House Finance Subcommittee #3 Meeting- January 28, 2022

The House Finance Subcommittee #3 met Friday, January 28, 2022. The subcommittee took action on the following pieces of legislation.

HB 63 (Edmonds) Adds Prince Edward County to the list of localities that, under current law, are authorized to impose an additional local sales and use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent, with the revenue used only for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools. The bill was Laid on the Table by a vote of 5-3.

HB 531 (Hudson) Authorizes all counties and cities to impose an additional local sales and use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent, with the revenue used only for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools. Under the bill, the tax can only be imposed if it is initiated by a resolution of the local governing body and approved by the voters in a referendum. The bill requires the governing body to specify in the enacting ordinance the time period, not to exceed 20 years, for which the tax would be imposed, and revenue from the tax is required to be used solely for capital projects for new construction or major renovation of schools in the locality enacting the tax.

Under current law, only Charlotte County, Gloucester County, Halifax County, Henry County, Mecklenburg County, Northampton County, Patrick County, Pittsylvania County, and the City of Danville are authorized to impose such a tax. The bill was Laid on the Table by a vote of 5-3.

HB 545 (Hudson) Adds the City of Charlottesville to the list of localities that, under current law, are authorized to impose an additional local sales and use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent, with the revenue used only for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools. The bill was Laid on the Table by a vote of 5-3.

HB 1099 (LaRock) Allows any county or city to levy a local general retail sales tax and a local use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent as determined by its governing body to provide revenues solely for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools if such levy is approved in a voter referendum. Under current law, the power to levy such local sales and use taxes for the construction or renovation of schools is limited to the qualifying localities of Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville. The bill was stricken at the request of the patron.

Senate Education and Health Committee Meeting- January 27, 2022

The Senate Education and Health Committee met January 27, 2022 and took the following actions on legislation relating to K-12 Education.

SB 156 (Hashmi) Requires state funding to be provided to support new division wide ratios of English learner students in average daily membership to full-time equivalent teaching positions, as follows: (i) for each English language learner identified as proficiency level one, one position per 25 students; (ii) for each English language learner identified as proficiency level two, one position per 30 students; (iii) for each English language learner identified as proficiency level three, one position per 40 students; and (iv) for all other English language learners, one position per 50 students. Under the bill, in order to provide additional support for instruction of English language learners, $150 shall be appropriated in year one to divisions for each English learner student to support professional development of instructional and support staff, purchase resources developed for students learning English, and offer grants to community-based organizations that offer support services to English language learners in school settings. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 8-5.

SB 157 (Hashmi) Declares it the goal of the Commonwealth that its public school teachers and all other individuals employed in Standards of Quality-funded positions be compensated at a rate that is competitive, defined as at or above the national average salary for the position, in order to attract and keep highly qualified individuals in such positions. The bill requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficient to fund a five percent annual pay increase for each such position, effective from the 2023%9624 school year through the 2027%9628 school year, provided that such five percent annual pay increase (i) is subject to a local matching requirement in accordance with each local school board's composite index of local ability-to-pay and (ii) shall be adjusted annually as necessary to account for rebenchmarking and to yield a rate of compensation percentage increase for all Standards of Quality-funded positions that is pegged to providing a competitive average teacher salary in the Commonwealth. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2023. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 8-5-1.

SB 239 (Hashmi) Adds science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computing (STEM+C), which includes real-world, interdisciplinary, and computational instruction and preparation of students in STEM+C, to the list of topics that shall be included in the Standards of Learning for the Commonwealth. The bill also directs the Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board to develop and submit to the Board of Education (i) a rubric that shall be used by the Board of Education in setting out what factors permit a school to be defined as a STEM school and (ii) recommendations for the Board to create a measurement for quality of STEM programming in general education instruction. The bill also directs the Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board to draft and report to the Department of Education proposed common language and terminology that better defines the basic literacies employed in STEM+C as methodological approaches to solving universal human challenges and, as essential, generalizable and transferable literacy toward the application of skills and content needed to solve those challenges. The bill also directs the Department of Education, based on such proposed language and terminology and no later than December 1, 2022, to recommend finalized language and terminology to the Board of Education. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 15-0.

SB 261 (Hashmi) Directs the Virginia Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Advisory Board (the Board) to perform a comprehensive review of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics categories within the standard occupational classification system and assess deficit areas that do not capture Virginia's existing STEM+C (Computing) workforce profile for the purpose of better aligning K-12 and higher education priorities. The Board shall report its findings to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology no later than October 1, 2022. The bill was reported and referred tot he Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 15-0.

