General Assembly Update 2/28/18

This morning, VSBA staff began our day attending House Education Subcommittee # 2. Only one bill was discussed:

SB 101 (McClellan) – This bill 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 consequences of nonconsensual sexual activity, conduct, or touching. The bill would permit any family life education curriculum offered by a local school division to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on (i) the dangers and repercussions of using electronic means or social media to (a) engage in sexually explicit communications or (b) send or display sexually explicit images and (ii) the prevention, recognition, and awareness of child abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse. The subcommittee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute that allows local school divisions to incorporate age appropriate elements of evidence-based programs regarding child abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse. The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting (7-2).

Following the conclusion of the subcommittee, the full committee of House Education met to discuss the following bills of interest to VSBA:

SB 76 (Favola) – This bill would specify that for the purpose of Board of Education regulations for the approval of teacher education programs, the term "education preparation program" includes four-year bachelor's degree programs in teacher education. VSBA spoke in support of this bill. The committee reported the bill (20-0).

SB 170 (Stanley) – This bill would prohibit, except for drug offenses, firearm offenses, and certain criminal acts, students in preschool through grade three from being suspended for more than three school days or expelled from attendance at school unless (i) the offense involves physical harm or credible threat of physical harm to others or (ii) the local school board or the division superintendent or his designee finds that aggravating circumstances exist, as defined by the Department of Education. VSBA worked with the patron and other stakeholders to modify the language to allow more flexibility for local school divisions and supports the bill. The committee reported the bill (18-2).

SB 238 (De Steph) – This bill would prohibit local school boards from requiring a student or his parent to disclose information related to the student's race or ethnicity unless (i) the student or his parent is given an option to designate "other" for the student's race or ethnicity or (ii) such disclosure is required by federal law. The committee reported the bill (20-0).

SB 349 (Peake) – This bill would make several changes to the teacher licensure process, including (i) permitting teachers with a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, to receive licensure by reciprocity without passing additional licensing assessments and (ii) permitting a local school board or division superintendent to waive certain licensure requirements for any individual who holds a provisional license and is employed by the local school board. This bill incorporates SB 257, SB 409, SB 548, SB 549, SB 551, SB 558,SB 723, and SB 863. VSBA supports this bill. The committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The committee reported the bill as amended (21-0).

SB 969 (Newman) – This bill would require the Board of Education, in establishing high school graduation requirements, to require students to earn one verified credit in history and social science by (i) the successful completion of a Board-developed end-of-course Standards of Learning assessment; (ii) achievement of a passing score on a Board-approved standardized test administered on a statewide, multistate, or international basis that measures content that incorporates or exceeds the Standards of Learning content in the course for which the verified credit is given; or (iii) achievement of criteria for the receipt of a locally awarded verified credit from the local school board in accordance with criteria established in Board guidelines when the student has not passed a corresponding Standards of Learning assessment. The bill would prohibit such end-of-course Standards of Learning assessment from being a performance-based assessment. The committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The committee reported and referred the bill as amended to House Appropriations (18-4).

SB 343 (Peake) – This bill would prohibit any school board from employing any individual who has been convicted of any felony offense against a child; a certain act of violence or violent felony; any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse, or rape of a child; or any offense requiring registration with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Register Act. The bill would provide that for any other felony offense, the school board, in its discretion, may hire an individual who has had his civil rights restored by the Governor and at least five years have passed since such conviction. The committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute conforming the bill to HB 1000 (Gilbert). The committee reported the bill as amended (21-0).

SB 605 (Ebbin) – This bill would require the Board of Education to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of federal law that prohibit any local school board or any individual who is an employee, contractor, or agent of a local school board from assisting an employee, contractor, or agent of such local school board in obtaining a new job if such local school board or individual knows or has probable cause to believe that the employee, contractor, or agent engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student in violation of law. The committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute conforming the bill to HB 438 (Bulova). The committee reported the bill as amended (21-0).

SB 747 (Sturtevant) – This bill would provide that the guaranteed admissions agreements between baccalaureate public institutions of higher education and associate-degree-granting public institutions of higher education may provide for the guaranteed admission of a student who earns an associate degree concurrently with a high school diploma through a dual enrollment program, as well as any student who earns an associate degree after high school. The committee reported the bill (22-0).

SB 785 (Surovell) – This bill would prohibit local school boards from requiring the use of any electronic textbook in any course in grades six through 12 unless the school board adopts a plan to ensure that on or before July 1, 2020, (i) each student enrolled in such course will have actual access at school and, if any assignment requires the use of such electronic textbook outside of school hours, in his residence to at least one personal computing device not shared with another student that contains an operating system and the hardware necessary to support the format of each electronic textbook expected to be used in such course and (ii) the relevant school has adequate connectivity, which the bill defines as bandwidth of at least one megabit per second per enrolled student. The committee adopted an amendment ichanging the adequate connectivity speed required to 100 kilobits per second. VSBA spoke in opposition to this bill. The Speaker’s office sent a letter requesting the bill go to House Appropriations and the committee reported and referred the bill to House Appropriations (12-8).

