HB 1652 (Robinson) was conformed to Sen. Chase’s SB 1005, which previously passed the Senate, to allow school boards to open school no earlier than 14 days before Labor Day and take a 4 day holiday around Labor Day. Under this bill, all school divisions that currently have a waiver and all others had waivers under budget language that has been in place in every budget since 2011 would be grandfathered. The bill reported from the Senate Education and Health Committee 13-2. Yesterday, the bill passed the Senate 40-0. Because the versions passed by the House and Senate were different, the House now has to decide whether to accept the Senate amendments or request a Committee of Conference.
HB 1725 (Knight) requires each school board, in consultation with the local building official and the state or local fire marshal, to develop a procurement plan to ensure that all security enhancements to public school buildings are in compliance with the Uniform Statewide Building Code and Statewide Fire Prevention Code. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 1729 (Landes) changes the name of guidance counselors to school counselors and requires each school counselor employed by a school board in a public elementary or secondary school to spend at least 80 percent of his staff time during normal school hours in the direct counseling of individual students or groups of students. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 1732 (O'Quinn) would require each school board to develop training on safety procedures in the event of an emergency situation on school property. The bill requires such training to be delivered to each student and employee in each school at least once each school year. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 1733 (Gilbert) was conformed to SB 1214 (Newman), as it passed the Senate. The amended bill would require VCSCS to develop a model MOU for school boards and local law enforcement to use regarding the use of SROs. The bill would also require each school board that employs SROs to have such an MOU and to review it at least once every 5 years. The Committee reported the amended bill 15-0.
HB 1737 (Wright) would require each school board to include the chief law-enforcement officer, the fire chief, the chief of the emergency medical services agency, the executive director of the relevant regional emergency medical services council, and the emergency management official of the locality, or their designees, in the development and review of school crisis, emergency management, and medical emergency response plans. Under current law, the school board is required to provide copies of such plans to the chief law-enforcement officer, the fire chief, the chief of the emergency medical services agency, and the emergency management official of the locality but is not required to include such first responders in the development and review of such plans. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 1738 (Rush) was amended to require all plans and specifications for new or remodeled public school building construction be reviewed by an individual or entity with professional expertise in building security and crime prevention through building design. The Committee reported the amended bill 15-0.
HB 1930 (Bell, R.P.) would require (i) the Board of Education to collaborate with various stakeholders to biennially update its guidelines on policies to inform and educate coaches, student-athletes, and student-athletes' parents or guardians of the nature and risk of concussions, criteria for removal from and return to play, risks of not reporting the injury and continuing to play, and the effects of concussions on student-athletes' academic performance and (ii) each local school division to biennially update its policies and procedures regarding the identification and handling of suspected concussions in student-athletes. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 1985 (Bell, R.P.) requires the Department of Education to annually collect from each school board and publish on its website various enrollment and achievement data on alternative education programs for students who have been suspended, expelled, or otherwise precluded from attendance at school. The bill requires such data to be published in a manner that protects the identities of individual students and disaggregated by local school division and by student race, ethnicity, gender, and disability. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 1737 (Wright) would require each school board to include the chief law-enforcement officer, the fire chief, the chief of the emergency medical services agency, the executive director of the relevant regional emergency medical services council, and the emergency management official of the locality, or their designees, in the development and review of school crisis, emergency management, and medical emergency response plans. Under current law, the school board is required to provide copies of such plans to the chief law-enforcement officer, the fire chief, the chief of the emergency medical services agency, and the emergency management official of the locality but is not required to include such first responders in the development and review of such plans. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 1738 (Rush) was amended to require all plans and specifications for new or remodeled public school building construction be reviewed by an individual or entity with professional expertise in building security and crime prevention through building design. The Committee reported the amended bill 15-0.
