Lawmakers to Convene Special Session on 2024-2026 Budget

The Virginia General Assembly held its Reconvene Session on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The Reconvene Session allows lawmakers to act on vetoes and amendments by the Governor on legislation sent to the executive branch for consideration during the regular session of the General Assembly. This year, several pieces of legislation were either vetoed or amended by the Governor. 

Included in the bills amended by the Governor was the 2024-2026 biennial budget bill, House Bill 30 (Torian). After meetings between General Assembly budget writers and the Governor produced no resolution to the differences in how to address spending in the biennium, lawmakers used a procedural maneuver to kill the budget bill adopted by the General Assembly in March. The General Assembly and the Governor agreed to begin the process of negotiating a new 2024-2026 state budget. 

Following defeat of the budget bill, lawmakers adopted House Joint Resolution 428 (Herring), which calls for the General Assembly to return to Richmond for a Special Session on May 13, 2024, for the purpose of considering the 2024-2026 budget. During a press conference at the Reconvene Session, Governor Glenn Youngkin and a bipartisan group of legislative leaders agreed to begin negotiations on the spending plan immediately with the goal of having a final vote on the budget bill on May 15. 

Despite calls of having a budget vote on May 15, it is uncertain when the General Assembly will take final action on the spending plan. At the present time, the VSBA Government Relations team cannot predict the date of the final budget vote nor what will be included in the biennial spending plan. VSBA will continue to advocate for increased funding for K-12 education and legislation that improves the education outcomes of all Virginia's public-school children.

Legislative Action Alert: Support HB 805 and SB 14

Please contact your Senator and Delegate and ask them to Support House Bill 805 and Senate Bill 14 at the Reconvene Session on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. These bills would allow localities to raise additional revenues for school construction and modernization if their citizens vote to do so through voter referendum. This legislation gives parents and citizens a voice in how their children’s schools are funded.   

On Monday night, April 8, Governor Youngkin vetoed HB 805 (Rasoul) and SB 14 (McPike), despite their strong bipartisan support. VSBA asks that you contact your Senator and Delegate today and strongly encourage them to Support HB 805 and SB 14. 

Click here to find your Senator and Delegate!

Governor Youngkin Recommends over 200 Amendments to HB 30 Conference Report

On Monday, Governor Glenn Youngkin sent over 200 amendments to the 2024-2026 Biennial Budget Conference Report passed by the General Assembly last month House Bill 30 (Torian). These amendments will be considered by the the General Assembly at the Reconvene Session which will occur on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 beginning at noon. Each amendment must receive a simple majority vote in each chamber to be approved.  The VSBA Government Relations team will continue to analyze the amendments provided by Governor Youngkin to the budget bill Conference Report and will provide additional updates on the biennial budget during and after next week's Reconvene Session. Below are amendments of interest from Governor Youngkin as they relate to the Conference Report. To view a complete listing of the amendments to the Conference Report proposed by Governor Youngkin, click here. To review the Conference Report passed by the General Assembly, click here. Education
Department of Education

Amendment 44: Update Virginia Literacy Act funding

Item 117

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Department of Education, Central Office Operations	($1,500,000)	($1,500,000)	GF

 Explanation: 

(This amendment updates funding to implement a statewide literacy screener based on estimated funding needed for this purpose.) 

Amendment 45: Support new state assessment system requirements 

Item 119 

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Department of Education, Central Office Operations	$20,000,000	$18,000,000	GF

Explanation: 

(This amendment provides funding for the Department of Education to update the state Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments pursuant to the recommendations of the workgroup required by Chapter 760, 2022 Acts of the General Assembly, including developing and administering constructive response questions aligned to the SOLs, renewing the existing testing contract and replenishing existing test items, and supporting student growth analysis.)

Amendment 46: Modify requirements related to community schools 

Item 123 

Education
Department of Education			Language

 Explanation: 

(This amendment clarifies requirements of the Department related to community schools.) 

Amendment 47: Remove additional support for Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and

Secondary Education Funding 

Item 123 

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Department of Education, Central Office Operations	($300,000)	($300,000)	GF
	-2.00	-2.00	FTE

Explanation: 

(This amendment removes funding and positions provided under the Department of Education to support work of the legislative Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding.) 

Amendment 48: Eliminate state support for 21st Century Community Learning Centers program 

Item 124 

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Direct Aid to Public Education	($3,000,000)	($2,000,000)	GF

 Explanation: 

(This amendment eliminates general fund support to supplement the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers program.) 

