Senate Education and Health Committee Meeting- 1/28/21

The Senate Education and Health Committee met this morning and took action on the following legislation on the docket.

SB 1225 (Boysko) Authorizes school boards to appropriate funds for the purposes of promoting, facilitating, and encouraging the expansion and operation of broadband services for educational purposes. The bill authorizes school boards to partner with private broadband service providers to promote, implement, and subsidize broadband for educational purposes to the households of students who would qualify for (i) a child nutrition program or (ii) any other program recognized or adopted by the local school board as a measuring standard to identify at-risk students. The bill reported by a vote of 12-0.

SB 1257 (McClellan) Makes several changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishment of units in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning and principal mentorship statewide in Standard 1 and requiring the Board of Education to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leader and teacher mentor programs 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, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students. The bill reported and was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations on a 7-5-1 vote.

SB 1288 (Dunnavant) Requires the Department of Education and the Board of Education to develop new policies and procedures and effect numerous modifications to existing policies and procedures to improve the administration and oversight of special education in the Commonwealth. The bill reported with a substitute on a 14-0 vote.

SB 1303 (Dunnavant) Requires each local school division to make in-person learning available to all students by choice of the student's parent or guardian. The bill contains an emergency clause. The bill reported with a substitute by a vote of 8-7.

SB 1307 (Dunnavant) Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan for medical assistance services to provide for payment of medical assistance for health care services provided in any public or private primary or secondary school, regardless of whether the student receiving care has an individualized education program or whether the health care service is included in a student's individualized education program. The bill requires that covered services include applied behavior analysis, preventive health care, behavioral health care, diagnostic care including routine screenings, and acute care services and that services may be provided in person or through telemedicine. The bill also requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to provide technical assistance to the Department of Education and local school divisions to facilitate their understanding of and compliance with federal ordering, referring, and prescribing (ORP) provider screening and enrollment requirements. The bill reported with a substitute by a vote of 15-0.

SB 1317 (Dunnavant)  Requires all local school boards to establish and implement policies to provide for the open enrollment to any school of any student who is eligible to receive free or reduced lunch upon the request of a parent or guardian, subject to conditions and limitations established by the local school board. The bill reported on vote of 10-4.

SB 1357 (Dunnavant) Directs each local school division to develop and administer a fall and winter diagnostic assessment and a spring growth measurement assessment to each student to assess the student's competency in each core subject, as determined by the Department of Education. The bill reported with a substitute and was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by a vote of 10-4.

SB 1401 (Pillion) Reduces the total number and type of required Standards of Learning assessments to the minimum requirements established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended. The bill requires the Department of Education to annually report on the estimated projected and actual savings from the implementation of the bill and report the amount of such savings to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than the first day of each Regular Session of the General Assembly. The bill also requires that such amount be included in the total for Direct Aid to Public Education in any general appropriation act. The bill reported and was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by a vote of 10-5.

SB 1439 (McClellan) Requires, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, any middle school or high school student who is absent from school to engage in a civic or political event to be granted an excused absence. The bill reported with amendment by a vote of 10-5.

House Education Committee Meeting- 1/27/21

The House Education Committee met this morning to consider legislation recommended from the PreK-12 and SOL/SOQ Education Subcommittees. The committee took action on the following pieces of legislation.

HB 1885 (Simonds)  Requires the Department of Education to perform a comprehensive review of the ongoing implementation of mandatory computer science standards in elementary schools and middle schools and the alignment of middle school and high school computer science courses and course pathways. The bill requires such review to include recommendations for implementation processes at the local level, profiles of implementation processes that have been successful for school divisions, a description of opportunities for enhanced collaboration with relevant computer science stakeholders to expand computer science education opportunities for all students in the Commonwealth and for relevant professional development for teachers, and examining methods of data collection annually from local school divisions pertaining to computer science implementation. The bill requires the Department of Education to prepare a report on its comprehensive review and provide such report to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health, the Secretary of Education, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction no later than November 1, 2021. The bill reported 21-0.

HB 2117 (Van Valkenberg) Requires that funds expended for special education services under the Children's Services Act only be expended on educational programs that are licensed by the Department of Education. The bill adds children and youth previously placed in approved private school educational programs for at least six months, who will receive transitional services in a public school setting for no longer than 12 months, to the target population for eligibility for the state pool of funds. The bill requires the Secretary of Education, in conjunction with the Office of Children's Services and the Department of Education, to establish a work group (the Work Group) with appropriate stakeholders to develop a detailed plan to direct the transfer of Children's Services Act funds currently reserved for children requiring an educational placement in a private special education day school or residential facility to the Department of Education and to develop a standardized reporting process, template, and reporting requirement for private special education day school tuition rates to ensure that tuition rates can be accurately compared across schools and over time. The bill requires that the Work Group submit its plan and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by November 1, 2021. The bill reported with a substitute and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 19-2.