SB 275 (DeSteph) Requires each local school board to adopt policies that address the selection and evaluation of all printed and audiovisual materials purchased by, donated to, or otherwise made available to the school division that will be available to students in school libraries and requires such policies to contain clear procedures for (i) parental involvement in and a reasonable opportunity for public comment before the selection and evaluation of printed and audiovisual materials that will be available to students in school libraries; (ii) mandatory prior written parental consent before a student is permitted to check out from the school library any such printed or audiovisual materials that could be considered grooming video or materials, as that term is defined in relevant law; and (iii) the removal from the school library of any such printed or audiovisual materials that could be considered grooming video or materials, as that term is defined in relevant law. The bill was Passed by Indefinitely by a 8-7 vote.

SB 285 (Ebbin) Requires the organization governing high school athletics and academic activities for public and approved nonboarding nonpublic high schools (the organization), with such funds as may be appropriated by the General Assembly for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, to develop (i) rules and standards for the prevention of inequities involving the use of hate speech or ethnically or racially insensitive expressions during athletic and academic competitions sponsored by the organization's member schools, (ii) procedures for the enforcement of and penalties for the violation of such rules and standards, and (iii) training materials on such rules and standards. The bill requires each member school of the organization to abide by and implement such rules, standards, procedures, and penalties and ensure that each student who will participate in high school interscholastic athletic or academic competition, the parent of each such student, and each individual, whether paid or unpaid, who coaches a team that will participate in high school interscholastic athletic or academic competition receives and reviews such training materials. The bill requires the organization to make part of the process to become a registered official in good standing for any association offering services to the organization an education and training requirement that is consistent with the training materials developed by the organization. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023. The bill was Passed by for the Day.

SB 596 (Pillion) Provides that students who miss a partial or full day of school while participating in 4-H educational programs and activities shall not be counted as absent for the purposes of calculating average daily membership and shall receive course credit in the same manner as they would for a school field trip. The bill directs each local school board to develop policies and procedures for students to make up missed work and may determine the maximum number of school days per academic year that a student may spend participating in 4-H educational programs and activities to not be counted absent. The bill was reported by a vote of 15-0.

SB 709 (DeSteph)  Removes the sunset of taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2028, for the tax credit for donations to certain scholarship foundations and removes the sunset for changes to the definition of an eligible student with a disability and certain income guidelines that were set to expire beginning with taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 15-0.

SB 616 (Lucas)  Makes several changes relating to early student literacy, including requiring (i) each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education or alternative certification program that provides training for any individual seeking initial licensure with an endorsement in a certain area, including as a reading specialist, to demonstrate mastery of science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction, as such terms are defined in the bill; (ii) the literacy assessment required of individuals seeking initial teacher licensure with endorsements in certain areas to include a rigorous test of science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction; (iii) each school board to establish a divisionwide literacy plan; and (iv) each local school board to provide a program of literacy instruction whereby, among other things, (a) the program provides reading intervention services to students in kindergarten through grade three who demonstrate deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading assessment or an early literacy screener provided or approved by the Department of Education; (b) a reading specialist, in collaboration with the teacher of any student who receives such reading intervention services, develops, oversees implementation of, and monitors student progress on a student reading plan; and (c) each student who receives such reading intervention services is assessed utilizing either the early literacy screener provided or approved by the Department or the grade-level reading Standards of Learning assessment again at the end of that school year. The provisions of the bill become effective beginning with the 2024–2025 school year. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 15-0.

House Education Early Childhood and Innovation Subcommittee Meeting- January 26, 2022

The House Education Early Childhood and Innovation met January 26, 2022. The first order of business of the committee was to pass the following bills by for the week HB 197, (Webert) HB 340 (Davis), HB 389 (Bulova), HB 608 (Bourne), and HB 829 (Wilt). After approval by the committee to pass by the listed legislation as a block, the committee proceeded to take action on the following pieces of legislation.

HB 251 (Simonds) Encourages each school board to enter into a collaborative agreement with the local governing body to set aside in a separate fund any sums appropriated to the school board by the local governing body that are unexpended by the school board in any year in order to use such sums to finance school maintenance, renovation, or construction in the local school division. The bill declares any school board that fails to enter into such a collaborative agreement ineligible to participate in any state grant, loan, or bond program that supports school maintenance, renovation, or construction. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization. The bill was Passed by for the Day.

