Senate Committee on Education and Health Meeting, February 27, 2020

The Senate Committee on Education and Health met Thursday, February 28, 2020 and considered the following pieces of legislation.

HB36 (Hurst) Declares that, except in certain limited circumstances, a student journalist at a public institution of higher education has the right to exercise freedom of speech and the press in school-sponsored media, including determining the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of school-sponsored media, regardless of whether the media is supported financially by the governing board of the institution, supported through the use of campus facilities, or produced in conjunction with a course in which the student is enrolled. The bill defines "school-sponsored media" as any material that is prepared, substantially written, published, or broadcast by a student journalist at a public institution of higher education under the direction of a student media adviser and distributed or generally made available to members of the student body. The bill was amended to replace “school” with “institution.” The bill reported 9-5.

HB74 (Kory) Requires each school board to (i) adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and other relevant personnel, as determined by the school board, employed on a full-time basis, to complete a mental health awareness training or similar program at least once and (ii) provide such training, which may be provided pursuant to a contract with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, a community services board, a behavioral health authority, a nonprofit organization, or other certified trainer or via an online module. This bill incorporates HB 716 and HB 1554. The bill reported 10-1.

HB332 (Hope) Requires the Department of Education to develop and implement a geographically representative two-year pilot program to administer reading diagnostic tests that include all components of a normed rapid automatized naming test. The bill requires each local school division in the pilot program to provide evidence-based instruction, including structured literacy instruction, to students in kindergarten through grade three who fall below the benchmark on any such reading diagnostic test or demonstrate deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading test. The bill requires the Department of Education to report to the Governor and General Assembly, no later than December 1, 2022, on the outcomes of the pilot program and the necessary resources for statewide implementation of such tests and instruction. Continued to 2021 with Letter from Chair on a 14-0-1 vote.

HB376 (Willett) Requires (i) each school board to report to the Department of Education annually the number and type of teacher, other instructional personnel, and support staff vacancies in the school division and (ii) each approved education preparation program to report to the Department of Education annually the number of individuals who completed the program by endorsement area. The bill requires the Department of Education to (a) establish deadlines for and the format of the reporting of such data and (b) aggregate and report such data annually on the Department's website. The bill reported 10-5.

HB697 (Roem) Requires each local school board to adopt policies that prohibit school board employees from requiring a student who cannot pay for a meal at school or who owes a school meal debt to throw away or discard a meal after it has been served to him. The bill reported 15-0.

HB698 (Roem) Allows public school boards to distribute excess food to students eligible for the School Breakfast Program or National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or to students that the school board determines are otherwise eligible to receive excess food. The bill reported 15-0.

HB703 (Roem) Permits any school board to solicit and receive any donation or other funds for the purpose of eliminating or offsetting any school meal debt at any time and requires each school board to use any such funds solely for such purpose. The bill reported 15-0.

HB837 (Carroll Foy) Requires the Board of Education to include in its guidelines and model policies for codes of student conduct (i) standards for reducing bias and harassment in the enforcement of any code of student conduct and (ii) standards for dress or grooming codes, which the bill defines as any practice, policy, or portion of a code of student conduct adopted by a school board that governs or restricts the attire of any enrolled student. The bill permits any school board to include in its code of student conduct a dress or grooming code. The bill requires any dress or grooming code included in a school board's code of student conduct or otherwise adopted by a school board to (a) permit any student to wear any religiously and ethnically specific or significant head covering or hairstyle, including hijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and cornrows; (b) maintain gender neutrality by subjecting any student to the same set of rules and standards regardless of gender; (c) not have a disparate impact on students of a particular gender; (d) be clear, specific, and objective in defining terms, if used; (e) prohibit any school board employee from enforcing the dress or grooming code by direct physical contact with a student or a student's attire; and (f) prohibit any school board employee from requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual, including the enforcing school board employee, to comply with the dress or grooming code. The bill reported 8-4-3.

HB894 (Levine) Requires education preparation programs offered by public institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education to ensure that, as condition of degree completion, each student enrolled in the education preparation program receives instruction on positive behavior interventions and supports; crisis prevention and de-escalation; the use of physical restraint, consistent with regulations of the Board of Education; and appropriate alternative methods to reduce and prevent the need for the use of physical restraint and seclusion. The bill requires every person seeking initial licensure as a teacher who has not received such instruction to receive instruction or training on such topics. The bill requires the Board of Education to adopt regulations to implement the foregoing requirements. The bill reported 9-6.

HB916 (Sickles) Requires the Department of Education to establish and appoint such members as it deems appropriate to a Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Education Practices Advisory Committee for the purpose of providing (i) standards recommendations to the Department of Education which shall be considered by the Board of Education during the 2021-2022 review of the history and social science Standards of Learning and (ii) recommendations on meaningful professional development with school personnel related to culturally relevant and inclusive education practices. The bill requires the Committee to report its recommendations to the Board of Education, the Governor, and the Chairpersons of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than July 1, 2021. This bill incorporates HB 483 and HB 1110. The bill reported 13-2.

HB975 (Guzman) Requires, effective with the 2020-2021 school year, state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act to support 18.5 full-time equivalent instructional positions for each 1,000 students identified as having limited English proficiency and, effective with the 2021-2022 school year, 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. This bill incorporates HB 1323. The bill was conformed to the Senate version. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations on a 9-5 vote.

