This morning, VSBA staff began our day attending House
Education Subcommittee # 2. Only one bill was discussed:
SB 101 (McClellan)
– This bill would require any high school family
life education curriculum offered by a local school division to incorporate
age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the
consequences of nonconsensual sexual activity, conduct, or touching. The bill would
permit any family life education curriculum offered by a local school division
to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based
programs on (i) the dangers and repercussions of using electronic means or
social media to (a) engage in sexually explicit communications or (b) send or
display sexually explicit images and (ii) the prevention, recognition, and
awareness of child abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and child
sexual abuse. The subcommittee adopted an amendment in the nature
of a substitute that allows local school divisions to incorporate age appropriate
elements of evidence-based programs regarding child
abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse.
The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting (7-2).
Following the conclusion of the subcommittee, the full committee of House Education met to discuss the following bills of interest to VSBA:
SB 76 (Favola)
– This bill would specify that for
the purpose of Board of Education regulations for the approval of teacher
education programs, the term "education preparation program" includes
four-year bachelor's degree programs in teacher education. VSBA spoke in support of this bill. The committee
reported the bill (20-0).
SB 170 (Stanley)
– This bill would prohibit, except
for drug offenses, firearm offenses, and certain criminal
acts, students in preschool through grade three from being suspended for
more than three school days or expelled from attendance at school unless
(i) the offense involves physical harm or credible threat of physical harm to
others or (ii) the local school board or the division superintendent or his
designee finds that aggravating circumstances exist, as defined by the Department
of Education. VSBA worked with the patron and other stakeholders to modify the
language to allow more flexibility for local school divisions and supports the
bill. The committee
reported the bill (18-2).
SB 238 (De
Steph) – This bill would prohibit local school boards from requiring a student
or his parent to disclose information related to the student's race
or ethnicity unless (i) the student or his parent is given an option to
designate "other" for the student's race or ethnicity or (ii) such
disclosure is required by federal law. The committee reported the
bill (20-0).
SB 349
(Peake) – This bill would make several changes to the teacher licensure process,
including (i) permitting teachers with a valid out-of-state license, with full
credentials and without deficiencies, to receive licensure by reciprocity
without passing additional licensing assessments and (ii) permitting a
local school board or division superintendent to waive certain
licensure requirements for any individual who holds a provisional license
and is employed by the local school board. This bill incorporates SB
257, SB
409, SB
548, SB
549, SB
551, SB
558,SB
723, and SB
863. VSBA supports this bill. The committee
adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The committee reported the
bill as amended (21-0).
SB 969
(Newman) – This bill would require the Board of Education, in
establishing high school graduation requirements, to require students to earn
one verified credit in history and social science by (i) the successful
completion of a Board-developed end-of-course Standards of Learning assessment;
(ii) achievement of a passing score on a Board-approved standardized test
administered on a statewide, multistate, or international basis that measures
content that incorporates or exceeds the Standards of Learning content in the
course for which the verified credit is given; or (iii) achievement of criteria
for the receipt of a locally awarded verified credit from the local school
board in accordance with criteria established in Board guidelines when the
student has not passed a corresponding Standards of Learning assessment. The
bill would prohibit such end-of-course Standards of Learning
assessment from being a performance-based assessment. The committee
adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The committee reported and
referred the bill as amended to House Appropriations (18-4).
SB 343
(Peake) – This bill would
prohibit any school board from employing any individual who has been convicted
of any felony offense against a child; a certain act of violence or violent
felony; any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse,
or rape of a child; or any offense requiring registration with the Sex Offender
and Crimes Against Minors Register Act. The bill would provide that for any
other felony offense, the school board, in its discretion, may hire an
individual who has had his civil rights restored by the Governor and at least
five years have passed since such conviction. The committee
adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute conforming the bill to HB 1000
(Gilbert). The committee reported the bill as amended (21-0).
SB 605 (Ebbin)
– This bill would require the Board
of Education to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of federal
law that prohibit any local school board or any individual who is an employee,
contractor, or agent of a local school board from assisting an employee,
contractor, or agent of such local school board in obtaining a new job if such
local school board or individual knows or has probable cause to believe that
the employee, contractor, or agent engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a
minor or student in violation of law. The committee adopted an
amendment in the nature of a substitute conforming the bill to HB 438 (Bulova).
The committee reported the bill as amended (21-0).
SB 747 (Sturtevant)
– This bill would provide that the
guaranteed admissions agreements between baccalaureate public institutions of
higher education and associate-degree-granting public institutions of higher
education may provide for the guaranteed admission of a student who earns an
associate degree concurrently with a high school diploma through a dual
enrollment program, as well as any student who earns an associate degree after
high school. The committee reported the bill (22-0).
SB 785
(Surovell) – This bill would
prohibit local school boards from requiring the use of any electronic textbook
in any course in grades six through 12 unless the school board adopts a plan to
ensure that on or before July 1, 2020, (i) each student enrolled in
such course will have actual access at school and, if any assignment requires
the use of such electronic textbook outside of school hours, in his residence
to at least one personal computing device not shared with another student that
contains an operating system and the hardware necessary to support the format
of each electronic textbook expected to be used in such course and (ii) the
relevant school has adequate connectivity, which the bill defines as bandwidth
of at least one megabit per second per enrolled student. The committee adopted an amendment ichanging
the adequate connectivity speed required to 100 kilobits per second. VSBA
spoke in opposition to this bill. The Speaker’s office sent a letter requesting
the bill go to House Appropriations and the committee reported and referred the
bill to House Appropriations (12-8).
