Crossover Report

Today is the first day post-crossover, meaning that all bills have either passed their originating body or they failed to move forward. This session, VSBA has been working with approximately 300 bills that are directly or indirectly related to K-12 education. We have had numerous significant successes in defeating or amending unfavorable legislation and in passing favorable legislation. Thank you to all of you who engaged in advocacy with the General Assembly. We greatly appreciate your help!

To assist you in your work, we have compiled a Crossover report which is divided into two sections, one for passed legislation and one for defeated legislation. As we move forward into the second half of session, we will be providing additional updates on these bills as they advance through the process. You can stay up-to-date on General Assembly's actions by visiting the VSBA Legislative Blog. Also, please keep an eye out for new VSBA Action Alerts. 

Thank you again for your continued support of VSBA. Your voice makes a difference in Richmond as legislators make decisions that impact your school divisions.

Passed Legislation 

HB 1 (Wilt) – This bill would clarify that student directory information may be publicly released by school personnel if the school has given notice to the parent, legal guardian, or eligible student of (i) the types of information that the school has designated as directory information; (ii) the right of the parent, legal guardian, or eligible student to refuse the designation of any or all of the types of information about the student as directory information; and (iii) the period of time within which a parent, legal guardian, or eligible student must notify the school in writing that he does not want any or all of the types of information about the student designated as directory information. The bill would also provide, however, that except as provided otherwise by federal law or regulation, a school shall not release the address, phone number, or email address of a student unless the parent, legal guardian, or eligible student has affirmatively consented in writing to the designation of any or all of such information as directory information. The bill passed the House (62-35).

HB 2 (Bell, Richard) – 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 legislation. The bill passed the House (98-0).

HB 3 (Landes) – This bill would require the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (the Council), in consultation with the Department of Education and each public institution of higher education, to establish (i) quality standards for dual enrollment courses, including quality standards for course instructors, materials, and content; (ii) a process by which dual enrollment courses that meet or exceed such quality standards are certified as universal transfer courses that satisfy course credit or other academic requirements at any public institution of higher education; and (iii) a policy for the satisfaction of course credit or other academic requirements through the successful completion of universal transfer courses by entering students that (a) identifies the course credit or other academic requirements of each public institution of higher education that the student satisfies by successfully completing a universal transfer course and (b) ensures, to the extent possible, that the satisfaction of course credit or other academic requirements is consistent across each public institution of higher education and each such universal transfer course. The provisions of the bill would replace existing provisions that require the Council and each public institution of higher education to establish policies relating to course credit for dual enrollment courses but that do not provide for quality standards or the universal transfer designation for such courses. VSBA supports this bill. The bill passed the House (99-0).

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 bill passed the House (100-0).

HB 129 (Yancey) – This bill would modify the worker retraining tax credit by allowing credit to manufacturers conducting a manufacturing orientation, instruction, and training program that is (i) provided to students in grades six through 12, (ii) coordinated with the local school division and certified as qualified for tax credit by the Virginia Economic Partnership Development Authority, and (iii) conducted either at a plant or facility used by the manufacturer or at a public middle or high school in Virginia. The credit would equal 35 percent of the manufacturer's direct costs in providing the program, not to exceed $2,000 for any year. The bill passed the House (100-0).

HB 212 (Wright) – This bill would exclude school boards that govern a local school division located in Planning District 1 or in Buckingham, Cumberland, or Lunenburg County from the prohibition against hiring, under certain circumstances, a school division employee who is related to a member of the school board. VSBA supports this bill. The bill passed the House (99-0).

HB 150 (Bulova) – This bill would require local departments of social services to notify the appropriate school board without delay if the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect was, at the time of the investigation or the conduct that led to the report, an employee of a school division located within the Commonwealth. Currently, such reporting is only required if the subject of the complaint is an employee of a school division at the time the complaint is determined to be founded. The bill passed both the House and Senate and is awaiting action by the Governor.

HB 215 (Knight) – The 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; and (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 bill passed the House (99-0).

HB 507 (Mullin) – This bill would provide that (i) the instructional programs for students with limited English proficiency implemented by each local school board may include dual language programs whereby such students receive instruction in English and in a second language and (ii) the additional full-time equivalent instructional positions for students identified as having limited English proficiency that are funded pursuant to the general appropriation act may include dual language teachers who provide instruction in English and in a second language. VSBA supports this bill. The bill passed the House (91-7) and was referred Senate Education and Health.

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 would require 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 this bill. The bill passed the House (100-0).

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 would direct each school board to require each middle school student to take at least one course or alternative program of instruction in career investigation. The bill passed the House (100-0).

