U.S. House Passes $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Plan

Early this morning, the United States House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021—legislation modeled off of President Biden’s recent $1.9 trillion proposal to respond to the ongoing pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act would provide nearly $130 billion in additional pandemic relief for the K-12 community via the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund, $7.6 billion in funding to connect students to home broadband and devices, and nearly $350 billion in aid for State, Local, and Tribal governments.

Concurrent to this effort in the House, the Senate parliamentarian is currently examining various provisions contained in the legislation to ensure they meet the requirements of the budget reconciliation process in that chamber. While the K-12, broadband, and state and local governmental funding noted above is expected to be included in final legislation considered by the Senate sometime next week, provisions such as a proposed federal minimum wage increase contained in the bill will likely be stripped out of the final legislative package based on a ruling by the parliamentarian prior to Senators voting on the American Rescue Plan Act. This action would likely lower the overall cost of the plan.

The legislation now moves to the United States Senate for further debate and consideration. VSBA will continue to provide updates as the legislation is heard in the United States Senate.

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Senate, House Releases Budget Conference Report

The Conference Committee Report for the biennium budget, SB 1100 (Howell) and HB 1800 (Torian), was released yesterday. The VSBA Government Relations team has analyzed the report and is providing you the selected budget items for your review. You may view the entire budget Conference Report by clicking here.

Item 137#4c- This amendment directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene a workgroup to make recommendations to the General Assembly on the required qualifications and training for school personnel providing health services in schools.

Item 139#1c- This amendment provides $8.8 million the second year from federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to implement the provisions of House Bill 2027 and Senate Bill 1357 to restructure Standards of Learning assessments for mathematics and reading in grades 3-8 from a single end-of-year assessment to a growth assessment system that measures student progress above, at, and below grade level.

Item 141#3c- This amendment provides $7.0 million the second year from federal Governor's Education Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-260) to support the continued expansion of Virtual Virginia's learning management system and additional free course enrollment slots during the 2021-22 school year.

Item 142#1c- This amendment provides $150,000 the second year from the general fund as a one-time appropriation to develop a training module for teachers seeking to renew their teaching license on the instruction of students with disabilities pursuant to provisions included in House Bill 2299 and Senate Bill 1288. This amendment implements recommendation 16 from the 2020 JLARC report on "K-12 Special Education in Virginia".

Item 145#2c- This amendment funds the state's share of three specialized student support positions per 1,000 students. Specialized student support positions, consistent with Senate Bill 1257, include school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions.

Item 145#8c- This amendment provides $40.0 million from the Lottery Proceeds Fund the first year to support one-time programs and initiatives to address learning loss experienced by students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No local match is required, and unexpended funds from the first year shall remain available in the second year.

Item 145#9c- This amendment supplants $36.0 million the first year and $40.0 million the second year from the general fund provided for No Loss Payments with gray machine revenues.

Item 145#10c- This amendment provides $120,000 the second year from the general fund to support the purchase of albuterol and spacers for public schools in Virginia. House Bill 2019 will require undesignated stock albuterol inhalers to be maintained in every public school.

Item 145#11c- This amendment provides $233.7 million the second year from the general fund and $759,098 the second year from the Lottery Proceeds fund to provide a 5.0 percent salary increase, effective July 1, 2021. This represents an addition of $153.6 million the second year, to the convert the 2.0 percent bonus payment that was proposed in the budget as introduced to a 5.0 percent salary increase. To access these funds, each school division must provide at least an average 2.0 percent pay increase during the 2020-22 biennium, and funding provided is prorated for school divisions providing between 2.0 percent and 5.0 percent pay increases over the biennium.

Item 145#13c- This amendment adds $20.1 million the first year and $9.9 million the second year from the general fund to ensure 40 percent of Lottery Proceeds are dedicated to Infrastructure and Operations Per Pupil Payments, formerly known as Supplemental Lottery Per Pupil Allocations. The additional funding increases these Per Pupil Payments by approximately $30 per pupil the first year and $15 per pupil the second year.

Item 145#18c- This amendment provides an additional $40.0 million from the general fund in fiscal year 2021 and $45.7 million from the general fund in fiscal year 2022 based on the revised sales tax distributions in the midsession reforecast. This increases the estimated sales tax dedicated to K-12 by $90.4 million in fiscal year 2021 and $103.2 million in fiscal year 2022, reducing the state's share of Basic Aid payments by $50.4 million from the general fund in fiscal year 2021 and $57.5 million in fiscal year 2022. Corresponding amendments reduce the COVID-19 Local Relief Payments and adjust the No Loss Payments as a result of this action.

