The Senate Education and Health Committee met and took the following action on bills of interest:
SB818 (Spruill) Requires each public elementary, middle, and high school to provide at each grade level, in addition to health instruction, an additional age-appropriate course of instruction on mental health. The bill directs the Board of Education to develop mental health curriculum guidelines for an age-appropriate, sequential mental health curriculum for each grade level and requires such curriculum guidelines to include instruction on (i) understanding general themes of mental health and wellness, (ii) recognizing symptoms of common mental health challenges, (iii) promoting mental health wellness, (iv) seeking assistance for mental health concerns and challenges, (v) promoting awareness of the prevalence of mental health challenges and the importance of overcoming common mental health stigmas, (vi) understanding the importance of mental health to a student's physical, academic, and overall well-being, and (vii) understanding age-appropriate instruction at such grade levels as the Board deems appropriate on the connection between mental health and substance use disorders. The bill permits the Board to consult with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and other mental health experts in developing such curriculum guidelines and requires the Board to submit such guidelines to the State Board of Health for approval. The bill requires the Board to review and update by the beginning of the 2024–2025 school year the health Standards of Learning for each grade level to include such instruction on the mental health curriculum guidelines. The bill was reported with a substitute 15-0.
SB832 (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 indefinitely 14-1.
SB876 (McDougle) Prohibits any child from being denied admission to school for not receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill also prohibits the State Board of Health from adopting any regulation requiring immunization against COVID-19 for attendance at any public elementary or secondary school. The bill was passed by indefinitely 8-6-1.
SB962 (Peake) Requires each public elementary or secondary school and each private elementary or secondary school that competes in sponsored athletic events against such public schools to designate all interscholastic athletic teams and intramural athletic teams sponsored by such school based on biological sex as follows: (i) for "males," "men," or "boys"; (ii) for "females," "women," or "girls"; or (iii) as "coed" or "mixed" if such team is open to participation by (a) "males," "men," or "boys" and (b) "females," "women," or "girls." The bill prohibits students whose biological sex is male from participating on any school athletic team or squad designated for "females," "women," or "girls." Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for students and schools that suffer harm as a result of a violation of the provisions of the bill, provided that such action is initiated within two years of the harm occurring. The bill was passed by indefinitely 9-6.
SB1099 (Norment) Provides that matching grants from the School Resource Officer Incentive Grants Fund may be awarded to local law-enforcement agencies and local school boards for the expenses related to the equipment necessary for uniformed school resource officers, school security officers, and other relevant school safety personnel and the enhancement of the school-law enforcement partnership through training and programming as determined by the Department. The bill was reported with amendments and rereferred to Finance 14-1.
SB1109 (Hashmi) Establishes the College and Career Readiness for English Language Learners Grant Program and Fund to support English language learner students in preparing for postsecondary opportunities by providing reimbursement grants to eligible school divisions for providing and expanding access to certain career, technical, apprenticeship, and college readiness and preparation programs and courses for high school students identified as having limited English proficiency. The bill provides that the total value of reimbursement grants awarded to any school division annually shall not exceed an amount equal to $500 times the number of English language learner students in grades nine through 12 enrolled in such school division. The bill directs the Board to establish such guidelines as it deems necessary for the administration of the Program and to establish procedures for determining amounts and prioritizing the award of such reimbursement grants in the event that the moneys in the Fund are not sufficient to provide each school division the full grant amount for which they are qualified. Finally, the bill provides that reimbursement grants shall be awarded to eligible school divisions beginning with the 2023-2024 school year. The bill was reported and rereferred to Finance 15-0.
SB1118 (Hashmi) Provides that each local school board shall adopt employment policies and practices designed to promote the employment of highly qualified teachers to effectively serve the educational needs of students who are English language learners, including providing financial support for teachers seeking and obtaining an endorsement in English as a second language pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The bill also establishes the English as a Second Language Incentive Reward Program and Fund for the purpose of awarding incentive grants to public school teachers in the Commonwealth who obtain an endorsement in English as a second language pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The bill provides that the Board of Education shall award to any teacher who obtains such endorsement an initial incentive grant of $5,000 and a subsequent incentive grant of $2,500 each year for the life of the endorsement, with such incentive grants to resume upon renewal of the endorsement. Finally, the bill directs the Board to establish such guidelines as it deems necessary for the administration of the Program and to establish procedures for the award of such incentive grants in the event that the moneys in the Fund are not sufficient to award each eligible teacher the appropriate award amount. The bill was reported and rereferred to Finance 15-0.