HB 2211 (Plum) Requires individualized education program teams to identify any children with disabilities who may need additional services outside of the school setting and refer them to the local family assessment and planning team. The bill was incorporated in HB 2117.

HB 2238 (Kory) Directs the Board of Education to require, pursuant to regulation, any private school for students with disabilities that is licensed by the Board, as a condition for renewal of its initial license to operate, to obtain accreditation from an accrediting agency recognized by the Virginia Council for Private Education within three years of the issuance of its initial triennial license by the Board. The bill provides that, notwithstanding the foregoing requirement, any private school for students with disabilities that is licensed to operate by the Board as of July 1, 2021, shall obtain accreditation from an accrediting agency recognized by the Virginia Council for Private Education no later than July 1, 2024. The bill reported 20-1.

HB 2299 (Carr) Requires the Department of Education to (i) provide training and guidance documents to local school divisions on the development of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for children with disabilities, (ii) develop a training module for each individual who participates in an IEP meeting, with the exception of parents, (iii) annually conduct structured reviews of a sample of IEPs from a sufficiently large sample of local school divisions to verify that the IEPs are in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations and are of high quality, (iv) develop and maintain a statewide plan for improving (a) its ongoing oversight of local practices related to transition planning and services for children with disabilities and (b) technical assistance and guidance provided for postsecondary transition planning and services for children with disabilities, (v) develop and maintain a statewide strategic plan for recruiting and retaining special education teachers, and (vi) (a) conduct a one-time targeted review of the transition sections of a random sample of students' IEPs in each school division; (b) communicate its findings to each local school division, school board, and local special education advisory committee; and (c) ensure that local school divisions correct any IEPs that are found to be out of compliance no later than the end of the 2021-22 school year. The bill reported and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 21-0.

HB 2305 (Tyler) Requires the Board of Education to issue guidance on the governance of academic year Governor's Schools, including communication and outreach practices, admissions policies, and guidelines on diversity, equity, and inclusion training. The bill requires such guidance to focus on the importance of increasing access to Governor's Schools for historically underserved students and to include best practices on (i) conducting information sessions about the school and the availability of gifted, advanced, and specialty education program opportunities for feeder public middle schools; (ii) strengthening the student pipeline in feeder public middle schools, prioritizing the most underserved and underrepresented students and public middle schools; and (iii) conducting programs related to and evaluations of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The bill requires the Board of Education, in developing such guidance, to collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including local school boards, Regional Governor's School boards, and Governor's School directors. The bill reported 14-7.

HB 2176 (Torian) Defines, for the purposes of mandatory school board policies relating to abusive work environments, the terms "abusive conduct," "abusive work environment," "physical harm," and "psychological harm." The bill reported with amendment 12-9.

The House Education Pre-K - 12 Subcommittee Meeting - 1/22/2021

The House Education Pre-K - 12 Subcommittee met on Friday, January 22, 2021 and considered the following legislation: 

 HB 1918 (Mugler) Adopts measures aimed at improving student driver safety. The bill requires curriculum for tenth grade health at public schools to include instruction on the dangers of distracted driving and speeding, to be developed by the Department of Education. Finally, the bill requires that a student show proof of a valid driver's license or driver privilege card before being issued a school parking pass at a public high school and that schools use a common application for such parking passes. The subcommittee recommended reporting 8-0.

HB 1998 (Murphy) Reduces from three to two the minimum number of mandatory annual lock-down drills in each public elementary and secondary school in the Commonwealth.  The subcommittee recommended reporting 8-0.

HB 2013 (Roem) Requires each school board to adopt a policy that prohibits the board from filing a lawsuit against a student's parent because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt.  The subcommittee recommended reporting 5-3.

HB 2019 (McQuinn) Requires each local school board to adopt and implement policies for the possession and administration of undesignated stock albuterol inhalers and valved holding chambers in every public school in the local school division, to be administered by any school nurse, employee of the school board, employee of a local governing body, or employee of a local health department who is authorized by the local health director and trained in the administration of albuterol inhalers and valved holding chambers for any student believed in good faith to be in need of such medication.  The subcommittee recommended reporting 6-2. 

HB 2105 (Bulova) Delays until the 2022-2023 school year the requirement for all publicly funded early childhood education providers to participate in a quality rating and improvement system to be established by the Board of Education by July 1, 2021. The bill also delays from the fall of 2023 to the fall of 2024 the publication of initial quality ratings for such providers. The bill reinstates the School Readiness Committee and alters the composition and scope of the work of the School Readiness Committee. The subcommittee recommended reporting 8-0.