Item 145#19c- This amendment reduces the COVID-19 Local Relief Payments by $40.0 million from the general fund the first year based on the net impact of the midsession sales tax reforecast. These payments were provided in Chapter 56, 2020 Special Session I Acts of Assembly to eliminate the local impact from the reduction of sales tax revenues. Due to the increase in sales tax estimates, the remaining COVID-19 Local Relief Payments total $12.9 million the first year from the general fund.

Item 145#20c- This amendment adjusts the funding for No Loss Payments as proposed in the introduced budget, based upon other actions, including the sales tax update, increased Infrastructure and Operations Per Pupil Payments, and technical updates.

Item 145#21c- This amendment adjusts the Lottery Proceeds forecast to $708.2 million the first year, representing an increase of $23.2 million.

Item 146#1c- This amendment provides one additional year of education for students with disabilities who were 19 years of age or older and enrolled during the 2020-21 school year. The amendment provides $6.5 million the second year from federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to address the state share of per-pupil costs and costs that do not qualify under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Item 146#2c- This amendment appropriates $30.0 million the second year from federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to provide grants to address COVID-19 related learning loss and other student support needs.

Senate Committee Defeats Governor's School Bill

The Senate Education and Health Committee Passed by Indefinitely House Bill 2305 (Tyler), a bill that would have required 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 representing the geographical areas served by the Regional Governor's Schools, including local school boards representing the geographical areas served by the Regional Governor's Schools, Regional Governor's School boards, and Governor's School directors.

The committee voted by a vote of 9-6 to defeat the bill.

Senate Committee Defeats School Nurse Definition Legislation

Members of the Senate Education and Health Committee defeated House Bill 1736 (Adams, D) during their hearing on Thursday morning. This legislation would have prohibited any individual who provides nursing services in a public elementary or secondary school as a school board employee or through a contract with the local health department from using the title of school nurse unless such individual is a registered nurse who possesses an active license to practice in the Commonwealth. 

The legislation failed to report on a vote of 6-8.

Senate Education and Health Committee- 2/18/21

The Senate Education and Health Committee met and considered recommendations on legislation which reported from the Subcommittee on Public Education. The committee took action on the following education bills that appeared on its docket.

HB 1736 (Adams, D)  Prohibits any individual who provides nursing services in a public elementary or secondary school as a school board employee or through a contract with the local health department from using the title of school nurse unless such individual is a registered nurse who possesses an active license to practice in the Commonwealth. The bill Failed to Report on a vote of 6-8.

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 13-1 vote.

HB 1838 (Reid) Enables the Loudoun County school board to stagger the terms of its members at the November election immediately preceding the end of the board's term and upon the board's prior vote for staggered terms. The bill reported on a 15-0 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, including services that are grounded in the science of reading, and include explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction, to include phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, vocabulary development, and text comprehension as appropriate based on the student's demonstrated reading deficiencies. 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 reported on a 15-0 vote.

HB 1909 (Subramanyam) Permits any school board to deem any non-school zone property that it owns or leases as a gun-free zone and prohibit any individual from knowingly possessing, purchasing, transferring, carrying, storing, or transporting firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof while such individual is upon such property, except certain individuals such as law-enforcement officers and qualified retired law-enforcement officers. The bill reported with amendment by a 9-6 vote.

HB 2013 (Roem) Requires each school board to adopt a policy that prohibits the board from filing a lawsuit against a student or the student's parent because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt. The bill reported by a vote of 14-1.

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 bill requires the Department of Health, in conjunction with the Department of Education, to develop and implement policies for the administration of stock albuterol in public schools. The bill reported with a substitute by a vote of 13-1.

HB 2027 (Coyner) Requires the Board of Education to establish, in lieu of a one-time end-of-year assessment and for the purpose of providing measures of individual student growth over the course of the school year, a through-year growth assessment system, aligned with the Standards of Learning, for the administration of reading and mathematics assessments in grades three through eight. The bill requires such through-year growth assessment system to include at least one beginning-of-year and one end-of-year assessment in order to provide individual student growth scores over the course of the school year, provided that the total time scheduled for taking all such assessments shall not exceed 150 percent of the time scheduled for taking a single end-of-year proficiency assessment. 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 requires such through-year growth assessment system to be fully implemented in each local school division no later than the 2024-2025 school year. The bill reported with amendments and was referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations committee on a 15-0 vote.

