HB1400 (R.P Bell) would create a statewide Virginia Virtual School that would be open to any student in the Commonwealth. The bill was reported from the committee 8-7.
HB1408 (Ware) was amended to permit school boards to have the vision of students in grade 2 or 3 (unless certain exceptions apply) and in grades 7 and 10 (unless certain exceptions apply) screened by a qualified nonprofit vision health organization that uses a digital photoscreening method pursuant to a comprehensive vision program. The bill was reported from the committee with substitute 15-0.
HB1414 (Austin) will require VDOE to review multipart questions on SOL assessments determine the feasibility of awarding students partial credit. bill was reported from the committee with an amendment 15-0.
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 bill was reported from the committee 15-0.
HB1490 (R. Marshall) requires a school board member who temporarily vacates his seat due to war service in the Armed Forces to submit to the school board a list of names of suitable persons to serve as an acting school board member during his absence. The school board will be required to appoint an acting school board member from such list of names. bill was reported from the committee 8-7.
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 bill was reported and referred to Senate Finance 8-7.
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. bill was reported from the committee 15-0.
HB1662 (Greason) would require the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), in consultation with each public institution of higher education, to establish a policy for granting undergraduate general education course credit to any entering freshman student who has successfully completed a dual enrollment course. The bill requires SCHEV and each public institution of higher education to make the policy available to the public on their websites. The bill was reported from the committee 15-0.
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 was reported from the committee 15-0.
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 5 school days of the allegation of bullying. The bill was reported from the committee 15-0.
HB1829 (Dudenhefer) requires hands-on CPR training for teacher licensure and recertification. The bill was reported from the committee 14-1.
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 and statutory requirements. The bill was reported from the committee with amendments 15-0.
HB1982 (Greason) which would require the Board of Education to allow for the award of verified units of credit for a satisfactory score, to be determined by the BOE, on the PSAT examination. The bill was amended to add PreACT. The bill was reported from the committee with a substitute 15-0.
HB2142 (LeMunyon) would have delayed the implementation of the redesigned high school graduation requirements by one year. The bill was stricken at the request of the patron in the committee.
HB2174 (Murphy) requires school boards to report class size in middle and high school. The bill was reported from the committee 10-5.
HB2191 (Landes) requires each school board's procedures for handling challenged controversial instructional materials to include procedures for (i) annually notifying the parent of any student enrolled in a course in which the instructional materials or related academic activities may include sexually explicit content of the potential for such sexually explicit content in such course and (ii) providing, as a replacement for instructional materials or related academic activities that include sexually explicit content, nonexplicit instructional materials or related academic activities to any student whose parent so requests. The bill reported from the committee with amendments 9-6.
HB2218 (Miyares) authorizes 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 bill was reported from the committee 8-7.
HB2341 (Landes) requires at least two of the nine members of the Board of Education to represent business and industry in the private sector in the Commonwealth.The bill was reported from the committee 15-0.
HB2342 (Landes) 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 bill was reported from the committee 9-6.
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 bill was reported from the committee 12-3.
HB2395 (Cline) was amended to requires one reading specialist or school psychologist in any school division in which the local school board employs such a specialist or school psychologist 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 from the committee with the substitute 13-2.