HB 638 (Collins) – This bill would provide that any person who knowingly and intentionally causes any electronic device to enter the property of another and come within 50 feet of a dwelling house (i) to coerce, intimidate, or harass another person or (ii) after having been given notice to desist, for any other reason is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill would also provide that anyone who is required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry who uses or operates an unmanned aircraft system to knowingly and intentionally follow, contact, or capture images of another person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Additionally, any respondent of a permanent protective order who uses or operates an unmanned aircraft system to knowingly and intentionally follow, contact, or capture images of any individual named in the protective order is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill would also repeal the expiration of the prohibition on local regulation of privately owned, unmanned aircraft systems and clarifies that such prohibition extends to all political subdivisions and not only to localities. This bill passed the House (80-19).

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. This bill passed the house (100-0).

HB 809 (O’Quinn) – This bill would permit local school boards to display commercial advertising material on the sides of school buses between the rear wheels and the rear of the bus, provided that no such material (i) obstructs the name of the school division or the number of the school bus, (ii) is sexually explicit, or (iii) pertains to alcohol; food or beverages that do not meet the nutrition standards developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture pursuant to the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 or any additional state or local nutrition standards for food or beverages sold to students in school; gambling; politics; or tobacco. This bill passed the House (74-24).

HB 810 (O’Quinn) – This 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 bill passed the House (96-2).

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 bill passed the House (95-4).

HB 1020 (Adams, L.R.) – This bill would make local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening day of the school year and eliminates the post-Labor Day opening requirement and "good cause" scenarios for which the Board of Education may grant waivers of this requirement. VSBA supports this bill. The House passed the bill (75-24).

HB 1033 (Price) – This bill would allow a magistrate or a general district court to issue an order requiring a person to provide a blood specimen for testing for human immunodeficiency virus or the hepatitis B or C virus when exposure to bodily fluids occurs between a person and any health care provider, person employed by or under the direction and control of a health care provider, law-enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical services personnel, person employed by a public safety agency, or school board employee and the person whose blood specimen is sought refuses to consent to providing such specimen. Currently, only the general district court may issue such order. The bill would allow a testing order to be issued based on a finding that there is probable cause to believe that exposure has occurred. Currently, there must be a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that exposure has occurred. VSBA supports this bill. The bill passed the House (99-0).

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 defines 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 opposes this bill. The bill passed the House (61-39).

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 permits such policies to include certain conditions. The bill requires a copy of such policies to be posted on the division's website and to be available to the public upon request. This bill passed the House (82-16).

HB 1125 (Landes) – 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) specifying 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 supports this bill. The bill passed the House (100-0).

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 this bill. The bill passed the House (99-0).

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, provided that such unstructured recreational time does not exceed 15 percent of total instructional time or teaching hours. The bill passed the house (97-3).

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 opposes this bill. The bill passed the House (51-49).

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 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. The bill passed the House (84-15).

HJ 19 (Bell, Richard) – This bill would continue for one additional year the Joint Committee of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health to Study the Future of Public Elementary and Secondary Education in the Commonwealth, consisting of seven members of the House Committee on Education and six members of the Senate. The bill passed the House (98-0).

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 supports this bill. The bill passed the Senate (40-0).

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. Nothing in this section shall require a public school to establish a robotics team. The bill passed the Senate (23-16).

SB 170 (Stanley) – This bill would provide that no student in preschool through grade three shall be suspended for more than three school days or expelled from attendance at school unless (i) the offense involved 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. The bill passed the Senate (34-6).

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 requires 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 bill passed the Senate (39-0).

SB 252 (Dance) – This bill would prohibit state agencies from including on any employment application a question inquiring whether the prospective employee has ever been arrested or charged with, or convicted of, any crime, subject to certain exceptions. A prospective employee may not be asked if he has ever been convicted of any crime unless the inquiry takes place after the prospective employee has received a conditional offer of employment, which offer may be withdrawn if the prospective employee has a conviction record that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the position. A prospective employee may not be asked if he has ever been arrested or charged with a crime unless the inquiry takes place after the prospective employee has received a conditional offer of employment, which offer may be withdrawn if (i) the prospective employee's criminal arrest or charge resulted in the prospective employee's conviction of a crime and (ii) the crime of which he was convicted directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the position. The prohibition does not apply to applications for employment with law-enforcement agencies or certain positions designated as sensitive or in instances where a state agency is expressly permitted to inquire into an individual's criminal history for employment purposes pursuant to any provision of federal or state law. The bill would also authorize localities to prohibit such inquiries. This bill passed the Senate (23-16).

