


HB1805 (J.J. Bell) would requires each school board that does not offer a full-day kindergarten program for each kindergarten student in the school division to develop a plan to fund and phase in a full-day kindergarten program for each kindergarten student in the school division and submit the plan to the General Assembly in advance of the 2018 Regular Session of the General Assembly.  The bill was reported and referred to the Appropriations Committee.


HB1914 (Head) would require school board members to submit to background checks and would prohibit any individual who has been convicted of any felony or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse, or rape of a child or who is the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse and neglect from serving on any school board.  The bill was referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections.


HB1923 (Bagby) would allow middle school students participate in Virtual Virginia courses.  The bill was reported and referred to the Appropriations Committee.


HB1924 (Bagby) directs the Board of Education to establish guidelines for alternatives to short-term and long-term suspension for consideration by local school boards.  The bill was reported.


HB2140 (LeMunyon) was amended to direct VDOE to develop a pilot program to administer an exist questionnaire for teachers who leave the profession.  The bill was reported. 


HB2257 (Filler-Corn) would require any high school family life education curriculum offered by a local school division to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the law and meaning of consent. The bill was reported.


HB2282 (Leftwich) would require each school board to ensure that each guidance counselor and school nurse that it employs receives training on the prevention of trafficking of children using awareness and training materials provided by the Board of Education and the Department of Social Services.  The bill was reported.


HB2290 (Ward) would require that driver's education include instruction concerning traffic stops, including law-enforcement procedures for traffic stops, appropriate actions to be taken by drivers during traffic stops, and appropriate interactions with law-enforcement officers who initiate traffic stops.  The bill was reported.


HB2355 (Pogge) would require school boards to (i) make Advanced Placement (AP) and Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) examinations available to students receiving home instruction, (ii) adopt written policies that specify the date by which such students shall register to participate in such examinations, and (iii) notify such students and their parents of such registration deadline and the availability of financial assistance to low-income and needy students to take such examinations. The bill was reported.


HB2395 (Cline) would require one reading specialist employed by each local school board to have training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder and to serve as an advisor on dyslexia and related disorders.  The bill was reported and referred to the Appropriations Committee.


HB2406 (Filler-Corn) would require any family life education curriculum offered to include instruction on the importance of the personal privacy and personal boundaries of other individuals and tools for a student to use to ensure that he respects the personal privacy and personal boundaries of other individuals.  The bill was reported.


HB1991 (Webert) would have repealed a provision that caps the sum of basic aid payments and supplemental basic aid payments received by certain eligible school divisions at a certain historical level of basic aid payments received by the relevant locality. The bill failed to report.

Saturday, January 28, 2017

VSBA Action Alert - Student Discipline Bills


VSBA Action Alert
Student Discipline Bills - HB1536 and HB1534 (R. P. Bell)
 
These two bills are scheduled to be heard in the House Education Committee at 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning.  Please contact members of the House Education Committee this weekend to ask them to oppose HB 1536 and HB 1534.
 
HB 1536 was amended in subcommittee on Friday.  The amended bill limits the length of time that a student in grades pre-K through 3 can be suspended to 5 days.  A student in grades pre-k through 3 cannot be suspended for more than 5 days or expelled, except in certain cases involving firearms or drugs.  VSBA opposes this bill.
 
·         While long-term suspensions and expulsions are very rarely used for students in grade three and below, suspensions and expulsions are an option that school divisions may consider in the most egregious cases.  This bill has the purpose and effect of prohibiting any suspension of more than 5 days for students in pre-K through 3 regardless of the seriousness of the offense (even for a serious or violent criminal offense).
·         State funds are not available for alternative education programs for elementary students.
·         This bill severely limits a school division’s options for disciplining students without providing any additional resources for appropriate alternatives.
·         The proponent of this bill, Just Children, recommended as its number one recommendation in its 2016 report that the General Assembly provide school divisions with additional funding needed to implement methods of preventing and addressing misbehavior without using suspension and expulsion, yet that funding has not been requested nor is it being provided.  This bill takes a tool away from schools without giving schools any alternatives to use.
 
Please contact members of the House Education Committee, listed below, this weekend and ask them to vote NO on HB 1536.   
 
 
HB 1534 was also amended in subcommittee on Friday.  The amended bill limits long-term suspensions to 45 days, unless aggravating circumstances exist, in which case the long-term suspension may last a maximum of 90 days.  VSBA opposes this bill.
 
·         In 2014-2015, there were 1,279,867 students enrolled in public schools.  According to the proponent’s own data, only 2,819 of those students received long-term suspensions.  Thus, only two-tenths of one percent (0.22%) of students received a long-term suspension.
·         These statistics demonstrate that school divisions are already appropriately limiting the use of long-term suspensions to the most egregious cases. 
·         Because of the limitations this bill will place on school divisions, it is likely that serious offenses will be more likely to result in expulsion, when previously they would have only resulted in long-term suspension. This is an unintended but very serious consequence of this bill.
 
Please contact members of the House Education Committee, listed below, this weekend and ask them to vote NO on HB 1534. 
 

