This morning, the PreK-12 Subcommittee met and
considered the following bills:
HB1491 (Guy) would require each public high school to
provide to any enrolled student who is of voting age or otherwise eligible to
register to vote access to Virginia voter registration information and
applications and the opportunity to complete such application during the normal
course of the school day. The bill was
amended in subcommittee to remove the requirement that principals provide
training to staff on voter registration.
The amended bill was recommended for reporting 5-2.
HB762 (Cole) would expand eligibility for services under the
Children's Services Act to students who transfer from an approved private
school special education program to a public school special education program
established and funded jointly by a local governing body and school division
located within Planning District 16 for the purpose of providing special
education and related services when (i) the public school special education
program is able to provide services comparable to those of an approved private
school special education program and (ii) the student would require placement
in an approved private school special education program but for the
availability of the public school special education program. The bill was recommended for reporting 8-0.
HB49 (McNamara) would require the Department of Education
and relevant local school boards to develop and implement a pilot program for
the transition of students who are educated in private school settings pursuant
to Individualized Education Programs to the appropriate public school setting
in the relevant local school division for up to four years in two to eight
local school divisions in the Commonwealth. In developing the pilot, the
Department is required to partner with the appropriate school board employees
in each such local school division to (i) identify the resources, services, and
supports required by each student who resides in each such local school
division and who is educated in a private school setting pursuant to his
Individualized Education Program; (ii) study the feasibility of transitioning
each such student from his private school setting to an appropriate public
school setting in the local school division and providing the identified
resources, services, and supports in such public school setting; and (iii)
recommend a process for redirecting federal, state, and local funds, including
funds provided pursuant to the Children's Services Act, provided for the
education of each such student to the local school division for the purpose of
providing the identified resources, services, and supports in the appropriate
public school setting. The bill requires the Department of Education to make a
report to the Governor, the Senate Committees on Education and Health and
Finance, and the House Committees on Education and Appropriations on the
findings of the pilot program after two and four years. The bill was recommended for reporting 8-0.
HB1557 (Fowler) would eliminate the annual salary limits for
appointed school board members and permits any appointed school board to pay
each of its members an annual salary that is consistent with the salary
procedures and no more than the salary limits provided for local governments in
Article 1.1 (§ 15.2-1414.1 et seq.) of Chapter 14 of Title 15.2 (Counties,
Cities and Towns) or as provided by charter.
The bill was recommended to report and rerefer to Appropriations 7-1.
HB145 (Simon) would require the Department of Education to
develop and make available to each school board, no later than December 31,
2020, model policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public
elementary and secondary schools that address common issues regarding
transgender students in accordance with evidence-based best practices and
include information, guidance, procedures, and standards relating to (i)
compliance with applicable nondiscrimination laws; (ii) maintenance of a safe
and supportive learning environment free from discrimination and harassment for
all students; (iii) prevention of and response to bullying and harassment; (iv)
maintenance of student records; (v) identification of students; (vi) protection
of student privacy and the confidentiality of sensitive information; (vii)
enforcement of sex-based dress codes; and (viii) student participation in
sex-specific school activities, events, and athletics and use of school
facilities. The bill requires each school board to adopt, no later than the
beginning of the 2021–2022 school year, policies that are consistent with but
may be more comprehensive than such model policies developed by the Department
of Education. The bill was recommended
for reporting 6-2.
HB134 (Runion) would require the Department of Education to
establish guidelines for individualized education program (IEP) teams to
utilize when developing IEPs for children with disabilities to ensure that IEP
teams consider the need for age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate
instruction related to sexual health, self-restraint, self-protection, respect
for personal privacy, and personal boundaries of others. The bill requires each
local school board, in developing IEPs for children with disabilities, in
addition to any other requirements established by the Board, to ensure that IEP
teams consider such guidelines. The bill
was recommended for reporting 8-4.
HB40 (Samirah) would have , in its original form, require
the Board of Education to amend its regulations to require that each public
school create and maintain a mental health break space within the public school
building. The bill requires the Board of Education to collaborate with the
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in the creation of
regulations for the mental health break spaces.
The bill was amended to require that the Board of Education develop guidelines
for the creation and maintenance of mental health break spaces. The amended bill failed to report on a vote
of 5-3, then the subcommittee recommended that the bill be carried over to
2021.