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 also provides 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 supports this bill. The bill passed the Senate (22-17).

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 bill passed the Senate (39-0).

SB 336 (Peake) – The bill would require that every elected public body afford an opportunity for public comment during any open meeting. The bill would permit elected public bodies to choose the approximate point during the meeting when public comment will be received and to adopt reasonable rules governing the public comment portion of the meeting, including imposing reasonable restrictions on time, place, and manner. Such rules shall not limit public comment to only the submission of written comments. The bill would require that the notice given by any public body prior to a meeting include information as to the approximate point during the meeting when public comment will be received. VSBA opposes the bill. The bill passed the Senate (38-2).

SB 343 (Peake) – The 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 bill passed the Senate (38-2).

SB 349 (Peake) – This bill would require the Board of Education to provide for the issuance of a provisional license, valid for a period not to exceed five years, to any person who does not meet the requirements for licensure imposed by law but who has the appropriate level of experience or training in a critical teacher subject matter shortage area or agrees to teach in a critical teacher geographic area as defined in the Board's regulations. The bill contains an emergency clause. VSBA supports the bill. The bill passed the Senate (40-0).

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 the bill. The bill passed the Senate (39-0).

SB 526 (Obenshain) – This bill would provide that any person who knowingly and intentionally causes any electronic device to enter the property of another and come within 50 feet of a dwelling house (i) to coerce, intimidate, or harass another person or (ii) after having been given notice to desist, for any other reason is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill would also provide that anyone who is required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry who uses or operates an unmanned aircraft system to knowingly and intentionally follow, contact, or capture images of another person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Additionally, any respondent of a permanent protective order who uses or operates an unmanned aircraft system to knowingly and intentionally follow, contact, or capture images of any individual named in the protective order is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill would also repeals the expiration of the prohibition on local regulation of privately owned, unmanned aircraft systems and clarifies that such prohibition extends to all political subdivisions and not only to localities. The bill passed the Senate (39-0).

SB 557 (Hanger) – This bill would require any new 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 certain school bus operator applicants who possess 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. VSBA supports the bill. The bill passed the Senate (39-0).

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. The bill passed the Senate (26-13) with one abstention.

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. VSBA opposes this bill. The bill passed the Senate (40-0).

SB 786 (Surovell) – This bill would provide that no student who resides in Planning District 8 and is eligible for free or reduced price meals in the federally funded lunch program shall be 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 such enrolled students shall be provided, free of charge, a computer or other electronic device necessary to take the course or program. VSBA opposes the bill. The bill passed the Senate (39-1).

SB 840 (Favola) – This bill would require each local school board to adopt policies that (i) prohibit school board employees from publicly identifying or stigmatizing a student who cannot pay for a meal at school or who owes a meal debt, including requiring that such student wear a wristband or hand stamp; (ii) 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; and (iii) 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 bill passed the Senate (40-0).

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 bill passed the Senate (38-1).

Defeated Legislation  

HB 13 (Kory) – This bill would require state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act to support 20 full-time equivalent instructional positions for each 1,000 students identified as having limited English proficiency. Current law requires state funding to support 17 such positions for each 1,000 such students. VSBA supports this bill. House Appropriations Subcommittee Elementary and Secondary Education recommended laying the bill on the table (5-3).

HB 15 (Mullin) – This bill would require a principal to first take appropriate alternative disciplinary action or determine that no such appropriate alternative disciplinary action exists before referring to the local law-enforcement agency student incidents of assault and assault and battery without bodily injury. VSBA supports this bill. House Courts of Justice Subcommittee #1 failed to recommend reporting of the bill (5-3).

HB 90 (Bell, John) – This bill would permit a school board to conduct a teacher grievance hearing before a three-member fact-finding panel consisting of one member selected by the teacher, one member selected by the division superintendent, and an impartial hearing officer, selected by the other two panel members, to serve as the chairman of the panel. Under current law, the school board has the option of appointing a hearing officer or conducting such hearing itself. The bill would also remove the requirement that a teacher grievance hearing be set within 15 days of the request for such hearing and extend from five days to 10 days the minimum period of advanced written notice to the teacher of the time and place of such hearing. VSBA opposes this bill. House Education Subcommittee #1 recommended passing the bill by indefinitely (5-3).

HB 159 (Rasoul) – This bill would require each local school board to implement a comprehensive, sequential family life education curriculum in grades kindergarten through 12 that is consistent with the family life education Standards of Learning or curriculum guidelines developed by the Board of Education and removes from such standards and guidelines the requirement for instruction in the benefits, challenges, responsibilities, and value of marriage for men, women, children, and communities; abstinence education; the value of postponing sexual activity; and the benefits of adoption as a positive choice in the event of an unwanted pregnancy. VSBA opposes this bill. House Education passed the bill by indefinitely (12-10).

