Below is a summary of legislation that passed during the 2021 session of the General Assembly. This is not an exhaustive list of all education-related legislation but is an attempt to cover the most important pieces of passed legislation. Except where noted otherwise, this legislation awaits action by the Governor.
School Reopening
SB 1303 (Dunnavant) Requires each school board to offer in-person instruction to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public elementary and secondary school for at least the minimum number of required instructional hours and to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public school-based early childhood care and education program for the entirety of the instructional time provided pursuant to such program. The bill contains certain exceptions to the abovementioned requirement. The bill requires each school board to provide such in-person instruction in a manner in which it adheres, to the maximum extent practicable, to any currently applicable mitigation strategies for early childhood care and education programs and elementary and secondary schools to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 that have been provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bill requires the Department of Education to establish benchmarks for successful virtual learning and guidelines for providing interventions to students who fail to meet such benchmarks and for transitioning such students back to in-person instruction. The bill also requires all teachers and school staff to be offered access to receive an approved COVID-19 vaccination through their relevant local health district. The bill has an expiration date of August 1, 2022.
Mandates
SB 1322 (DeSteph) Provides for the submission and utilization of seizure management and action plans for students with a diagnosed seizure disorder. The bill requires each such seizure management and action plan to state that such plan is separate from any individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 Plan that is in place for the student and nothing in such plan shall be construed to abrogate any provision of any IEP or Section 504 Plan that is in place for the student. The bill requires that school nurses and certain school division employees biennially complete Board of Education-approved training in the treatment of students with seizure disorders. The bill provides immunity from civil liability for acts or omissions related to providing for the care of a student under a seizure management and action plan. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
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.
HB 2019 (McQuinn) Requires each local school board to adopt and implement policies for the possession and administration of undesignated stock albuterol inhalers and valved holding chambers in every public school in the local school division, to be administered by any school nurse, employee of the school board, employee of a local governing body, or employee of a local health department who is authorized by the local health director and trained in the administration of albuterol inhalers and valved holding chambers for any student believed in good faith to be in need of such medication. The bill requires the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Health, to develop and implement policies for the administration of stock albuterol in public schools. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.
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 clarifies that the requirement to adopt such policies shall not be construed to limit a school board's authority to adopt policies to prohibit any other type of workplace conduct as the school board deems necessary.
Licensure and Evaluation
SB 1196 (Locke)/ HB 1904 (Jenkins) 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. This bill was signed by the Governor with an effective date of July 1, 2021.
HB 1776 (Ward) Requires the Board of Education to grant a two-year extension of the license of any individual licensed by the Board whose license expires on June 30, 2021, in order to provide the individual with sufficient additional time to complete the requirements for licensure.
Anti-Discrimination
HB 1848 (Sickles) Adds discrimination on the basis of disability as an unlawful discriminatory practice under the Virginia Human Rights Act. The bill also requires employers, defined in the bill, to make reasonable accommodation to the known physical and mental impairments of an otherwise qualified person with a disability, if necessary to assist such person in performing a particular job, unless the employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer. The bill also prohibits employers from taking any adverse action against an employee who requests or uses a reasonable accommodation, from denying employment or promotion opportunities to an otherwise qualified applicant or employee because such employer will be required to make reasonable accommodation to the applicant or employee, or from requiring an employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided to the known limitations related to the disability.
Broadband
SB 1225 (Boysko) Authorizes school boards to appropriate funds for the purposes of promoting, facilitating, and encouraging the expansion and operation of broadband services for educational purposes. The bill authorizes school boards to partner with private broadband service providers to promote, implement, and subsidize broadband for educational purposes to the households of students who would qualify for (i) a child nutrition program or (ii) any other program recognized or adopted by the local school board as a measuring standard to identify at-risk students.
SB 1334 (Edwards)/ HB 1923 (Alaya) Expands the existing broadband pilot program to allow for the participation of municipalities and government-owned broadband authorities in order to provide broadband service to unserved areas of the Commonwealth.