SB 101 (McClellan) – This bill 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 consequences of nonconsensual sexual activity, conduct, or touching. The bill would permit any family life education curriculum offered by a local school division to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on (i) the dangers and repercussions of using electronic means or social media to (a) engage in sexually explicit communications or (b) send or display sexually explicit images and (ii) the prevention, recognition, and awareness of child abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse. The committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute that allows local school divisions to incorporate age appropriate elements of evidence-based programs regarding child abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse. The committee reported the bill as amended (19-1).

SB 126 (Cosgrove) – This bill would permit any school division outside of Planning District 8, at the discretion of the local school board, to administer a parent/student driver education component as part of the driver education curriculum. Under both current law and the bill, such component is a requirement in Planning District 8 (Northern Virginia). The bill allows for school divisions to administer such component in-person or online. The committee reported the bill (18-2).

SB 169 (Stanley) – This bill would effectively require VHSL to establish, by July 1, 2021, a varsity level robotics team competition program that includes state championships. The committee reconsidered the previous vote from Monday and reported the bill (12-9).

Lastly, VSBA staff attended the meeting of House Appropriations Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee. Bills of interest to the Association discussed included:

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SB 80 (Favola) – This bill would establish the State School Health Advisory Board in the executive branch to advise the General Assembly and the Governor on pending or proposed legislation concerning the role of employees in public elementary or secondary schools in providing health care services at such schools and to provide guidance on any associated training requirements. The provisions of the bill would be contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. The subcommittee lay the bill on the table (5-3).

SB 229 (Hanger) – This bill would require the Board of Education to establish a training program for school board employees who assist in the transportation of students on school buses, including individuals employed to operate school buses and school bus aides, on autism spectrum disorders, including the characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, strategies for interacting with students with autism spectrum disorders, and collaboration with other employees who assist in the transportation of students on school buses. The bill would require each school board employee who assists in the transportation of students with autism spectrum disorders on school buses to participate in such training program. VSBA spoke on the bill thanking the patron for modifying it to place less of a burden on local school divisions while still carrying out the intent of the bill. The subcommittee amended the bill to remove the financial clause and recommended reporting the bill (8-0).

SB 401 (Lewis) – This bill would direct the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Education to update the "Window into a Green Virginia" curriculum developed by the Departments for sixth grade science to include a unit on the benefits, including the energy benefits, of recycling and reuse. The subcommittee lay the bill on the table 5-2.

SB 775 (Locke) – This bill would prohibit the child of a person on active military duty who is attending school for free from being charged tuition upon such child's relocation pursuant to orders his parent received to relocate to a new duty station or to be deployed. The bill would allow the child to remain enrolled in the current school division free of tuition through the end of the school year. The bill would also prohibit the child of a person on active military duty who is eligible to attend a school for free from being charged tuition by a school division that will be that child's school division of residence upon such child's service member parent's relocation to the jurisdiction for that school division pursuant to orders received. The subcommittee recommend reporting the bill (7-0).

SB 456 (McClellan) – This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop and administer biennially to individuals holding a license from the Department of Education a voluntary and anonymous school personnel survey to evaluate school-level teaching conditions and the impact such conditions have on teacher retention and student achievement. The bill would require such survey to include questions regarding school leadership, teacher leadership, teacher autonomy, demands on teachers' time, student conduct management, professional development, instructional practices and support, new teacher support, community engagement and support, and facilities and other resources. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to report the results of the survey to the House Committees on Appropriations and Education and to the Senate Committees on Finance and Education and Health. The subcommittee recommended laying the bill on the table (5-3).

SB 937 (Sturtevant) – This bill would create a tax credit for a business that hosts a junior or senior in a Richmond City high school as an apprentice for a semester during the 2018-2019 or 2019-2020 academic year. The business would receive a $2,500 credit per student, per semester. Participation in the program would be limited to 25 students. The provisions of the bill would be contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. The subcommittee recommended laying the bill on the table (5-3).

SB 261 (Suetterlein) – This bill would provide that a local school board that is required to employ two full-time librarians for any middle school or high school may meet such requirement by employing two full-time librarians or one full-time librarian and one full-time media specialist or instructional resource teacher. The bill would also provide that a local school board that is required to employ a full-time school-based clerical person for the library for any middle school or high school may meet such requirement by employing one full-time school-based clerical person for the library, for instruction, or for assessment or career planning, or by employing one full-time classroom instructional assistant. VSBA spoke in support of the bill. The subcommittee referred the bill to House Education on a voice vote.