HB 2119 (Keam) Exempts students who are (i) at least 18 years old, (ii) emancipated minors, or (iii) unaccompanied minors who are not in the physical custody of their parent or guardian from the requirement that the student's parent participate in the parent/student component of a school's driver education program. This parent/student component is required in Planning District 8, where the component must be in-person training. In the other school divisions that choose to offer this optional parent/student component, the parent/student component may be administered either in person or online.  The subcommittee recommended reporting 8-0.

HB 2135 (Roem) Requires each school board that governs a local school division that has a student population that qualifies for free and reduced-price meals at a minimum percentage of 50 percent in the prior school year and simultaneously offers educational or enrichment activities and is consequently eligible to participate in the Afterschool Meal Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Child and Adult Care Food Program to apply to the Department of Education to participate in the Afterschool Meal Program for each such school to subsequently and simultaneously serve federally reimbursable meals and offer an afterschool education or enrichment program, pursuant to FNS guidelines and state health and safety standards. The bill requires the Department of Education to administer the Afterschool Meal Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The bill provides that the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall issue a waiver to this requirement upon determination that participation is not financially viable for a school or group of schools. The bill requires the Department of Education to develop a process and criteria for evaluating such waivers. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022. The subcommittee recommended reporting 7-1. 

HB 2176 (Torian) Defines, for the purposes of mandatory school board policies relating to abusive work environments, the terms "abusive conduct," "abusive work environment," "physical harm," and "psychological harm."   The subcommittee recommended reporting 5-3.  

HB 2182 (Wilt) Requires the Board of Education to amend its regulatory definition of "traumatic brain injury," for the purpose of the provision of special education for children with disabilities, to include an acquired injury to the brain caused by a medical condition, including stroke, anoxia, infectious disease, aneurysm, brain tumors, and neurological insults resulting from medical or surgical treatments. The current regulatory definition of "traumatic brain injury" includes only an acquired brain injury caused by an external physical force.  The subcommittee recommended reporting 8-0.

HB 2090 (Cox) Establishes the Reimbursement for Education Access Decisions (READ) Fund (the Fund); permits any school board to establish a READ program to provide, during the state of emergency declared by the Governor in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, funds to any parent or legal guardian who meets compulsory attendance requirements by having his child taught by a tutor or teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education and approved by the division superintendent in lieu of enrollment in the local school division to cover certain costs of such education; and permits any such school board to apply to the Department of Education for an award from the Fund to reimburse the school board for half of the cost of making reimbursements to parents pursuant to its READ program. The bill provides that the school board is responsible for covering the remaining half of the cost of its READ program with such federal and local funds as may be available for such purpose. The bill permits the Department of Education to establish such rules and procedures as it deems necessary for receiving applications for reimbursement and making awards from the Fund. The bill also provides that if federal funding is provided pursuant to an Act of Congress with regard to relief from the COVID-19 pandemic and such Act does not preclude such federal funding from being used to make awards from the Fund, the Governor shall reserve a reasonable amount of such federal funding to be credited to the Fund to fully support reimbursement requests from such school boards.  The subcommittee recommended tabling the bill 5-3.

HB 2184 (Wilt) Establishes the 22-member Pandemic Remediation Task Force (the task force) as an advisory task force in the executive branch of state government, to be administered by the Department of Education, for the purpose of making recommendations on strategies for improving public education in the Commonwealth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that can be implemented in each region and local school division in order to achieve a measure of uniformity in such improvements across the Commonwealth. The bill requires the task force to (i) develop recommendations for policies and funding that would assist public elementary and secondary school students impacted by school closures and the remote learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic to adequately obtain core educational material that they may not have otherwise successfully retained during the course of such pandemic; (ii) develop a uniform strategy for public elementary and secondary schools to effectively identify students in need of remediation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide remediation coursework and resources to such students; (iii) consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement gaps and make recommendations on the interventions and additional services, such as tutoring, mentoring, and services from private educational service providers, that may be necessary to ensure that such gaps do not widen further beyond pre-pandemic levels; and (iv) submit to the Governor and the General Assembly, no later than December 1, an annual report on its work. The task force has a sunset date of July 1, 2024.  The subcommittee recommended tabling the bill 5-3.

HB 2225 (Davis) Permits the parents of certain children to apply to the school division in which the child resides for a one-year, renewable Empowerment Scholarship 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 permits the parent to use the moneys in such account for certain education-related expenses of the student, including tuition and fees at a private elementary school or secondary school that is located in the Commonwealth. The bill also contains provisions relating to auditing, rescinding, and reviewing expenses made from such accounts.  The subcommittee recommended tabling the bill 5-3.

