A group of VSBA members attended the House of Delegates, where they and VSBA where recognized from the floor by Delegate Chris Hurst, a member of the House Education Committee. Photos of this, and the the Capital Conference are available on VSBA social media accounts.
In legislative matters, VSBA staff attended the House Education Subcommittee #3 yesterday morning. Bills of relevance discussed included:
HB 3 (Landes) - This bill would require the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia , in consultation with the Department of Education and each public institution of higher education, to establish (i) quality standards for dual enrollment courses, including quality standards for course instructors, materials, and content; (ii) a process by which dual enrollment courses that meet or exceed such quality standards are certified as universal transfer courses that satisfy course credit or other academic requirements at any public institution of higher education; and (iii) a policy for the satisfaction of course credit or other academic requirements through the successful completion of universal transfer courses by entering students. VSBA spoke in support of the bill. The subcommittee recommended that the bill be reported and referred to the House Committee on Appropriations unanimously (8-0).
HB 497 (R. Bell) - This bill would require each school board to permit any student who receives home instruction and resides in the local school division to apply for enrollment as a part-time student of the local school division in any dual enrollment course offered pursuant to an agreement for postsecondary degree attainment at a public high school in the local school division or at the comprehensive community college. VSBA opposed the bill. The bill failed on a 4-4 vote.
HB 542 (Freitas) - This bill would require each agreement for postsecondary degree attainment between a local school board and a comprehensive community college to include a process by which high school students who reside in a school division that is governed by a school board that is not a party to such agreement may apply for enrollment in the dual enrollment courses offered pursuant to such agreement. The patron requested and the subcommittee agreed that the bill be passed by for the week unanimously by voice vote (8-0).
In the afternoon, House Education Subcommittee #1 met. Bills of relevance covered included:
HB 2 (Bell) - This bill would require the Board of Education to provide for teacher licensure by reciprocity for a period of one year for any spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Commonwealth, provided that such spouse has obtained a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for such a one-year reciprocal license is received by the Department of Education. VSBA supports this bill. The bill was recommended for reporting unanimously (8-0).
HB 372 (Robinson) - This bill would make local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening day of the school year and eliminate the post-Labor Day opening requirement and "good cause" scenarios for which the Board of Education may grant waivers of this requirement. The bill requires local school boards that set the school calendar with a pre-Labor Day opening date, except those schools that were granted a "good cause" waiver for the 2017-2018 school year, to close all schools in the division from (i) the Thursday immediately preceding Labor Day through Labor Day or (ii) the Friday immediately preceding Labor Day through the Tuesday immediately succeeding Labor Day. VSBA supports this bill. It was recommended for reporting on a 6-2 vote.
HB 687 (McQuinn) - This bill would create the Virginia Public School Improvement Program to offer maximum educational options and flexibility for parents, teachers, and students. It was recommended for reporting on a 7-1 vote.
HB 1020 (Adams) - This bill would make local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening day of the school year and eliminate the post-Labor Day opening requirement and "good cause" scenarios for which the Board of Education may grant waivers of this requirement. VSBA supports this bill. It was recommended for reporting 6-2.
HB 1278 (LaRock) - This bill provides that a local school board applying for its school division to be designated as a School Division of Innovation may apply to the Board of Education (Board) to replace certain Standards of Learning assessments with performance-based assessments. VSBA supports this bill. It was recommended for reporting 7-1.
HB 1320 (Habeeb) - This bill would require the Department of Education to develop and distribute to each local school division a resource guide on the local development and implementation of performance assessments. VSBA supports this bill. It was recommended for reporting 7-1.
HB 36 (Kory) - This bill would make local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening day of the school year and eliminate the post-Labor Day opening requirement and "good cause" scenarios for which the Board of Education may grant waivers of this requirement.The subcommittee voted unanimously (8-0) to lay it on the table.
HB 251 (Guzman) - This bill would reduce the total number and type of required Standards of Learning assessments to the minimum requirements established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 amended. The subcommittee voted unanimously (8-0) to lay it on the table.
HB 354 (Reid) - This bill would make local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening day of the school year and eliminate the post-Labor Day opening requirement and "good cause" scenarios for which the Board of Education may grant waivers of this requirement.The subcommittee voted unanimously (8-0) to lay it on the table.
HB 537 (Freitas) - This bill would require the Department of Education to make available to school divisions Standards of Learning assessments in advance of each school year, among other provisions. The subcommittee voted unanimously (8-0) to lay it on the table.
HB 652 (Murphy) - This bill would provides a local school board applying for its school division to be designated as a School Division of Innovation may apply to the Board of Education (Board) to replace certain Standards of Learning assessments with performance-based assessments. The subcommittee voted unanimously (8-0) to lay it on the table.
HB 937 (Lopez) - This bill would permits any high school student who has earned the verified units of credit required to graduate with a standard diploma or advanced diploma to opt out of participation in any additional Standards of Learning assessment, unless granting such student's request to opt out of participation would result in the school's failure to meet any state or federal testing participation rate requirements. The subcommittee voted unanimously (8-0) to strike this bill from the docket.
HB 980 (Rodman) - This bill would reduce the total number and type of required Standards of Learning assessments to the minimum requirements established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 amended.The subcommittee voted unanimously (8-0) to lay it on the table.
HB 1162 (Pillion) - This bill would reduce the total number and type of required Standards of Learning assessments to the minimum requirements established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 amended. The subcommittee voted unanimously (8-0) to lay it on the table.
Today, VSBA staff attended the Senate Finance Committee meeting. Bills of interest considered were:
SB 172 (Stanley) - This bill would expand the Education Improvement Scholarships tax credits program by including, as eligible scholarship recipients, children enrolled in or attending nonpublic pre-kindergarten programs. SB 172 and SB 553 were rolled into one bill (SB 172) on a motion passed unanimously. The new bill was reported unanimously (16-0).
SB 553 (Dunnavant) - This bill would expand the education improvement scholarships tax credits program by including as eligible scholarship recipients children who are eligible to enter pre-kindergarten. In addition, the bill reduces the penalty for failure to fully disburse all donations under certain conditions.SB 172 and SB 553 were rolled into one bill (SB 172) on a motion passed unanimously. The new bill was reported unanimously (16-0).
SB 579 (De Steph) - This bill would allocate 20 percent of any unissued credits in a fiscal year under the Education Improvement Scholarships tax credit program to the Superintendent of Public Instruction to be allocated to education programs under the Neighborhood Assistance Act. At the patron's request, the Committee unanimously passed by the bill on a voice vote.
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