House Education Subcommittee on K-12 Education Meeting- 1/17/23

The House Education Committee's Subcommittee on K-12 Education met on today and considered the following pieces of legislation on its docket. The House K-12 Education Subcommittee meets each Tuesday morning beginning at 7:30 a.m. You can view the committee's proceedings by clicking here.

HB 1379 (Anderson) Requires the principal of each public elementary or secondary school or his designee to (i) maintain in an electronic spreadsheet or a substantially similar electronic format a catalog of all printed and audiovisual materials, as defined in the bill, that are contained in the school library; (ii) identify each item in such catalog by title, author, and such other identifying features or information as the principal or his designee deems appropriate; (iii) identify with a prominent notation in such catalog each item that contains graphic sexual content, as defined in the bill; (iv) make such catalog available to any parent of a student enrolled in the school; (v) permit any parent of a student enrolled in the school to restrict his child's access to any item in such catalog that is identified as containing graphic sexual content; and (vi) permit any parent of a student enrolled in the school to request a graphic sexual content notation for any item in such catalog that is not so identified.

The bill Reported with Amendment on a vote of 5-3.

HB 1448 (Orrock)  Requires the Department of Education, in consultation with local school boards, public school librarians, parents of public school students, and other interested stakeholders, to make recommendations to the General Assembly, the Board of Education, and local school boards no later than November 1, 2023, on the adoption of model policies for the selection and removal of books and other audiovisual materials available to students in public school libraries.

The bill Reported with Amendment on a vote of 4-3.

HB 1461 (Wiley) Requires the Department of Education to establish, within its regulations governing student conduct, and each school board to adhere to, a uniform system of discipline for disruptive behavior and the removal of a student from a class that includes, among other things, (i) criteria for teachers to remove disruptive students from their classes, including a requirement for a teacher to remove a disruptive student from a class if the disruptive behavior is violent and a requirement to implement a three-strike system for nonviolent disruptive behavior whereby a teacher is required to remove a student from a class if the student repeats or continues the nonviolent disruptive behavior after the teacher provides two warnings to the student and (ii) a prohibition against holding a teacher liable for taking reasonable actions or utilizing reasonable methods to control a physically disruptive or violently disruptive student.

The bill was Passed by for the Day.

HB 1475 (March) Prohibits public schools from joining an organization governing interscholastic programs that does not deem eligible for participation a student who (i) receives home instruction; (ii) has demonstrated evidence of progress for two consecutive academic years; (iii) is in compliance with immunization requirements; (iv) is a person of school age for whom public school is free; (v) has not reached the age of 19 by August 1 of the current academic year; (vi) is an amateur who receives no compensation but participates solely for the educational, physical, mental, and social benefits of the activity; (vii) complies with all disciplinary rules and is subject to all codes of conduct applicable to all public high school athletes; and (viii) complies with all other rules governing awards, all-star games, maximum consecutive semesters of high school enrollment, parental consents, physical examinations, and transfers applicable to all high school athletes. The bill provides that no local school board is required to establish a policy to permit students who receive home instruction to participate in interscholastic programs. The bill permits reasonable fees to be charged to students who receive home instruction to cover the costs of participation in such interscholastic programs, including the costs of additional insurance, uniforms, and equipment. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.

The bill Reported on a vote of 6-2.

HB 1508 (Davis) Permits the parents of qualified students, defined in the bill, to apply for a one-year, renewable Virginia Education Success Account that consists of an amount that is equivalent to a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the school division in which the qualified student resides, including the per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per pupil share of special education funding for which the qualified student is eligible. The bill permits the parent of the qualified student to use the moneys in such account for certain qualified expenses of the qualified student, including tuition, deposits, fees, and required textbooks at a private elementary school or secondary school that is located in the Commonwealth. The bill also contains provisions relating to program and account administration by the Department of the Treasury and a third-party financial institution that serves as program administrator pursuant to a contract with the Department of the Treasury.

The bill Reported with Amendment to be Referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a 6-3 vote.

HB 1556 (Brewer) Permits any local law-enforcement agency to employ in any public elementary or secondary school in the local school division, pursuant to an agreement with the local school board, a full-time or part-time K-9 Detection Team, defined in the bill as a law-enforcement team that consists of a local law-enforcement officer and a canine whose duty is to detect explosives, firearms, and narcotics. The bill requires each such school board and local law-enforcement agency to enter into a memorandum of understanding that sets forth the powers and duties of such teams. The bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish compulsory training standards for such teams, requires certain data collection relating to the activities of such teams, and sets up a K-9 Detection Team Grant Program and Fund to provide matching grants on a competitive basis to support the employment of such teams.