HB1012 (Bulova) Requires the Board of Education to establish a statewide unified public-private system for early childhood care and education in the Commonwealth to be administered by the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Department of Education. The bill transfers the authority to license and regulate child day programs and other early child care agencies from the Board of Social Services and Department of Social Services to the Board of Education and Department of Education. The bill maintains current licensure, background check, and other requirements of such programs. Such provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021. The bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a plan for implementing the statewide unified early childhood care and education system and requires the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education to enter into a cooperative agreement to coordinate the transition. The bill also requires the Board of Education to establish, no later than July 1, 2021, a uniform quality rating and improvement system designed to provide parents and families with information about the quality and availability of certain publicly funded early childhood care and education providers and to publish the initial quality ratings under such system in the fall of 2023. The bill reported 9-5.

HB1139 (Keam) Requires the Board of Education, as part of its current comprehensive review of its Regulations Governing Educational Services for Gifted Students, to consider revisions to (i) the process of screening and identifying students for eligibility for gifted and talented programs and referring students to such programs to improve the identification of student populations that are underrepresented in such programs, including economically disadvantaged students, English language learner students, and students with disabilities and (ii) the data collection requirements of the annual report required by such regulations to better inform equitable screening and identification for and access to gifted and talented programs for student populations that are underrepresented in such programs. The bill reported 10-4-1.

HB1143 (Tran) Includes licensed behavior analysts and licensed assistant behavior analysts as support services positions in a local school division for the purposes of Title 22.1 (Education). The bill reported 15-0.

HB1276 (O’Quinn) Requires each school board to include, as part of each student's academic and career plan in the career and technical education curricula, a list of (i) the top 100 professions in the Commonwealth by median pay and the education, training, and skills required for each such profession and (ii) the top 10 degree programs at institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth by median pay of program graduates. The bill requires the Department of Education to annually compile such lists and provide them to each local school board. The bill reported 15-0.

HB1355 (Rasoul)  Requires the Department of Education to establish an interagency task force composed of state and local agencies and entities in the areas of early childhood development, health, social services, community engagement, family engagement, higher education, communities in schools, and workforce development for the purpose of developing a program for the establishment of community schools whereby public elementary and secondary schools serve as centers for the provision of such community programs and services to students and their families as may be necessary on the basis of the unique needs of the student population to be served. The bill requires such program to include a process by which school boards and community partnerships may apply to the Department of Education to designate an elementary or secondary school in the local school division as a community school. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations 14-1.

HB1388 (Adams, D.M.) Eliminates the ability of a school that only maintains a passing rate on Virginia assessment program tests or additional tests approved by the Board of Education of 95 percent or above in each of the four core academic areas for two consecutive years to apply for and receive a waiver of accreditation from the Department of Education, which waiver confers full accreditation for a three-year period. Current law provides high-performing schools a separate pathway to obtain three-year accreditation. The bill reported 13-1-1.

HB1419 (Jones) Requires school resource officers and school security officers to receive training specific to the role and responsibility of a law-enforcement officer working with students in a school environment that includes training on (i) relevant state and federal laws; (ii) school and personal liability issues; (iii) security awareness in the school environment; (iv) mediation and conflict resolution, including de-escalation techniques; (v) disaster and emergency response; (vi) awareness of cultural diversity and implicit bias; (vii) working with students with disabilities, mental health needs, substance abuse disorders, or past traumatic experiences; and (viii) student behavioral dynamics, including current child and adolescent development and brain research. The bill was conformed to SB171. The bill reported 14-1.

HB1426 (Roem) Requires each school board to require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to make meals available pursuant to such programs to any student who requests such a meal, regardless of such student's family income or whether such student has the money to pay for the meal or owes money for meals previously provided, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill reported 13-2.

HB1443 (VanValkenburg) Requires the Department of Education to conduct a biennial review of teacher compensation that takes into consideration the Commonwealth's compensation for teachers relative to national average teacher salary. Current law requires the Director of Human Resource Management to complete such biennial review.

HB1508 (McQuinn) Requires local school boards to employ school counselors in accordance with the following ratios, effective with the 2020-2021 school year: in elementary schools, one hour per day per 75 students, one full-time equivalent at 375 students, one hour per day additional time per 75 students or major fraction thereof; in middle schools, one period per 65 students, one full-time equivalent at 325 students, one additional period per 65 students or major fraction thereof; and in high schools, one period per 60 students, one full-time equivalent at 300 students, one additional period per 60 students or major fraction thereof. The bill also requires local school boards to employ one full-time equivalent school counselor position per 325 students in grades kindergarten through 12, effective with the 2021-2022 school year. This bill incorporates HB 398. The bill was conformed to the Senate bill. The bill reported and was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations 13-1.

HB1633 (Edmunds) Requires the Board of Education to establish a program to use Literary Fund proceeds to subsidize interest payments on certain loans made by the Virginia Public School Authority to local governing bodies and school boards for the design and construction of new school buildings and facilities or the modernization and maintenance of existing school buildings and facilities as follows: for school divisions in localities determined to have above-average or high fiscal stress by the Commission on Local Government in its most recent version of such report, the Board shall subsidize up to 100 percent of the interest due on such loan. Under current law, eligibility for such interest rate subsidy payment is based on the local composite index of ability to pay. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations on a 14-0-1 vote.

HB1653 (Wilt) Requires the Department of Education to collect data from school boards regarding their ability to fill school counselor positions, including (i) the number of school counselors employed in elementary, middle, and high schools in the local school division; (ii) the number and duration of school counselor vacancies; (iii) the number, role, and license type of other licensed counseling professionals employed by the school board; and (iv) information about their preferences for meeting updated school counselor to student ratios with other licensed counseling professionals. The bill requires the Department of Education to report the results of such data collection to the Governor, the Secretary of Education, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than December 1, 2020. The bill was reported as amended 15-0.