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 bill reported on a vote of 15-0.

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 clarifies that the requirement to adopt such policies shall not be construed to limit a school board's authority to adopt policies to prohibit any other type of workplace conduct as the school board deems necessary. The bill reported on a vote of 8-7.

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, (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 was conformed to SB 1288 (Dunnavant). The bill reported with a substitute on a vote of 15-0.

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 representing the geographical areas served by the Regional Governor's Schools, including local school boards representing the geographical areas served by the Regional Governor's Schools, Regional Governor's School boards, and Governor's School directors. The bill was Passed by Indefinitely by a vote of 9-6.

HB 2316 (Mundon King) Requires the Department of Education to update its special education eligibility worksheets as necessary, including clarifying any ambiguity or vagueness in eligibility criteria, and provide to each local school division the appropriate level of guidance on eligibility determinations for special education and related services. The bill requires the Board of Education to amend its regulations to ensure that each education preparation program graduate in a K-12 general education endorsement area demonstrates proficiency in understanding the role of general education teachers on the individualized education program (IEP) team. The bill reported on a 15-0 vote.

House Education Committee- 2/17/21

The House Education Committee met this morning and took the following actions on legislation on its docket.

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 reported on a 21-1 vote.

SB 1257 (McClellan) The bill modifies a school personnel requirement in Standard 2 of the Standards of Quality. It requires each school board to provide at least three 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 provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. The bill reported as amended and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a 17-5 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 was conformed to HB 2299 (Carr). The bill reported with substitute and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a 22-0 vote.

SB 1313 (Mason) Requires that funds expended for private special education services under the Children's Services Act only be expended on educational programs that are licensed by the Board of Education or an equivalent out-of-state licensing agency. The bill also provides that as of July 1, 2022, such funds may only be expended for programs that the Office of Children's Services certify as having reported their tuition rates.

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 to the target population for eligibility for the state pool of funds. The bill provides that state funds shall be allocated for no longer than 12 months for transitional services.

The bill requires the Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Resources, 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, as well as several other topics. 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, as well as a final plan and recommendations by November 1, 2022. The bill reported on a vote of 21-1.

SB 1357 (Dunnavant) Requires the Board of Education to establish a through-year growth assessment system for use during the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 school years for students in grades three through eight. The bill requires that the system be established using available federal funds and that the system provide accurate measurement of a student's performance in English and mathematics through computer adaptive technology. The bill also requires each school division to administer reading diagnostic assessments throughout the year in grades kindergarten through two, using existing assessments. The bill requires the Board of Education to report to the General Assembly on the results of the through-year growth assessments by September 1, 2022, and September 1, 2023. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. The bill was conformed to HB 2027 (Coyner). The bill was reported with substitute and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a 22-0 vote.

SB 1303 (Dunnavant) Requires each local school division to make virtual and in-person learning available to all students by choice of the student's parent or guardian. The bill was Passed by for the Day.

School Reopening Bill Passed by for the Day

Senate Bill 1303 (Dunnavant) was Passed by for the Day during this morning's meeting of the House Education Committee. This bill was amended and reported for today's full committee hearing Monday in the SOL/SOQ Subcommittee. The legislation aims to require school boards provide full in person instruction for the duration of the 2021-2022 academic year. 

VSBA spoke in opposition to this legislation during the subcommittee on Monday.

House Budget (HB 1800) Analysis of Committee and Floor Amendments

The following is an analysis of budget committee and floor amendments related to K-12 education that have been approved by the House of Delegates. This selection does not contain each education related amendment approved by the House of Delegates in HB 1800.

Item 138 #3H- This amendment implements recommendations 10, 12, 21, and 27 from the JLARC report "K-12 Special Education in Virginia". These recommendations address (i) state monitoring of compliance with special education requirements, (ii) special education complaint procedures and practices, (iii) matters related to the applied studies diploma. These amendments are also found in SB 1288 (Dunnavant).

Item 138 #4H- This amendment provides $105,000 the second year from the general fund as a one-time appropriation to implement provisions in House Bill 2299 (Carr) that would direct the Department of Education to develop training modules for IEP team members and to implement a plan to improve the agency's approach to oversight and technical assistance related to postsecondary transition planning for students with disabilities.

Item 139 #1H- This amendment provides $8.8 million the second year from federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to implement the provisions of House Bill 2027 (Coyner) to restructure Standards of Learning assessments for mathematics and reading in grades 3-8 from a single end-of-year assessment to a growth assessment system that measures student progress above, at, and below grade level.