HB 252 (Simonds) Requires the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of General Services, to develop or adopt and maintain a data collection tool to assist each school board to determine the relative age of each public school building in the local school division and the amount of maintenance reserve funds that are necessary to restore each such building. The bill requires each school board to provide to the Department of Education in a timely fashion the local data that is necessary to ensure that such tool remains relevant and useful for the determination of maintenance reserve needs. The bill requires the Department of Education to consider converting or using as a template the Department of General Services' M-R FIX tool to meet the above requirement to maintain such a tool. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization. The bill was reported and referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 8-0.

HB 253 (Simonds) Makes several changes to the provisions relating to loans from the Literary Fund to finance the construction and renovation of public elementary and secondary school buildings in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Board of Education (the Board) to establish an annual open application process for Literary Fund loans to occur during the period that the Board deems most suitable. The bill increases from $7.5 million to $25 million the maximum Literary Fund loan amount and permits the Board to increase such maximum to up to $35 million for loans for any school construction or renovation project that facilitates the consolidation of schools. The bill requires the Board to fix the interest rate on all loans made from the Literary Fund at not less than one percent per year, not more than three percent per year, and at increments of one half of one percent per year between such minimum and maximum rates, payable annually, and to utilize a sliding scale based on the local school division's composite index of local ability to pay to determine the interest rate on each such loan. Under current law, such rates are required to be set between two and six percent per year. The bill requires the Board to establish a competitive program for the award of up to $25,000 to a school division that receives a Literary Fund loan for the purpose of subsidizing all or a portion of the closing costs for such loan. The bill also permits the Board to remove any project that has been inactive for at least five years from any Literary Fund loan project waiting list that it maintains. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization. The bill was reported and referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 8-0.

HB 319 (Coyner) Makes several changes relating to early student literacy, including requiring (i) each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education or alternative certification program that provides training for any individual seeking initial licensure with an endorsement in a certain area, including as a reading specialist, to demonstrate mastery of science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction, as such terms are defined in the bill; (ii) the literacy assessment required of individuals seeking initial teacher licensure with endorsements in certain areas to include a rigorous test of science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction; (iii) each school board to establish a divisionwide literacy plan; and (iv) each local school board to provide a program of literacy instruction whereby, among other things, (a) the program provides reading intervention services to students in kindergarten through grade three who demonstrate deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading assessment or an early literacy screener provided or approved by the Department of Education; (b) a reading specialist, in collaboration with the teacher of any student who receives such reading intervention services, develops, oversees implementation of, and monitors student progress on a student reading plan; and (c) each student who receives such reading intervention services is assessed utilizing either the early literacy screener provided or approved by the Department or the grade-level reading Standards of Learning assessment again at the end of that school year. The provisions of the bill become effective beginning with the 2024–2025 school year. The bill was reported and referred to the House Appropriations Committee with a substitute by a vote of 8-0.

HB 418 (Delaney) Removes Reading Recovery from the list of programs and initiatives for which school boards may use at-risk add-on funds. The bill was reported and referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 8-0.

HB 419 (Delaney) Requires each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education that provides training for any student seeking initial licensure by the Department of Education to (i) include a program of coursework and require all such students to demonstrate mastery in science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction and require such program of coursework and the student mastery required to be demonstrated therein to be consistent with definitions and expectations established by the Board of Education and the Department of Education after consultation with a commission consisting of independent literacy experts and stakeholders with knowledge of science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction that has reviewed the relevant regulations and (ii) for any such student seeking initial licensure by the Department of Education as a teacher with an endorsement in early childhood, elementary education, or special education or with an endorsement as a reading specialist ensure that reading course work and field practice opportunities are a significant focus of the education preparation program. The bill requires the Department of Education to audit at least once every five years each education preparation program for compliance with such requirements. The bill was reported and referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 8-0.

HB 879 (Rasoul) Requires the nine-member Board of Education, all of whom are appointed by the Governor, to include at least one member with experience or expertise in local government leadership or policymaking, at least one member with experience or expertise in career and technical education, and at least one member with experience or expertise in early childhood education. The bill was reported by a 7-0 vote.

HB 979 (Tran) Requires the Board of Education to provide for the issuance of a provisional license, valid for a period not to exceed three years, to any individual who holds a valid and officially issued and recognized license or certification to teach issued by an entity outside of the United States but does not meet the requirements for a renewable license. The bill was reported with amendment by a 7-0 vote.