HB1680 (Tyler) Requires the Board of Education to review and revise, in consultation with certain stakeholders and no later than December 1, 2020, its Career and Technical Education Work-Based Learning Guide to expand the opportunities available for students to earn credit for graduation through high-quality work-based learning experiences or in the case of agricultural education, supervised agricultural experiences, in addition to job shadowing, mentorships, internships, and externships. The bill reported 15-0.

HB1711 (Bagby) Virtual Virginia; availability. The bill was conformed to the Senate version. The bill was stricken from the docket at request of the patron.

HB1722 (Roem) Requires the Department of Education to develop and publish no later than November 16, 2020, guidance and resources relating to the provision of applied behavior analysis services in public schools for students who are in need of such services. The bill reported 14-1.

Update on Public Employee Collective Bargaining Legislation

There are still two bills before the General Assembly that would authorize collective bargaining for public employees, including school board employees.

HB582 (Guzman) would require public employers, including school boards, to engage in collective bargaining with employee organizations.  This bill gives school boards no discretion. 

SB939 (Saslaw) is permissive and would allow local governing bodies, including school boards, to authorize collective bargaining.  Even though this bill is permissive, there are still problems with this bill.  For example, the bill is ambiguous regarding which body – the local school board or the local governing body – can authorize collective bargaining.  Even more troubling, the bill arguably permits teacher strikes (while maintaining the ban or law enforcement and other public employee strikes). 

HB582 passed the House of Delegates and crossed over to the Senate.  Earlier this week, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee conformed the bill to the language of SB939 as it passed the Senate (in other words, the Committee changed HB582 to the permissive language) and reported and rereferred the bill to the Senate Finance Committee.  

SB939 passed the Senate and crossed over to the House.  Earlier this week, the House Labor and Commerce Committee conformed the bill to the language of HB582 as it passed the House (in other words, the Committee changed SB939 to the mandatory language) and reported and rereferred the bill to the House Appropriations Committee. 

Put another way, the House is sticking with its mandatory language and the Senate is sticking with its permissive language.  It is likely that both bills will end up in conference, where a small group of legislators will work out the differences between the bills. 

VSBA opposes both forms of these bills.  VSBA has Legislative Position, 4.3, to oppose any legislation which would permit or expand the authority of any school board to engage in collective bargaining.  Click here and here to see more about our arguments against these bills.

It is important that legislators continue to hear from school board members about this legislation.  Please contact your Senator and your Delegate and ask them to OPPOSE these bills in any form.    

House Committee on Education Meeting, February 24, 2020

The House Committee on Education met Monday, February 24, 2020 and considered the following pieces of legislation. 

SB238 (Barker) Increases from 540 hours to 990 hours the minimum instructional hours in a school year for students in kindergarten, beginning July 1,2022. The bill directs the Board of Education to adopt regulations by July 1, 2022, establishing standards for accreditation that include a requirement that the standard school day for students in kindergarten average at least 5.5 instructional hours in order to qualify for full accreditation. The bill reported 14-3.

SB323 (Barker)  Requires the Board of Education, in establishing high school graduation requirements, to permit a student who is pursuing an advanced diploma and whose individualized education program specifies a credit accommodation for world language to substitute two standard units of credit in computer science for two standard units of credit in a world language. The bill provides that for any student electing to substitute a credit in computer science for credit in world language, his or her school counselor must provide notice to the student and parent or guardian of possible impacts related to college entrance requirements. The bill reported 11-6.

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SB366 (Dunnavant) Directs the Department of Education to obtain a statewide learning management system for use in public schools by the start of the 2022-2023 school year. The bill was reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations 15-2.

SB392 (McPike) Requires each local school board to submit its plan to test and remediate certain potable water sources and report the results of any such test to the Department of Health. The bill requires the plan to be consistent with guidelines published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Health. The bill also requires each local school board to take all steps necessary to notify parents if testing results indicate lead contamination that exceeds 10 parts per billion. The bill was was reported and amended and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations 18-0.

SB420 (DeSteph) Provides for the submission and utilization of seizure management and action plans for students with a seizure disorder. The bill requires that school nurses and certain school division employees biennially complete a Board of Education-approved online course of instruction regarding treating students with seizure disorders. The bill also provides immunity from civil liability for acts or omissions related to providing for the care of a student under a seizure management and action plan. The bill was carried over until 2021.

SB933 (Favoloa) The bill requires that the Board of Education evaluate the supports and programs available to "students with limited or interrupted formal education" in local school divisions to determine whether the calculations for the school quality indicators within the Board's Regulations Establishing the Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia are appropriate or whether changes in methodology could be made to more comprehensively measure the academic and nonacademic achievement of such student population. The bill was reported 16-2.

SB904 (Vogel) Directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to facilitate the development of a statewide coalition of public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth to gather and share information on the latest evidence-based methods and approaches to effectively educate K-12 students in reading, including multisensory structured language education to instruct students with dyslexia. The bill provides that the coalition shall meet twice annually, and relevant stakeholders shall be permitted to attend such meetings to provide input and contribute to discussions. The bill allows each public institution's school of education, education department, or relevant department for the career paths of K-12 reading specialists and teachers to collect such information and collaborate with other public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth regarding the latest reliable research for reading instruction to all K-12 students, with an emphasis on improving reading instruction to students with dyslexia. The bill was reported as amended 18-1.