SB1173 (Dunnavant) Requires the Board of Education to develop guidelines for advanced academic opportunity programs, as defined in the bill, offered at the secondary school level (i) requiring any advanced academic opportunity program offered at any public secondary school in the Commonwealth to accept any eligible student and (ii) prohibiting the imposition of arbitrary class sizes or any other limitation that would impede the access of any otherwise eligible student to such program. The bill defines an "eligible student" as any student who has demonstrated an ability to participate and succeed in advanced academic opportunities, as determined by (a) such student's performance on a merit-based application, (b) such student's aptitude based on grades or exam results, or (c) the recommendation of a teacher. The bill requires each local school board to adopt policies that are consistent with and at least as rigorous as the guidelines developed by the Board. Finally, the bill requires the Board to develop and make available to each local school board the guidelines for advanced academic opportunity programs by the 2023-2024 school year and requires each local school board to develop and implement policies in accordance with the Board's guidelines by the 2025-2026 school year. The bill was passed by indefinitely 8-7.
SB1186 (Reeves) Requires each interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public elementary or secondary school or by a public institution of higher education to be expressly designated as one of the following based on biological sex: (i) males, men, or boys; (ii) females, women, or girls; or (iii) coed or mixed if participation on such team or sport is open to both (a) males, men, or boys and (b) females, women, or girls. The bill requires identification of the student's biological sex on an athletics eligibility form signed by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant to be submitted by any such student who desires to try out for or participate in an interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females, women, or girls from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill prohibits any government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking any other adverse action against public school or institution of higher education based on a violation of the provisions of the bill and creates a cause of action for any school or institution of higher education that suffers harm as a result of a violation of the bill. Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for any student that suffers harm as a result of a knowing violation of a provision of the bill by a school or institution or as a result of the student's reporting a violation of a provision of the bill by a school, institution, athletic association, or organization. The committee voted to incorporate SB911 (Cosgrove) into this bill. The bill was passed by indefinitely 10-5.
SB1260 (Lucas) Renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund as the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from such Fund pursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtained national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to (i) all public school staff who are candidates for initial national certification or maintenance of national certification to cover certain costs of obtaining or maintaining such certification and (ii) all public school staff who have successfully obtained or maintained such certification. The bill also declares eligible for an annual incentive grant award in the amount of $7,500 all public school staff who have obtained or maintained such certification. Current law declares eligible for an annual incentive grant award of $5,000 in the first year and $2,500 in each subsequent year all teachers who have obtained or maintained such certification. The bill was reported and rereferred to Finance 15-0.
SB1277 (Dunnavant) Directs the Board of Education to develop guidelines and policies permitting any high school student in grades 11 and 12 to earn one-half standard unit of credit per semester for employment in certain fields or industries or participation in certain community-based fine arts programs in which such student works or participates a certain minimum number of hours per week for each week of the semester, as determined by the Board. The bill was reported with a substitute 15-0.
SB1281 (Dunnavant) Directs the Board of Education to develop guidelines to be adopted by each local school board directing prioritization of funding to be given to dual enrollment courses, including courses that are part of the Passport Program or the Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program and other courses that lead to the fulfillment of a requirement for a nationally recognized credential offered in the Virginia Community College System. The bill was reported with a substitute 15-0.
SB1325 (Hashmi) Makes several changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishment of units in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning and principal mentorship statewide and requiring the Board of Education to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leader and teacher mentor programs in Standard 5. The bill also makes several changes relating to school personnel in Standard 2, including (i) requiring each school board to employ teacher leaders and teacher mentors at specified student-to-position ratios; (ii) lowering the ratio of English language learner students to teachers; (iii) lowering the ratio of assistant principals to students in each elementary, middle, and high school; (iv) lowering the ratio of school counselors to students in grades kindergarten through 12; and (v) increasing the required number of specialized student support positions from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000 students. Such specialized student support positions include school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions. The bill was reported and rereferred to Finance 15-0.