Senate Education and Health Public Education Subcommittee Meeting- 1/21/21

The Senate Education and Health Public Education Subcommittee met on Thursday afternoon January 21, 2021 to consider legislation referred by the Chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee. The committee took the following actions regarding legislation on its docket.

SB 1225 (Boysko) Authorizes school boards to appropriate funds for the purposes of promoting, facilitating, and encouraging the expansion and operation of broadband services for educational purposes. The bill authorizes school boards to partner with private broadband service providers to promote, implement, and subsidize broadband for educational purposes to the households of students who would qualify for (i) a child nutrition program or (ii) any other program recognized or adopted by the local school board as a measuring standard to identify at-risk students. The bill was reported by a 5-0 vote.

SB 1257 (McClellan) Makes several changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishment of units in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning and principal mentorship statewide in Standard 1 and requiring the Board of Education to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leader and teacher mentor programs 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, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students. The bill was reported by a vote of 3-0.

SB 1288 (Dunnavant) Requires the Department of Education and the Board of Education to develop new policies and procedures and effect numerous modifications to existing policies and procedures to improve the administration and oversight of special education in the Commonwealth. The bill was reported by a vote of 5-0.

SB 1317 (Dunnavant) Requires all local school boards to establish and implement policies to provide for the open enrollment to any school of any student who is eligible to receive free or reduced lunch upon the request of a parent or guardian, subject to conditions and limitations established by the local school board. The bill reported by a vote of 4-0-1.

SB 1357 (Dunnavant) Directs each local school division to develop and administer a fall and winter diagnostic assessment and a spring growth measurement assessment to each student to assess the student's competency in each core subject, as determined by the Department of Education. The bill reported by a vote of 4-0-1.

SB 1401 (Pillion) Reduces the total number and type of required Standards of Learning assessments to the minimum requirements established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended. The bill requires the Department of Education to annually report on the estimated projected and actual savings from the implementation of the bill and report the amount of such savings to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than the first day of each Regular Session of the General Assembly. The bill also requires that such amount be included in the total for Direct Aid to Public Education in any general appropriation act. The bill reported by a vote of 4-1.

SB 1439 (McClellan) Requires, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, any middle school or high school student who is absent from school to engage in a civic or political event to be granted an excused absence. The bill reported by a vote of 4-0.

Senate Education and Health Committee Meeting- 1/21/21

The Senate Education and Health Committee met on Thursday, January 21, 2021 and considered legislation recommended from its various subcommittees. The committee took the following actions regarding legislation related to public education.

SB 1133 (Suetterlein) Requires that funds expended for special education services under the Children's Services Act only be expended on educational programs that are licensed by the Department of Education. The bill adds children and youth previously placed in approved private school educational programs for at least six months, who will receive transitional services in a public school setting for no longer than 12 months, to the target population for eligibility for the state pool of funds. The bill requires the Secretary of Education, in conjunction with the Office of Children's Services and the Department of Education, to establish a work group (the Work Group) with appropriate stakeholders to develop a detailed plan to direct the transfer of Children's Services Act funds currently reserved for children requiring an educational placement in a private special education day school or residential facility to the Department of Education and to develop a standardized reporting process, template, and reporting requirement for private special education day school tuition rates to ensure that tuition rates can be accurately compared across schools and over time. The bill requires that the Work Group submit its plan and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by November 1, 2021. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate  Committee on Finance and Appropriations by a vote of 8-6.

SB 1169 (Norment) Requires each public high school to require any student who applies to obtain a pass to park a vehicle on school property to provide evidence that the student possesses a valid driver's license or driver privilege card. The bill was reported by a vote of 14-0.

SB 1303 (Dunnavant) Requires each local school division to make in-person learning available to all students by choice of the student's parent or guardian. The bill contains an emergency clause. The bill was passed By for the Day by a vote of 13-1.

SB 1313 (Mason) Requires that funds expended for special education services under the Children's Services Act only be expended on educational programs that are licensed by the Department of Education. The bill adds children and youth previously placed in approved private school educational programs for at least six months, who will receive transitional services in a public school setting for no longer than 12 months, to the target population for eligibility for the state pool of funds. The bill requires the Secretary of Education, in conjunction with the Office of Children's Services and the Department of Education, to establish a work group (the Work Group) with appropriate stakeholders to develop a detailed plan to direct the transfer of Children's Services Act funds currently reserved for children requiring an educational placement in a private special education day school or residential facility to the Department of Education and to develop a standardized reporting process, template, and reporting requirement for private special education day school tuition rates to ensure that tuition rates can be accurately compared across schools and over time. The bill requires that the Work Group submit its plan and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by November 1, 2021. This bill incorporates SB 1099 (Stuart) and SB 1114 (Peake). The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 14-0.