Amendment 52: Modify support for National Teacher Certification grants 

Item 124 

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Direct Aid to Public Education	$0	($500,000)	GF

Explanation: 

(This amendment provides an additional $500,000 general fund the first year for incentive grants for teachers who are pursuing or have obtained a national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and work in a Title 1 school or a school eligible for participation in the Community Eligibility Provision.) 

Amendment 53: Modify support for the Community Builders Program 

Item 124 

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Direct Aid to Public Education	($300,000)	($100,000)	GF

Explanation: 

(This amendment provides $400,000 over the biennium to support the Community Builders pilot program.) 

Amendment 54: Remove support for Community Schools Development and Planning Grants 

Item 124 

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Direct Aid to Public Education	($2,500,000)	($2,500,000)	GF

Explanation: 

(This amendment removes state support for Community Schools Development and Implementation Planning Grants.) 

Amendment 55: Eliminate conflicting language 

Item 125

Education
Direct Aid to Public Education			Language

Explanation:

(This amendment eliminates conflicting language for the definition of a College Partnership Laboratory School, which is defined in § 22.1-349.1, Code of Virginia.) 

Amendment 56: Modify additional support for At-Risk Students 

Item 125

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Direct Aid to Public Education	($82,894,326)	($79,061,573)	GF

Explanation:

(This amendment provides additional support for at-risk students of $98 million each year over the 2024-2026 Introduced budget by 1) reinstating the existing Prevention, Intervention, & Remediation (PIR) Standards of Quality program and formula, including the SOQ funded positions and the benefits, compensation supplement, and support cost payments associated with those positions, 2) reinstating the existing At-Risk Add-On program and formula as a Standards of Quality program, 3) increasing the At-Risk Add-On minimum add-on percentage from 1.0 to 5.0 percent, and 4) increasing the At-Risk Add-On maximum add-on percentage from 36.0 to 40.5 percent. Directs DOE to work with the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding to determine the impact of transitioning the at-risk student proxy from the Free Lunch Percentage to the Identified Student Percentage for all Direct Aid accounts and funding formulas that currently use the free lunch proxy, and to determine the impact of eliminating the PIR program and related staffing standard, prescribed by § 22.1-253.13:2, on division funding and other Direct Aid accounts.) 

Amendment 57: Modify English Language Learner staffing standard 

Item 125 

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Direct Aid to Public Education	($25,863,189)	($21,094,068)	GF

Explanation: 

(This amendment provides the state share of funding to support 22 professional instructional positions per 1,000 students identified as having limited English proficiency. Additionally, requires the Department of Education to develop and implement a data collection process related to English language learner expenditures and student English proficiency levels and to provide recommendations to the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding for alternative staffing ratios to support English language learners, including the estimated state fiscal impact of those recommendations, based on actual data that identifies the English proficiency level for each English language learner.)

Amendment 58: Modify support for the School Breakfast program 

Item 125 

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Direct Aid to Public Education	($1,205,023)	($1,332,564)	GF

Explanation: 

(This amendment provides additional support of $1.2 million general fund the first year and $1.3 million general fund the second year to increase the per meal reimbursement amount from $0.22 to $0.25 for the state funded incentive program to maximize federal school nutrition revenues and increase participation in the school breakfast program.) 

Amendment 59: Provide Literary Fund support for retirement and school construction 

Item 125 

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Direct Aid to Public Education	$0	($150,000,000)	GF
	$0	$150,000,000	NGF

Explanation: 

(This amendment supports a portion of public school employee retirement contributions with funds derived from the principal of the Literary Fund and designates $175.0 million in FY 2025 in Literary Fund support for additional school construction loans.) 

Amendment 60: Update sales tax revenues for public education 

Item 125 

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Direct Aid to Public Education	($47,617,137)	($121,114,157)	GF

Explanation:

(This amendment updates sales tax revenues for public education as a result of eliminating the sales tax expansion.) 

Amendment 61: Support continued access to Early Childhood Care and Education

Item 125.10

Education	FY 24 -25	FY 25 -26
Direct Aid to Public Education	($42,941,429)	($50,225,711)	GF

Explanation: 

(This amendment updates funding and requirements for early childhood care and education programs, including removing the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) cap on the local composite index, restoring estimated VPI participation to a level supported by current and projected demand, removing assumed revenues from taxes on marijuana sales, and reducing the assumption of new slots for the Child Care Subsidy Program to 500 in FY26.)