House Education Committee Meeting- January 26, 2022

The House Education Committee met Wednesday, January 26, 2022 and took the following actions on legislation before the committee.

HB 4 (Wyatt) Requires that school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense and report to the parents of any minor student who is the specific object of such act that the incident has been reported to law enforcement. Under current law, principals are required to make such reports only for such acts that may constitute a felony offense. The bill reported with a substitute on a vote of 16-5.

HB 127 (Davis) Prohibits any academic year Governor's School or governing board member, director, administrator, or employee thereof from (i) discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin; (ii) engaging in proxy discrimination, as defined in the bill, in student admissions; or (iii) seeking information on students' race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin during the application process for admission to such school unless expressly required by federal law, and to the extent it is required by federal law, the bill requires such information to be withheld to the maximum extent practicable from any individual involved in admissions decisions to the end that admissions decisions are blind as to the applicants' race, sex, color, ethnicity, and national origin. The bill permits any academic year Governor's School or governing board member, director, administrator, or employee thereof to use traditional academic success factors, as defined in the bill, in student admissions and provides that such use presumptively does not constitute proxy discrimination. The bill also contains provisions relating to evidentiary burdens of proof in certain causes of action involving such proxy discrimination or traditional academic success factors. The bill reported 12-9.

HB 236 (Orrock) Permits the Board of Education to grant a two-year extension of the license of any individual licensed by the Board of Education pursuant to its statutory authority whose license expires on June 30, 2022, in order to provide the individual with sufficient additional time to complete the requirements for licensure renewal. The bill reported with amendment on a 21-0 vote.

HB 246 (Kilgore)  Provides that students who miss a partial or full day of school while participating in 4-H educational programs and activities shall not be counted as absent for the purposes of calculating average daily membership and shall receive course credit in the same manner as they would for a school field trip. The bill directs each local school board to develop policies and procedures for students to make up missed work and may determine the maximum number of school days per academic year that a student may spend participating in 4-H educational programs and activities to not be counted absent. The bill reported 21-0.

HB 294 (Freitas) Declares eligible for a scholarship from a scholarship foundation that receives an education improvement scholarship tax credit, on the same basis as any other eligible student, eligible students in need of a safer school environment, defined in the bill as any student who, while enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school in kindergarten through grade 12, was the victim of assault, battery, bullying, harassment, hazing, kidnapping, or robbery on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored activity, as substantiated by an investigation and written report by the school principal. The bill provides that (i) eligible students in need of a safer school environment are permitted to use such scholarships to cover the expenses associated with attending another public school within or outside of his school division of residence and (ii) there are no family income restrictions on scholarships for eligible students in need of a safer school environment. The bill was passed by for the day.

HB 363 (Freitas) Prohibits school board employees who are not required to hold a valid license issued by the Board of Education and public school teachers from being dismissed based on a last-hired, first-fired dismissal policy or any other similar policy that mandates that, when considering more than one such employee for dismissal, the seniority of each such employee shall be the sole determinative factor in the dismissal decision. The bill also requires the Board of Education, the House Committee on Education, and the Senate Committee on Education and Health, in consultation with local school boards, to study and make recommendations to the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2022, regarding effective, alternative ways in which the performance of teachers may be evaluated for the purpose of awarding or rescinding continuing contract status. The bill was continued to 2022.

HB 433 (Bulova) Requires (i) the reading and mathematics Standards of Learning assessments in grades three through eight and the science assessments administered to students in grade five and after the student receives instruction in the grade six science, life science, and physical science Standards of Learning and before the student completes grade eight to be traditional achievement tests and (ii) the Virginia Studies and Civics and Economics assessments to be performance based and to measure the test taker's ability to apply the skills and knowledge learned in the class. The foregoing provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2023. The bill also requires the Department of Education, with such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, to develop a task bank for performance-based assessments that is built using vetted tasks that have been developed by practitioners and align with the Department's Virginia Quality Criteria Review Tool for Performance Assessments.