Item 140 #1H- This language addresses recommendations 8, 9 and 10 from the JLARC report "Operations and Performance of the Virginia Department of Education"

Item 142 #1H- This amendment implements recommendations 15 ,16, and 17 from the JLARC report "Review of K-12 Special Education in Virginia." These amendments are also found in SB 1288 (Dunnavant).

Item 142 #2H- This amendment provides $395,991 the second year from the general fund to establish three staff positions to implement provisions in House Bill 2299 (Carr) related to development and implementation of a statewide strategic plan for recruiting and retaining special education teachers. This implements recommendation 19 from JLARC's review of K-12 Special Education in Virginia.

Item 143 #1H- This amendment provides $180,000 the second year from the general fund as a one-time appropriation to implement recommendation 3 and policy option 1 from the JLARC report "Operations and Performance of the Virginia Department of Education."

Item 144 #4H- This amendment appropriates $30 million the second year from federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to provide grants to address COVID-19 related learning loss and other student support needs.

Item 144 #5H- This amendment provides $250,000 the second year from the general fund to provide active learning grants. First year funding for this initiative was eliminated in Chapter 56, 2020 Special Session I.

Item 145 #2H- This amendment adjusts the Lottery Proceeds forecast to $708.2 million the first year, representing an increase of $23.2 million.

Item 145 #3H- This amendment supplants $30.0 million first year from the general fund provided for No Loss Payments with gray machine revenues.

Item 145 #5H- This amendment captures $2.5 million in the first year from the general fund from the school meals expansion initiative. This first year allocation is no longer necessary, because the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a waiver allowing all students to receive free meals for the 2020-2021 school year, regardless of income eligibility.

Item 145 #7H- This amendment provides $120,000 the second year from the general fund to support the purchase of albuterol and spacers for public schools in Virginia. House Bill 2019 (McQuinn) will require undesignated stock albuterol inhalers to be maintained in every public school.

Item 145 #8H- This amendment saves $11.1 million the second year from the general fund and increases the VPI per pupil amount by 10% from $6,326 in fiscal year 2021 to $6,959 in fiscal year 2022. The introduced budget proposed increasing the per pupil amount by 21% to $7,655 for fiscal year 2022.

Item 145 #9H- This amendment restores $582,000 in incentive payments for Alleghany County and Covington City school divisions to consolidate. Such payments are intended to be set at this amount for five years, with no adjustments. On January 28, 2021, the Board of Education approved the consolidation of these school divisions, to become effective July 1, 2022.

Item 145 #10H- This amendment provides $231.4 million the second year from the general fund and $759,238 the second year from the Lottery Proceeds fund to provide a 5.0 percent salary increase, effective July 1, 2021. This represents an addition of $151.7 million the second year, to the convert the 2.0 percent bonus payment that was proposed in the budget as introduced to a 5.0 percent salary increase. To access these funds, school divisions must certify that salary increases an average of 5.0 percent will be provided during the 2020-22 biennium.

Item 145 #11H- This amendment provides $13.2 million the second year from the general fund to increase the Cost of Competing Adjustment (COCA) for support positions in the school divisions in Planning District 8 and certain adjacent divisions specified in the Appropriation Act that are eligible to receive COCA funds. For the nine Planning District 8 school divisions, this action would increase the adjustment factor from 10.6% to 18%. For the nine adjacent school divisions, this action would increase the adjustment factor from 2.65% to 4.5%. This restores and expands funding that was eliminated in Chapter 56, 2020 Special Session I that would have increased the adjustment factors from 10.6% to 16% and 2.65% to 4%.

Item 145 #12H- This amendment provides $234.7 million the first year and $214.2 million the second year from the general fund for No Loss payments. These payments ensure no school division receives less state funding in either fiscal year than the calculated amount in Chapter 56, 2020 Special Session I. In the first year, such No Loss payments are reduced by an amount equal to 25 percent of each school division's ESSER II federal relief distribution, and such reduction is capped at 25% of the No Loss payment. The introduced budget proposed $299.4 million for No Loss payments in the first year, however this was proposed prior to authorization of $845.4 million in ESSER II subgrants to Virginia school divisions through the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, which became law on December 27, 2020.

Item 145 #13H- This amendment adjusts the funding for No Loss Payments as proposed in the introduced budget, based upon other proposed budget actions.