SB 1322 (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 Board of Education-approved training in the treatment of students with seizure disorders. The bill 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 reported with substitute by a vote of 10-4.

House Education Committee Meeting- 1/20/21

The House Education Committee met on Wednesday morning to consider legislation recommended from the SOL/SOQ subcommittee. A summary of the legislation and the actions taken by the committee are below. 

HB 1736 (Adams, D.) Excludes school nurse positions from requirements for student support positions and instead requires each local school board to employ at least one full-time equivalent school nurse position in each elementary school, middle school, and high school in the local school division. The bill defines a school nurse as a registered nurse engaged in the specialized practice of nursing who protects and promotes student health, facilitates optimal development, and advances academic success. The committee reported the bill with a substitute on a 12-8 vote.

HB 1865 (Delaney) Requires reading intervention services for students in kindergarten through grade three who demonstrate deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading test or any reading diagnostic test that meets criteria established by the Department of Education to be evidence-based and aligned with the science of reading and structured literacy approaches, both defined in the bill, and to include the components of effective reading instruction and explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction. The bill requires the parent of each student who receives such reading intervention services to be notified before the services begin and the progress of each such student to be monitored throughout the provision of services. The bill also requires the Department of Education, no later than the beginning of the 2021%962022 school year, to compile and provide to each local school division a list of materials, resources, and curriculum programs that are supported by the science of reading and based on instruction that is explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic, including (i) evidence-based dyslexia programs that are aligned to structured literacy or grounded in the Orton-Gillingham methodology and (ii) evidence-based reading intervention programs, including programs that are grounded in the science of reading. The committee reported the bill with amendments on a 20-2 vote.

HB 1905 (Cole, J.) Adds to objectives developed and approved by the Board of Education for economics education and financial literacy at the middle and high school levels the implications of various employment arrangements with regard to benefits, protections, and long-term financial sustainability. Employment arrangements is defined in the bill as full-time employment, part-time employment, independent contract work, gig work, piece work, contingent work, day labor work, freelance work, and 1099 work. The bill was reported 22-0.

HB 1929 (Aird) Makes several changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishment of units in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning and principal mentorship statewide in Standard 1 and requiring the Board of Education to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leader and teacher mentor programs 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, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students. The bill reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on a 21-1 vote.

HB 2027 (Coyner) Requires, no later than the 2024-2025 school year, each reading and mathematics Standards of Learning assessment for students in grades three through eight to (i) be administered three times per school year, at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of each school year, for the purpose of providing measures of individual student growth over the course of the school year and (ii) provide accurate measurement of a student's performance outside of his grade level through the incorporation, through computer adaptive technology, of test items at grade levels below and above the tested level. The bill requires any student growth data to include such measurement of outside-of-grade-level performance. The bill requires the Department of Education to ensure adequate training for teachers and principals on how to interpret and use student growth data from such assessments to improve reading and mathematics instruction in grades three through eight throughout the school year. The bill prohibits the total time spent taking each such assessment over each of the three annual administrations from exceeding 150 percent of the time spent taking a single end-of-year proficiency assessment. The bill was reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on a 19-1 vote.

HB 2058 (Simonds) Creates the Virginia Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Advisory Board to create a unified vision regarding STEM education initiatives, language, and measures of success to promote a culture of collaboration for STEM programming in the Commonwealth. The Board shall develop the infrastructure for creating STEM Regional Hubs and naming STEM Champions in communities across the Commonwealth. Additionally, the Board shall report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on STEM challenges, goals, and successes across the Commonwealth. The bill reported on a 20-0 vote.

House Education SOL/SOQ Subcommittee Meeting- 1/18/21 (Evening Session)

The House Education SOL/SOQ Subcommittee convened Monday evening to complete its docket of legislation carried over from the morning session. The following legislation was heard with the committee acting accordingly.

HB 1905 (Cole)  Adds to objectives developed and approved by the Board of Education for economics education and financial literacy at the middle and high school levels the implications of various employment arrangements with regard to benefits, protections, and long-term financial sustainability. Employment arrangements is defined in the bill as full-time employment, part-time employment, independent contract work, gig work, piece work, contingent work, day labor work, freelance work, and 1099 work. The committee reported the legislation on a 7-0 vote.

HB 2027 (Coyner) Requires, no later than the 2024-2025 school year, each reading and mathematics Standards of Learning assessment for students in grades three through eight to (i) be administered three times per school year, at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of each school year, for the purpose of providing measures of individual student growth over the course of the school year and (ii) provide accurate measurement of a student's performance outside of his grade level through the incorporation, through computer adaptive technology, of test items at grade levels below and above the tested level. The bill requires any student growth data to include such measurement of outside-of-grade-level performance. The bill requires the Department of Education to ensure adequate training for teachers and principals on how to interpret and use student growth data from such assessments to improve reading and mathematics instruction in grades three through eight throughout the school year. The bill prohibits the total time spent taking each such assessment over each of the three annual administrations from exceeding 150 percent of the time spent taking a single end-of-year proficiency assessment. The committee reported the bill with a recommendation to refer the legislation to the House Appropriations Committee on a 7-1 vote.