SB 786 (Surovell) – This bill would prohibit any student who resides in Planning District 8 and is eligible for free or reduced price meals in the federally funded lunch program from being charged fees for enrolling in any online course or virtual program that is required or is offered by the school division in which he resides and requires such enrolled students to be provided, free of charge, a computer or other electronic device necessary to take the course or program. VSBA spoke in opposition to the bill. The subcommittee recommended laying the bill on the table (6-2).

SB 658 (Wagner) – This bill would clarify that school boards of school divisions participating in a regional or joint school may jointly apply to the Board of Education for a loan from the Literary Fund to benefit the regional or joint school. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (8-0).

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General Assembly Update 2/26/18

Welcome back dear readers!

Today, VSBA staff began the week attending the 7 a.m. meeting of House Education Subcommittee #2. Bills of interest to the Association were:

SB 343 (Peake) – This bill would prohibit any school board from employing any individual who has been convicted of any felony offense against a child; a certain act of violence or violent felony; any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse, or rape of a child; or any offense requiring registration with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Register Act. The bill would provide that for any other felony offense, the school board, in its discretion, may hire an individual who has had his civil rights restored by the Governor and at least five years have passed since such conviction. The subcommittee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute conforming the bill to HB 1000 (Gilbert) and recommended the bill for reporting (7-0).

SB 605 (Ebbin) – This bill would require the Board of Education to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of federal law that prohibit any local school board or any individual who is an employee, contractor, or agent of a local school board from assisting an employee, contractor, or agent of such local school board in obtaining a new job if such local school board or individual knows or has probable cause to believe that the employee, contractor, or agent engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student in violation of law. The subcommittee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute clarifying the implementation of the bill. The subcommittee recommend reporting the bill as amended (7-0).

SB 747 (Sturtevant) – This bill would provide that the guaranteed admissions agreements between baccalaureate public institutions of higher education and associate-degree-granting public institutions of higher education may provide for the guaranteed admission of a student who earns an associate degree concurrently with a high school diploma through a dual enrollment program, as well as any student who earns an associate degree after high school. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (7-0).

SB 785 (Surovell) – This bill would prohibit local school boards from requiring the use of any electronic textbook in any course in grades six through 12 unless the school board adopts a plan to ensure that on or before July 1, 2020, (i) each student enrolled in such course will have actual access at school and, if any assignment requires the use of such electronic textbook outside of school hours, in his residence to at least one personal computing device not shared with another student that contains an operating system and the hardware necessary to support the format of each electronic textbook expected to be used in such course and (ii) the relevant school has adequate connectivity, which the bill defines as bandwidth of at least one megabit per second per enrolled student. The subcommittee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute changing the adequate connectivity speed required to 256 Kilobytes. VSBA spoke in opposition to the bill. The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting (7-0).

Following the adjournment of the Subcommittee VSBA staff attended the full meeting of House Education as well as House Finance. Bills of interest in House Education included:

SB 169 (Stanley) – This bill would require any nonprofit corporation founded in 1913 that currently organizes and governs interscholastic activities among the public high schools to establish, by July 1, 2021, a varsity level robotics team competition program that includes state championships. The committee failed to report the bill (7-11).

SB 229 (Hanger) – This bill would require the Board of Education to establish a training program for school board employees who assist in the transportation of students on school buses, including individuals employed to operate school buses and school bus aides, on autism spectrum disorders, including the characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, strategies for interacting with students with autism spectrum disorders, and collaboration with other employees who assist in the transportation of students on school buses. The bill would require each school board employee who assists in the transportation of students with autism spectrum disorders on school buses to participate in such training program. The committee reported and referred the bill to House Appropriations (18-0).

SB 273 (Petersen) – This bill would authorize local school boards to include and requires the Board of Education to accept, for elementary school, unstructured recreational time that is designed to develop teamwork, social skills, and overall physical fitness in any calculation of total instructional time or teaching hours. The committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute conforming the bill to HB 1419 (Delaney). The committee reported the bill as amended (17-0).

SB 401 (Lewis) – This bill would direct the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Education to update the "Window into a Green Virginia" curriculum developed by the Departments for sixth grade science to include a unit on the benefits, including the energy benefits, of recycling and reuse. The committee reported and referred the bill to House Appropriations (18-0).

SB 664 (McPike) – This bill would require the Board of Education, in its graduation requirements, to permit local school divisions to waive the requirement for students to receive 140 clock hours of instruction after the student has completed the course curriculum and relevant Standards of Learning end-of-course assessment, or Board-approved substitute, provided that such student subsequently receives instruction, coursework, or study toward an industry certification approved by the local school board. The committee reported the bill (16-1).