Item 145 #14H- This amendment adds $20.1 million the first year and $9.9 million the second year from the general fund to ensure 40 percent of Lottery Proceeds are dedicated to Infrastructure and Operations Per Pupil Payments, formerly known as Supplemental Lottery Per Pupil Allocations. The additional funding increases these Per Pupil Payments by approximately $30 per pupil the first year and $15 per pupil the second year.

Item 145 #15H- This amendment provides one additional year of education for students with disabilities who were 19 years of age or older and enrolled during the 2020-21 school year. The amendment provides $6.5 million the second year from federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to address the state share of per-pupil costs and costs that do not qualify under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 

Item 145 #16H- This amendment provides $627,671 in the second year from the general fund to apply the partial Cost of Competing Adjustment (COCA) rate to Accomack and Northampton Counties, which is the rate applied to outlying Northern Virginia localities. The introduced budget included $2.7 million to provide the full COCA rate to Accomack and Northampton Counties, which is the same rate applied to the core Northern Virginia localities in Planning District 8.

Item 145 #19H- This amendment provides that students enrolled in full-time MOP programs shall be enrolled in a separate public school for public reporting purposes, effective with the 2021-22 school year. Currently, school divisions are permitted to enroll full-time MOP students in a traditional public school for public reporting purposes, although though these students typically do not receive instruction from the staff of the school and reside outside of the enrolling school division. This would ensure that the public reporting information for traditional public schools reflects the student body that physically attends such traditional public schools.

Item 145 #20H- This amendment provides $51.1 million the first year from gray machine revenues to support learning losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. These payments are distributed to school divisions based on the existing At-Risk Add-On formula, using an add-on range of 0% to 6%. No local match is required, and unexpended funds from the first year shall remain available in the second year. This amendment requires the Department of Education to include information on each school divisions' use of these funds in an annual report to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees.

Item 479.10 #2H- This amendment provides an appropriation of up to $81.1 million the first year from the state COVID-19 Relief Fund to Item 145 to fund Learning Loss Supplemental Payments and a portion of the No Loss Payments. The budget approved at the 2020 Special Session provided up to $95.2 million from this fund be appropriated to public education, however the introduced budget proposed removing payments from the fund from public education, and backfilling with general funds. Revenues from games of skill machines are deposited into the COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Senate Budget (SB 1100) Analysis of Budget Adopted by Senate

The following is an analysis of budget committee and floor amendments related to K-12 education that have been approved by the Senate. This selection does not contain each education related amendment approved by the Senate in SB 1100.

Item 137 #1s - This amendment directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene a workgroup to make recommendations on the staffing standards for school nurses. The recommendations shall include the appropriate school nurse staffing ratio and the required qualifications and training for school nurses.

Item 137 #2s - This amendment provides $10.0 million in federal relief funds for the Department of Education to provide and administer a diagnostic assessment tool for use in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school year pursuant to the provisions of Senate Bill 1357.  SB 1357 is Senator Dunnavant's bill that requires the Board of Education to establish through-year growth assessments for students in grades three through eight to measure student performance in English and math through computer adaptive learning as well as reading diagnostic assessments throughout the year in kindergarten through grade two.

Item 138 #2s - This amendment directs the Department of Education to develop and maintain a robust statewide plan for improving (i) its ongoing oversight of local practices related to transition planning and services and (ii) technical assistance and guidance provided for post-secondary transition planning and services. This amendment implements recommendation 9 from the 2020 JLARC report on "K-12 Special Education in Virginia".  This requirement was also contained in SB 1288 (Dunnavant) as it passed the Senate.  

Item 138 #3s - This amendment directs the Department of Education to develop clear and simplified guidance, in multiple languages, for families of students with disabilities explaining (i) the limitations of the applied studies diploma; (ii) key curriculum and testing decisions that reduce the likelihood of a student being able to obtain a standard diploma; and (iii) that pursuit of an applied studies diploma may preclude a student's ability to pursue a standard diploma.  This amendment implements recommendation 10 from the 2020 JLARC report on "K-12 Special Education in Virginia".  This requirement was also contained in SB 1288 (Dunnavant) as it passed the Senate.  

Item 138 #4s - This amendment directs the Department of Education to revise the state's special education complaint procedures and practices to ensure the Department requires and enforces corrective actions that (i) achieve full and appropriate remedies for school divisions' non-compliance with special education laws and regulations, including, at a minimum, requiring school divisions to provide compensatory services to students with disabilities when the Department determines divisions did not provide legally obligated services; and (ii) ensure that relevant personnel understand how to avoid similar non-compliance in the future.  This amendment implements recommendation 21 from the 2020 JLARC report on "K-12 Special Education in Virginia".  