House Subcommittee on SOL & SOQ Meeting, February 24, 2020

The House Subcommittee on SOL & SOQ met Monday, February 24, 2020 and considered the following pieces of legislation.

SB238 (Barker) Increases from 540 hours to 990 hours the minimum instructional hours in a school year for students in kindergarten, beginning July 1,2022. The bill directs the Board of Education to adopt regulations by July 1, 2022, establishing standards for accreditation that include a requirement that the standard school day for students in kindergarten average at least 5.5 instructional hours in order to qualify for full accreditation. The bill was recommended for reporting 8-0.

SB323 (Barker)  Requires the Board of Education, in establishing high school graduation requirements, to permit a student who is pursuing an advanced diploma and whose individualized education program specifies a credit accommodation for world language to substitute two standard units of credit in computer science for two standard units of credit in a world language. The bill provides that for any student electing to substitute a credit in computer science for credit in world language, his or her school counselor must provide notice to the student and parent or guardian of possible impacts related to college entrance requirements. The bill was recommended for reporting 6-2.

SB366 (Dunnavant) Directs the Department of Education to obtain a statewide learning management system for use in public schools by the start of the 2022-2023 school year. The bill was passed by temporarily to be heard in full committee.

SB392 (McPike) Requires each local school board to submit its plan to test and remediate certain potable water sources and report the results of any such test to the Department of Health. The bill requires the plan to be consistent with guidelines published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Health. The bill also requires each local school board to take all steps necessary to notify parents if testing results indicate lead contamination that exceeds 10 parts per billion. The bill was recommended as amended to report and be referred to the House Committee on Appropriations 6-0.

SB420 (DeSteph) Provides for the submission and utilization of seizure management and action plans for students with a seizure disorder. The bill requires that school nurses and certain school division employees biennially complete a Board of Education-approved online course of instruction regarding treating students with seizure disorders. The bill also provides immunity from civil liability for acts or omissions related to providing for the care of a student under a seizure management and action plan. The bill was recommended to be carried over until 2021.

SB933 (Favoloa) The bill requires that the Board of Education evaluate the supports and programs available to "students with limited or interrupted formal education" in local school divisions to determine whether the calculations for the school quality indicators within the Board's Regulations Establishing the Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia are appropriate or whether changes in methodology could be made to more comprehensively measure the academic and nonacademic achievement of such student population. The bill was recommended for reporting 8-0.

FCC Seeks Public Comment about Net Neutrality

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has invited public comment on aspects of the agency’s Net Neutrality decision, which were overturned by a recent court decision. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals remanded key elements of the FCC’s rollback of net neutrality. In particular, the court decision said the agency must consider how the FCC’s decision affects public safety, Lifeline service, and broadband infrastructure. The rule making provides an opportunity for school districts to urge the FCC to provide protections to ensure that schools and students are not harmed by carrier decisions to block websites, “throttle” services, and preference their own or their partners’ online content. Public comments must be submitted on or before March 30, 2020.

FCC Public Notice: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-168A1.pdf

To leave public comment: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/

Legislative Action Alert: Vote NO on SB420

Please contact your Delegate TODAY and urge him or her to VOTE NO on SB420.

SB420 (DeSteph) mandates that all school nurses and all school division employees who have regular contact with students to be trained every two years regarding treating students with seizures and seizure disorders.  Virtually all school-based staff, even those not directly responsible for supervising students and those who do not even have contact with students with seizure disorders, will be required to complete this training.  This is an unfunded mandate. 

SB420 also allows parents of such students to submit a seizure management plan to the school.  There will be no opportunity for school staff to have any input into the plan.  This will allow parents to unilaterally dictate to school staff how a student will be accommodated within the school.  This is contrary to how all other medical conditions are handled in schools, in which school staff and parents work in cooperation to develop Section 504 plans and/or health plans. 

SB420 is unnecessary.  Local school divisions are in the best position to determine  which staff require training and school staff should be involved in the development of the seizure management plan.   
   
Please ask your Delegate to VOTE NO on SB420. 

Here is a link to find your Delegate: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/

Here is a link to the bill: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=201&typ=bil&val=sb420

Legislative Action Alert: VOTE NO on SB377

Please contact your Delegate TODAY and urge him or her to VOTE NO on SB377.

SB377 (Bell) will reinstate the three-member fact finding panel for teacher grievances and it will also eliminate the fifteen-day time period for scheduling grievance hearings.  The problem with this bill is that, with no timeframe for setting the hearing, the teacher and their representative can delay the grievance process for weeks and even months.  (This is, in fact what used to happen and was one of the main reasons for the changes that were made to the grievance procedure several years ago.) 

SB377 erodes a local school board’s ability to resolve teacher grievances in a prompt manner. This unnecessary legislation will lead to costly and prolonged legal proceedings for school boards seeking to remove ineffective teachers, during which students are most often being taught by long-term substitutes.
The current grievance procedure is designed to provide ample due process to teachers while also ensuring each of our students have an effective teacher in the classroom. SB377 will prevent the swift resolution of grievances, while benefiting ineffective teachers and their lawyers to the detriment of our students.

Please ask your Delegate to VOTE NO on SB377. 

Here is a link to find your Delegate: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/

Here is a link to the bill: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+SB377

Senate Education and Health Committee Meeting, February 20, 2020

The Senate Education and Health Committee met at 8:00 a.m., Thursday, February 20, 2020 and considered the following pieces of legislation. If you have questions, please contact VSBA Chief Lobbyist, Stacy Haney, at Shaney@haneyphinyo.com, or VSBA Government Relations Specialist, J.T. Kessler, at jason@vsba.org.