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Update from House Education Committee and Public Education Subcommittee

The House Education Committee met today.  Below is a summary of the actions the committee took on the bills related to K-12 education.


HB1605 (LaRock), which creates the Parental Choice Educational Savings Accounts, was reported and referred to House Appropriations Committee on a vote of 12 to 9.


HB1408 (Ware), which would require school boards to have the vision of students in grade 2 or 3 and in grades 7 and 10 be screened by a qualified nonprofit vision health organization that uses a digital photoscreening method pursuant to a comprehensive vision program.  The bill was reported and referred to House Appropriations Committee on a vote of 20 to 1.


HB1757 (Dudenhefer), was amended to require school boards to employ one school nurse in each school or one school nurse per 550 students.  The amended bill was reported and referred to House Appropriations Committee on a vote of 19 to 2. 


HB1982 (Greason), which would require the Board of Education to allow for the award of verified provide for the award of verified units of credit for a satisfactory score, to be determined by the BOE, on the PSAT examination, was reported unanimously.


HB2014 (Keam) would change the BOE's biennial review of the SOQ from even-numbered years to odd-numbered years.  This was recommended by the BOE to align with the budget cycle.  The bill was reported unanimously.


HB2173 (Murphy), which limits class size in science laboratory classes in grades six through 12 to 24 students, was reported and referred to the Appropriations Committee on a vote of 19 to 2.


HB2174 (Murphy), which requires school boards to report actual pupil teacher ratios in middle and high school by subject, school, and course and to report any class that exceeds to maximum pupil teacher ratio to be reported by subject, school and course.


HB1498 (LeMunyon) would reduce the maximum class size to 28 in grades K-3 and to 29 in grades 4-6.  The bill was reported and referred to the Appropriations Committee on a vote of 20 to 1.


The Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education also met today.  Below is a summary of the actions taken by the subcommittee:


HB1661 (Greason), which would permit (but not require) schools to stock and administer, pursuant to a prescriber's written order, injectable medication for the treatment of adrenal crisis in students with adrenal insufficiency. The bill also provides liability protection to school staff who administer such medications.  The subcommittee unanimously recommended that the bill be reported.


HB1690 (Dudenhefer), which eliminates the requirement that local governing bodies to commit to providing the required matching funds in order to qualify for grants under the Virginia Preschool Initiative, was recommended for reporting unanimously.


HB 1805 (J. Bell) would require every school boards that does not currently provide full-day kindergarten to all kindergarten students to develop and submit to the General Assembly by January 2018 a plan to phase-in full day kindergarten for all kindergarten students. The subcommittee recommended that the bill be referred to the Appropriations Committee.


HB2395 (Cline), which establishes a dyslexia advisor, was recommended for reporting.


HB2406 (Filler-Corn), would require that any family life education curriculum that is offered must include instruction on the importance of the personal privacy and personal boundaries of other individuals and tools for a student to use to ensure that he respects the personal privacy and personal boundaries of other individuals.  The bill was recommended for reporting.


HB2257 (Filler-Corn) would have required any high school family life education curriculum offered by a local school division to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on consent.  The subcommittee recommended tabling the bill.
 


Sunday, January 22, 2017

VSBA Action Alert


VSBA Action Alert
 

There are 6 bills (3 Senate and 3 House) that will severely limit a school division’s ability to suspend students.  VSBA opposes these bills.  Below are specific talking points on each of these bills.  These bills are currently before the Senate Education and Health Committee and the House Education Committee.  When you meet with your legislators this week in Richmond, please ask them to oppose all of these bills. 

 

45 Day Long-Term Suspension – SB995(Stanley)/HB1534 (R.P. Bell) - This bill limits a long-term suspension to a maximum of 45 days.  In addition, this bill prohibits a long-term suspension from extending beyond the end of the current grading period, unless aggravating circumstances exist.  In no case can a long-term suspension extend beyond the end of the current school year. 
  • In 2014-2015, there were 1,279,867 students enrolled in public schools.  According to the proponent’s own data, only 2,819 of those students received long-term suspensions.  Thus, only two-tenths of one percent (0.22%) of students received a long-term suspension. 
  • These statistics demonstrate that school divisions are already appropriately limiting the use of long-term suspensions to the most egregious cases. 
  • Under this bill, regardless of the severity of the offense (even a serious or violent criminal offense ), a long-term suspension could not last more than 45 days.  The way the bill is currently drafted, it appears that not even aggravating circumstances would justify extending a suspension beyond 45 days. 
  • A student could not be long-term suspended for an offense committed in the last two weeks of the school year regardless of the seriousness of the offense. 
  • Because of the limitations this bill will place on school divisions, it is likely that serious offenses will be more likely to result in expulsion, when previously they would have only resulted in long-term suspension. This is an unintended but very serious consequence of this bill. 

Suspension and Expulsion of Elementary School Students SB997 (Stanley)/HB1536 (R.P. Bell) - These bills prohibit school divisions from suspending or expelling any student in pre-K through grade 5 except in certain cases involving firearms or drugs (in which cases federal law requires that expulsion be considered).   