HB 2058 (Simonds) Creates the Virginia Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Advisory Board to create a unified vision regarding STEM education initiatives, language, and measures of success to promote a culture of collaboration for STEM programming in the Commonwealth. The Board shall develop the infrastructure for creating STEM Regional Hubs and naming STEM Champions in communities across the Commonwealth. Additionally, the Board shall report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on STEM challenges, goals, and successes across the Commonwealth.  The committee reported the bill with a recommendation to refer the legislation to the House Appropriations Committee on a 8-0 vote.

House Education SOL/SOQ Subcommittee Meeting- 1/18/21 (Morning Session)

The House Education Subcommittee on SOL/SOQ met this morning and heard the following pieces of legislation.

HB 1736 (Adams, D) Excludes school nurse positions from requirements for student support positions and instead requires each local school board to employ at least one full-time equivalent school nurse position in each elementary school, middle school, and high school in the local school division. The bill defines a school nurse as a registered nurse engaged in the specialized practice of nursing who protects and promotes student health, facilitates optimal development, and advances academic success. The bill reported with substitute by a 6-2 vote of the committee.

HB 1865 (Delaney) Requires reading intervention services for students in kindergarten through grade three who demonstrate deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading test or any reading diagnostic test that meets criteria established by the Department of Education to be evidence-based and aligned with the science of reading and structured literacy approaches, both defined in the bill, and to include the components of effective reading instruction and explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction. The bill requires the parent of each student who receives such reading intervention services to be notified before the services begin and the progress of each such student to be monitored throughout the provision of services. The bill also requires the Department of Education, no later than the beginning of the 2021%962022 school year, to compile and provide to each local school division a list of materials, resources, and curriculum programs that are supported by the science of reading and based on instruction that is explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic, including (i) evidence-based dyslexia programs that are aligned to structured literacy or grounded in the Orton-Gillingham methodology and (ii) evidence-based reading intervention programs, including programs that are grounded in the science of reading. The bill reported 8-0 with amendment.

HB 1924 (Kilgore) Permits any local school board that governs a school division (i) in which the locality is designated as fiscally at-risk or fiscally distressed by the Appalachian Regional Commission in the most recent fiscal year or is determined to have above-average fiscal stress or high fiscal stress by the Virginia Commission on Local Government in its most recent "Report on Comparative Revenue Capacity, Revenue Effort, and Fiscal Stress of Virginia Counties and Cities" and (ii) for which the composite index of local ability to pay is less than or equal to 0.2000 to expend up to 25 percent of the required local effort for basic aid for debt service on school building capital renovation or construction projects. The bill provides that in the event that the school division no longer meets such criteria, the local school board shall develop and implement a plan to readjust expenditures of the required local effort for basic aid over the course of no more than four fiscal years. The bill also provides that in the event that a school division that no longer met such criteria subsequently meets the criteria again after developing a plan, the local school board may seek the approval of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to amend such plan. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2033. The bill was Laid on the Table by a 5-3 vote of the committee.

HB 1924 (Aird) Makes several changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishment of units in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning and principal mentorship statewide in Standard 1 and requiring the Board of Education to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leader and teacher mentor programs 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, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students. The bill was reported with a recommendation for referral to the House Appropriations Committee 8-0.

The committee chose to Pass by for the Day HB 1826, HB 1827, HB 1855, and HB 1947. These bills will be heard by the subcommittee at its January 25, 2021 meeting.

Due to time restraints, the committee will have to meet 1/2 hour after the House of Delegates adjourns from floor activity to complete its docket.

House Education Committee Meeting- 1/18/21

The House Education Committee met this morning to consider the following legislation. A summary of the legislation and actions taken by the committee are as follows: 

HB 1776 (Ward) Requires the Board of Education to grant a two-year extension of the renewable license of any public school teacher whose license expires in 2021 in order to provide the teacher with sufficient additional time to complete the requirements for re-licensure. The bill reported and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee with amendments by a 21-0 vote of the committee.

HB 1790 (McGuire) Provides that when severe weather conditions or other emergency situations have resulted in the closing of any school in a school division for in-person instruction, the school division may declare an unscheduled remote learning day whereby the school provides synchronous or asynchronous instruction, or some combination thereof, to all students in the school in lieu of in-person instruction without a reduction in the amount paid by the Commonwealth from the Basic School Aid Fund, provided that the school division has established an unscheduled remote learning day plan that ensures that every student is provided instruction and services on such unscheduled remote learning day that are comparable in quality to the instruction and services provided to learners on any other remote learning day. The bill reported with amendments by a vote of 21-0.