Item 138 #5s - This amendment directs the Department of Education to (i) conduct a one-time targeted review of the transition sections of a random sample of students' individualized education programs (IEPs) in each school division; (ii) communicate its findings to each local school division, school board, and local special education advisory committee; and (iii) ensure local school divisions correct any IEPs that are found out of compliance.  This amendment implements recommendation 8 from the 2020 JLARC report on "K-12 Special Education in Virginia".  This requirement was also contained in SB 1288 (Dunnavant) as it passed the Senate. 

Item 138 #6s - This amendment provides $300,000 GF the second year for the DEpartment of Education to: (i) provide training and guidance documents to local school divisions on the development of individualized education programs (IEPs); (ii) develop a required training module for each individual who participates in an IEP meeting that comprehensively addresses and explains in detail each IEP team member's respective role in the IEP meeting, the IEP development process, and components of effective IEPs; and (iii) conduct structured reviews of a sample of IEPs annually to verify that the IEPs are in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations, all of which are required by  SB 1288 (Dunnavant) as it passed the Senate. 

Item 139 #1s - This amendment captures savings in the amount of $1.8 million GF from the reduction of Standards of Learning assessments to the minimum federal requirements, contingent on the passage of Senate Bill 1401 (Pillion).

Item 141 #1s -  This amendment allows the Department of Education to provide one-time grants to divisions to support the costs of an analytics solution to evaluate student progress and determine instructional gaps.

Item 141 #2s - This amendment provides $7.0 million in Governor's Education Emergency Relief Funds from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-260) to support the continued expansion of Virtual Virginia's learning management system and additional free course enrollment slots during the 2021-22 school year.

Item 142 #1s - This amendment directs the Board of Education to review and update its regulations of general education K–12 teacher preparation programs to ensure graduates are required to demonstrate proficiency in: (i) differentiating instruction for students depending on their needs; (ii) understanding the role of general education teachers on the IEP team; (iii) implementing effective models of collaborative instruction, including co-teaching; and (iv) understanding the goals and benefits of inclusive education for all students.  It also directs the Board to review and update its regulations governing administrator preparation programs to ensure graduates are required to demonstrate comprehension of: (i) key special education laws and regulations; (ii) individualized education program (IEP) development; (iii) the roles and responsibilities of special education teachers; and (iv) appropriate behavior management practices.   This amendment implements recommendations 15 and 17 from the 2020 JLARC report on "K-12 Special Education in Virginia".  These requirements were also contained in SB 1288 (Dunnavant) as it passed the Senate. 

Item 142 #2s - This amendment directs the Department of Education to develop and maintain a statewide strategic plan for recruiting and retaining special education teachers. At a minimum, the strategic plan shall (i) use data analyses to determine divisions' specific staffing needs on an ongoing basis; (ii) evaluate the potential effectiveness of strategies for addressing recruitment and retention challenges, including tuition assistance, differentiated pay for special education teachers, and the expansion of special education teacher mentorships; and (iii) estimate the costs of implementing each strategy, including the extent to which federal funds could be used to support implementation.  This amendment implements recommendation 19 from the 2020 JLARC report on "K-12 Special Education in Virginia".  This requirement was also contained in SB 1288 (Dunnavant) as it passed the Senate. 

Item 144 #2s - This amendment provides $250,000 GF the second year for grants to support one-time pilot programs to redesign a division's dual enrollment course offerings to align/link to the Passport and Uniform Certificate of General Studies offered by Virginia's community colleges.

Item 144 #3s - This amendment provides $250,000 GF the second year to encourage active learning for students in pre-K through 2nd grade. The Department of Education will establish criteria by which to award these funds to school divisions. Local school divisions will use the grant funds to provide active learning curriculum that relate math and language Standard of Learning content into movement rich activities for students in pre-K through 2nd grade.

Item 145 #3s - This amendment captures savings of $2.5 million GF the first year for the School Meals Expansion program. Under a federal waiver for the 2020-21 school year, all divisions are providing school meals at no cost to all students. These funds are no longer needed to eliminate the cost of reduced price school meals.

Item 145 #4s - This amendment removes Accomack and Northampton counties from the full cost of competing adjustment as included in the introduced budget.

Item 145 #5s - This amendment provides $582,000 GF the second year as an incentive for the Alleghany County and Covington City school divisions to consolidate. Such payments are intended to be set at this amount for five years, with no adjustments. The Board of Education approved the consolidation of these divisions to be effective July 1, 2022.