  • These bills have the purpose and effect of prohibiting even short-term suspensions of elementary school students regardless of the seriousness of the offense (even for a serious or violent criminal offense). 
  • Regardless of the nature of the offense (so long as it does not involve firearms or drugs) the student could not be sent home for even one day. 
  • If you have examples of things that elementary students have done to warrant a suspension, give examples (without disclosing identifying information).  (The proponents of this legislation talk about students being suspended for “pulling pigtails, and throwing paper airplanes.”  We need to make it clear that we are suspending students for serious misconduct.)   
  • State funds are not available for alternative education programs for elementary students.
  • This bill severely limits a school division’s options for disciplining students without providing any additional resources for appropriate alternatives.
  • The proponent of this bill, Just Children, recommended as its number one recommendation in its 2016 report that the General Assembly provide school divisions with additional funding needed to implement methods of preventing and addressing misbehavior without using suspension and expulsion, yet that funding has not been requested nor is it being provided.  This bill takes a tool away from schools without giving schools any alternatives to use.   

Disruptive Behavior – SB996(Stanley)/HB1535(R.P.Bell) - This bill prohibits the use of long-term suspensions or expulsions for disruptive behavior unless the behavior also involves intentional physical injury or credible threat of physical injury to another person.  The term “disruptive behavior” is defined in the Code as “a violation of school board regulations governing student conduct that interrupts or obstructs the learning environment.” 

  • This bill would prohibit a long-term suspension for disruptive behavior regardless how often the student is disruptive or the nature of the disruption (so long as there is no physical injury).
  • This bill severely limits the school division’s ability to provide a safe and non-disruptive learning environment for the 99.8% of students who do not cause disruptions.  This bill puts the interests of the 0.2% of students who are disruptive over the needs of all of the other students.   
  • If you have examples of extremely disruptive behavior that warrants suspension, give examples when speaking with your legislator

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Update from the General Assembly

The House Education Committee considered the following bills today.






HB1578, Delegate Rob Bell's bill to require the Virginia High School League to allow home schooled students to participate in interscholastic sports and programs was reported out of the House Education Committee today on a vote of 14 to 7. 






HB1392 (Lingamfelter), which would permit a school board to authorize a school security officers to carry firearms in the performance of their duties in certain circumstances.  The school security officer must be a retired law enforcement officer and must receive training and certification from the Department of Criminal Justice Services.  The school board would also be required to solicit the input of the chief law enforcement officer of the locality regarding the qualifications of the retired officer.






The Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the House Education Committee considered the following bills today.






HB1437 (Head) would eliminate the requirement to test the sight and hearing of a student  who has any defect of vision or hearing or disease of the eyes or ears that requires the use of a corrective or supplemental device as set forth in the student's Individualized Education Program.  The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill. 






HB1490 (Marshall), which relates to school board members who are called to active service in the Armed Forces, was recommended for reporting on a vote of 7 to 2. 






HB1552 (Bulova) was amended to require each school board to post on its website a notice to high school students and parents of the opportunities available to obtain a nationally recognized career readiness certificate at a local public high school, comprehensive community college or workforce center.  The bill, as amended, was recommended for reporting unanimously.






HB1660 (Greason) would add the Federalist Papers to the list of list of documents relating to Virginia history and the United States Constitution that are required to be explained and taught to students in public elementary, middle, and high schools.  The bill requires the study of all the listed documents to be incorporated into the Standards of Learning and requires the Department of Education to report to the House Education Committee and Senate Education and Health Committee on how the documents were incorporates into the Standards of Learning.  The bill was recommended for reporting on a vote to 6 to 2.






HB1709 (Filler-Corn) was amended to require each school board to have a policy that directs principals to notify the parent of any student involved in an alleged incident of bullying of the status of any investigation within 14 school days of the allegation of bullying.  The amended bill was recommended for reporting unanimously.






HB1757 (Dudenhefer) would require each school board to employ at least one full-time nurse in each school and at least one full-time nurse for every 1,000 students.  The bill was recommended to be reported and rereferred unanimously.




HB1770 (Freitas) would allow a school board or superintendent to waive certain requirements for licensure in the area of career and technical education.  The bill was recommended for reporting on a vote of 5 to 3.






















Monday, January 16, 2017

2017 General Assembly Session Underway

The 2017 session of the General Assembly opened last Wednesday.  Your VSBA lobbying team has been hard at work identifying legislation that impacts school boards and meeting with legislators.  We have identified over 200 bills that we are actively tracking.  We will use this blog throughout the session to keep you informed about the key legislation that may impact local school boards.   


Today the Constitutional Subcommittee of the House Privileges and Elections Committee met and considered two bills that are of interest to school boards.  The subcommittee considered HJ629 (Del. Rob Bell), which would amend the Constitution to allow the Board of Education to establish charter schools.  Currently, only local school boards can approve charter schools.  VSBA opposes this constitutional amendment.  The subcommittee also considered HJ634 (Del. Cole), which would permit the General Assembly to authorize elected school boards to impose a real property tax.   VSBA supports this constitutional amendment.  The subcommittee did not take any action of the proposed constitutional amendments today.  The subcommittee is expected to vote on all the constitutional amendments before it on January 30.