SB 1413 (Boysko)/ HB 2304 (Tyler) Makes permanent the pilot program under which a Phase I or Phase II electric utility is permitted to petition the State Corporation Commission to provide broadband capacity to unserved areas of the Commonwealth. The bill expands the program to allow for the participation of municipalities and government-owned broadband authorities. The bill provides that investor-owned electric utilities may recover costs of and revenue generated from providing broadband capacity that serves as an electric grid transformation project in areas unserved by broadband, as defined in the bill. The bill also consolidates the State Corporation Commission petition approval process into one hearing.
FOIA
HB 1931 (Levine) Authorizes a public body to conduct through electronic communication means a meeting for which, on or before the day of the meeting, a member of the public body holding the meeting notifies the chair that such member is unable to attend the meeting due to a family member's medical condition that requires the member to provide care for such family member, thereby preventing the member's physical attendance. The bill also clarifies that participation in an electronic meeting by a member of a public body due to the inability to attend because of a personal matter is limited each calendar year to two such meetings, which is current law, or 25 percent of the meetings held that calendar year rounded up to the next whole number, whichever is greater. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council. This bill was signed by the Governor with an effective date of July 1, 2021.
HB 2025 (Gooditis) Provides that personal contact information provided to a public body or any of its members for the purpose of receiving electronic communications from the public body or any of its members is excluded from the mandatory disclosure provisions of FOIA, unless the recipient of such electronic communications indicates his approval for the public body to disclose such information. Currently, the law provides protections for personal contact information provided to a public body, not to its members; only applies to electronic mail; and requires the electronic mail recipient to request the public body not to disclose his personal contact information in order for the information to be exempt from mandatory disclosure. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council.
Election Requirements
SB 1157 (Spruill) Shifts all municipal elections for city and town council and school board from May to November, beginning with elections held after January 1, 2022.
HB 2198 (Convirs-Fowler) Provides that in a locality that imposes district-based or ward-based residency requirements for members of the governing body or school board, the member elected from each district or ward is to be elected by the qualified voters of that district or ward and not by the locality at large. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2022.
Inclement Weather
SB 1132 (Suetterlein)/ 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 instruction and student services, consistent with guidelines established by the Department of Education to ensure the equitable provision of such services, without a reduction in the amount paid by the Commonwealth from the Basic School Aid Fund. The bill prohibits any school division from claiming more than 10 unscheduled remote learning days in a school year unless the Superintendent of Public Instruction grants an extension. This bill was signed by the Governor with an effective date of July 1, 2021.
School Safety
HB 1998 (Murphy) Reduces from three to two the minimum number of mandatory annual lock-down drills in each public elementary and secondary school in the Commonwealth. This bill was signed by the Governor with an effective date of July 1, 2021.
School Meals
HB 2013 (Roem) Requires each school board to adopt a policy that prohibits the board from filing a lawsuit against a student or the student's parent because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt.
HB 2135 (Roem) Requires each school board that governs a local school division that has a student population that qualifies for free and reduced-price meals at a minimum percentage of 50 percent in the prior school year and simultaneously offers educational or enrichment activities and is consequently eligible to participate in the Afterschool Meal Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Child and Adult Care Food Program to apply to the Department of Education to participate in the Afterschool Meal Program for each such school to subsequently and simultaneously serve federally reimbursable meals and offer an afterschool education or enrichment program, pursuant to FNS guidelines and state health and safety standards. The bill requires the Department of Education to administer the Afterschool Meal Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The bill provides that the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall issue a waiver to this requirement upon determination that participation is not financially viable for a school or group of schools. The bill requires the Department of Education to develop a process and criteria for evaluating such waivers. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.
Special Education
SB 1288 (Dunnavant)/ HB 2299 (Carr) Requires the Department of Education and the Board of Education to develop new policies and procedures and effect numerous modifications to existing policies and procedures to improve the administration and oversight of special education in the Commonwealth.
HB 2314 (Mugler) Requires the Board of Education to amend a certain regulation relating to special education to remove the word "component" following the word "evaluation," thereby ensuring compliance with the relevant federal regulation and clarifying that the parent of a child with a disability has the right to an independent educational evaluation at public expense if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the local educational agency.
HB 2316 (Mundon King) Requires the Department of Education to update its special education eligibility worksheets as necessary, including clarifying any ambiguity or vagueness in eligibility criteria, and provide to each local school division the appropriate level of guidance on eligibility determinations for special education and related services. The bill requires the Board of Education to amend its regulations to ensure that each education preparation program graduate in a K-12 general education endorsement area demonstrates proficiency in understanding the role of general education teachers on the individualized education program (IEP) team.