Item 145 #6s - This amendment provides $139.8 million the second year from the general fund and $455,787 the second year from the Lottery Proceeds fund to provide a 3.0 percent salary increase for SOQ-recognized instructional and support positions, to become effective August 1, 2021. This represents an addition of $59.3 million the second year to provide a 3.0 percent salary increase in lieu of the 2.0 percent bonus that was proposed in the budget as introduced.  To be eligible to draw down these funds, school divisions must certify to the Department of Education that salary increases of a minimum average of 3.0 percent have been or will have been provided during the 2020-2022 biennium, either in the first year or in the second year or through a combination of the two years, to instructional and support personnel.

Item 145 #7s - This amendment provides $30.0 million from the Lottery Proceeds Fund the second year to support one-time programs and initiatives to address learning loss experienced by students due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Item 145 #8s - This amendment funds the state's share of three specialized student support positions per 1,000 students (at a cost of $49.2 million in the second year). Specialized student support positions, consistent with Senate Bill 1257, includes school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions.

Item 145 #9s - This amendment provides $2.7 million from the Lottery Proceeds Fund the second year to provide one-time support to Accomack and Northampton school divisions for recruitment and retention efforts.

Item 145 #11s - This amendment requires all school divisions to offer in-person instruction options in the 2021-2022 school year to a student if the parent or guardian requests.

Item 479.20 #1s - This amendment provides that any additional revenue for fiscal year 2021 as a result of the higher than forecast general fund revenues in the fiscal year will be used for the listed high priority funding items in fiscal year 2022.  This first item on the priority list is $47.2 million to fund one additional SOQ support position (in addition to those provided in Item 145 #8s). 

House Education Committee- 2/15/21

The House Education Committee met Monday to consider the following pieces of 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 for the purposes of repairing or replacing the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, or plumbing systems or the roofs of public elementary and secondary school buildings in the local school division, including financing costs for such repairs and replacements. 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 bill was reported and referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 21-1.

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 conformed to HB 1918. The bill was reported with a substitute on a 22-0 vote.

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 21-1.

SB 1322 (DeSteph) Provides for the submission and utilization of seizure management and action plans for students with a diagnosed 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 has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022. The bill reported with amendment on a vote of 20-2.

SB 1439 (McClellan) Requires, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, each local school board to permit at least one school day-long excused absence per school year for any middle school or high school student in the local school division who is absent from school to engage in a civic event. The bill allows local school boards to require that a student provide advance notice of the intended absence and documentation of participation in a civic event to be granted an excused absence. The bill reported with amendments on a 16-6 vote.

House Education SOL/SOQ Subcommittee- 2/15/21

The House Education SOL/SOQ Subcommittee met this morning to consider legislation on its docket. The subcommittee took the following action on legislation.

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 reported on a vote of 8-0.

SB 1257 (McClellan) The bill modifies a school personnel requirement in Standard 2 of the Standards of Quality. It requires each school board to provide at least three 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 provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. The bill was reported with amendments and referred to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on a 8-0 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 was conformed to HB 2299 (Carr). The bill reported with a substitute and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a 7-0 vote.

SB 1303 (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 8-0 vote.

SB 1313 (Mason) Requires that funds expended for private special education services under the Children's Services Act only be expended on educational programs that are licensed by the Board of Education or an equivalent out-of-state licensing agency. The bill also provides that as of July 1, 2022, such funds may only be expended for programs that the Office of Children's Services certify as having reported their tuition rates.

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 to the target population for eligibility for the state pool of funds. The bill provides that state funds shall be allocated for no longer than 12 months for transitional services.

The bill requires the Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Resources, 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, as well as several other topics. 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, as well as a final plan and recommendations by November 1, 2022. The bill reported on a 8-0 vote.

SB 1357 (Dunnavant) Requires the Board of Education to establish a through-year growth assessment system for use during the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 school years for students in grades three through eight. The bill requires that the system be established using available federal funds and that the system provide accurate measurement of a student's performance in English and mathematics through computer adaptive technology. The bill also requires each school division to administer reading diagnostic assessments throughout the year in grades kindergarten through two, using existing assessments. The bill requires the Board of Education to report to the General Assembly on the results of the through-year growth assessments by September 1, 2022, and September 1, 2023. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act. The bill was conformed to HB 2027. The bill was reported and referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a vote of 7-0.

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 failed to report on a 4-4 vote.