H.B. 270 (VanValkenburg) Requires every public school to provide the parents of enrolled students with at least 24 hours' notice before the school conducts any lock-down drill. The bill specifies that no such notice is required to include the exact date and time of the lock-down drill. The bill reported 15-0.

H.B. 308 (Hope) Requires the Department of Education to establish and distribute to each school board no later than August 1, 2020, guidelines for the granting of excused absences to students who are absent from school due to mental or behavioral health and requires any student who is absent from school due to his mental or behavioral health to be granted an excused absence, subject to such guidelines. The bill was amended to change the date for the Department of Education to establish and distribute to each school board no later than December 31, 2020. The bill reported with amendment 15-0.

H.B. 392 (Ward) Prohibits each school board from employing any individual who has been convicted of a violent felony set forth in the definition of barrier crime in subsection A of § 19.2-392.02 of the Code of Virginia or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse, or rape of a child. The bill permits each school board to employ any individual who has been convicted of any felony or crime of moral turpitude that is not set forth in the definition of barrier crime in subsection A of § 19.2-392.02 of the Code of Virginia and does not involve the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse, or rape of a child, provided that in the case of a felony conviction, such individual has had his civil rights restored by the Governor. The bill contains parallel provisions for contractors and their employees who have direct contact with students on school property during regular school hours or during school-sponsored activities. Current law provides that any felony conviction is a bar to employment and contract work in public schools. The bill reported 15-0.

H.B. 402 (Keam) Requires every public school to hold at least one lock-down drill after the first 60 days of the school session, in addition to the two lock-down drills required to be held during the first 20 days of the school session at each such school. Current law requires each public school to hold at least two lock-down drills after the first 20 days of the school session. The bill requires kindergarten students to be exempt from mandatory participation in lock-down drills during the first 60 days of the school session and requires the principal at each relevant school to implement such exemption by either (i) conducting teacher-only drills or otherwise providing suitable training for kindergarten teachers or (ii) notifying each parent of a kindergarten student at least five school days in advance of each planned lock-down drill and permitting each such parent to opt his child out of participation in such lock-down drill. The bill was amended to add Pre-K as exempt from mandatory participation in lock-down drills. The bill was reported as amended 15-0.

H.B. 410 (Delaney) Requires each local school board to enact a policy to require that timely written notification is provided to the parents of any student who (i) undergoes literacy and Response to Intervention screening and services or (ii) does not meet the benchmark on any assessment used to determine at-risk learners in preschool through grade 12, which notification shall include all such assessment scores and subscores and any intervention plan that results from such assessment scores or subscores. The bill reported 15-0.

H.B. 415 (Delaney) Requires school boards to adopt policies and procedures to ensure suspended students are able to access and complete graded work during and after the suspension. The bill reported 15-0.

H.B. 501 (Krizek) Permits each school board to designate another entity or individual to participate on its behalf in the annual review of its written school crisis, emergency management, and medical emergency response plan. The bill reported 15-0.

H.B. 753 (Rasoul) Requires the Department of Education to (i) establish a uniform definition of social-emotional learning and develop guidance standards for social-emotional learning for all public students in grades kindergarten through 12 in the Commonwealth; (ii) make such standards available to each local school division no later than July 1, 2021; and (iii) issue a report no later than November 1, 2021, on the resources needed to successfully support local school divisions with the implementation of a statewide social-emotional learning program. The bill reported 14-1.

H.B. 817 (Hope) Requires the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Health and medical professional societies, to develop and implement health and safety best practice guidelines for the use of digital devices in public schools no later than the 2021-2022 school year. The bill was reported as amended on a 9-5-1 vote.

H.B. 836 (Carroll Foy) Requires the Department of Education to develop a plan to adopt and implement standards for microcredentials used toward add-on endorsements and renewal of licenses earned by Virginia license holders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The bill requires such plan to include (i) a process for reviewing and administering educator microcredentials; (ii) assurances that educator microcredentials rely upon demonstrable evidence from the submission of artifacts, such as student projects and teacher lesson plans, that are then objectively scored against existing rubrics; and (iii) assurances that educator microcredentials focus on interrelated competencies leading to logical teacher professional development pathways and stacks of educator microcredentials and align with the Board of Education's ongoing work on educator professional development. Such plan shall also include the resources needed for statewide implementation. The bill requires the Department of Education to complete and submit the plan to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education, the House Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than December 1, 2020. The bill reported 15-0.

H.B. 928 (Coyner) Permits the Chesterfield County School Board to establish a recovery high school in the school division as a year-round high school (i) for which enrollment is open to any high school student who resides in Superintendent's Region 1 and is in the early stages of recovery from substance use disorder or dependency and (ii) for the purpose of providing such students with the academic, emotional, and social support necessary to make progress toward earning a high school diploma and reintegrating into a traditional high school setting. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee 15-0.

H.B. 999 (Bell) Requires each school board's policies on the possession and administration of epinephrine in every school in the local school division to require that at least one school nurse, employee of the school board, employee of a local governing body, or employee of a local health department who is authorized by a prescriber and trained in the administration of epinephrine has the means to access at all times during regular school hours any such epinephrine that is stored in a locked or otherwise generally inaccessible container or area. The bill reported 15-0.