The bill Reported with a Substitute to be Referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a 4-2 vote.

HB 1560 (Watts) Requires the Department of Education to develop culturally appropriate, age-appropriate, and trauma-informed Title IX and sexual harassment prevention training modules concerning Title IX rights and protections, consent, and sexual harassment prevention and reporting and to make such training modules available to each school board for the education of high school students. The bill also requires each school board to (i) ensure that all high school students complete such training modules within 31 days of the start of each school year, (ii) set aside instructional time during school hours for the completion of such training modules, (iii) allow all high school students to opt-out of participation in the completion of such training modules by request of the student's parents if such student is under the age of 18, or by request of the student if such student is 18 years of age or older, and (iv) inform all high school students of any counseling services related to sexual harassment that are available to them prior to such students completing such training modules. Finally, the bill requires (a) the Department to develop and make available to each school board such training modules by December 31, 2023; (b) the Department to revise such training modules to ensure continued compliance with applicable state and federal laws no later than December 31 of each year; and (c) each school board to adopt policies to implement such training modules by the beginning of the 2024–2025 school year.

The bill Failed to Report on a vote of 3-4.

HB 1592 (Davis) Requires each local school board to require the principal of each public school to notify the parent of any student who is the victim in an alleged bullying incident of the alleged incident within 24 hours of when the allegation was made. The bill also clarifies that the principal of each public school is required to notify the parent of any student who is not the victim but is otherwise involved in an alleged bullying incident of the status of any investigation within five school days of the allegation of bullying.

The bill Reported with Amendment on a vote of 9-0.

HB 1657 (Price) Expands the purpose of the Virginia Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Advisory Board to include promoting the participation of historically underrepresented students, as defined in the bill, in primary and secondary schools in STEM education. The bill expands the duties of the Board to effectuate this additional purpose. Finally, the bill increases from 16 to 24 the nonlegislative citizen membership of the Board and provides that the eight additional members be appointed by the chairmen of the Virginia African American Advisory Board, Virginia-Asian Advisory Board, Latino Advisory Board, Council on Women, Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, Virginia Indian Advisory Board on State Recognition, Office of New Americans Advisory Board, and Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, with each chairman appointing one member representing the population served by his advisory board subject to the approval of a majority of the members of his advisory board.

The bill Reported on a vote of 4-3.

HB 1694 (Simonds) Requires each local school board to establish and include in any multiyear capital improvement plan or substantially similar document that it adopts a school building maintenance reserve target of at least 1.5 percent of the replacement value of such building in order to avoid major replacement costs in the future. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization.

The bill Reported with Amendment on a vote of 4-3.

HB 1695 (Simonds) Requires each school board to employ at least one career coach in each public high school in the local school division whose duties are required to include assisting students with securing internships, externships, and credentialing opportunities as required by the Profile of a Virginia Graduate, providing students with information on apprenticeship programs, and connecting students to career opportunities. The bill provides that each such individual shall be employed in addition to and not as a replacement for the required school counselor positions, specialized student support positions, or support services positions.

The bill Failed to Report on a 3-4 vote.

HB 1696 (Simonds)  Requires each school board to ensure that all elementary school teachers in its employment are provided one lunch break per school day that is at least 30 minutes in length and unencumbered by any teaching or supervisory duties but that may be shortened or eliminated in the case of a bona fide emergency relating to health or safety.

The bill was Requested to be heard by the House Education Committee's Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education and Innovation.

HB 1733 (Van Vaulkenburg) Requires each school board to permit any student enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school in the local school division who provides acceptable proof of identification, including any current student identification card or other school document such as a report card or a personal school email address, and who signs up at least 12 hours in advance of the scheduled start of a school board meeting or is physically present at a school board meeting to submit oral comments during any public comment or citizen participation portion of such meeting.

The bill was Passed by for the Day.

HB 1903 (Durant) Requires each school board to develop and adopt policies that include a requirement for the school board to (i) develop and maintain an online portal that is accessible by the parent of each student enrolled in the local school division whereby the parent may access a detailed description of the content of and other relevant information about each book contained in the library of the school that his child attends and (ii) email to the parent of a student enrolled in the local school division whenever such student checks a book out of the school library (a) the name of the book and (b) a link to such online portal.

The bill was Reported on a vote of 4-3.

Legislation that was reported from the Subcommittee will be heard by the full House Education Committee. The House Education Committee meets on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 8:00 a.m.

Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on K-12 Public Education Meeting- 1/12/23

The Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on K-12 Public Education held its inaugural meeting of the 2023 session of the Virginia General Assembly on Thursday, January 12, 2023. The following recommendations were made by members of the subcommittee pertaining to legislation effecting K-12 public education.

SB 787 (DeSteph)  Requires each local school board to adopt policies addressing the selection and evaluation of all printed or audiovisual materials purchased by, donated to, or otherwise made available to the school division that will be made available to students in school libraries, with clear procedures for (i) mandatory prior written parental consent before a student is permitted to check out from the school library any such printed or audiovisual materials that depict a child engaged in the fondling of the sexual or genital parts of another or the fondling of his sexual or genital parts by another, masturbation, sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anilingus, anal intercourse, or object sexual penetration and (ii) handling challenged controversial instruction materials.

The bill was Passed by Indefinitely on a vote of 3-2.

SB 819 (Favola) Provides that each local school division is permitted to use any nationally recognized, research-based assessment or screener in identifying and assessing the progress of any student in need of reading or algebra readiness intervention services as an alternative to a diagnostic test that must be approved by the Department of Education.

The bill was Passed by for the Day.

SB 821 (Surovell) Requires each division superintendent to identify, update as necessary, and make available to the Department of Education and to other appropriate individuals a fax number, an email address, and a mailing address at which the division superintendent will receive the reports required to be transmitted pursuant to relevant law from (i) every state official or agency and every sheriff, police officer, or other local law-enforcement officer or conservator of the peace having the power to arrest for a felony upon arresting a person who is known or discovered by the arresting official to be a full-time, part-time, permanent, or temporary teacher or any other employee in any local school division in the Commonwealth for a felony or a Class 1 misdemeanor or an equivalent offense in another state and (ii) the clerk of any circuit court or any district court in the Commonwealth upon the conviction of a Board of Education-licensed school employee for certain enumerated felonies. The bill requires the Department to compile and make publicly available on its website a list of such fax numbers, email addresses, and mailing addresses. The bill also requires all such arresting officials or agencies and all such clerks to transmit the required reports via certified mail, return receipt requested, or to the identified fax numbers and email addresses. The bill finally requires, until July 1, 2027, all such arresting officials or agencies request in writing that the Virginia Employment Commission provide the name of the current employer of each arrested person for purposes of determining whether such notice is required.

The bill Reported on a vote of 4-0.

SB 832 (Chase) Declares that the parent of any student enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth has the right to (i) access a list of any printed or audiovisual instructional material; (ii) participate in the textbook review and approval process; (iii) receive notice of and give informed consent to any counseling or guidance program offered to his child by the school; (iv) access his child's education records; (v) receive advance, written notice of any school-sponsored field trip, activity, assembly, presentation, or other event at which his child's attendance is invited, including a clear opt-out provision; (vi) receive advance notice of any questionnaire or survey to be administered to his child; (vii) receive notice of and attend any public meeting of the school board in the local school division in which his child is enrolled; (viii) review the annual school division budget and expenditures; and (ix) petition the circuit court with jurisdiction over such child's local school division to review an action of the school board if the parent is aggrieved by such action. The bill requires the Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board model policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the parental right to review and exempt his child from any printed or audiovisual instructional materials used as a part of the curriculum in any class or course in which such parent's child is enrolled. The bill also revises existing policies and duties of each local school board in accordance with the parental rights to transparency in education.

The bill was Passed by for the Day.

SB 883 (Newman) Eliminates the requirement that the Board of Education perform a triennial review of the accreditation status of a public school that has been fully accredited for three consecutive years. The bill also eliminates the provision permitting the Board to do a review of the accreditation status of any other school once every two or three years and the requirement that any such school receiving a multiyear accreditation status other than full accreditation be covered by a Board-approved multiyear corrective action plan. Under the bill, the Board is required to review annually the accreditation status of all schools in the Commonwealth.

The bill Reported with amendment on a vote of 2-1-2.

SB 1007 (Hashmi) Directs the Board of Education to amend its regulations for the Child Care Subsidy Program to expand the scope of eligibility to apply for the Program to any foster parent of a child placed in the foster parent's home if, at the time of eligibility determination or redetermination, the child (i) meets the criteria for eligibility currently set forth in the Board's regulations or (ii) is between the ages of 13 and 17 but otherwise meets the criteria for eligibility set forth in the Board's regulations, provided that there is documented evidence that such child between the ages of 13 and 17 has exhibited tendencies toward self-harm or harm to others.