House Education Early Childhood/Innovation Subcommittee Meeting - January 19, 2022

 The House Education Early Childhood/Innovation Subcommittee met and took action on the following bills:

HB 230 (Coyner) Applications for teacher licensure by reciprocity; military spouses; timeline for determination. Requires the Board of Education's licensure regulations to provide for licensure by reciprocity for any spouse of an active duty or reserve member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a member of the Virginia National Guard who has obtained a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for a Virginia license is received by the Department of Education. Current law requires such regulations to provide for licensure by reciprocity for any spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Commonwealth. The bill requires such an individual to submit an official copy of the military permanent assignment orders of the individual's spouse as part of the complete application packet. The bill requires the Department to determine and communicate such individual's eligibility for licensure by reciprocity within 15 business days of receipt of the complete application packet.  The subcommittee recommended reporting 8-0.

HB 271 (Byron) Local school boards and comprehensive community colleges; compensation structure for adjunct instructors; noncredit workforce credentials. Requires local school boards and comprehensive communities colleges to enter into local or regional agreements for the establishment and implementation of a competitive compensation structure to recruit and retain adjunct instructors to be jointly compensated by the relevant school boards and colleges to prepare both high school students and college students to earn noncredit workforce credentials, as that term is defined in relevant law.  The subcommittee recommended reporting and referring to Appropriations 8-0.

HB 41 (Scott, P.A.) Early childhood care and education; publicly funded providers; assessment of children. Provides that, except as otherwise required by federal law, no child who is enrolled at a publicly funded provider shall be required to participate in the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program or any other program for the assessment of the child's cognitive ability, development, learning, or readiness for kindergarten.  The bill was tabled 8-0.

HB 256 (Simonds) New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program; eligible institutions; contracts. Permits eligible institutions under the New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program to contract with noncredit workforce training programs and providers, provided that the instructors of such programs and providers are certified and are compensated by the eligible institution.  The bill was carried over to 2023 at the request of the patron.

House Education Committee Meeting - January 19, 2022

 The House Education Committee met today and acted on the following legislation.

HB 8 was amended in Committee.  The amended bill would allow school boards to employ certain honorably discharged veterans of the Armed Forces with at least 10 years active duty experience to serve as armed school security officers.  The amended bill was reported on a vote of 12-10.  

HB 9 Permits each school board to extend for up to two additional years the three-year probationary term of service that is required for each teacher in the school division before the issuance of a continuing contract and prohibits each school board from reemploying a teacher whose performance evaluation during such probationary period is not satisfactory. The bill provides that, for the purpose of the dismissal of a teacher for cause, the term "incompetency" may be construed to include consistent failure to meet the endorsement requirements for the position or one or more unsatisfactory performance evaluations. The bill also eliminates the option for a school board to conduct a teacher dismissal hearing before a three-member fact-finding panel, requires each such hearing to be set no later than 15 days after the request for the hearing, and reduces from 10 days to five days the minimum period of advance written notice to the teacher of the time and place of such hearing.  The bill was reported 12-10.

House K-12 Subcommittee Meeting- January 18, 2022

The House Education K-12 Subcommittee met on January 18, 2022 and heard the following pieces of legislation. The actions taken by the committee can be found at the conclusion of each piece of legislation's description.

HB 8 (Anderson) School security officers; scope of employment; certain veterans. Provides that each school security officer, in addition to performing each enumerated duty, is responsible for carrying out any other duty assigned to him by the local school board. The bill permits any local school board or private or religious school to employ as a school security officer any veteran who has served a minimum of 10 years as an active duty member in the Armed Forces of the United States, received an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions from such service, and meets the Department of Criminal Justice Services' minimum certification and training requirements for school security officers. The bill was referred to the House Education Committee as amended by a vote of 5-3.

HB 9 (Ware) Public school teachers; probationary term of service, grounds for dismissal, and dismissal hearings. Permits each school board to extend for up to two additional years the three-year probationary term of service that is required for each teacher in the school division before the issuance of a continuing contract and prohibits each school board from reemploying a teacher whose performance evaluation during such probationary period is not satisfactory. The bill provides that, for the purpose of the dismissal of a teacher for cause, the term "incompetency" may be construed to include consistent failure to meet the endorsement requirements for the position or one or more unsatisfactory performance evaluations. The bill also eliminates the option for a school board to conduct a teacher dismissal hearing before a three-member fact-finding panel, requires each such hearing to be set no later than 15 days after the request for the hearing, and reduces from 10 days to five days the minimum period of advance written notice to the teacher of the time and place of such hearing. The bill was referred to the House Education Committee by a vote of 5-3.