HB 1930 (Bell, R.P.) would require (i) the Board of Education to collaborate with various stakeholders to biennially update its guidelines on policies to inform and educate coaches, student-athletes, and student-athletes' parents or guardians of the nature and risk of concussions, criteria for removal from and return to play, risks of not reporting the injury and continuing to play, and the effects of concussions on student-athletes' academic performance and (ii) each local school division to biennially update its policies and procedures regarding the identification and handling of suspected concussions in student-athletes. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 1985 (Bell, R.P.) requires the Department of Education to annually collect from each school board and publish on its website various enrollment and achievement data on alternative education programs for students who have been suspended, expelled, or otherwise precluded from attendance at school. The bill requires such data to be published in a manner that protects the identities of individual students and disaggregated by local school division and by student race, ethnicity, gender, and disability. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 2018 (Peace) would require the Board of Education to review and revise, in consultation with certain stakeholders and no later than December 1, 2019, its Career and Technical Education Work-Based Learning Guide to expand the opportunities available for students to earn credit for graduation through high-quality work-based learning experiences such as job shadowing, mentorships, internships, and externships. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 2119 (Carroll Foy) would have authorized a school attendance officer or division superintendent or his designee acting as an attendance officer to complete, sign, and file with the clerk of court a motion for a rule to show cause regarding the violation or enforcement of a school attendance order entered by a juvenile and domestic relations district court in response to the filing of a petition alleging the juvenile is a child in need of supervision. The bill also provides that such a filing is not considered the unauthorized practice of law. The bill was rereferred to the Courts Committee, which passed the bill by indefinitely 11-4.
HB 2142 (Thomas) defines a school protection officer as a retired law-enforcement officer hired on a part-time basis by the local law-enforcement agency to provide limited law-enforcement and security services to Virginia public elementary and secondary schools. The bill also provides that the Department of Criminal Justice Services shall establish compulsory minimum training standards for all persons employed as school protection officers and that such training may be provided by the employing law-enforcement agency and shall be graduated and based on the type of duties to be performed. The Committee rereferred the bill to the Courts Committee, which reported the bill 12-3.
HB 2217 (Bourne) permits the Department of Education to establish a microcredential program for the purpose of permitting any public elementary or secondary school teacher who holds a renewable or provisional license or any individual who participates in any alternate route to licensure program to complete additional in-person or blended coursework and earn microcredentials in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) endorsement areas, including computer science, for which there is a high need for additional qualified teachers. The bill requires the Department of Education to direct the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure to convene a workgroup including pertinent education stakeholders to determine how any microcredential awarded pursuant to any such program will be used to award add-on endorsements and certifications for teachers in such STEM endorsement areas. The bill provides certain conditions in which in-person coursework in a microcredential program not contributing to an endorsement is eligible for professional development points towards the renewal of a teaching license. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
HB 2318 (McGuire) adds school nurses, local health department employees that are assigned to a public school pursuant to an agreement between the local health department and school board, and other school board employees or individuals contracted by a school board to provide school health services, to the list of individuals who may possess and administer naloxone or other opioid antagonist, provided that they have completed a training program. The Committee reported the bill 14-0.
HB 2400 (Roem) requires each local school board that collects information to determine eligibility for participation in the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish and post prominently on its website a web-based application for student participation in such program and to continue to provide a paper-based application. The bill permits any school board in establishing such an application to adopt the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Web-Based Prototype Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals or to digitize its existing paper-based application. The Committee reported the bill 14-0.
HB 2449 (Wilt) provides that a school or institution of higher education may disclose certain directory information of a student to certain internal persons for educational purposes or internal business if the student has not opted out of such disclosure. Under current law, such disclosures require written consent. The bill also provides an exception for state and federal law requirements from the prohibition of such disclosures. The Committee reported the bill 10-0.
HB 2574 (LaRock) would allow a local school board, when applying for its school division to be designated as a School Division of Innovation, to apply to the Board of Education to replace certain Standards of Learning assessments with performance-based assessments. The bill requires 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. The bill requires any proposed performance-based assessment to be an adequate replacement of the relevant Standards of Learning assessment and requires students to 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 further requires 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 bill was passed by indefinitely 14-0-1.
HB 2720 (Gooditis) specifies that, for the purpose of eligibility for grants for security equipment through the Public School Security Equipment Grant Act of 2013, security equipment includes building modifications and fixtures, such as security vestibules. The Committee reported the bill 15-0.
