The House Education Committee met on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, to address previous action taken on legislation by the House K-12 Subcommittee. Throughout the legislative session, the full committee must act on recommendations of the three subcommittee's that hear public comment and debate each bill assigned to its docket. Legislation of interest on today's docket included:
HB 599 (Simonds) Permits any school board, with the concurrence of the local governing body, to establish a capital reserve fund as a savings account into which it exclusively deposits the local operating funds that remain unexpended at the end of the year for future school division capital expenditures at no additional cost to local taxpayers, subject to certain conditions enumerated in the bill. The committee reported the bill on a vote of 21-0.
HB 936 (LeVere Bolling) Establishes several enumerated requirements for school boards to ensure indoor air quality in each public school building in the local school division, including (i) identifying a designated individual to oversee the establishment of and adherence to a preventive maintenance schedule for the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system in each such building and the implementation of the use of general or local exhaust ventilation in areas of each such building where housekeeping and maintenance activities involve the use of equipment or products that could reasonably be expected to result in hazardous chemical or particulate exposures, among other things; (ii) controlling microbial and fungal contamination in each such building by promptly repairing water intrusion that can promote microbial or fungal growth; (iii) ensuring indoor air quality during renovation and remodeling or new construction in various ways; and (iv) keeping school building system maintenance records. The bill also requires the Department of Education to establish and administer a school board employee complaint and resolution process relating to indoor air quality in public school buildings. The committee reported the bill with a substitute and referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 21-0.
HB 1089 (Coyner) Makes several changes relating to special education and related services for children with disabilities in public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth, including (i) establishing a definition for "individualized education program" or "IEP"; (ii) requiring, after a child with a disability graduates from, ages out of, or otherwise leaves any public elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth, such school to retain the special education records of such child for at least 75 years; (iii) requiring each local school board to (a) provide high-quality professional development in instructional practices to support specially designed instruction in inclusive settings, as that term is defined in the bill, for certain teachers and administrators employed in the local school division and (b) employ at least one full-time equivalent special education parent engagement specialist to serve as a resource to parents to understand and engage in the referral, evaluation, and eligibility process if they suspect that their child has a disability and to understand and engage in the IEP process; (iv) requiring the Department of Education, among other things, to (a) establish eight regional special education parent support centers that are each staffed by a regional special education parent ombudsman and coordinate with such division special education parent engagement specialists employed by each local school board; (b) elevate the position of State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education to perform certain functions, including systematically tracking and reporting questions and concerns raised by parents to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and coordinating the activities of such regional special education parent support centers; and (c) develop, establish, review and update as necessary at least once every five years, make available to each local school board an IEP writing, facilitation, tracking, and transfer system to be referred to as the Virginia IEP; and (v) requiring 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 student seeking initial licensure by the Board of Education with certain endorsements to include a program of coursework and require all such students to demonstrate mastery in instructional practices to support specially designed instruction in inclusive settings. The bill reported with a substitute and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a vote of 21-0.
To review the entire docket of the House Education Committee's January 31, 2024, meeting, click here. To view the livestream recording of the House Education Committee's January 31, 2024 meeting, click here.
