The Conference Committee Report for the biennium budget, SB 1100 (Howell) and HB 1800 (Torian), was released yesterday. The VSBA Government Relations team has analyzed the report and is providing you the selected budget items for your review. You may view the entire budget Conference Report by clicking here.
Item 137#4c- This amendment directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene a workgroup to make recommendations to the General Assembly on the required qualifications and training for school personnel providing health services in schools.
Item 139#1c- This amendment provides $8.8 million the second year from federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to implement the provisions of House Bill 2027 and Senate Bill 1357 to restructure Standards of Learning assessments for mathematics and reading in grades 3-8 from a single end-of-year assessment to a growth assessment system that measures student progress above, at, and below grade level.
Item 141#3c- This amendment provides $7.0 million the second year from federal Governor's Education Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 116-260) to support the continued expansion of Virtual Virginia's learning management system and additional free course enrollment slots during the 2021-22 school year.
Item 142#1c- This amendment provides $150,000 the second year from the general fund as a one-time appropriation to develop a training module for teachers seeking to renew their teaching license on the instruction of students with disabilities pursuant to provisions included in House Bill 2299 and Senate Bill 1288. This amendment implements recommendation 16 from the 2020 JLARC report on "K-12 Special Education in Virginia".
Item 145#2c- This amendment funds the state's share of three specialized student support positions per 1,000 students. Specialized student support positions, consistent with Senate Bill 1257, include school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions.
Item 145#8c- This amendment provides $40.0 million from the Lottery Proceeds Fund the first year to support one-time programs and initiatives to address learning loss experienced by students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No local match is required, and unexpended funds from the first year shall remain available in the second year.
Item 145#9c- This amendment supplants $36.0 million the first year and $40.0 million the second year from the general fund provided for No Loss Payments with gray machine revenues.
Item 145#10c- This amendment provides $120,000 the second year from the general fund to support the purchase of albuterol and spacers for public schools in Virginia. House Bill 2019 will require undesignated stock albuterol inhalers to be maintained in every public school.
Item 145#11c- This amendment provides $233.7 million the second year from the general fund and $759,098 the second year from the Lottery Proceeds fund to provide a 5.0 percent salary increase, effective July 1, 2021. This represents an addition of $153.6 million the second year, to the convert the 2.0 percent bonus payment that was proposed in the budget as introduced to a 5.0 percent salary increase. To access these funds, each school division must provide at least an average 2.0 percent pay increase during the 2020-22 biennium, and funding provided is prorated for school divisions providing between 2.0 percent and 5.0 percent pay increases over the biennium.
Item 145#13c- This amendment adds $20.1 million the first year and $9.9 million the second year from the general fund to ensure 40 percent of Lottery Proceeds are dedicated to Infrastructure and Operations Per Pupil Payments, formerly known as Supplemental Lottery Per Pupil Allocations. The additional funding increases these Per Pupil Payments by approximately $30 per pupil the first year and $15 per pupil the second year.
Item 145#18c- This amendment provides an additional $40.0 million from the general fund in fiscal year 2021 and $45.7 million from the general fund in fiscal year 2022 based on the revised sales tax distributions in the midsession reforecast. This increases the estimated sales tax dedicated to K-12 by $90.4 million in fiscal year 2021 and $103.2 million in fiscal year 2022, reducing the state's share of Basic Aid payments by $50.4 million from the general fund in fiscal year 2021 and $57.5 million in fiscal year 2022. Corresponding amendments reduce the COVID-19 Local Relief Payments and adjust the No Loss Payments as a result of this action.
Item 145#19c- This amendment reduces the COVID-19 Local Relief Payments by $40.0 million from the general fund the first year based on the net impact of the midsession sales tax reforecast. These payments were provided in Chapter 56, 2020 Special Session I Acts of Assembly to eliminate the local impact from the reduction of sales tax revenues. Due to the increase in sales tax estimates, the remaining COVID-19 Local Relief Payments total $12.9 million the first year from the general fund.
Item 145#20c- This amendment adjusts the funding for No Loss Payments as proposed in the introduced budget, based upon other actions, including the sales tax update, increased Infrastructure and Operations Per Pupil Payments, and technical updates.
Item 145#21c- This amendment adjusts the Lottery Proceeds forecast to $708.2 million the first year, representing an increase of $23.2 million.
Item 146#1c- This amendment provides one additional year of education for students with disabilities who were 19 years of age or older and enrolled during the 2020-21 school year. The amendment provides $6.5 million the second year from federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to address the state share of per-pupil costs and costs that do not qualify under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Item 146#2c- This amendment appropriates $30.0 million the second year from federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds authorized in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to provide grants to address COVID-19 related learning loss and other student support needs.