In House Finance, one bill of interest discussed was:

SB 172 (Stanley) – This bill would expand the Education Improvement Scholarships tax credits program by including, as eligible scholarship recipients, children enrolled in or attending nonpublic pre-kindergarten programs. The maximum annual scholarship that a child admitted to, enrolled in, or attending a nonpublic pre-kindergarten program will receive is the lesser of the child's actual educational expenses or the state share of the grant per child under the Virginia Preschool Initiative for the locality in which the child resides. Under current law, tax credits are awarded to individuals and businesses making donations to nonprofit scholarship foundations using the donated funds to award scholarships to certain students in grades K-12 attending nonpublic schools. Eligible scholarship recipients are students in grades K-12 with a finalized individualized education program (IEP) in place or whose annual household income is not in excess of 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. The bill would define an eligible pre-kindergarten child and a nonpublic pre-kindergarten program and includes several other curriculum and administrative requirements that must be met by a nonpublic pre-kindergarten program in order for children attending the program to be eligible to receive scholarships under the tax credit program. Under the bill, VCPE or the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation will certify nonpublic pre-kindergarten programs meeting such curriculum and administrative requirements. The bill would also reduce the penalty for failure to fully disburse all donations received from 200 percent of the difference between 90 percent of the value of the donations it received and the amount disbursed to 100 percent of the difference. This bill incorporates SB 553. VSBA spoke in opposition to the bill. The committee failed to report the bill (9-11).

Following this, VSBA staff attended House Courts of Justice Subcommittee #1. The following bill of interest was discussed:

SB 476 (Reeves) – This bill would provide that school principals are not required to report criminal misdemeanors or status offenses to law enforcement if in the principal's discretion, based on a totality of the circumstances and consistent with Board of Education guidelines, such report is not warranted. The bill would require the Board of Education, in consultation with the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Office of the Attorney General, and any interested stakeholders, to update its Student Conduct Policy Guidelines to provide guidance for principals in exercising such discretion. VSBA supports this bill. The subcommittee recommended carrying the bill over to 2019 on a voice vote.

Lastly, VSBA staff attended the meeting of House Education Subcommittee #1. Bills of interest to VSBA discussed included:

SB 76 (Favola) – This bill would specify that for the purpose of Board of Education regulations for the approval of teacher education programs, the term "education preparation program" includes four-year bachelor's degree programs in teacher education. VSBA spoke in support of this bill. The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting (7-0).

SB 170 (Stanley) – This bill would prohibit, except for drug offenses, firearm offenses, and certain criminal acts, students in preschool through grade three from being suspended for more than three school days or expelled from attendance at school unless (i) the offense involves physical harm or credible threat of physical harm to others or (ii) the local school board or the division superintendent or his designee finds that aggravating circumstances exist, as defined by the Department of Education. VSBA worked with the patron and other stakeholders to modify the language to allow more flexibility for local school divisions and supports the bill. The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting (7-0).

SB 238 (De Steph) – This bill would prohibit local school boards from requiring a student or his parent to disclose information related to the student's race or ethnicity unless (i) the student or his parent is given an option to designate "other" for the student's race or ethnicity or (ii) such disclosure is required by federal law. The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting (7-0).

SB 349 (Peake) – This bill would make several changes to the teacher licensure process, including (i) permitting teachers with a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, to receive licensure by reciprocity without passing additional licensing assessments and (ii) permitting a local school board or division superintendent to waive certain licensure requirements for any individual who holds a provisional license and is employed by the local school board. This bill incorporates SB 257, SB 409, SB 548, SB 549, SB 551, SB 558,SB 723, and SB 863. VSBA supports this bill. An amendment in the nature of the substitute was adopted by the subcommittee. VSBA spoke in support of the bill. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill as amended (7-0).

SB 969 (Newman) – This bill would require the Board of Education, in establishing high school graduation requirements, to require students to earn one verified credit in history and social science by (i) the successful completion of a Board-developed end-of-course Standards of Learning assessment; (ii) achievement of a passing score on a Board-approved standardized test administered on a statewide, multistate, or international basis that measures content that incorporates or exceeds the Standards of Learning content in the course for which the verified credit is given; or (iii) achievement of criteria for the receipt of a locally awarded verified credit from the local school board in accordance with criteria established in Board guidelines when the student has not passed a corresponding Standards of Learning assessment. The bill would prohibit such end-of-course Standards of Learning assessment from being a performance-based assessment. The subcommittee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The subcommittee recommended reporting and referring the bill as amended to House Appropriations (5-2).

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General Assembly Update 2/23/18

This morning, VSBA staff attended the meeting of Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on Public Education. Bills of interest to VSBA included:

HB 167 (Miyares) – This bill would require the Board of Education to establish criteria for awarding a diploma seal for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for the Board of Education-approved diplomas. Under current law, such diploma seal is limited in scope to technology and advanced mathematics. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (5-0).

HB 329 (Yancey) – This bill would require the Board of Education, in establishing high school graduation requirements, to permit students to exceed a full course load in order to participate in courses offered by an institution of higher education that lead to a degree, certificate, or credential at such institution. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (5-0).