SB 101 (McClellan)
– This bill would require any high school family
life education curriculum offered by a local school division to incorporate
age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the
consequences of nonconsensual sexual activity, conduct, or touching. The bill would
permit any family life education curriculum offered by a local school division
to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based
programs on (i) the dangers and repercussions of using electronic means or
social media to (a) engage in sexually explicit communications or (b) send or
display sexually explicit images and (ii) the prevention, recognition, and
awareness of child abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and child
sexual abuse. The committee adopted an amendment in the nature of
a substitute that allows local school divisions to incorporate age appropriate
elements of evidence-based programs regarding child
abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse. The
committee reported the bill as amended (19-1).
SB 126
(Cosgrove) – This bill would permit
any school division outside of Planning District 8, at the discretion of
the local school board, to administer a parent/student driver
education component as part of the driver education curriculum. Under both
current law and the bill, such component is a requirement in Planning
District 8 (Northern Virginia). The bill allows for school divisions to
administer such component in-person or online. The committee
reported the bill (18-2).
SB 169
(Stanley) – This bill would effectively require VHSL to
establish, by July 1, 2021, a varsity level robotics team competition program
that includes state championships. The committee reconsidered the
previous vote from Monday and reported the bill (12-9).
Lastly, VSBA staff attended the meeting of House Appropriations Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee. Bills of interest to the Association discussed included:
x
x
SB 80 (Favola)
– This bill would establish the State School
Health Advisory Board in the executive branch to advise the General Assembly
and the Governor on pending or proposed legislation concerning the role of
employees in public elementary or secondary schools in providing health care
services at such schools and to provide guidance on any associated training
requirements. The provisions of the bill would be contingent on funding in a
general appropriation act. The subcommittee lay the bill on the table
(5-3).
SB 229
(Hanger) – This bill would require the Board
of Education to establish a training program for school board employees
who assist in the transportation of students on school buses, including
individuals employed to operate school buses and school bus aides, on autism
spectrum disorders, including the characteristics of autism spectrum disorders,
strategies for interacting with students with autism spectrum disorders, and
collaboration with other employees who assist in the transportation of students
on school buses. The bill would require each school board employee who assists
in the transportation of students with autism spectrum disorders on school
buses to participate in such training program. VSBA spoke on
the bill thanking the patron for modifying it to place less of a burden on
local school divisions while still carrying out the intent of the bill. The
subcommittee amended the bill to remove the financial clause and recommended
reporting the bill (8-0).
SB 401
(Lewis) – This bill would direct the
Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Education to update
the "Window into a Green Virginia" curriculum developed by the
Departments for sixth grade science to include a unit on the benefits,
including the energy benefits, of recycling and reuse. The
subcommittee lay the bill on the table 5-2.
SB 775
(Locke) – This bill would prohibit the child
of a person on active military duty who is attending school for free from being
charged tuition upon such child's relocation pursuant to orders his parent
received to relocate to a new duty station or to be deployed. The bill would allow
the child to remain enrolled in the current school division free of tuition
through the end of the school year. The bill would also prohibit the child of a
person on active military duty who is eligible to attend a school for free from
being charged tuition by a school division that will be that child's school
division of residence upon such child's service member parent's relocation to
the jurisdiction for that school division pursuant to orders received. The
subcommittee recommend reporting the bill (7-0).
SB 456 (McClellan)
– This bill would require the Superintendent of
Public Instruction to develop and administer biennially to individuals
holding a license from the Department of Education a voluntary and anonymous
school personnel survey to evaluate school-level teaching conditions and
the impact such conditions have on teacher retention and student achievement.
The bill would require such survey to include questions regarding school
leadership, teacher leadership, teacher autonomy, demands on teachers' time,
student conduct management, professional development, instructional practices
and support, new teacher support, community engagement and support, and
facilities and other resources. The bill would require the Superintendent of
Public Instruction to report the results of the survey to the House Committees
on Appropriations and Education and to the Senate Committees on Finance and
Education and Health. The subcommittee recommended laying the bill on the table
(5-3).
SB 937
(Sturtevant) – This bill would create a tax
credit for a business that hosts a junior or senior in a Richmond City high
school as an apprentice for a semester during the 2018-2019 or 2019-2020
academic year. The business would receive a $2,500 credit per student, per
semester. Participation in the program would be limited to 25 students. The
provisions of the bill would be contingent on funding in a general
appropriation act. The subcommittee recommended laying the bill on the table (5-3).
SB 261 (Suetterlein)
– This bill would provide that a local school
board that is required to employ two full-time librarians for any middle school
or high school may meet such requirement by employing two full-time librarians
or one full-time librarian and one full-time media specialist or instructional
resource teacher. The bill would also provide that a local school board that is
required to employ a full-time school-based clerical person for the library for
any middle school or high school may meet such requirement by employing one
full-time school-based clerical person for the library, for instruction, or for
assessment or career planning, or by employing one full-time classroom
instructional assistant. VSBA spoke in support of the bill. The
subcommittee referred the bill to House Education on a voice vote.
SB 786
(Surovell) – This bill would prohibit any
student who resides in Planning District 8 and is eligible for free or reduced
price meals in the federally funded lunch program from being charged
fees for enrolling in any online course or virtual program that is required or
is offered by the school division in which he resides and requires such
enrolled students to be provided, free of charge, a computer or other
electronic device necessary to take the course or program. VSBA
spoke in opposition to the bill. The subcommittee recommended laying the bill on the table (6-2).
SB 658
(Wagner) – This bill would clarify that
school boards of school divisions participating in a regional or joint school
may jointly apply to the Board of Education for a loan from the Literary Fund
to benefit the regional or joint school. The subcommittee
recommended reporting the bill (8-0).
x
x
