The House Education Committee met this morning to consider legislation recommended from the PreK-12 and SOL/SOQ Education Subcommittees. The committee took action on the following pieces of legislation.
HB 1885 (Simonds) Requires the Department of Education to perform a comprehensive review of the ongoing implementation of mandatory computer science standards in elementary schools and middle schools and the alignment of middle school and high school computer science courses and course pathways. The bill requires such review to include recommendations for implementation processes at the local level, profiles of implementation processes that have been successful for school divisions, a description of opportunities for enhanced collaboration with relevant computer science stakeholders to expand computer science education opportunities for all students in the Commonwealth and for relevant professional development for teachers, and examining methods of data collection annually from local school divisions pertaining to computer science implementation. The bill requires the Department of Education to prepare a report on its comprehensive review and provide such report to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health, the Secretary of Education, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction no later than November 1, 2021. The bill reported 21-0.
HB 2117 (Van Valkenberg) Requires that funds expended for special education services under the Children's Services Act only be expended on educational programs that are licensed by the Department of Education. The bill adds children and youth previously placed in approved private school educational programs for at least six months, who will receive transitional services in a public school setting for no longer than 12 months, to the target population for eligibility for the state pool of funds. The bill requires the Secretary of Education, in conjunction with the Office of Children's Services and the Department of Education, to establish a work group (the Work Group) with appropriate stakeholders to develop a detailed plan to direct the transfer of Children's Services Act funds currently reserved for children requiring an educational placement in a private special education day school or residential facility to the Department of Education and to develop a standardized reporting process, template, and reporting requirement for private special education day school tuition rates to ensure that tuition rates can be accurately compared across schools and over time. The bill requires that the Work Group submit its plan and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by November 1, 2021. The bill reported with a substitute and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 19-2.
HB 2211 (Plum) Requires individualized education program teams to identify any children with disabilities who may need additional services outside of the school setting and refer them to the local family assessment and planning team. The bill was incorporated in HB 2117.
HB 2238 (Kory) Directs the Board of Education to require, pursuant to regulation, any private school for students with disabilities that is licensed by the Board, as a condition for renewal of its initial license to operate, to obtain accreditation from an accrediting agency recognized by the Virginia Council for Private Education within three years of the issuance of its initial triennial license by the Board. The bill provides that, notwithstanding the foregoing requirement, any private school for students with disabilities that is licensed to operate by the Board as of July 1, 2021, shall obtain accreditation from an accrediting agency recognized by the Virginia Council for Private Education no later than July 1, 2024. The bill reported 20-1.
HB 2299 (Carr) Requires the Department of Education to (i) provide training and guidance documents to local school divisions on the development of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for children with disabilities, (ii) develop a training module for each individual who participates in an IEP meeting, with the exception of parents, (iii) annually conduct structured reviews of a sample of IEPs from a sufficiently large sample of local school divisions to verify that the IEPs are in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations and are of high quality, (iv) develop and maintain a statewide plan for improving (a) its ongoing oversight of local practices related to transition planning and services for children with disabilities and (b) technical assistance and guidance provided for postsecondary transition planning and services for children with disabilities, (v) develop and maintain a statewide strategic plan for recruiting and retaining special education teachers, and (vi) (a) conduct a one-time targeted review of the transition sections of a random sample of students' IEPs in each school division; (b) communicate its findings to each local school division, school board, and local special education advisory committee; and (c) ensure that local school divisions correct any IEPs that are found to be out of compliance no later than the end of the 2021-22 school year. The bill reported and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 21-0.
HB 2305 (Tyler) Requires the Board of Education to issue guidance on the governance of academic year Governor's Schools, including communication and outreach practices, admissions policies, and guidelines on diversity, equity, and inclusion training. The bill requires such guidance to focus on the importance of increasing access to Governor's Schools for historically underserved students and to include best practices on (i) conducting information sessions about the school and the availability of gifted, advanced, and specialty education program opportunities for feeder public middle schools; (ii) strengthening the student pipeline in feeder public middle schools, prioritizing the most underserved and underrepresented students and public middle schools; and (iii) conducting programs related to and evaluations of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The bill requires the Board of Education, in developing such guidance, to collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including local school boards, Regional Governor's School boards, and Governor's School directors. The bill reported 14-7.
HB 2176 (Torian) Defines, for the purposes of mandatory school board policies relating to abusive work environments, the terms "abusive conduct," "abusive work environment," "physical harm," and "psychological harm." The bill reported with amendment 12-9.
