The House Education PreK-12 Subcommittee met virtually on Friday January 15, 2021 and acted on the following pieces of legislation:
HB 1742 (Webert) Requires, in the event that any school board does not provide the option of in-person instruction as the sole method of instruction for any enrolled student, the parent of any such student who withdraws his child from attendance to receive, upon request, an education voucher in an amount equal to a prorated share of the applicable Standards of Quality per-pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the school division, including the per-pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per-pupil share of special education funding for which the child is eligible, to cover the expenses of providing in-person instruction in an alternative setting. The bill permits the Department of Education to establish rules, regulations, or procedures for the issuance of such education vouchers. The bill contains an emergency clause. The bill failed to report on a 3-5 vote of the subcommittee.
HB 1770 (Freitas) Permits any school division to establish a program to create savings accounts for students to be used for alternative educational programs. The bill requires the Department of Education to establish policies and procedures under which the parent of each student may use such funds on public or private educational programs. The bill failed to report on a 2-6 vote of the subcommittee.
HB 1776 (Ward) Requires the Board of Education to grant a two-year extension of the renewable license of any public school teacher whose license expires in 2021 in order to provide the teacher with sufficient additional time to complete the requirements for re-licensure. The bill was reported as amended with a recommendation that the full House Education Committee refer the legislation to the House Appropriations Committee by a 8-0 vote of the subcommittee.
HB 1790 (McNamara) Provides that when severe weather conditions or other emergency situations have resulted in the closing of any school in a school division for in-person instruction, the school division may declare an unscheduled remote learning day whereby the school provides synchronous or asynchronous instruction, or some combination thereof, to all students in the school in lieu of in-person instruction without a reduction in the amount paid by the Commonwealth from the Basic School Aid Fund, provided that the school division has established an unscheduled remote learning day plan that ensures that every student is provided instruction and services on such unscheduled remote learning day that are comparable in quality to the instruction and services provided to learners on any other remote learning day. The bill was reported on a 8-0 vote of the subcommittee.
HB 1798 (Tyler) Removes the Brunswick County school board from the list of approved member salaries for appointed school boards. The Brunswick County school board is currently an elected school board. The bill was reported on a 9-0 vote of the subcommittee.
HB 1823 (Askew) Requires each building that was built before 2015 and that houses any public school classroom for students, licensed child day program, or other program that serves preschool-age children to be equipped with at least one carbon monoxide detector. The bill reported on a 7-1 vote of the subcommittee.
HB 1904 (Jenkins) The bill requires teacher, principal, and division superintendent evaluations to include an evaluation of cultural competency. The bill requires every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license from the Board of Education (i) to complete instruction or training in cultural competency and (ii) with an endorsement in history and social sciences to complete instruction in African American history, as prescribed by the Board. The bill also requires each school board to adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and any other school board employee holding a license issued by the Board to complete cultural competency training, in accordance with guidance issued by the Board, at least every two years. The bill reported on a 6-2 vote of the subcommittee.
HB 1915 (Mugler) Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate that is at or above the national average. Under current law, compensation at such rate is aspirational. The bill requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficient to fund a 4.5 percent annual increase for public school teacher salaries, effective from the 2022-23 school year through the 2026-27 school year. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022. The bill reported on a 6-2 vote of the subcommittee.
HB 1940 (Rasoul) Requires, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, any middle school or high school student who is absent from school to engage in a civic or political event to be granted an excused absence. The bill reported on a 5-3 vote of the subcommittee.