HB 12 (Anderson) Public school buildings; entry points; limits; screening. Requires each local school board to (i) limit to the lowest feasible number the entry points in each public school building in the local school division, (ii) ensure that each individual who seeks to enter any school building in the local school division is screened with a handheld metal detector wand by a school security officer or another appropriate school board employee who is appropriately trained in such method of screening, (iii) require each such school security officer or other appropriate school board employee to implement further screening according to a protocol that it deems appropriate in any case in which the school board employee who conducts the initial screening has reason to believe that the individual who seeks to enter the school building is in possession of a weapon, and (iv) prohibit any individual from entering any school building in the local school division if the individual fails or refuses to submit to the screening required in clauses (ii) and (iii). The bill was Tabled by the Subcommittee by a vote of 8-0.

House Education Committee Meeting- January 17, 2022

The House Education Committee met Monday, January 17, 2022. The purpose of the committee's meeting was to hear from Virginia Secretary of Education Designee, Aimee Guidera, as well as education stakeholder associations including the Virginia School Boards Association. No legislative action was taken during the meeting of the committee. To view a recording of the meeting, click here.

House Education Chair, Glenn Davis, R- Virginia Beach, announced that the K-12 Subcommittee will meet and begin hearing legislation on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. Please continue to check out this blog for further updates on proceedings at the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond!

Senate Public Education Subcommittee Meeting- January 13, 2022

The Senate Pubic Education Subcommittee met for its first meeting of the 2022 legislative session. Following introductions by committee members and staff, the following actions were taken on pending legislation.

SB 68 (Favola) Board of Education; provisional teacher licensure; teachers licensed or certified outside of the United States. Requires the Board of Education to provide for the issuance of a provisional license, valid for a period not to exceed three years, to any individual who holds a valid and officially issued and recognized license or certification to teach outside of the United States but does not meet the requirements for a renewable license. The bill was recommended to the full committee by a 3-0-1 vote as amended.

SB 78 (Norment) Board of Education; driver education programs; parent/student driver education. Requires the Board of Education to include the requirement for an additional minimum 90-minute parent/student driver education component in its driver education program for all public school divisions. Under current law, the parent/student driver education component is required for Planning District 8 (Northern Virginia) and optional in all other school divisions. The bill was recommended to the full committee by a 4-0 vote.

SB 154 (Locke) Applications for teacher licensure by reciprocity; military spouses; timeline for determination. Requires the Board of Education's licensure regulations to provide for licensure by reciprocity for any spouse of an active duty or reserve member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a member of the Virginia National Guard who has obtained a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for a Virginia license is received by the Department of Education. Current law requires such regulations to provide for licensure by reciprocity for any spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Commonwealth. The bill requires such an individual to submit an official copy of the military permanent assignment orders of the individual's spouse as part of the complete application packet. The bill requires the Department to determine and communicate such individual's eligibility for licensure by reciprocity within 15 business days of receipt of the complete application packet. The bill was recommended to the full committee by a 4-0 vote.

SB 193 (Mason) Child day programs; licensure; accredited private schools. Adds to the list of child day programs not required to be licensed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to operate in the Commonwealth programs offered by accredited private schools that are in good standing with the Virginia Council for Private Education and operate for no more than four hours per day. The bill provides that, to be exempt from licensure, such accredited private school programs must be staffed by the accredited private school's employees and attended by children who are at least five years of age and are enrolled in the school. The bill requires such programs to be subject to safety and supervisory standards established by the Virginia Council for Private Education. The bill was recommended to the full committee by a 3-0 vote.

SB 275 (DeSteph) Public school libraries; printed and audiovisual materials; selection, evaluation, checkout, and removal procedures. Requires each local school board to adopt policies that address the selection and evaluation of all printed and audiovisual materials purchased by, donated to, or otherwise made available to the school division that will be available to students in school libraries and requires such policies to contain clear procedures for (i) parental involvement in and a reasonable opportunity for public comment before the selection and evaluation of printed and audiovisual materials that will be available to students in school libraries; (ii) mandatory prior written parental consent before a student is permitted to check out from the school library any such printed or audiovisual materials that could be considered grooming video or materials, as that term is defined in relevant law; and (iii) the removal from the school library of any such printed or audiovisual materials that could be considered grooming video or materials, as that term is defined in relevant law. The bill was passed by for the day.

SB 276 (Stanley) School boards; unexpended local funds; capital projects. Permits any school board to finance capital projects with any funds appropriated to it by the local governing body that are unexpended by the school board in any year. The bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization. The bill was recommended to the full committee as amended by a 4-0 vote.