SOQ/SOL
SB 1257 (McClellan) The bill modifies a school personnel requirement in Standard 2 of the Standards of Quality. It requires each school board to provide at least three specialized student support positions, including school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students.
SB 1357 (Dunnavant)/ HB 2027 (Coyner) Requires the Board of Education to establish, in lieu of a one-time end-of-year assessment and for the purpose of providing measures of individual student growth over the course of the school year, a through-year growth assessment system, aligned with the Standards of Learning, for the administration of reading and mathematics assessments in grades three through eight. The bill requires such through-year growth assessment system to include at least one beginning-of-year, one mid-year, and one end-of-year assessment in order to provide individual student growth scores over the course of the school year, provided that the total time scheduled for taking all such assessments shall not exceed 150 percent of the time scheduled for taking a single end-of-year proficiency assessment. The bill requires the Department of Education to ensure adequate training for teachers and principals on how to interpret and use student growth data from such assessments to improve reading and mathematics instruction in grades three through eight throughout the school year. The bill provides that with such funds and content as are available for such purpose, such through-year growth assessment system shall provide accurate measurement of a student's performance, through computer adaptive technology, using test items at, below, and above the student's grade level as necessary. The bill requires full implementation of such system no later than the 2022–2023 school year and partial implementation during the 2021–2022 school year consisting of one beginning-of-year assessment and one end-of-year assessment.
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. This bill has been signed by the Governor with an effective date of July 1, 2021.
HB 1905 (Cole, J.) Adds to objectives developed and approved by the Board of Education for economics education and financial literacy at the middle and high school levels the implications of various employment arrangements with regard to benefits, protections, and long-term financial sustainability. Employment arrangements is defined in the bill as full-time employment, part-time employment, independent contract work, gig work, piece work, contingent work, day labor work, freelance work, and 1099 work.
Students
SB 1169 (Norment)/HB 1918 (Mugler) Requires (i) driver education programs to include instruction on the dangers of distracted driving and speeding and (ii) a student to submit a standard application form developed by the Department of Education by which the student provides evidence that he possesses a valid driver's license or driver privilege card before being issued a pass to park a vehicle on high school property.
SB 1439 (McClellan)/ HB 1940 (Rasoul) Provides that, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, each school board (i) shall permit one school day-long excused absence per school year for any middle school or high school student in the local school division who is absent from school to engage in a civic event and (ii) may permit additional excused absences for such students who are absent for such purposes. The bill also provides that local school boards may require that the student provide advance notice of the intended absence and require that the student provide documentation of participation in a civic event.
HB 1865 (Delaney) Requires reading intervention services for students in kindergarten through grade three who demonstrate deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading test or any reading diagnostic test that meets criteria established by the Department of Education to be evidence-based, including services that are grounded in the science of reading, and include explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction, to include phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, vocabulary development, and text comprehension as appropriate based on the student's demonstrated reading deficiencies. The bill requires the parent of each student who receives such reading intervention services to be notified before the services begin and the progress of each such student to be monitored throughout the provision of services.
HB 2119 (Keam) Exempts students who are (i) at least 18 years old, (ii) emancipated minors, or (iii) unaccompanied minors who are not in the physical custody of their parent or guardian from the requirement to participate in the parent/student component of a school's driver education program. This bill was signed by the Governor with an effective date of July 1, ,2021.
Other
SB 1307 (Dunnavant) Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan for medical assistance services to provide for payment of medical assistance services delivered to Medicaid-eligible students when such services qualify for reimbursement by the Virginia Medicaid program and may be provided by school divisions, regardless of whether the student receiving care has an individualized education program or whether the health care service is included in a student's individualized education program. The bill specifies that such services shall include those covered under the state plan for medical assistance services or by the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment benefit as specified in § 1905(r) of the federal Social Security Act, and shall include a provision for payment of medical assistance for health care services provided through telemedicine services. The bill also requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to provide technical assistance to the Department of Education and local school divisions to facilitate their understanding of and compliance with federal ordering, referring, and prescribing provider screening and enrollment requirements.