H.B. 1073 (Kory) Requires each school board to annually provide parents of pupils in grades kindergarten through 12 information regarding the health dangers of tobacco and nicotine vapor products. The bill requires that the information provided be consistent with guidelines set forth by the Department of Education. The bill reported 14-1.

H.B. 1208 (Tran) Each school board that provides for the transportation of students and that has established a rule, regulation, or policy to exclude certain students who reside within a certain distance from the school at which they are enrolled from accessing such transportation to establish a process for waiving, on a case-by-case and space-available basis, such exclusion and providing transportation to any such student whose parent is unable to provide adequate transportation for his child to attend school because the parent is providing necessary medical care to another family member who resides in the same household, as evidenced by a written explanation submitted by a licensed health care provider who provides care to such family member. The bill reported on a vote of 13-1-1.

H.B. 1336 (Keam) Requires the Board of Education, in conducting its regular review and revision of the Standards of Learning and curriculum guidelines for family life education, to consult relevant stakeholders to ensure that revisions reflect contemporary community standards. The bill requires the next such review and revision to be completed no later than June 30, 2021. The bill requires each school board to conduct a review of its family life education curricula at least once every seven years. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.

H.B. 1344 (Askew) Provides that when adopting regulations regarding the issuance of written reprimands of teachers and other school personnel required to hold a license, the Board of Education shall establish in such regulations the grounds for such written reprimands and provides that for a teacher who breaches his contract, the local board of education or division superintendent, in addition to a written reprimand or revocation of the teacher's license as in current law, may issue a suspension of the teacher's license. The bill reported  15-0.

H.B. 1394 (Leftwich) Requires each local school board that offers a family life education program to post for public viewing (i) on the local school division's official website a summary of such program and (ii) on the local school division's official website or a parental portal a complete copy of all printed family life education program materials not subject to copyright protection and a description of all family life education program audio-visual materials. The bill requires each local school board to implement the foregoing provisions no later than the start of the 2021-2022 school year. The bill reported as amended 11-3.

H.B. 1469  (Gooditis) Requires the Board of Education to extend for at least one additional year, but for no more than two additional years, the three-year provisional license of a teacher employed in an accredited private elementary or secondary school or a school for students with disabilities that is licensed by the Board upon receiving from the school administrator of such school (i) a recommendation for such extension and (ii) satisfactory performance evaluations for such teacher for each year of the original three-year provisional license. This bill incorporates HB 725. The bill reported 15.0

H.B. 1491 (Guy) Requires each public high school to provide to any enrolled student who is of voting age or otherwise eligible to register to vote access to Virginia voter registration information and applications and the opportunity to complete such application during the normal course of the school day. The bill reported on a 10-5 vote.

H.B. 1557 (Fowler) Eliminates the annual salary limits for appointed school board members and permits any appointed school board to pay each of its members an annual salary that is consistent with the salary procedures and no more than the salary limits provided for local governments in Article 1.1 (§ 15.2-1414.1 et seq.) of Chapter 14 of Title 15.2 (Counties, Cities and Towns) or as provided by charter. This bill incorporates HB 1578. The subcommittee failed to recommend reporting this bill on a 2-3 vote. A substitute motion was made to report the bill. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations on a 8-7 vote.

H.B. 1613 (Brewer) Requires the Board of Education, pursuant to regulation, to permit any individual who seeks a technical professional license to substitute the successful completion of an intensive, job-embedded, three-year program of professional development for the nine semester hours of professional studies required for such license. The bill reported 15-0.

H.B. 1630 (Kilgore) Permits any school board and division superintendent to extend from three months to six months the period within which the provisional license of an individual seeking initial teacher licensure who has not completed professional assessments will expire for the purpose of establishing such individual's eligibility for initial licensure, provided that such individual has received a satisfactory mid-year performance review in the current school year and meets all other eligibility criteria. The bill reported 15-0.

House Committee on Education Meeting, February 17, 2020

The House Committee on Education met February 17, 2020 and considered the following bills.

SB98 (Locke) Removes(i) the option for local school boards to extend the three-year probationaryterm of service for teachers by up to two additional years and (ii)the prohibition against school boards reemploying any teacher whoseperformance evaluation during the probationary term of service isunsatisfactory. The bill reported 11-3.

SB167 (Favola) Removes the definition of "incompetency" for the purpose of establishing grounds for the dismissal of public school teachers. The bill reported 9-6.

SB170 (Locke) Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services, in coordination with the Department of Education and the Department of Juvenile Justice, to annually collect, report, and publish data related to incidents involving students and school resource officers. The bill also requires the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety to analyze and disseminate submitted data. The bill reported 15-0.

SB186 (Dunnavant) Requires the Department of Education to establish guidelines for individualized education program (IEP) teams to utilize when developing IEPs for children with disabilities to ensure that IEP teams consider the need for age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate instruction related to sexual health, self-restraint, self-protection, respect for personal privacy, and personal boundaries of others. The bill requires each local school board, in developing IEPs for children with disabilities, in addition to any other requirements established by the Board of Education, to ensure that IEP teams consider such guidelines.

SB221 (Locke) Shortens from every five years to every two years the frequency of the review period for memorandums of understanding between school boards and local law-enforcement agencies. The bill also requires local school boards to conspicuously publish the current division memorandum of understanding on its division website and provide notice and opportunity for public input during each memorandum of understanding review period. The bill reported 12-2.