Bill Clarifying Virginia Literacy Act Provisions Signed by Governor Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed Senate Bill 624 (Lucas)/HB 647 (Coyner) which clarifies several provisions of the Virginia Literacy Act (the Act), enacted during the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly and effective with the 2024-2025 school year, including (i) clarifying that the term "evidence-based literacy instruction" does not include practices that instruct students to gain meaning from print through the use of (a) three-cueing, which includes semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic cues; (b) meaning, structure, and visual cues; or (c) visual memory for word recognition; (ii) removing the option to use a literacy screener approved by the Department of Education for certain purposes enumerated in the Act; (iii) requiring the Department to develop a list of core literacy curricula for students in kindergarten through grade five and supplemental instruction practices and programs and intervention programs for students in kindergarten through grade eight that consist of evidence-based literacy instruction aligned with science-based reading research; and (iv) requiring each divisionwide literacy plan to address how the local school board will align (a) core reading and literacy curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade five and (b) screening, supplemental instruction, and interventions for students in kindergarten through grade eight with evidence-based literacy instruction practices aligned with science-based reading research. This bill is effective July 1, 2024 and is identical to HB 647.

Hazing Prevention Instruction Legislation Becomes Law

Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed Senate Bill 379 (Boysko) that Requires the Board of Education to develop Standards of Learning and curriculum guidelines for research-based hazing prevention instruction to be provided as a part of physical or health education instruction provided to students in grade nine or 10. The bill requires such hazing prevention instruction to include age-appropriate, extensive, and current education about hazing, including (i) examples of hazing; (ii) the dangers of hazing, including the consequences of alcohol intoxication; and (iii) school policies and laws related to hazing, including criminal penalties and bystander intervention. The bill requires such research-based hazing prevention instruction to be offered in-person but requires each school board to provide options for virtual participation for any student who is enrolled in an online or virtual physical or health education program. Finally, the bill requires each school board to provide such research-based hazing prevention instruction beginning with the school year following the Board's adoption of revised Standards of Learning for physical and health education for grades nine and 10 incorporating such research-based hazing prevention instruction and directs the Board to, in the intermediary time, develop and post on its website guidance documents for the purpose of making such research-based hazing prevention instruction available to local school boards. This bill is effective July 1, 2024 and is identical to HB 719.

Legislation from 2024 Session Awaits Action by Governor

The 2024 Session of the Virginia General Assembly adjourned Sine Die on Saturday, March 9, 2024. Lawmakers sent over 1,000 pieces of legislation to Governor Glenn Youngkin for consideration. The Governor has until April 8, 2024 to sign, veto, or offer amendments to legislation. The General Assembly will return to act on any amendments and vetoes by the Governor at the Reconvene Session scheduled for Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

Below is a listing of legislation important to school boards sent to the Governor. This is not a complete listing of all legislation passed during the 2024 session. To review legislation awaiting action by the Governor, please visit the Virginia Legislative Information System website.

In May, the VSBA Government Relations team will produce the 2024 Virginia General Assembly Comprehensive Report which will include additional legislative analysis from the session. 

SB 1 (Lucas)/ HB 1 (Ward) Increases the minimum wage from the current rate of $12.00 per hour to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025, and to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026. The bill satisfies a reenactment clause included in Chapters 1204 and 1242 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020. This bill is identical to HB 1.

SB 5 (Stanley)  Establishes the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Computing (STEM+C) Competition Team Grant Program and Fund 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.

SB 14 (McPike)/ HB 805 (Rasoul) 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 if such levy is approved in a voter referendum. The bill removes the requirement that such a tax must have an expiration date on either (i) the date of the repayment of any bonds or loans used for such capital projects or (ii) a date chosen by the governing body. Under current law, only Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville are authorized to impose such a tax. This bill is identical to HB 805.

SB 36 (Locke) Exempts certain public meetings from the definition of "meeting" under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act to clarify that three or more members of a public body may appear and participate in such public meeting without violating the Act, provided that no public business is transacted or discussed. The bill also exempts members of a public body who attend a public meeting of a second public body without violating the Act, provided that no public business is transacted or discussed. Finally, the bill defines "public business" as activity that a public body has undertaken or proposed to undertake on behalf of the people it represents.