SB1329 (McClellan) Requires the Board of Education, on or before July 1, 2024, to create and maintain the Virginia Parent Data Portal that, among other things, (i) displays individualized student assessment data on all state-supported assessments, as that term is defined in the bill, (a) in a format that shows both current and cumulative data over time and (b) within 45 days of a state-supported assessment window closing for each state-supported assessment; (ii) provides a description of the purpose of each state-supported assessment, an explanation of how to interpret student data on each state-supported assessment, and a comparison of a student's performance on each state-supported assessment with the performance of the student's school, the student's school division, and the Commonwealth; (iii) is viewable from a mobile device in addition to a desktop computer; and (iv) restricts user access to students and their parents. The bill requires the Board and the Department of Education to provide certain guidance and technical assistance to local school divisions on professional development for principals and teachers in parent engagement on and interpretation of student assessment data available through the Portal and requires each school board to annually provide high-quality professional development to principals and teachers on such topics. The bill was reported and rereferred to Finance 15-0.
SB1334 (Hashmi) Directs the Board of Education to develop and enforce a code of ethics relating to appropriate participation and collaboration at Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings among school staff, parents, students, and any other invited participants. The bill requires the Board to amend regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill. The bill was reported with a substitute 9-5-1.
SB1359 (Norment) Requires each local school board to work with its local law enforcement agency to conduct an annual threat assessment to determine potential risks and threats for each school within the locality. The bill also requires new threat assessment team members established at each public elementary and secondary school to complete initial threat assessment training and all threat assessment team members to complete refresher training every three years. The bill was reported with a substitute 15-0.
SB1463 (Chase) Requires each local school board, any local governing body or library board that governs a free public library system or regional library board that governs a regional library system, and the Library Board to require a parental advisory label to be affixed to the front of any book that contains sexually explicit content, as that term is defined elsewhere in law, and that is made available to minors in any public elementary or secondary school library, any public library in the free public library system or regional public library system, or the Library of Virginia, respectively. The bill was passed by indefinitely 9-6.
SB1481 (Dunnavant) Prohibits any school board, public elementary or secondary school, including any joint or regional school, or employee or agent of such school board or school, including any division superintendent or school principal, from withholding from any pupil or the pupil's parent any information that is transmitted solely to such school board, school, employee, or agent and that (i) relates to any recognition, award, or postsecondary scholarship eligibility earned by the student, including any such recognition, award, or eligibility earned as the result of the student's achievement on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) examination, or (ii) may affect the student's admission to an institution of higher education. The bill requires all such information to be transmitted to the pupil and the pupil's parent as soon as practicable after receipt of the information. The bill was passed by indefinitely 8-7.
SB1530 (Dunnavant) Requires the Department of Education, the State Board for Community Colleges, and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to develop a plan to establish and implement the Standardized, Uniform, and Comprehensive Collaborative Exchange School Support (SUCCESS) Program for the purpose of improving the collaboration between comprehensive community colleges and high schools in the Commonwealth and increasing access for high school students to opportunities for earning postsecondary credits toward completion of an associate's degree or credential by (i) maximizing technology and sharing resources between high schools and community colleges to allow instructional staff at community colleges to more easily teach high school students; (ii) providing transportation for high school students to and from their respective high schools and the community colleges at which they are participating in a dual enrollment program; (iii) standardizing the core curricula and the award of postsecondary credits for work completed through a dual enrollment program; and (iv) improving access to opportunities to earn postsecondary credits towards completion of an associate's degree or credential and increasing the ability of high school students to complete such degree or credential either prior to graduating from high school or more efficiently and quickly thereafter, with a focus on degrees or credentials in health care-related fields. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education, the State Board for Community Colleges, and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to report on their progress in developing the plan for the SUCCESS Program to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education by November 1, 2023, and to implement the SUCCESS Program by the beginning of the 2024–2025 school year. The bill was passed by indefinitely 9-6.
