On February 8th, VSBA staff attended the full
committee meeting of Senate Education and Health. Bills of relevance to our
organization that were discussed included:
SB 77 (Sturtevant) – This bill would require the State Council of Higher
Education for Virginia (the Council), 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
that (a) identifies the course credit or other academic requirements of each
public institution of higher education that the student satisfies by
successfully completing a universal transfer course and (b) ensures, to the
extent possible, that the satisfaction of course credit or other academic
requirements is consistent across each public institution of higher education
and each such universal transfer course. The provisions of the bill would
replace existing provisions that require the Council and each public
institution of higher education to establish policies relating to course credit
for dual enrollment courses but that do not provide for quality standards or
the universal transfer designation for such courses. The committee reported and
referred the bill to Senate Finance unanimously (15-0).
SB 169 (Stanley) – A substitute was adopted. The substitute would effectively require VHSL to establish by July 1, 2021, a
varsity level robotics team competition program that includes state championships. The substitute also clarifies that it does not require any school to establish a robotics team. The committee reported the substitute (8-7).
SB 170 (Stanley) – This bill was amended to prohibit students in preschool through grade three from
being suspended for more than three days or expelled except for drug offenses, firearm offenses,
certain criminal acts or in cases in physical harm, threat of physical harm or in cases of aggravated circumstances. VSBA worked with patron to modify the language of this
bill in subcommittee. The committee reported the bill (11-4).
SB 349 (Peake) – This bill would require the Board of Education to provide for the
issuance of a provisional license, valid for a period not to exceed five years,
to any person who does not meet the requirements for licensure imposed by law
but who has the appropriate level of experience or training in a critical
teacher subject matter shortage area or agrees to teach in a critical teacher
geographic area as defined in the Board's regulations. The following
teacher licensure bills were incorporated into SB 349: SB
257 (Suetterlein), SB 723 (Peake),
SB 409
(McDougle), SB 548 (Dunnavant),
SB 549
(Dunnavant), SB 551
(Dunnavant), SB 558 (Dunnavant),
and SB 863
(Sturtevant). VSBA supports this
bill. The bill contains an emergency clause. The committee reported the bill
unanimously (15-0).
SB 302 (Favola) – This bill would provide 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. The bill would require the
Board to determine if the local school board has the capacity to administer and
score performance-based assessments and provides criteria for such
determination. Under the bill, any proposed performance-based assessment would
be required to be an adequate replacement of the relevant Standards of Learning
assessment by requiring that students demonstrate the knowledge and skills
required by the relevant Standards of Learning and one or more of critical
thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, or citizenship. The
standards of learning assessments eligible for replacement are (i) Virginia
Studies, (ii) Civics and Economics, (iii) elementary school science, and (iv)
middle school science. The bill would require the Board to promulgate any
necessary regulations and to submit to the U.S. Department of Education any
necessary amendments to its consolidated State plan. The committee incorporated
SB 437
(Wexton) into this bill. The committee voted unanimously to pass the bill
by indefinitely with a letter of referral to the Committee on the Future of Public
Education (15-0).
SB 491 (Sturtevant) – 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, P.L.
89-10, as amended. The bill requires the Department of Education to calculate
any potential or realized savings from the implementation of the bill and to
report the amount of such savings to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House
Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Finance by November 1,
2019. Such amount shall be included in the total for Direct Aid to Public
Education in any general appropriation act for fiscal years 2021 and 2022. The
committee voted unanimously to pass the bill by indefinitely (15-0).
SB 605 (Ebbin) – This
bill would prohibit any person who is an
employee, contractor, or agent of a public school or accredited private school
from assisting an employee, contractor, or agent in obtaining a new job if such
person knows or has probable cause to believe that such employee, contractor,
or agent engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student. The committee
reported the bill (14-0) with one abstention.
SB 664 (McPike) – This
bill would require the Board of Education, in
its graduation requirements, to permit a passing score on an industry
certification approved by the local school board or any instruction received,
coursework completed, or study toward achieving such passing score to count
toward the requirement for a student to receive 140 clock hours of instruction
for any course, regardless of subject matter relevance, provided that such
achievement, instruction, coursework, or study occurs after the student has
completed the course curriculum and relevant Standards of Learning assessment.
The committee reported the bill unanimously with a substitute (15-0).
SB 786 (Surovell) – This bill would provide that no student shall be
charged tuition or fees for enrolling in any online course or virtual program
that is required or is offered by the school division in which he resides. The
bill also would provide that no local school board can offer and no student can
be required to take any online course or virtual program unless every student
enrolled in the course is provided or offered, free of charge, a computer or
other electronic device necessary to take the course. Further, the bill would provide
an exception for the high school graduation requirement to take a virtual
course if such requirements are not met. The committee reported the bill with a
substitute unanimously (14-0).
SB 936 (Wagner) – This bill would direct the Board of Education to establish
the Standards of Achievement Career and Technical Education Committee
(Committee) to make recommendations to the General Assembly and the Board of
Education to facilitate the development of career and technical education
Standards of Achievement, including accreditation standards, assessment
testing, and course content and curriculum for participating schools, with a
focus on (i) rigorous standards and course content and curriculum that align
workforce skills with industry-recognized standards; (ii) robust business and
industry engagement and responsiveness to labor market needs; (iii) strategies
to remove the stigma from career and technical education, including early
exposure to career options and life skills; (iv) work-based learning and
apprenticeships; (v) innovative high school models; and (vi) leveraging
existing resources and programs in the Commonwealth. The Committee shall
identify any necessary changes to statutory and regulatory provisions,
including existing requirements regarding (a) instructional programs; (b)
instructional, administrative, and, support personnel; (c) accreditation; (d)
assessments; (e) graduation requirements; (f) teacher licensure; and (g) dual
enrollment. The bill would require the Committee to report its findings and
recommendation to the General Assembly and the Board of Education by November
1, 2018. The committee voted unanimously to carry the bill over to 2019 with
a referral to the Commission on the Future of Public Education (15-0).