SB 60 (Favola) Requires the Department of Education to make available to each school board and post on its website by the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year the guidelines established in accordance with relevant law for individualized education program (IEP) teams to use in developing IEPs for children with disabilities relating to the need for age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate instruction.

SB 104 (Lucas)/ HB 187 (Clark) Requires the Governor's introduced budget bills for the 2025, 2026, and 2027 Regular Sessions of the General Assembly to propose funding for, and state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act enacted during any regular or special session of the General Assembly during 2025, 2026, or 2027 to fund, the Commonwealth's share of compensation supplement incentives for Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions sufficient to increase the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth to at least the national average teacher salary by the end of the 2026–2028 biennium and establishes a detailed timeline and process for satisfying such requirement. This bill is identical to HB 187.

SB 105 (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 as 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 as 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 also establishes the At-Risk Program for the purpose of supporting programs and services for students who are educationally at risk, including prevention, intervention, or remediation activities required pursuant to relevant law, teacher recruitment programs and initiatives, programs for English language learners, the hiring of additional school counselors and other support staff, and other programs relating to increasing the success of disadvantaged students in completing a high school degree and providing opportunities to encourage further education and training. The bill also contains provisions relating to certain funding requirements for the At-Risk Program. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education to (a) develop and implement a data collection process related to English language learner expenditures and student English proficiency levels to begin to address the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission's 2023 review of Virginia's K-12 Funding Formula and (b) develop, in coordination with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services or any other relevant stakeholders, a plan for revised special education staffing requirements that addresses the staffing needs of each special education program in each school division. The bill provides for the inclusion of the provisions of the first enactment in the general appropriation act beginning July 1, 2026. This bill incorporates SB 127, SB 128, SB 187, SB 227, SB 228, and SB 609.

SB 142 (Ruff) Requires the Board of Education to include in its teacher licensure regulations provisions authorizing each school board to, upon recommendation of the division superintendent or the school board and in accordance with the criteria set forth in the bill, issue a one-year, nonrenewable local eligibility license that is only valid within the issuing school division to any individual who (i) received a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education, (ii) has experience or training in a subject or content area as the school board and division superintendent may deem appropriate for the applicable teaching position or endorsement area, and (iii) is not seeking to provide instruction in special education or eligible for collegiate professional or postgraduate professional licensure. The bill establishes several requirements, criteria, and conditions relating to a local eligibility license. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2030.

SB 199 (Diggs)/ HB 1345 (Anthony) Requires the Board of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System, Career and Technical Education directors, and industry partners, to develop and maintain a current, comprehensive, and uniform list of industry-recognized workforce credentials that students may take as a substitute for certain units of credit required for graduation, including such credentials that are accepted as substitutes for electives credits and credentials completed outside of regular school hours. The bill requires each school board to accept as a substitute for a required credit any credential listed as an accepted substitute for such required credit. The bill also requires any College and Career Access Pathways Partnership entered into between a school board and a comprehensive community college to specify, consistent with the list, industry-recognized credentials that are accepted as substitutes for certain credits required for high school graduation. Finally, the bill requires the Board, in establishing graduation requirements, to permit any student to substitute elective credits for completion of any industry-approved workforce credential that is included on the list as an accepted substitute for such credits. This bill is identical to HB 1345.

SB 220 (Favola)/ 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 requiring (i) the Department of Education to (a) develop, establish, review and update as necessary at least once every five years, and make available to each local school board an IEP writing, facilitation, tracking, and transfer system to be referred to as the Virginia IEP that includes, at a minimum, an IEP template component and a data system component and (b) develop and publish a data dashboard for the annual public reporting of state-level, division-level, and school-level special education data; (ii) each local school board to designate a faculty member to serve as a special education parent/family liaison to be a resource to parents and families to understand and engage in the referral, evaluation, reevaluation, and eligibility process if they suspect that their child has a disability and in the IEP process; and (iii) the Parent Training and Information Center in the Commonwealth designated pursuant to relevant federal law to establish special education family support centers in eight distinct regions of the Commonwealth that shall each be staffed by a regional special education family liaison employed by such center, coordinate with the designated special education parent/family liaisons in the local school divisions in the region, develop and implement outreach and support to parents of children with disabilities in its region, and track and report to the State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education data on questions and concerns raised by parents. This bill is identical to HB 1089.