HB 443 (Carroll Foy) – This bill would require the Board of Education, in establishing high school graduation requirements, to (i) provide for the substitution of computer coding course credit for any foreign language course credit required to graduate with a standard or advanced diploma for children with disabilities and (ii) permit any English language learner who previously earned a sufficient score on an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate foreign language examination to substitute computer coding course credit for any foreign language course credit required to graduate, except in cases in which such foreign language course credit is required to earn an advanced diploma offered by a nationally recognized provider of college-level courses. Amendment strikes line 125-127. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (5-0).

HB 632 (Bulova) – This bill would require the Board of Education (Board) to (i) establish content standards and curriculum guidelines for courses in career investigation; (ii) develop, in consultation with certain stakeholders, resource materials that are designed to ensure that students have the ability to further explore interest in career and technical education opportunities in middle and high school; and (iii) disseminate such career investigation resource materials to each school board. The bill directs each school board to require each middle school student to take at least one course or alternative program of instruction in career investigation.The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (5-0).

HB 803 (O'Quinn) – This bill would extend eligibility to participate in programs of preparation and instruction to take a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education to individuals who are at least 16 years of age. Under current law, such programs are available only to adults who did not complete high school, students who have been granted permission by their division superintendent, and those who have been ordered by a court to participate in the program. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (4-0).

HB 829 (Bagby) – This bill would clarify that each parent of a school-age child in the Commonwealth is required to cause his child to attend school. Current law requires each such parent to send his child to school. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (5-0).

HB 1044 (Torian) – This bill would require each school board to adopt policies to (i) prohibit abusive work environments in the school division, (ii) provide for the appropriate discipline of any school board employee who contributes to an abusive work environment, and (iii) prohibit retaliation or reprisal against a school board employee who alleges an abusive work environment or assists in the investigation of an allegation of an abusive work environment. The bill would define an abusive work environment as one in which a school board employee engages in conduct in the workplace that a reasonable person would find hostile and that is severe enough to cause physical harm or psychological harm to another school board employee. VSBA spoke in opposition to this bill. The subcommittee amended the bill to remove lines 16-37. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill as amended (5-0).

H.B. 1370 (Pogge) – This bill would clarify that a parent who provides home instruction through a program of study or curriculum is required to provide his child with such program of study or curriculum to satisfy the requirements for the home instruction of such child. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (5-0).

HB 1530 (Davis) – This bill would provide that, except in the case of high school students who are eligible for the Applied Studies diploma, each high school student who has met the requirements for graduation prescribed by the Board of Education and the local school board shall be awarded a diploma of achievement or a diploma of achievement with a foreign language endorsement. Under current law and Board of Education regulations, each high school student who has met the requirements for graduation is required to be awarded a standard diploma or an advanced studies diploma. The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (5-0).

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General Assembly Session 2/22/18

Today VSBA staff attended the full committee meeting of Senate Education and Health. There was a large docket of bills and many that were of interest to VSBA:

HB 2 (Bell, Richard P.) – This bill would require the Board of Education to provide for teacher licensure by reciprocity for a period of one year for any spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Commonwealth, provided that such spouse has obtained a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for such a one-year reciprocal license is received by the Department of Education. The bill would provide that any such individual who receives a satisfactory evaluation at the conclusion of the year of employment under such one-year reciprocal license is eligible for a renewable license. VSBA supports the bill. The committee reported the bill (14-0).

HB 45 (Filler-Corn) – This bill would require any family life education curriculum offered in any elementary school, middle school, or high school to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs 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 committee reported the bill (13-1).

HB 50 (Hope) – This bill would require each local school board to adopt policies that (i) prohibit school board employees from requiring a student who cannot pay for a meal at school or who owes a school meal debt to do chores or other work to pay for such meals or wear a wristband or hand stamp and (ii) require school board employees to direct any communication relating to a school meal debt to the student's parent, which may be made by a letter addressed to the parent to be sent home with the student. The committee reported the bill (15-0).

HB 80 (Krizek) – This bill would require the Board of Education, in its regulations providing for teacher licensure by reciprocity, to permit applicants to submit third-party employment verification forms. VSBA supports this bill. The committee reported the bill (15-0).

HB 84 (Bell, Richard P.) – This bill would require any local school board that does not offer any elective course in American Sign Language to (i) grant academic credit for successful completion of an American Sign Language course offered by a comprehensive community college or a multidivision online provider approved by the Board on the same basis as the successful completion of a foreign language course and (ii) count completion of any such American Sign Language course toward the fulfillment of any foreign language requirement for graduation. The committee reported the bill (14-0).

HB 215 (Knight) – This bill would declare eligible for a renewable one-year license to teach in public high schools in the Commonwealth any individual who has (i) received a graduate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education; (ii) completed at least 30 credit hours of teaching experience as an instructor at a regionally accredited institution of higher education; (iii) received qualifying scores on the professional teacher's assessments prescribed by the Board, including the communication and literacy assessment and the content-area assessment for the endorsement sought and (iv) completed certain other licensure requirements. VSBA supports this bill. The committee reported the bill (15-0).