Following this discussion, VSBA attended the afternoon meeting of
the Senate Committee on Education and Health Subcommittee Public Education. The
Senate has begun considering some of the bills that have made their way through
the House. Bills of relevance discussed included:
H.B. 81 (Krizek) – This bill, as introduced, would have eliminated the requirement that school boards appoint a new division superintendent (i) within 180 days after a vacancy occurs or (ii) within 60 days after an appointed division superintendent who has not yet assumed his office is granted a release from such appointment. The bill was amended to allow the school board to receive an extension of time within which to appoint a division superintendent, upon request. VSBA supports this bill. The subcommittee recommended this bill for reporting (4-0).
H.B. 329 (Yancey) – This
bill would require the Board of Education, in establishing high school
graduation requirements, to permit students to exceed a full course load in
order to participate in courses offered by an institution of higher education
that lead to a degree, certificate, or credential at such institution. The bill
has an emergency clause. The subcommittee voted to send this bill to the full committee
without recommendation (4-0) as the patron wasn’t present due to a concurrent
committee meeting.
H.B. 330 (Yancey) – This bill would permit any public elementary or secondary school
student to possess and use topical sunscreen on a school bus, on school
property, or at a school-sponsored event without a note or prescription from a
licensed health care professional if the topical sunscreen is approved by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration for nonprescription use for the purpose of
limiting damage to skin caused by exposure to ultraviolet light. The
subcommittee voted to send this bill to the full committee without
recommendation (4-0) as the patron wasn’t present due to a concurrent committee
meeting.
H.B. 399 (Keam) – This bill would require each school board to implement a
plan to notify students and their parents of the availability of internships,
externships, apprenticeships, credentialing programs, certification programs,
licensure programs, and other work-based learning experiences. The subcommittee
recommended the bill for reporting (5-0).
H.B. 442 (Carroll Foy) – This
bill would require the Department of Education to develop, maintain, and
make available to each local school board a catalogue of the testing
accommodations available to English language learners for each certification,
examination, assessment, and battery that satisfies the career and technical
education credential graduation requirement. The bill would require each local
school board to develop and implement policies to ensure that, to the greatest
extent practicable, any such testing accommodation is made available to each
English language learner in the local school division who participates in the
relevant certification, examination, assessment, or battery. The bill has a
delayed effective date of July 1, 2019. The subcommittee recommended the bill
for reporting (5-0).
H.B. 507 (Mullin) – This
bill would provide that (i) the instructional programs for students with
limited English proficiency implemented by each local school board may include
dual language programs whereby such students receive instruction in English and
in a second language and (ii) the additional full-time equivalent instructional
positions for students identified as having limited English proficiency that
are funded pursuant to the general appropriation act may include dual language
teachers who provide instruction in English and in a second language. VSBA
spoke in favor of the bill. The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting
(5-0).
H.B. 809 (O'Quinn) – This
bill would permit local school boards to display advertising material on
the sides of school buses between the rear wheels and the rear of the bus,
provided that no such material (i) obstructs the name of the school division or
the number of the school bus, (ii) is sexually explicit, or (iii) pertains to
alcohol; food or beverages that do not meet the nutrition standards developed
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture pursuant to the federal Healthy,
Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 or any additional state or local nutrition
standards for food or beverages sold to students in school; gambling; politics;
or tobacco. The subcommittee voted to send this bill to the full committee
without recommendation (4-0) as the patron wasn’t present due to a concurrent
committee meeting.
Lastly, VSBA staff attended the
afternoon meeting of the Senate Finance Committee. Two bills of note to VSBA were
addressed:
SB 631
(Dunnavant) – This bill would make several changes to the Virginia
Community College System to ensure a standard quality of education at all
comprehensive community colleges, and to ensure in the transfer of community
college credit to four-year public institutions of higher education in order to
provide higher education as efficiently and cost effective as possible. The
bill would require the development of a standard Passport Program and a Uniform
Certificate of General Studies program to be offered at each community college.
Initially, the Passport Program course offerings would be accepted as credit at
a four-year institution, unless a four-year institution had applied for and
received a waiver from accepting a particular course for a particular major,
with a goal of making all courses in the Uniform Certificate transferrable.
Four-year institutions, in cooperation with the Community College System, would
be required to map out career education pathways to allow students to see the
classes necessary to complete a four-year degree in a particular field of
study. The Virginia Community College System would be required to create a
single online repository where the public may access all transfer agreements
and dual enrollment agreements with four-year institutions. Finally, the State
Board for Community Colleges would be required to implement an annual review
for each community college, and to standardize the course offerings across the
community college system. The bill incorporates SB 77 (Sturtevant). The committee
reported the bill unanimously (16-0).
SB 516
(Obenshain) – This bill would authorize the
Board of Education (the Board) to establish regional charter school divisions
consisting of at least two but not more than three existing school divisions in
regions in which each underlying school division has (i) an enrollment of more
than 3,000 students and (ii) one or more schools that have accreditation denied
status for two out of the past three years. The bill would require such regional
charter school divisions to be supervised by a school board that consists of
eight members appointed by the Board and one member appointed by the localities
of each of the underlying divisions. The bill would authorize the school board,
after a review by the Board, to review and approve public charter school
applications in the regional charter school divisions and to contract with the
applicant. The bill would require that the state share of Standards of Quality
per pupil funding of the underlying school district in which the student
resides be transferred to such school. VSBA strongly opposes the bill. The
committee voted unanimously to carry the bill over until 2019.