HB 66 (Campbell) Requires every public school to hold fire drills during the school session in accordance with the requirements of the Statewide Fire Prevention Code. Current law requires such fire drills to be conducted at least twice during the first 20 school days of each school session and at least twice more during the remainder of the school session.

HB 69 (Bulova) Requires the local governing body or elected school board making an interim appointment to fill a vacancy in the membership of such body or board to hold a public meeting at least seven days prior to making such appointment. The bill specifies that at such meeting, the body or board shall announce the names of all persons being proposed for the interim appointment and shall make available for inspection each person's resume and any other materials required by the body or board.

HB 252 (Cole)  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, if requested, and who signs up in accordance with the sign-up procedures for the respective school board meeting to submit oral comments during any public comment portion of such meeting, subject to the same reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions imposed by such school board on the expression of any other citizen participant in such meetings.

HB 269 (McQuinn) Requires the Board of Education to amend its relevant regulation to permit any career switcher who seeks a teaching endorsement preK through grade 12, including any career switcher who seeks a teaching endorsement in special education, to pursue a Provisional (Career Switcher) License through the career switcher alternate route to licensure program in accordance with all of the requirements set forth in such regulation, provided that the individual completes at least 60 percent of the endorsement requirements for special education general curriculum K-12 as part of Level I preparation and the remainder of such requirements as part of Level II and Level III preparation.

HB 501 (Cohen) Requires any divisionwide or public elementary or secondary school-specific school building evacuation plan, policy, or protocol to include provisions that seek to maximize the opportunity for students with mobility impairments to evacuate the school building alongside their non-mobility-impaired peers.

HB 561 (Askew) Requires the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety to include specific technology systems in the list of items to be reviewed and evaluated in required annual school safety audits.

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.

HB 919 (Srinivasan) Directs the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Department of Medical Assistance Services, to develop, adopt, and distribute to each school board a model memorandum of understanding between a school board and a nationally recognized school-based telehealth provider that sets forth the parameters for the provision of mental health teletherapy by such provider to public school students enrolled in the local school division. Current law only requires the development, adoption, and distribution of a model memorandum of understanding between a school board and a public or private community mental health services provider. The bill also permits each school board to adopt policies and procedures to increase the accessibility of school-based mental health services for students enrolled in each school division who may not have access to mental health services otherwise by providing or expanding virtual mental health resources and establishing or expanding a partnership with (i) a public or private community mental health services provider that offers school-based teletherapy to students or (ii) a nationally recognized school-based telehealth provider that provides mental health teletherapy to students.

HB 937 (Levere-Bolling) States that the intent of the General Assembly is that school boards encourage the implementation of innovative low-cost or no-cost alternatives to transporting students to and from school on school buses, including organizing or otherwise facilitating, encouraging, or supporting biking or walking school buses whereby groups of students ride bicycles or walk to and from school.

Governor Youngkin Amends Senate Bill 225/House Bill 498

On Friday evening, Governor Youngkin amended Senate Bill 225 (Pekarsky)/ House Bill 498 (Cohen) which when left the general assembly would have required each local school board to develop and implement a policy to require the annual notification of the parent of each student enrolled in the local school division, to be sent by email and, if applicable, SMS text message within 30 calendar days succeeding the first day of each school year, of the parent's legal responsibility to safely store any firearm present in the household, risks associated with improperly stored firearms, statistics relating to firearm-related accidents, injuries, and death among youth, and other tips and strategies. The bill requires each school board to make such parental notification available in multiple languages on its website.

The Governor suggested the following recommendation be considered by the general assembly to the legislation,

1. After line 82, enrolled

insert

2. That the provisions of the first enactment of this act shall not become effective unless reenacted by the 2025 Session of the General Assembly.

3. The Department of Education shall (i) collaborate with relevant stakeholders to create a list of (a) parental rights, including the right to be notified of sexually explicit materials, to express disagreement with a school's or a school board's policies or decisions, and to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent's child, and (b) parental responsibilities, including safeguarding their child against access to drugs, ensuring their child is protected from exploitation or abuse, maintaining their child's school attendance, participating in their child's school discipline proceedings, monitoring their child's behavioral and educational process, and, if applicable, paying child support; and (ii) develop an efficient method for distributing such list to parents at the beginning of each school year. The Department of Education shall submit a report on such list to the Chairs of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by December 1, 2024.