SB237 (Barker) Provides that an attendance officer, or a division superintendent or his designee when acting as an attendance officer, may complete, sign, and file a petition for a violation of a school attendance order in response to the filing of a petition alleging the pupil is a child in need of supervision with the intake officer of the juvenile and domestic relations district court on a form approved by the Virginia Supreme Court. The bill provides that the filing of such a petition by a nonattorney school attendance officer, or a school division superintendent or his designee, does not constitute the practice of law. The bill reported 14-0.

SB324 (Deeds) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the assistance of each school board or division superintendent, to survey each local school division to identify critical shortages of school bus drivers by geographic area and local school division and to report any such critical shortage to each local school division and to the Virginia Retirement System. The bill also provides that any person receiving a service retirement allowance who is hired by a local school board as a school bus driver may elect to continue to receive the retirement allowance during such employment, provided that certain conditions are met. The bill was reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on a 14-0 vote.

SB897 (DeSteph) Requires all members of governing boards of public institutions of higher education to participate in educational programs designed to address the role, duties, and responsibilities of the governing boards at least once within the first two years of membership and at least once within every two years of membership thereafter. Under current law, new members are required to participate in such programs at least once during their first two years of membership. The bill directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to develop educational materials for board members with more than two years of service on a governing board and develop criteria by which such members shall demonstrate compliance. The bill reported 15-0.

SB978 (Edwards) Directs the State Board  of Education to amend its regulations to require that persons seeking a technical professional license with an endorsement to teach military science have either the appropriate credentials issued by the United States military or a recommendation from a Virginia employing educational agency. The bill reported 14-0.

SB1087 (Pillion) Establishes the School Construction Fund as a special non reverting fund in the state treasury and requires the Department of Education to establish the School Construction Program for the purpose of providing grants from the Fund, subject to certain conditions, to school boards that leverage federal, state, and local programs and resources to finance the design and construction of  new school buildings and facilities or the modernization and maintenance of existing school buildings and facilities. The bill was reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on a 14-2 vote.

SB112 (Suetterlein) Requires the Board of Education to include in its graduation requirements the options for students to complete a dual-enrollment course or high-quality work-based learning experience. The bill reported with amendment 16-0.

SB134 (Stuart) Requires each local school board to ensure that each elementary school teacher has an average of one 45-minute period per school day of planning time and that each middle and high school teacher is provided an average of one planning period per school day or the equivalent, which shall be at least 45 minutes or one class period, whichever is longer. The bill permits local school boards and teachers to enter into an appropriate contractual arrangement providing for compensation in lieu of such planning time or period. Under current law, public elementary school teachers are guaranteed at least an average of 30 minutes of planning time per school day during a school week. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. The committee conformed the bill to HB273. The bill was reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on a 15-1 vote.

SB275 (Barker)  Provides for the immediate enrollment of any student who was in foster care upon reaching 18 years of age but who has not yet reached 22 years of age for whom the local department of social services or child-placing agency is unable to produce documents normally required for enrollment. Under current law, an exception to the requirement for such documentation is provided only to students currently in foster care. The committee conformed the bill to HB368. The bill was reported as amended 16-0.

SB728 (McClellan) Makes several changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishment of a unit in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning statewide in Standard 1 and requiring the Board of Education to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leader and teacher mentor programs and the establishment of a unit in the Department of Education to oversee principal mentorship statewide in Standard 5. The bill also makes several changes relating to school personnel in Standard 2, including (i) establishing schoolwide ratios of students to teachers in certain schools with high concentrations of poverty and granting flexibility to provide compensation adjustments to teachers in such schools; (ii) requiring each school board to assign licensed personnel in a manner that provides an equitable distribution of experienced, effective teachers and other personnel among all schools in the local school division; (iii) requiring each school board to employ teacher leaders and teacher mentors at specified student-to-position ratios; (iv) requiring state funding in addition to basic aid to support at-risk students and granting flexibility in the use of such funds by school boards; (v) lowering the ratio of English language learner students to teachers; (vi) requiring each school board to employ reading specialists and establishing a student-to-position ratio for such specialists; (vii) requiring school boards to employ one full-time principal in each elementary school; (viii) lowering the ratio of students to assistant principals and school counselors in elementary, middle, and high schools; and (ix) requiring each school board to provide at least four specialized student support positions, including school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. The committee conformed the bill to HB1316. The bill was reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on a 10-6 vote.

SB853 (Boysko) Requires the Department of Education to establish and appoint such members as it deems appropriate to a Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Education Practices Advisory Committee for the purpose of providing (i) standards recommendations to the Department of Education which shall be considered by the Board of Education during the 2021-2022 review of the history and social science Standards of Learning and (ii) recommendations on meaningful professional development with school personnel related to culturally relevant and inclusive education practices. The bill requires the Committee to report its recommendations to the Board of Education, the Governor, and the Chairpersons of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than July 1, 2021. The bill was reported with amendment 10-6.

SB937 (Surovell) Directs the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to establish and administer a two-year Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Scholarship Pilot Program, beginning in 2020, for the purpose of providing access to postsecondary educational opportunities to students living in poverty. The Program would provide scholarships to select comprehensive community colleges in the maximum amount of $4,000 per year to 200 selected students who meet TANF eligibility requirements. The Program would be funded by the unexpended balance in federal TANF block grant funds. The bill directs VCCS to report to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than December 1 of each year of the Program regarding the effectiveness of and other information about the Program. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. The committee conformed the bill to HB455. The bill was reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations 12-4.

