The first meeting of the Senate Education & Health Committee for the 2021 session of the Virginia General Assembly convened today. A link to the committee's docket can be viewed by clicking here. During today's hearing, the committee made the following decisions regarding legislation on its docket:
SB 1106 (Stanley) Creates the Public School Assistance Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Education, for the purpose of providing grants to school boards to be used solely for the purpose of repairing or replacing the roofs of public elementary and secondary school buildings in the local school division. The bill permits any school board in the Commonwealth to apply for Program grants but requires the Department of Education to give priority in the award of grants to school boards that demonstrate the greatest need based on the condition of existing school building roofs and the ability to pay for the repair or replacement of such roofs. The legislation was Reported and Referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on a 12-0 vote.
SB 1132 (Sueterlein) 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 Passed By for the Day.
SB 1175 (Ruff) 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 to the full Senate on a 14-0 vote.
SB 1190 (Kiggans) Directs the Board of Education to include advanced directive education in its curriculum framework for the Health Standards of Learning for high school students. The bill was Reported to the full Senate on a 11-3 vote.
SB 1191 (Kiggans) Excludes school nurse positions from requirements for student support positions and instead requires each local school board to employ at least one full-time equivalent school nurse position in each elementary school, middle school, and high school in the local school division. The bill also requires the Department of Education to establish and administer a waiver process for local school boards for which the requirements of the bill create an undue hardship. The bill was Reported and Referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on 12-1-1vote.
SB 1196 (Locke) 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 was Reported and Referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on a 9-4-1 vote.