HB 231 (Hope) – This bill would clarify that in a county with the county manager plan of government (Arlington County), the county may have an elected school board notwithstanding the default method of school board appointment as set out in the Code. VSBA supports this bill. The committee reported the bill (15-0).

HB 330 (Yancey) – This bill would permit any public elementary or secondary school student to possess and use unscented topical sunscreen in its original packaging on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored event without a note or prescription from a licensed health care professional if the topical sunscreen is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for nonprescription use for the purpose of limiting damage to skin caused by exposure to ultraviolet light. The bill contains an emergency clause. The committee carried the bill over to 2019 (8-6).

HB 438 (Bulova) – This bill would require the Board of Education to adopt regulations that prohibit any school board or any individual who is an employee, contractor, or agent of such school board from assisting another employee, contractor, or agent in obtaining a new job if such school board or individual knows or has probable cause to believe that such other employee, contractor, or agent engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student. The committee reported the bill (14-0).

HB 544 (Freitas) – This bill would permit each local school board to (i) establish High School to Work Partnerships (Partnerships) between public high schools and local businesses to create opportunities for high school students to (a) participate in an apprenticeship, internship, or job shadow program in a variety of trades and skilled labor positions or (b) tour local businesses and meet with owners and employees or (ii) delegate the authority to establish Partnerships to the local school division's career and technical education administrator or his designee, in collaboration with the guidance counselor office of each public high school in the school division. The bill requires such local school boards to educate high school students about opportunities available through such Partnerships. The bill would also require the Board of Education, the Department of Labor and Industry, and the State Board for Community Colleges to identify Partnerships that may be eligible for exemptions from certain federal and state labor laws and regulations and establish procedures by which such exemptions may be obtained for such Partnerships. VSBA supports the bill. The committee reported the bill (14-0).

HB 670 (Kilgore) – This bill would permit any local school board that governs a school division (i) in which the locality is designated as fiscally at-risk or fiscally distressed by the Appalachian Regional Commission in the most recent fiscal year or is determined to have above-average fiscal stress or high fiscal stress by the Virginia Commission on Local Government in its most recent "Report on the Comparative Revenue Capacity, Revenue Effort, and Fiscal Stress of Virginia Counties and Cities" and (ii) for which the composite index of local ability to pay is less than or equal to 0.2000 to expend up to 25 percent of the required local effort for basic aid for debt service on school building capital renovation or construction projects. The bill would provide that in the event that the school division no longer meets such criteria, the local school board shall develop and implement a plan to readjust expenditures of the required local effort for basic aid over the course of no more than four fiscal years. The bill also provides that in the event that a school division that no longer met such criteria and that developed such plan subsequently meets the criteria again, the local school board may seek the approval of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to amend such plan. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2030. The committee reported and rereferred the bill to Senate Finance (15-0).

HB 676 (Pogge) – This bill would declare it the goal of the Commonwealth that each child who is deaf or hard of hearing is (i) as linguistically ready for kindergarten as his peers who are not deaf or hard of hearing and (ii) receptively and expressively literate in English and literate in written English by the end of third grade. The bill would require each agency of the Commonwealth that is responsible for providing services to children who are deaf or hard of hearing to collaborate to provide unified and seamless services for each such child from the onset of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention process through the end of his elementary and secondary school career. The bill would also establish a 14-member Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children's Advisory Subcommittee within the Disability Commission to advise the Commission on the provision of services in the Commonwealth for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The committee carried the bill over to 2019 (15-0).

HB 810 (O'Quinn) – The bill would require any school bus operator applicant who does not possess an commercial driver's license to receive (i) a minimum of 24 hours of classroom training and (ii) six hours of behind-the-wheel training on a school bus that contains no pupil passengers and requires any school bus operator applicant who possesses a commercial driver's license to receive (a) a minimum of four hours of classroom training and (b) three hours of behind-the-wheel training on a school bus that contains no pupil passengers. Current law leaves the setting of such hourly requirements to the Department of Education. The bill contains technical amendments. The VSBA supports this bill. The committee reported the bill (15-0).

HB 1000 (Gilbert) – This bill would permit any school board to employ any individual who was employed by a school board as of December 17, 2015, and who (i) has been convicted of a felony, with the exception of certain enumerated felonies, and (ii) has been granted a simple pardon by the Governor and has had his rights restored by the Governor. The committee reported the bill with a substitute (conforming to Peake’s bill) (13-1).

HB 1085 (Yancey) – This bill would require any local school board of a school division in which a military installation or other military housing is located to establish and implement policies to provide for the enrollment to any school of any military student residing on a military installation or in military housing within the school division, upon the request of his parent. The bill would permit such policies to include certain conditions. The bill would require a copy of such policies to be posted on the division's website and to be available to the public upon request. The committee reported the bill (15-0).