The bill was Passed by for the Day.

SB 1041 (McPike) Provides that the Board of Education shall require any candidate for division superintendent of a local school division serving a locality with a population greater than 140,000 people to have (i) a master's degree and relevant endorsements or a doctorate degree in educational administration or educational leadership administration and (ii) at least five years of instructional, administrative, and supervisory experience in education, with no exceptions or substitutes for senior leadership experience in non-education fields. The Board of Education may substitute certain requirements for education-specific endorsements, degrees, or educational, administrative, or supervisory experience for a certain amount of experience in senior leadership positions outside of the education field only for local school divisions serving a locality with a population not exceeding 140,000 people.

The bill reported on a vote of 3-1-1.

SB 1044 (McPike) Requires each local school division that issues student identification cards for any grade level, kindergarten through grade 12, and each public institution of higher education that issues student identification cards to clearly and conspicuously include on one side of each student identification card the telephone number for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (formerly the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) and to annually review the telephone number for accuracy and currency. The bill provides that each new student identification card and any replacement student identification card issued by any school division or by any public institution of higher education must comply with the provisions of the bill beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.

The bill reported on a vote of 5-0.

SB 1045 (McPike) Requires each local school board to establish and include in any multiyear capital improvement plan or substantially similar document that it adopts a school building maintenance reserve target of at least 1.5 percent of the replacement value of such building in order to avoid major replacement costs in the future. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization.

The bill reported with amendment on a 5-0 vote.

SB 1072 (Bell) Requires each local school board to require the principal of each public school to notify the parent of any student involved in an alleged bullying incident of the alleged incident within 24 hours of when the allegation was made. Current law does not require the parent of any student involved in an alleged incident of bullying to be notified of the initial alleged incident and only requires parental notification of the status of the investigation into an alleged incident to be given within five school days of when the allegation was made.

The bill was Passed by for the Day.

SB 1102 (Boysko) Requires each local school board to develop a hazing prevention training program to be provided once each school year at the middle and high school levels to be required of all students in grades six through 10 as a part of their physical and health education, in grade 11 as a part of their United States history education, and in grade 12 as a part of their Virginia and U.S. Government education. The bill encourages the governing boards or administrators of accredited private secondary schools to do the same. The bill requires the hazing prevention training program to consist of a minimum of three ninety-minute lessons and to include age-appropriate, extensive, current, and in-person education about hazing, the dangers of hazing, including the consequences of alcohol intoxication, and school policies and laws relating to hazing, including criminal penalties and bystander intervention. The bill permits the hazing prevention training program to be offered in-person or as interactive assignments for virtual learning students. The bill also directs the Board of Education to incorporate the hazing prevention training program into the Standards of Learning for physical and health education and into the Standards of Learning for history and social science for students at the eleventh and twelfth grade levels. Finally, the bill requires the hazing training prevention program to be implemented beginning with the 2024-2025 school year.

The bill was Passed by for the Day.

SB 1146 (Boysko) Limits, in the context of early childhood care and education entities, the requirement for the implementation of policies for the possession and administration of epinephrine to child day centers. Under current law, such requirement applies to all early childhood care and education entities, which include child day centers, family day homes, and family day systems serving children younger than the age of five. The bill also requires the Board of Education to amend its regulations to require each family day home provider or at least one other caregiver employed by such provider in the family day home to be trained in the administration of epinephrine and to notify the parents of each child who receives care in such family day home whether the provider stores an appropriate weight-based dosage of epinephrine in the residence or home in which the family day home operates.

The bill reported on a vote of 5-0.

SB 1199 (Reeves) Declares that the parent of any student enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth has the right to (i) access a list of any printed or audiovisual instructional material; (ii) participate in the textbook review and approval process; (iii) receive notice of and give informed consent to any counseling or guidance program offered to his child by the school; (iv) access his child's education records; (v) receive advance, written notice of any school-sponsored field trip, activity, assembly, presentation, or other event at which his child's attendance is invited, including a clear opt-out provision; (vi) receive advance notice of any questionnaire or survey to be administered to his child; (vii) receive notice of and attend any public meeting of the school board in the local school division in which his child is enrolled; (viii) review the annual school division budget and expenditures; and (ix) petition the circuit court with jurisdiction over such child's local school division to review an action of the school board if the parent is aggrieved by such action. The bill requires the Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board model policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the parental right to review and exempt his child from any printed or audiovisual instructional materials used as a part of the curriculum in any class or course in which such parent's child is enrolled. The bill also revises existing policies and duties of each local school board in accordance with the parental rights to transparency in education. 