HB 221 (Miyares) – This bill would broaden eligibility criteria for students with a disability to include students with an Individualized Instructional Plan (IIP) attending a school for students with a disability licensed by the Department of Education and accredited by an agency approved by Virginia Council of Private Education. Under current law, only students who have obtained an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) may meet the criteria for the Education Improvement Scholarships tax credits program. The remaining criteria for students with a disability (residence in Virginia and family household income not more than 400 percent of the poverty level) would continue to apply regardless of whether the student had an IIP or an IEP. The bill would increase the scholarship amount available for an eligible student with a disability from 100 percent to 300 percent of the per-pupil amount distributed to the local school division as the state's share of the standards of quality costs. VSBA opposes this bill. House Finance Subcommittee #3 recommended striking from their docket (8-0).

HB 224 (Krizek) – This bill would require the Board of Education to make regulations to require each new public school bus purchased for the transportation of students to be equipped with a seat belt consisting of a lap belt and shoulder strap or harness in every seat. The bill would require each school board to ensure that no later than July 1, 2036, each school bus that it uses for the transportation of students is equipped with a seat belt in every seat. VSBA opposes this bill. House Education Subcommittee #2 failed to recommend reporting of the bill (4-6).

HB 252 (Guzman) – This bill would require each school board to employ at least one mental health counselor per 250 students in each high school in the local school division. VSBA opposes this bill. House Education Subcommittee #2 recommended passing the bill by indefinitely (6-4).

HB 253 (Guzman) – This bill would provide that the maximum caseload for each full-time special education aide is five students. VSBA opposes this bill. House Education Subcommittee #2 recommended passing the bill by indefinitely (7-3).

HB 296 (Bell, Richard) – This bill would prohibit students in preschool through grade three from being suspended or expelled except for drug offenses, firearm offenses, or certain criminal acts. VSBA strongly opposes this bill. House Education passed the bill by indefinitely (12-10).

HB 395 (Davis) – This bill would eliminate the requirement that a student must currently attend or have recently attended a public school in order to qualify for a scholarship from a scholarship foundation that provides tax-credit-derived scholarships. The bill would increase the maximum annual scholarship amount from 100 percent of the per pupil amount distributed to the local school division as its share of standards of quality costs (i) for a student with a disability, to 400 percent of such amount, and (ii) for a student who has an autism spectrum disorder, to $26,000. The bill would add to the definition of "qualified educational expenses" expenditures made in connection to summer education. VSBA opposes the bill. House Finance Subcommittee #3 recommended striking from their docket (8-0).

HB 445 (Carroll Foy) – This bill would eliminate the requirement that school principals report certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense to law enforcement. VSBA supports the bill. House Courts of Justice Subcommittee #1 failed to recommend reporting of the bill (5-2).

HB 496 (Bell, Robert) – This bill (also known as the “Tebow Bill”) would prohibit public schools from joining an organization governing interscholastic programs that does not deem eligible for participation a student who (i) receives home instruction; (ii) has demonstrated evidence of progress for two consecutive academic years; (iii) is in compliance with immunization requirements; (iv) is entitled to free tuition in a public school; (v) has not reached the age of 19 by August 1 of the current academic year; (vi) is an amateur who receives no compensation but participates solely for the educational, physical, mental, and social benefits of the activity; (vii) complies with all disciplinary rules and is subject to all codes of conduct applicable to all public high school athletes; and (viii) complies with all other rules governing awards, all-star games, maximum consecutive semesters of high school enrollment, parental consents, physical examinations, and transfers applicable to all high school athletes. The bill would provide that no local school board is required to establish a policy to permit students who receive home instruction to participate in interscholastic programs among other provisions. VSBA opposes this bill. House Education failed to report (defeated) the bill (11-11).

HB 688 (McQuinn) – This bill would require local school boards to provide alternative education programs for suspended students. VSBA strongly opposes this bill. House Appropriations Subcommittee Elementary and Secondary Education recommended laying the bill on the table (5-3).

HB 831 (Bagby) – This bill would require the Virtual Virginia program, established by the Department of Education, to be made available to all public middle and high schools. The bill would provide that such program may be made available to all public elementary schools. Under current law, Virtual Virginia is required to be made available to public high schools only. The bill would also replace the term "statewide electronic classroom" with "online learning program" to more accurately reflect the Virtual Virginia program. VSBA supports the bill. House Appropriations Subcommittee Elementary and Secondary Education recommended laying the bill on the table (5-3).