SB 1313 (Mason)/ HB 2117 (Van Valkenburg) Requires that funds expended for private special education services under the Children's Services Act only be expended on educational programs that are licensed by the Board of Education or an equivalent out-of-state licensing agency. The bill also provides that as of July 1, 2022, such funds may only be expended for programs that the Office of Children's Services certify as having reported their tuition rates.
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 to the target population for eligibility
for the state pool of funds. The bill provides that state funds shall be allocated
for no longer than 12 months for transitional services.
The bill
requires the Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Resources, in
conjunction with the Office of Children's Services and the Department of
Education, to establish a 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, as
well as several other topics. 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, as well as a final plan and recommendations by November 1, 2022.
SB 1314 (Hashmi) Directs the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to establish an Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment (the Office) to coordinate data analysis on workforce and higher education alignment and translate data to partners. The Office shall provide a unified, consistent source of information or analysis for policy development and implementation related to talent development and shall partner with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, institutions of higher education, the Virginia Department of Education, the Virginia Employment Commission, GO Virginia, and other relevant entities to offer resources and expertise related to education and labor market alignment.
HB 1827 (Austin) Requires the nine-member Board of Education to include at least five members, appointed by the Governor, who each reside in different superintendent's regions in the Commonwealth.
HB 1866 (Delaney) Permits court-appointed special advocates to participate in and verbally share information with family partnership meetings and in meetings of family assessment and planning teams, multidisciplinary child sexual abuse response teams, individualized education program teams, and multidisciplinary teams related to child abuse.
HB 2058 (Simonds) Creates the Virginia Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Advisory Board to create a unified vision regarding STEM education initiatives, language, and measures of success to promote a culture of collaboration for STEM programming in the Commonwealth. The Board shall develop the infrastructure for creating STEM Regional Hubs and naming STEM Champions in communities across the Commonwealth. Additionally, the Board shall report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on STEM challenges, goals, and successes across the Commonwealth.
Defeated Legislation
SB 1191 (Kiggans) Would have required 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 Passed by Indefinitely by a 17-0 vote of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
SB 1317 (Dunnavant) Would have required all local school boards to establish and implement policies to provide for the open enrollment to any school of any student who is eligible to receive free or reduced lunch upon the request of a parent or guardian, subject to conditions and limitations established by the local school board. The bill was defeated on the Senate Floor 15-24.
SB 1358 (Hashmi)/ HB 1785 (Ward) Would have required the Safety and Health Codes Board to adopt regulations establishing standards designed to protect employees from heat illness, defined in the bill. The measure authorizes an employee to bring an action based on a violation of such standards in which injunctive relief and monetary damages may be sought. The bills were stricken at the request of the Patrons.
SB 1380 (Lucas) Authorizes electric utilities to partner with school divisions to implement projects designed to encourage the proliferation of school buses that are fueled in whole or in part by electricity, along with associated charging and other infrastructure, for the purpose of transporting students and that may also serve as electric grid stabilization or peak-shaving resources. The bill provides that if an electric school bus project meets the requirements in the bill, then it is in the public interest and may constitute an energy storage resource. The bill requires an electric school bus project and its corresponding agreement to include a provision to compensate a participating school division for the use of the school bus battery by the electric utility as a grid stabilizing or peak-shaving resource and a provision that the electric school buses shall be titled under the participating school division, but the utility shall own the associated batteries and charging stations. The bill also provides a tax exemption for electric school buses and associated charging and other infrastructure that is related or incidental to an authorized electric school bus project. The Second Conference Report was rejected by the House of Delegates by a vote of 41-48.
SB 1401 (Pillion)/ HB 2094 (O’Quinn) Would have reduced the total number and type of required Standards of Learning assessments to the minimum requirements established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended. The bills Failed to Report from the House Education SOL/SOQ Subcommittee on a 4-4 vote.
HB 1736 (Adams, D.) Prohibits any individual who provides nursing services in a public elementary or secondary school as a school board employee or through a contract with the local health department from using the title of school nurse unless such individual is a registered nurse who possesses an active license to practice in the Commonwealth. The bill Failed to Report from the Senate Education and Health Committee on a vote of 6-8.
HB 1742 (Webert) Would have required 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 failed to report from the House Education PreK-12 Subcommittee on a vote of 3-5.