The Patron of the legislation requested that the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health send a letter to the Board of Education to study current practices school divisions are employing for to engage parents and increase transparency with parents and the community. The subcommittee approved the request via voice vote.

SB 1253 (Dunnavant) Requires each school board to provide teachers, parents, principals, and other school leaders with their students' results on any Standards of Learning assessment or Virginia Alternate Assessment Program assessment as soon as practicable after the assessment is administered.

The bill reported on a vote of 5-0.

The Subcommittee meets each Thursday afternoon 30 minutes after the adjournment of the Senate of Virginia. 

Senate Education and Health Committee Meeting- 1/12/23

The Senate Education and Health Committee met for its first meeting of the 2023 session of the Virginia General Assembly on January 12, 2023. The following actions were taken by the committee on legislation impacting K-12 education in the Commonwealth.

SB 806 (Stanley) Establishes the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Computing (STEM+C) Competition Team Grant Program to encourage interest in STEM+C-related subject areas and support STEM+C-related extracurricular team-building activities in public schools in the Commonwealth by providing grants to qualified schools, as defined in the bill, for use in establishing or supporting STEM+C competition teams. The bill also creates the STEM+C Competition Team Grant Fund for the purpose of providing such grants to qualified schools. 

The bill was Passed by for the Day.

SB 890 (Hashmi) Establishes the Veterans' Teaching Licensure Support Fund and Program for the purpose of supporting veterans and service members teaching in a public school in the Commonwealth or pursuing a career in education in the Commonwealth by awarding a reimbursement grant to eligible veterans and service members to reimburse them for their professional studies tuition expenses incurred toward receiving teacher licensure in the Commonwealth. 

The bill was Re-referred to the Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on K-12 Education.

SB 892 (Newman) Provides that beginning in taxable year 2024, students eligible for a scholarship from an approved scholarship foundation shall include any school-aged child living in Virginia whose family income does not exceed 300 percent of federal poverty guidelines, regardless of prior public school enrollment or a recent move to Virginia. Under current law, a student must be a resident of Virginia who (i) in the current school year has enrolled and attended a public school in the Commonwealth for at least one-half of the year, (ii) for the school year that immediately preceded his receipt of a scholarship foundation scholarship was enrolled and attended a public school in the Commonwealth for at least one-half of the year, (iii) is a prior recipient of a scholarship foundation scholarship, (iv) is eligible to enter kindergarten or eligible to enter first grade, or (v) for the school year that immediately preceded his receipt of a scholarship foundation scholarship was domiciled in a state other than the Commonwealth and did not attend a nonpublic school in the Commonwealth for more than one-half of the school year. 

The bill was Re-referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.

SB 893 (Newman) Allows a taxpayer entitled to an education improvement scholarships tax credit to transfer such credit to any other taxpayer.

The bill was Re-referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.

SB 935 (Hashmi) Directs the Department of Education to develop and maintain an easily accessible and streamlined website to provide clarification on teacher licensure and endorsement requirements, including information on specific requirements and certification credentials based on the specific type of licensure or endorsement. The bill also directs the Department to develop and maintain a teacher licensure application portal to integrate all forms and payment required for licensure and that includes (i) a feature enabling any teacher to track his progress in earning professional development points, completing licensure renewal requirements, and fulfilling any additional credentialing or endorsement options offered by the Board of Education and (ii) options for sharing and sending any application documents and forms to allow Educator Preparation Programs or division leadership to review and approve such documents and forms prior to the Department review process.

The bill was Re-Referred to the Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on K-12 Education.

SB 943 (Suetterlein) Requires each public high school in the Commonwealth to publicly identify on its official website the faculty member responsible for special education transition planning and coordination at such high school.

The bill Reported on a vote of 15-0.

SB 1052 (McPike) Directs the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure to advise the Board of Education and submit recommendations on policies related to helping school divisions more effectively recruit and retain licensed teachers.

The bill Reported with substitute on a vote of 15-0.

SB 1164 (Lewis) Provides that the Accomack County School Board and the Northampton County School Board are eligible to receive the cost of competing adjustment to salaries for instructional and support positions as part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to the general appropriation act.

The bill was Passed by for the Day.

The Senate Education and Health Committee meets weekly during the session on Thursday morning's beginning at 8:00 a.m. A link to the Live Stream video and recordings of all previously held committee meetings and floor sessions of the Senate can be viewed by clicking here.