HB 1156 (Wilt) – This bill would require the Board of Education, in its regulations governing licensure, to provide for licensure of teachers with an endorsement in dual language instruction pre-kindergarten through grade six. The bill would define "dual language instruction" as instruction in English and in a second language. The bill would require the Board, in establishing the requirements for such endorsement, to require, at minimum, coursework in dual language education; bilingual literacy development; methods of second language acquisition; theories of second language acquisition; instructional strategies for classroom management for the elementary classroom; and content-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The bill would provide that (i) each teacher with such an endorsement is exempt from the Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment requirement but is subject to the subject matter-specific professional teacher's assessment requirements and (ii) no teacher with such an endorsement is required to obtain an additional endorsement in early/primary education pre-kindergarten through grade three or elementary education pre-kindergarten through grade six in order to teach in pre-kindergarten through grade six. VSBA supports the bill. The committee reported the bill (15-0).

HB 1419 (Delaney) – This bill would require local school boards to provide (i) a minimum of 680 hours of instructional time to students in elementary, except for students in half-day kindergarten, in the four academic disciplines of English, mathematics, science, and history and social science and (ii) a minimum of 375 hours of instructional time to students in half-day kindergarten in the four academic disciplines of English, mathematics, science, and history and social science. The bill would authorize local school boards to include and require the Board of Education to accept, elementary school, unstructured recreational time that is intended to develop teamwork, social skills, and overall physical fitness in any calculation of total instructional time or teaching hours. The committee conformed the bill to match SB 273 (Petersen). The committee reported the bill (15-0).

HB 1485 (Filler-Corn) – This bill would make several changes to the procedures relating to interventions when a pupil fails to report to school for a total of five scheduled school days for the school year, no indication has been received by school personnel that the pupil's parent is aware of and supports the pupil's absence, and a reasonable effort to notify the parent has failed, including (i) removing the appointed attendance officer as a party to the plan to resolve such nonattendance, (ii) permitting but not requiring the attendance officer to participate in the conference necessitated by additional absences subsequent to the development of the plan, and (iii) permitting but not requiring the attendance officer to file a complaint with the juvenile and domestic relations court alleging the pupil is a child in need of supervision or to institute criminal proceedings against the parent pursuant to relevant law. Under current law, the attendance officer is required to participate in such conference and is also required to file such complaint and institute such proceedings in cases in which the pupil is absent for an additional school day without indication that the pupil's parent is aware of and supports the pupil's absence. The committee reported the bill (14-0).

HB 1504 (Cline) – This bill would require enrollment in the Virtual Virginia online learning program during the school year to be open, on a space-available basis, to each public high school student in the Commonwealth and each high school student in the Commonwealth who receives home instruction. VSBA opposed this bill as originally written and approached the patron with amended language. The committee amended the bill to address enrollment and reported and rereferred to Senate Finance (15-0).

HB 1600 (Bourne) – This bill would reduce the maximum length of a long-term suspension from 364 calendar days to 45 school days. The bill would permit a long-term suspension to extend beyond a 45-school-day period but would prohibit such a suspension from exceeding 364 calendar days if (i) the school board or division superintendent or his designee finds that aggravating circumstances exist, as defined by the local school board in a written policy, or (ii) the long-term suspension is preceded by another long-term suspension in the same school year. VSBA supported the bill as amended. The committee reported the bill (13-1).

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General Assembly Update 2/21/18

Today, VSBA staff began their day attending the morning meeting of House Counties, Cities, and Towns Subcommittee #1 at 7:30 a.m. One item of interest was on the subcommittee agenda:

SB 751 (Sturtevant) -  This bill would require every locality with a population greater than 25,000 and each school division with greater than 5,000 students to post quarterly on the public government website of such locality or school division 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 would allow any locality or school division to exclude from such posting any information that is exempt from mandatory disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, any personal identifying information related to a court-ordered payment, and any information related to undercover law-enforcement officers. The bill would have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2019. VSBA spoke in opposition to this bill. The subcommittee failed to recommend the bill for reporting due to the lack of a second on the motion.

Following this meeting, VSBA staff attended the meeting of the full House Education Committee. Bills of interest under consideration were:

SB 103 (Suetterlein) – This bill would require the Board of Education to provide for teacher licensure by reciprocity for a period of one year for any spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Commonwealth, provided that such spouse has obtained a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for such a one-year reciprocal license is received by the Department of Education. The bill would provide that any such individual who receives a satisfactory evaluation at the conclusion of the year of employment under such one-year reciprocal license is eligible for a renewable license. VSBA supports this bill. The committee reported the bill with a substitute (conforming language to HB 2) (21-0).

