The Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee of House Appropriations met and considered the following bills today:
HB1400 (R.P. Bell) would create a statewide Virginia Virtual School that would be open to any student in the Commonwealth. The subcommittee recommended reporting.
HB1408 (Ware) was amended to permit school boards to have the vision of students in grade 2 or 3 and in grades 7 and 10 be screened by a qualified nonprofit vision health organization that uses a digital photoscreening method pursuant to a comprehensive vision program. The subcommittee recommended reporting.
HB1605 (LaRock) creates Parental Choice Educational Savings Accounts which will allow parents to receive state SOQ funding to use for education expenses, including private and sectarian schools. The subcommittee recommended reporting.
HB2174 (Murphy) was amended to require school boards to report class size in middle and high school. The subcommittee recommended reporting.
HB2395 (Cline) would require that if a school board employs reading specialists, one of the reading specialists must have training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder and to serve as an advisor on dyslexia and related disorders. The subcommittee recommended reporting.
HB1498 (LeMunyon), which would have reduced class size limits, was tabled.
HB1690 (Dudenhefer), which would have eliminated the requirement of a local match for VPI funds, was tabled.
HB1757 (Dudenhefer), which would have required one nurse in each school or a ratio of 1 nurse per 550 students, was tabled.
HB1764(Bulova), which would have required every school division to offer a full-time virtual program, was tabled.
HB1805 (J.J. Bell), which would have required school boards to develop a plan to fund and phase in full day kindergarten, was tabled.
HB1923 (Bagby), which would have allowed middle school students to participate in Virtual Virginia, was tabled.
HB2173 (Murphy), which would have reduced class sizes in science and lab classes, was tabled.