SB142 (Dunnavant) Requires that the Virtual Virginia Program, the statewide electronic classroom established by the Department of Education, be made available to all public schools. Currently, the program is available only to high schools. The bill requires the Department to utilize a learning management system for the purposes of implementing The bill also authorizes the Department to charge a per-student, per-course fee to school divisions for each student enrolled in a full-time Virtual Virginia program beyond an initial allotment of 15 such students per course, per school. The bill prohibits the Department from limiting the total number of such students by school division. The bill requires the Department to annually report on the Virtual Virginia Program to the General Assembly. The bill was reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations 16-0.

SB161 (Boysko) Requires the Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board, no later than December 31, 2020, model policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools that address common issues regarding transgender students in accordance with evidence-based best practices and include information, guidance, procedures, and standards relating to (i) compliance with applicable nondiscrimination laws; (ii) maintenance of a safe and supportive learning environment free from discrimination and harassment for all students; (iii) prevention of and response to bullying and harassment; (iv) maintenance of student records; (v) identification of students; (vi) protection of student privacy and the confidentiality of sensitive information; (vii) enforcement of sex-based dress codes; and (viii) student participation in sex-specific school activities and events, excluding athletics, and use of school facilities. The bill requires each school board to adopt, no later than the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, policies that are consistent with but may be more comprehensive than such model policies developed by the Department of Education. The bill reported 12-5.

SB171 (Locke) Requires school resource officers and school security officers to receive training specific to the role and responsibility of a law-enforcement officer working with students in a school environment that includes training on (i) relevant state and federal laws; (ii) school and personal liability issues; (iii) security awareness in the school environment; (iv) mediation and conflict resolution, including de-escalation techniques, such as physical alternatives to restraint; (v) disaster and emergency response; (vi) awareness of cultural diversity and implicit bias; (vii) working with students with disabilities, mental health needs, substance abuse disorders, or past traumatic experiences; and (viii) student behavioral dynamics, including current child and adolescent development and brain research. The bill reported 14-1-1.

SB232 (Boysko) Requires each school board to make tampons and pads available at all times and at no cost to students in the bathrooms of each public school at which any student in grades five through 12 is enrolled. The bill reported with substitute on a 10-7 vote.

SB578 (Howell) Requires the Board of Education to establish a statewide unified public-private system for early childhood care and education in the Commonwealth to be administered by the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Department of Education. The bill transfers the authority to license and regulate child day programs and other early child care agencies from the Board of Social Services and Department of Social Services to the Board of Education and Department of Education. The bill maintains current licensure, background check, and other requirements of such programs. Such provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2021. The bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a plan for implementing the statewide unified early childhood care and education system and requires the Department of Social Services and the Department of Education to enter into a cooperative agreement to coordinate the transition. The bill also requires the Board of Education to establish, no later than July 1, 2021, a uniform quality rating and improvement system designed to provide parents and families with information about the quality and availability of certain publicly funded early childhood care and education providers and to publish the initial quality ratings under such system in the fall of 2023. The committee conformed the bill to HB1012. The bill was reported with substitute on a 15-2 vote.

SB619 (Deeds) Requires each local school board to adopt and implement policies that require each school board employee deemed to be in need of such training to complete mental health awareness training once every 10 years. The bill requires the Department of Education to make mental health awareness training available to employees in need of such training. The bill reported and was referred to the House Committee on Appropriations 15-3.

SB680 (Mason) Requires the Board  of Education to extend for at least one additional year, but fo rno more than two additional years, the three-year provisional license of a teacher employed in a school for students with disabilities that is licensed by the Board upon receiving from the school administrator of such school (i) a recommendation for such extension and (ii) satisfactory performance evaluations for such teacher for each year of the original three-year provisional license. The provisions of the bill mirror current law relating to the extension of provisional licenses for public school teachers. The bill reported 15-1.

SB729 (McClellan) Eliminates the requirement that school principals report certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense to law enforcement. The bill reported 15-4.

SB880 (Locke) Requires local school boards to employ school counselors in accordance with the following ratios, effective with the 2020-2021 school year: in elementary schools, one hour per day per 75 students, one  full-time equivalent at 375 students, one hour per day addition one full time per 75 students or major fraction thereof; in middle schools, one period per 65 students, one full-time equivalent at 325 students, one additional period per 65 students or major fraction thereof; and in high schools, one period per 60 students, one full-time equivalent at 300 students, one additional period per 60 students or major fraction thereof. The bill also requires local school boards to employ one full-time equivalent school counselor position per 250 students in grades kindergarten through 12, effective with the 2021-2022 schoolyear. The bill was reported and amended and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on a 18-1 vote.

SB910 (Hashmi) Requires 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. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. The bill was reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on a 12-7 vote.

SB935 (Boysko) Provides that any student is eligible for in-state tuition who (i) attended high school for at least two years in the Commonwealth and either (a) graduated on or after July 1, 2008, from a public or private high school or program of home instruction in the Commonwealth or (b) passed, on or after July 1, 2008, a high school equivalency examination approved by the Secretary of Education; (ii) has submitted evidence that he or, in the case of a dependent student, at least one parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis has filed, unless exempted by state law, Virginia income tax returns for at least two years prior to the date of registration or enrollment; and (iii) registers as an entering student or is enrolled in a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. The bill states that students who meet these criteria shall be eligible for in-state tuition regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, except students with currently valid visas issued under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(F), 1101(a)(15)(H)(iii), 1101(a)(15)(J) (including only students or trainees), or 1101(a)(15)(M). Information obtained in the implementation of the provisions of the bill shall only be used or disclosed to individuals other than the student for purposes of determining in-state tuition eligibility. The bill was reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on a 12-7 vote.