HB 1798 (Tyler) Removes the Brunswick County school board from the list of approved member salaries for appointed school boards. The Brunswick County school board is currently an elected school board. The bill was reported with a vote of 21-0.

HB 1823 (Askew) Requires each building that was built before 2015 and that houses any public school classroom for students, licensed child day program, or other program that serves preschool-age children to be equipped with at least one carbon monoxide detector. The bill was reported by a vote of 20-1.

HB 1904 (Jenkins) The bill requires teacher, principal, and division superintendent evaluations to include an evaluation of cultural competency. The bill requires every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license from the Board of Education (i) to complete instruction or training in cultural competency and (ii) with an endorsement in history and social sciences to complete instruction in African American history, as prescribed by the Board. The bill also requires each school board to adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and any other school board employee holding a license issued by the Board to complete cultural competency training, in accordance with guidance issued by the Board, at least every two years. The bill reported on 15-6 vote of the committee.

HB 1915 (Mugler) Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate that is at or above the national average. Under current law, compensation at such rate is aspirational. The bill requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficient to fund a 4.5 percent annual increase for public school teacher salaries, effective from the 2022-23 school year through the 2026-27 school year. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022. The bill reported and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a 19-3 vote of the committee.

HB 1940 (Rasoul) Requires, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, any middle school or high school student who is absent from school to engage in a civic or political event to be granted an excused absence. The committee reported the bill on a 17-5 vote.

House Education PreK-12 Subcommittee Meeting- 1/15/21

The House Education PreK-12 Subcommittee met virtually on Friday January 15, 2021 and acted on the following pieces of legislation:

HB 1742 (Webert) Requires, in the event that any school board does not provide the option of in-person instruction as the sole method of instruction for any enrolled student, the parent of any such student who withdraws his child from attendance to receive, upon request, an education voucher in an amount equal to a prorated share of the applicable Standards of Quality per-pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the school division, 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 child is eligible, to cover the expenses of providing in-person instruction in an alternative setting. The bill permits the Department of Education to establish rules, regulations, or procedures for the issuance of such education vouchers. The bill contains an emergency clause. The bill failed to report on a 3-5 vote of the subcommittee.

HB 1770 (Freitas) Permits any school division to establish a program to create savings accounts for students to be used for alternative educational programs. The bill requires the Department of Education to establish policies and procedures under which the parent of each student may use such funds on public or private educational programs. The bill failed to report on a 2-6 vote of the subcommittee.

HB 1776 (Ward)  Requires the Board of Education to grant a two-year extension of the renewable license of any public school teacher whose license expires in 2021 in order to provide the teacher with sufficient additional time to complete the requirements for re-licensure. The bill was reported as amended with a recommendation that the full House Education Committee refer the legislation to the House Appropriations Committee by a 8-0 vote of the subcommittee.

HB 1790 (McNamara) Provides that when severe weather conditions or other emergency situations have resulted in the closing of any school in a school division for in-person instruction, the school division may declare an unscheduled remote learning day whereby the school provides synchronous or asynchronous instruction, or some combination thereof, to all students in the school in lieu of in-person instruction without a reduction in the amount paid by the Commonwealth from the Basic School Aid Fund, provided that the school division has established an unscheduled remote learning day plan that ensures that every student is provided instruction and services on such unscheduled remote learning day that are comparable in quality to the instruction and services provided to learners on any other remote learning day. The bill was reported on a 8-0 vote of the subcommittee.

HB 1798 (Tyler) Removes the Brunswick County school board from the list of approved member salaries for appointed school boards. The Brunswick County school board is currently an elected school board. The bill was reported on a 9-0 vote of the subcommittee.

HB 1823 (Askew) Requires each building that was built before 2015 and that houses any public school classroom for students, licensed child day program, or other program that serves preschool-age children to be equipped with at least one carbon monoxide detector. The bill reported on a 7-1 vote of the subcommittee.

HB 1904 (Jenkins) The bill requires teacher, principal, and division superintendent evaluations to include an evaluation of cultural competency. The bill requires every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license from the Board of Education (i) to complete instruction or training in cultural competency and (ii) with an endorsement in history and social sciences to complete instruction in African American history, as prescribed by the Board. The bill also requires each school board to adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and any other school board employee holding a license issued by the Board to complete cultural competency training, in accordance with guidance issued by the Board, at least every two years. The bill reported on a 6-2 vote of the subcommittee.

