The SOL and SOQ Subcommittee of the House Education Committee
met and considered the following bills this morning.
HB223 (McNamara) would require the Department of Education
to develop and report to the Board of Education, the Governor, and the Chairmen
of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and
Health no later than July 1, 2021, recommendations for improving civic
education for each public elementary and secondary school student in the
Commonwealth, including strategies for (i) expanding their level of civic
knowledge, (ii) increasing their respect for the political history of the
Commonwealth and the United States, (iii) mitigating the politically polarizing
effects that the mainstream media can have on such students, and (iv) helping
such students become civically and politically engaged in a rational and civil
manner. The bill failed to report on a
vote of 3-5.
HB516 (Bulova) would permit high school students to fulfill
a certain high school graduation course credit requirement by completing a dual
enrollment course in lieu of the currently required Advanced Placement,
International Baccalaureate, or honors course or Board of Education-approved
career and technical education credential.
The bill was amended in subcommittee and the substitute was recommended
for reporting 7-0.
HB634 (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 the Virginia Studies
and Civics and Economics Standards of Learning assessments with
performance-based assessments. The bill requires any such application to (i)
demonstrate that the proposed performance-based assessment requires that
students demonstrate the knowledge and skills required by the relevant
Standards of Learning and that students demonstrate one or more of the skills
and qualities of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication,
or citizenship and (ii) provide evidence of the local school board's capacity
to administer and score performance-based assessments. The subcommittee recommended that the bill be
reported and rereferred to Appropriations 4-3.
HB683 (LaRock) would prohibit any public elementary or
secondary school student from participating in any family life education
program without the prior written consent of his parent. The bill was tabled 5-3.
HB753 (Rasoul) would requires the Board of Education, no
later than November 1, 2020, to include social-emotional learning and
development in the Standards of Learning and requires each local school board
to ensure that all curricula and instruction aligns with such Standards of
Learning effective starting with the 2021-2022 school year. The bill was amended in subcommittee to
require VDOE to develop a definition of social-emotional learning and develop
guidance standards for social-emotional learning for all public students to be
made available to each school division.
The amended bill was recommended for reporting 8-0.
HB958 (Ayala) would require the Secretary of Education to
establish a 21-member College and Career Readiness Steering Committee to (i)
develop and oversee implementation of a strategic plan for ensuring that all
students in the Commonwealth, and particularly subgroups of students who have
been historically underserved, graduate from high school (a) meeting the
requirements for an advanced studies diploma, (b) having had the opportunity to
participate and succeed in pathways that integrate rigorous academic
instruction aligned with the Standards of Learning, including career and
technical education, work-based learning, wraparound services, and
opportunities to earn credit for postsecondary education while enrolled in high
school, and (c) having had a high school experience that is aligned with
expectations for postsecondary education and employer demand and (ii) provide
certain recommendations, guidance, leadership, goals, and assistance relating
to the implementation of such strategic plan.
The subcommittee recommended that the bill be continued to 2021.
HB1089 (Miyares) would require each public elementary school
principal to ensure that instruction on the importance of the success sequence,
which the bill defines as the sequential act of graduating from high school,
securing full-time employment, and marrying before having children and the
impact that has on poverty in the United States, is provided at least annually
to each student at the grade level that the principal deems appropriate. The
bill permits such instruction to be incorporated into existing curricula and to
be delivered in collaboration with any other entity or individual. The bill fail on a vote of 2-4.
HB1394 (Leftwich) would require the summary of each family
life education program that is provided to the parents of students who
participate in such program to include a complete description of the process
for parental review of program materials. The bill requires each local school board
to post for public viewing on the local school division's official website each
such summary, a complete copy of all printed family life education program
materials, and a description of all family life education program audio-visual
materials. The bill requires each local school board to implement the foregoing
provisions no later than the start of the 2020-2021 school year. The bill was amended in subcommittee to
clarify that only non-copyrighted materials are required to be posted. The amended bill was recommended for
reporting on a vote of 4-2.
