Monday, February 24, 2020

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.