HB 1915 (Mugler) Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate that is at or above the national average. Under current law, compensation at such rate is aspirational. The bill requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficient to fund a 4.5 percent annual increase for public school teacher salaries, effective from the 2022-23 school year through the 2026-27 school year. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022. The bill reported on a 6-2 vote of the subcommittee.

HB 1940 (Rasoul) Requires, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, any middle school or high school student who is absent from school to engage in a civic or political event to be granted an excused absence. The bill reported on a 5-3 vote of the subcommittee.

Senate Education & Health Committee Meeting- 1/14/21

The first meeting of the Senate Education & Health Committee for the 2021 session of the Virginia General Assembly convened today. A link to the committee's docket can be viewed by clicking here. During today's hearing, the committee made the following decisions regarding legislation on its docket:

SB 1106 (Stanley) Creates the Public School Assistance Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Education, for the purpose of providing grants to school boards to be used solely for the purpose of repairing or replacing the roofs of public elementary and secondary school buildings in the local school division. The bill permits any school board in the Commonwealth to apply for Program grants but requires the Department of Education to give priority in the award of grants to school boards that demonstrate the greatest need based on the condition of existing school building roofs and the ability to pay for the repair or replacement of such roofs. The legislation was Reported and Referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on a 12-0 vote.

SB 1132 (Sueterlein) Provides that when severe weather conditions or other emergency situations have resulted in the closing of any school in a school division for in-person instruction, the school division may declare an unscheduled remote learning day whereby the school provides synchronous or asynchronous instruction, or some combination thereof, to all students in the school in lieu of in-person instruction without a reduction in the amount paid by the Commonwealth from the Basic School Aid Fund, provided that the school division has established an unscheduled remote learning day plan that ensures that every student is provided instruction and services on such unscheduled remote learning day that are comparable in quality to the instruction and services provided to learners on any other remote learning day. The bill was Passed By for the Day.

SB 1175 (Ruff) Removes the Brunswick County school board from the list of approved member salaries for appointed school boards. The Brunswick County school board is currently an elected school board. The bill was Reported to the full Senate on a 14-0 vote.

SB 1190 (Kiggans) Directs the Board of Education to include advanced directive education in its curriculum framework for the Health Standards of Learning for high school students. The bill was Reported to the full Senate on a 11-3 vote.

SB 1191 (Kiggans) Excludes school nurse positions from requirements for student support positions and instead requires each local school board to employ at least one full-time equivalent school nurse position in each elementary school, middle school, and high school in the local school division. The bill also requires the Department of Education to establish and administer a waiver process for local school boards for which the requirements of the bill create an undue hardship. The bill was Reported and Referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on 12-1-1vote.

SB 1196 (Locke) The bill requires teacher, principal, and division superintendent evaluations to include an evaluation of cultural competency. The bill requires every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license from the Board of Education (i) to complete instruction or training in cultural competency and (ii) with an endorsement in history and social sciences to complete instruction in African American history, as prescribed by the Board. The bill also requires each school board to adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and any other school board employee holding a license issued by the Board to complete cultural competency training, in accordance with guidance issued by the Board, at least every two years. The bill was Reported and Referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on a 9-4-1 vote.

2021 Session of Virginia General Assembly Convenes (Virtually) at Noon

The 2021 session of the Virginia General Assembly convenes today at noon. The VSBA Government Relations team is advocating for our members and legislative positions virtually this session due to the mitigation strategies imposed by the General Assembly to protect against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. 

As much as we enjoy fighting on your behalf, we realize that you are the most effective advocates for education in the Commonwealth. If you haven’t already, we strongly encourage you to contact your legislators and educate them on positions of importance to you and the VSBA. To that end, we want to make sure you are aware of several tools that will help you stay on top of everything going on. 

Below is the link to resources for our members to help with advocacy:

https://www.vsba.org/advocacy-government-relations/advocacy/

Below is the link to the Virginia Legislative Information System where you can search for legislation and track developments:

http://leg1.state.va.us/lis.htm 

We hope to see you virtually at our 2021 VSBA Capital Conference on January 25 and 26. The second day of the Conference is focused on virtual visits with your elected members of the General Assembly. We would encourage you to schedule those meetings now if you haven’t already. Registrants to the Capital Conference should receive a Tool Kit prepared by VSBA to assist with these meetings as well as how to advocate virtually!

If you have questions regarding VSBA’s work at the General Assembly, you may contact VSBA Chief Lobbyist, Stacy Haney, at shaney@haneyphinyo.com or VSBA Government Relations Specialist JT Kessler at jason@vsba.org. 

Finally, be sure to check back regularly and monitor VSBA on Facebook and Twitter daily for real time information from the general assembly, as well as responding to any Legislative Action Alerts from the VSBA Government Relations team.

Thank you for all you do on behalf of public education in the Commonwealth!