HB 1101 (Robinson) – This bill would require that every public body, except for governing boards of public institutions of higher education, afford an opportunity for public comment during any open meeting. The bill provides, however, that if a public body holds more than four meetings in a calendar year, such public body may, by recorded vote, limit the number of meetings at which an opportunity for public comment is afforded to four meetings per calendar year. The bill requires that the notice given by a public body prior to a meeting include information as to the approximate point during the meeting when public comment will be received. In current law, this requirement applies only to public bodies where at least one member has been appointed by the Governor. The bill permits public bodies to choose the approximate point during the meeting when public comment will be received and permits public bodies to adopt reasonable rules governing the public comment portion of the meeting, including imposing reasonable restrictions on time, place, and manner, but prohibits public bodies from limiting public comment to only the submission of written comments. House General Laws Subcommittee #4 recommended laying the bill on the table indefinably (6-0).

HB 1286 (LaRock) – This bill would permit the parents of certain children to apply to the school division in which the child resides for a one-year, renewable Parental Choice Education Savings Account that consists of an amount that is equivalent to a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the resident school division in which the student resides, including the per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per pupil share of special education funding for which the student is eligible. The bill would permit the parent to use the moneys in such account for certain education-related expenses of the student, including tuition, deposits, fees, and required textbooks at a private elementary school or secondary school that is located in the Commonwealth. VSBA opposes the bill. House Education Subcommittee #1 failed to recommend reporting of the bill (4-4).

HB 1416 (Edmunds) – This bill would extend the term of the waiver of the teacher licensure requirements that a division superintendent may apply to the Board of Education for any individual whom the local school board hires or seeks to hire to teach in a trade and industrial education program and removes the requirement that such individual has at least 4,000 hours of recent and relevant employment experience. The bill would also remove requirements that an individual seeking a three-year career and technical license (i) has at least four years of full-time work experience or its equivalent in the specific career and technical education subject area in which the individual seeks to teach and (ii) has obtained qualifying scores on the communication and literacy professional teacher's assessment prescribed by the Board. VSBA supports this bill. The Bill was left in House Education Subcommittee #1.

HB 1471 (Hugo) – This bill would require that the final step in an employee grievance procedure adopted by a local governing body, providing for a hearing before an administrative hearing officer or an impartial panel hearing, be selected by the aggrieved employee. Currently, the selection of this final step requires the agreement of both parties. The bill would also permit a school board to conduct a teacher grievance hearing before a three-member fact-finding panel. Under current law, the school board has the option of appointing a hearing officer or conducting such hearing itself. VSBA opposes this bill. House Committee on Counties, Cities, and Towns Subcommittee #2 recommended carrying the bill over to 2019 (8-0).

HJ 88 (Bagby) – This bill would request the Department of Education to study the teacher licensure process and the assessment requirements therein for any inherent biases that may prevent minority teacher candidates from entering the profession. VSBA supports this bill. House Rules Subcommittee failed to recommend reporting of the bill (3-3).

SB 516 (Obenshain) – This bill would authorize the Board of Education (the Board) to establish regional charter school divisions consisting of at least two but not more than three existing school divisions in regions in which each underlying school division has (i) an enrollment of more than 3,000 students and (ii) one or more schools that have accreditation denied status for two out of the past three years. The bill would require such regional charter school divisions to be supervised by a school board that consists of eight members appointed by the Board and one member appointed by the localities of each of the underlying divisions. The bill would authorize the school board, after a review by the Board, to review and approve public charter school applications in the regional charter school divisions and to contract with the applicant. The bill would require that the state share of Standards of Quality per pupil funding of the underlying school district in which the student resides be transferred to such school. VSBA strongly opposes this bill. Senate Finance continued the bill to 2019 (16-0).

SB 914 (Chase) – This bill would make local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening day of the school year and eliminates the post-Labor Day opening requirement and "good cause" scenarios for which the Board of Education may grant waivers of this requirement. The bill requires local school boards that set the school calendar with a pre-Labor Day opening date, except those schools that were granted a "good cause" waiver for the 2017-2018 school year, to close all schools in the division from (i) the Thursday immediately preceding Labor Day through Labor Day or (ii) the Friday immediately preceding Labor Day through the Tuesday immediately succeeding Labor Day. VSBA supports this bill. Senate Education and Health voted to pass the bill by indefinitely (8-7).

SJ 6 (Locke) – This bill would request the Department of Education to study the teacher licensure process and the assessment requirements therein for any inherent biases that may prevent minority teacher candidates from entering the profession. VSBA supports this bill. It was continued to 2019 in House Rules on a voice vote.