SB 775 (Locke) – This bill would prohibit the child of a person on active military duty who is attending school for free from being charged tuition upon such child's relocation pursuant to orders his parent received to relocate to a new duty station or to be deployed. The bill would allow the child to remain enrolled in the current school division free of tuition through the end of the school year. The bill would also prohibit the child of a person on active military duty who is eligible to attend a school for free from being charged tuition by a school division that will be that child's school division of residence upon such child's service member parent's relocation to the jurisdiction for that school division pursuant to orders received. The committee reported and referred the bill to House Appropriations (20-1).

SB 786 (Surovell) – This bill would prohibit any student who resides in Planning District 8 and is eligible for free or reduced price meals in the federally funded lunch program from being charged fees for enrolling in any online course or virtual program that is required or is offered by the school division in which he resides and requires such enrolled students to be provided, free of charge, a computer or other electronic device necessary to take the course or program. VSBA opposes the bill. The committee failed to adopt amended language from the subcommittee expanding the impact of the bill statewide. The committee also failed to pass the bill by indefinitely (11-11). The committee ultimately reported and referred the bill as amended to House Appropriations (14-8).

SB 840 (Favola) – This bill would require each local school board to adopt policies that (i) prohibit school board employees from requiring a student who cannot pay for a meal at school or who owes a school meal debt to do chores or other work to pay for such meals or wear a wristband or hand stamp; and (ii) require school board employees to direct any communication relating to a school meal debt to the student's parent, which may be made by a letter addressed to the parent to be sent home with the student. The committee reported the bill (22-0).

SB 961 (Mason) – This bill would align provisions regarding when a homeless child or youth is deemed to reside in a school division with Subtitle VII-B of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 11431 et seq.) and updates references to such act. The committee reported the bill (22-0).

SB 841 (Favola) – This bill would make several changes to the procedures relating to interventions when a pupil fails to report to school for a total of five scheduled school days for the school year, no indication has been received by school personnel that the pupil's parent is aware of and supports the pupil's absence, and a reasonable effort to notify the parent has failed, including (i) removing the appointed attendance officer as a party to the plan to resolve such nonattendance, (ii) permitting but not requiring the attendance officer to participate in the conference necessitated by additional absences subsequent to the development of the plan, and (iii) permitting but not requiring the attendance officer to file a complaint with the juvenile and domestic relations court alleging the pupil is a child in need of supervision or to institute criminal proceedings against the parent pursuant to relevant law. Under current law, the attendance officer is required to participate in such conference and is also required to file such complaint and institute such proceedings in cases in which the pupil is absent for an additional school day without indication that the pupil's parent is aware of and supports the pupil's absence. The committee reported the bill (17-5).

After the conclusion of the full committee, VSBA attended House Education Subcommittee #2. Bills of interest to the Association discussed included:

SB 126 (Cosgrove) – This bill would permit any school division outside of Planning District 8, at the discretion of the local school board, to administer a parent/student driver education component as part of the driver education curriculum. Under both current law and the bill, such component is a requirement in Planning District 8 (Northern Virginia). The bill would allow for school divisions to administer such component in-person or online.The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill (9-0).  

SB 169 (Stanley) – This bill would effectively require VHSL to establish, by July 1, 2021, a varsity level robotics team competition program that includes state championships. The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting (9-0).

SB 229 (Hanger) – This bill would require the Board of Education to establish a training program for school board employees who assist in the transportation of students on school buses, including individuals employed to operate school buses and school bus aides, on autism spectrum disorders, including the characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, strategies for interacting with students with autism spectrum disorders, and collaboration with other employees who assist in the transportation of students on school buses. The bill would require each school board employee who assists in the transportation of students with autism spectrum disorders on school buses to participate in such training program. VSBA spoke on the bill and thanked the patron for modifying the language to address implementation concerns. The subcommittee recommended reporting and referring the bill to House Appropriations (10-0).

SB 273 (Petersen) – This bill would authorize local school boards to include and requires the Board of Education to accept, for elementary school, unstructured recreational time that is designed to develop teamwork, social skills, and overall physical fitness in any calculation of total instructional time or teaching hours. The committee amended the bill in the nature of substitute to conform to HB 1419 (Delaney). The subcommittee recommended reporting the bill as amended (10-0).

SB 401 (Lewis) – This bill would direct the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Education to update the "Window into a Green Virginia" curriculum developed by the Departments for sixth grade science to include a unit on the benefits, including the energy benefits, of recycling and reuse. The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting (9-0).

SB 664 (McPike) – This bill would require the Board of Education, in its graduation requirements, to permit local school divisions to waive the requirement for students to receive 140 clock hours of instruction after the student has completed the course curriculum and relevant Standards of Learning end-of-course assessment, or Board-approved substitute, provided that such student subsequently receives instruction, coursework, or study toward an industry certification approved by the local school board. VSBA supports this bill. The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting (9-0).

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