House Education PreK-12 Subcommittee- 2/12/21

The House Education PreK-12 Subcommittee met this morning and heard the following pieces of legislation on the 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 for the purposes of repairing or replacing the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, or plumbing systems or the roofs of public elementary and secondary school buildings in the local school division, including financing costs for such repairs and replacements. 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 bill was reported with referral to the House Appropriations Committee on a 7-1 vote.

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 conformed to HB 1918 and reported with a substitute on a vote of 8-0.

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 on a vote of 7-1.

SB 1322 (DeSteph)  Provides for the submission and utilization of seizure management and action plans for students with a diagnosed 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 has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022. The bill reported with amendment on a 7-1 vote.

SB 1439 (McClellan) Requires, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, each local school board to permit at least one school day-long excused absence per school year for any middle school or high school student in the local school division who is absent from school to engage in a civic event. The bill allows local school boards to require that a student provide advance notice of the intended absence and documentation of participation in a civic event to be granted an excused absence. The bill reported on a 5-3 vote.

Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on Public Education- 2/11/21

The Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on Public Education met Thursday afternoon to consider legislation that crossed over from the House of Delegates. The subcommittee took the action on the following pieces of legislation:

HB 1736 (Adams, D.) Prohibits any individual who provides nursing services in a public elementary or secondary school as a school board employee or through a contract with the local health department from using the title of school nurse unless such individual is a registered nurse who possesses an active license to practice in the Commonwealth. The committee reported the legislation on a 3-2 vote.

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 5-0 vote.

HB 1838 (Reid) Enables the Loudoun County school board to stagger the terms of its members at the November election immediately preceding the end of the board's term and upon the board's prior vote for staggered terms. The bill reported 5-0.

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, including services that are grounded in the science of reading, and include explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction, to include phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, vocabulary development, and text comprehension as appropriate based on the student's demonstrated reading deficiencies. 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 reported on a 5-0 vote.

HB 1909 (Subramanyam) Permits any school board to deem any non-school zone property that it owns or leases as a gun-free zone and prohibit any individual from knowingly possessing, purchasing, transferring, carrying, storing, or transporting firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof while such individual is upon such property, except certain individuals such as law-enforcement officers and qualified retired law-enforcement officers. The vote reported on a 4-1 vote.

HB 2013 (Roem) Requires each school board to adopt a policy that prohibits the board from filing a lawsuit against a student or the student's parent because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt. the bill reported on a 4-0-1 vote.

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 bill requires the Department of Health, in conjunction with the Department of Education, to develop and implement policies for the administration of stock albuterol in public schools. The bill reported on a vote of 3-1.

HB 2027 (Coyner) Requires the Board of Education to establish, in lieu of a one-time end-of-year assessment and for the purpose of providing measures of individual student growth over the course of the school year, a through-year growth assessment system, aligned with the Standards of Learning, for the administration of reading and mathematics assessments in grades three through eight. The bill requires such through-year growth assessment system to include at least one beginning-of-year and one end-of-year assessment in order to provide individual student growth scores over the course of the school year, provided that the total time scheduled for taking all such assessments shall not exceed 150 percent of the time scheduled for taking a single end-of-year proficiency assessment. 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 requires such through-year growth assessment system to be fully implemented in each local school division no later than the 2024-2025 school year. The bill reported on a 4-0 vote.

HB 2105 (Bulova) Delays until the 2022%962023 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 bill reported on a 5-0 vote.

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 bill reported on a 3-1-1 vote.

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 clarifies that the requirement to adopt such policies shall not be construed to limit a school board's authority to adopt policies to prohibit any other type of workplace conduct as the school board deems necessary. The bill reported on a 4-0 vote.

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, (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 was conformed to SB 1288 (Dunnavant) and Reported with substitute on a 4-0 vote.

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 representing the geographical areas served by the Regional Governor's Schools, including local school boards representing the geographical areas served by the Regional Governor's Schools, Regional Governor's School boards, and Governor's School directors. The bill reported on a vote 3-1-1.

HB 2316 (Mundon King) Requires the Department of Education to update its special education eligibility worksheets as necessary, including clarifying any ambiguity or vagueness in eligibility criteria, and provide to each local school division the appropriate level of guidance on eligibility determinations for special education and related services. The bill requires the Board of Education to amend its regulations to ensure that each education preparation program graduate in a K-12 general education endorsement area demonstrates proficiency in understanding the role of general education teachers on the individualized education program (IEP) team. The bill reported on a 4-0 vote.