SB 285 (Ebbin) High school interscholastic athletic competition; prevention of hate speech and ethnically or racially insensitive expressions. Requires the organization governing high school athletics and academic activities for public and approved non-boarding nonpublic high schools (the organization), with such funds as may be appropriated by the General Assembly for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, to develop (i) rules and standards for the prevention of inequities involving the use of hate speech or ethnically or racially insensitive expressions during athletic and academic competitions sponsored by the organization's member schools, (ii) procedures for the enforcement of and penalties for the violation of such rules and standards, and (iii) training materials on such rules and standards. The bill requires each member school of the organization to abide by and implement such rules, standards, procedures, and penalties and ensure that each student who will participate in high school interscholastic athletic or academic competition, the parent of each such student, and each individual, whether paid or unpaid, who coaches a team that will participate in high school interscholastic athletic or academic competition receives and reviews such training materials. The bill requires the organization to make part of the process to become a registered official in good standing for any association offering services to the organization an education and training requirement that is consistent with the training materials developed by the organization. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023. The bill was passed by for the day.

Senate Education and Health Committee- January 13, 2022

The Senate Education and Health Committee met for its first meeting of the 2022 legislative session. Following introductions by committee members and staff, the following actions were taken on pending legislation.

SB 161 (Hashmi) Department of Education; heat-related illness; guidelines. Directs the Department of Education, in conjunction with stakeholders, to develop guidelines on policies to inform and educate coaches and student athletes and their parents or guardians of the nature and risk of heat-related illness, how to recognize the signs of heat-related illness, and how to prevent heat-related illness to be distributed to local school divisions by August 1, 2022. The bill was reported and referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 14-0.

SB 238 (McPike) Department of Education; school division maintenance reserve tool. Requires the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of General Services, to develop or adopt and maintain a data collection tool to assist each school board to determine the relative age of each public school building in the local school division and the amount of maintenance reserve funds that are necessary to restore each such building. The bill requires each school board to provide to the Department of Education in a timely fashion the local data that is necessary to ensure that such tool remains relevant and useful for the determination of maintenance reserve needs. The bill requires the Department of Education to consider converting or using as a template the Department of General Services' M-R FIX tool to meet the above requirement to maintain such a tool. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization. The bill was reported and referred tot he Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by a vote of 15-0.

In addition tot he legislative actions taken this morning, the committee announced that the Public Education Subcommittee would meet during the 2022 session 30 minutes following the adjournment of the Senate of Virginia on Thursday afternoons. To view the subcommittee membership and docket which is revised each week, click here.

2022 Session Convenes in Richmond

The Virginia General Assembly convened this afternoon for the 2022 legislative session. Among the business conducted on the first day was to formally elect a speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates and for the Senate of Virginia and House to adopt a procedural resolution to govern legislative business. 

Delegate Todd Gilbert, R- Shenandoah County, was elected Speaker and the two chambers agreed to a procedural resolution for the session which will last 60 days. 

Additionally, the House leadership announced committee assignments for the session. The following Delegates were assigned to the House Education Committee.

Delegate Glenn Davis (Chair)
Delegate G. John Avoli (Vice Chair)
Delegate Dave LaRock
Delegate John McGuire
Delegate Amanda Batten
Delegate Will Wampler
Delegate Nick Freitas
Delegate Carrie Coyner
Delegate Mike Cherry
Delegate Tara Durant
Delegate Karen Greenhalgh
Delegate Anne Farrell Tata
Delegate Jeff Bourne
Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg
Delegate Sam Rasoul
Delegate Delores McQuinn
Delegate Suhas Subramanyam
Delegate Elizabeth Guzman
Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn
Delegate Shelly Simonds
Delegate Briana Sewell
Delegate Michelle Maldonado

To see all committee assignments made in the House, and to view committee membership in the Senate, which will not reorganize until after the 2023 elections, click here.

Legislators Return to Richmond for 2022 Legislative Session Wednesday

The 2022 session of the Virginia General Assembly convenes at noon on Wednesday, January 12, 2022. The VSBA Government Relations team is advocating for our members and legislative positions in person for the first time since 2020. We are excited to be back in Richmond but will still need your help in answering Legislative Action Alerts and talking to your legislative delegations about important legislation being considered by the general assembly.

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 2022 VSBA Capital Conference on January 24 and 25. The second day of the Conference is focused on visits with your elected members of the General Assembly. We would encourage you to schedule those meetings now if you haven’t already. 

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!