HB 1755 (Carter) Would have repealed the provisions of the Code of Virginia that, among other things, prohibit any agreement or combination between an employer and a labor union or labor organization whereby (i) nonmembers of the union or organization are denied the right to work for the employer, (ii) membership in the union or organization is made a condition of employment or continuation of employment by such employer, or (iii) the union or organization acquires an employment monopoly in any such enterprise. A discharge petition failed to Pass by a vote of 83-13 in the House of Delegates.
HB 1770 (Freitas) Would have permitted 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 from the House Education PreK-12 Subcommittee on a 2-6 vote.
HB 1780 (Carter) Would have exempted employees of a local school board from the prohibition on striking, and from termination of employment for striking by public employees. The bill was left in the House Labor and Commerce Committee.
HB 1791 (McNamara) Would have provided that if any person commits a simple assault or assault and battery against another knowing or having reason to know that such other person is a sports official who is (i) engaged in the performance of his duties as such during a sports event or (ii) on the premises where a sports event is held immediately preceding or following a sports event, such person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also provides that the sentence of such person, upon conviction, shall include a mandatory minimum fine of $500 and such person shall be prohibited from coming within 50 feet of the premises where any sports event is held in the Commonwealth an hour prior to the beginning of the sports event, during the sports event, and an hour following the conclusion of the sports event for one year. The bill also makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to orally make a threat to kill or do bodily injury to any sports official who is engaged in the performance of his duties as such during a sports event or on the premises where a sports event is held immediately preceding or following the sports event. The bill defines "sports event" and "sports official." The bill was Laid on the Table in the House Courts of Justice Criminal Subcommittee by a vote of 8-0.
HB 1826 (Austin) Would have required the nine-member Board of Education
to include at least one member with experience or expertise in local government
leadership or policymaking, at least one member with experience or expertise in
career and technical education, and at least one member with experience or
expertise in early childhood education, all of whom are appointed by the
Governor. The bill failed to report from the House Education SOL/SOQ
Subcommittee on a 3-5 vote.
HB 1915 (Mugler) Would have required 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 was left in the House Appropriations Committee.
HB 2000 (Roem) Would have prohibited a public body from charging a requester for any costs incurred during the first two hours spent accessing or searching for requested records when such requester has made four or fewer individual records requests to such public body within 31 consecutive days. The bill provides that for any additional time spent accessing or searching for such records, or when such requester makes five or more individual records requests to such public body within any 31-consecutive-day period, the public body shall not charge an hourly rate for accessing or searching for the records exceeding the lesser of the hourly rate of pay of the lowest-paid individual capable of fulfilling the request or $33 per hour. The bill also requires public bodies to post on their website or otherwise publish a written policy (a) explaining how the public body assesses charges for accessing or searching for requested records and (b) noting the current fee charged, if any, by the public body for accessing and searching for the requested records. The bill was Tabled in the House Committee on General Laws 22-0.
HB 2090 (Cox) Would have established the Reimbursement for Education Access Decisions (READ) Fund (the Fund); permits any school board to establish a READ program to provide, during the state of emergency declared by the Governor in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, funds to any parent or legal guardian who meets compulsory attendance requirements by having his child taught by a tutor or teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education and approved by the division superintendent in lieu of enrollment in the local school division to cover certain costs of such education; and permits any such school board to apply to the Department of Education for an award from the Fund to reimburse the school board for half of the cost of making reimbursements to parents pursuant to its READ program. The bill provides that the school board is responsible for covering the remaining half of the cost of its READ program with such federal and local funds as may be available for such purpose. The bill permits the Department of Education to establish such rules and procedures as it deems necessary for receiving applications for reimbursement and making awards from the Fund. The bill also provides that if federal funding is provided pursuant to an Act of Congress with regard to relief from the COVID-19 pandemic and such Act does not preclude such federal funding from being used to make awards from the Fund, the Governor shall reserve a reasonable amount of such federal funding to be credited to the Fund to fully support reimbursement requests from such school boards. The bill was Laid on the Table in the House Education PreK-12 Subcommittee by a vote of 5-3.
HB 2093 (O’Quinn) Would have established the School Construction Fund as a special nonreverting fund in the state treasury and requires the Department of Education to establish the School Construction Program for the purpose of providing grants from the Fund, subject to certain conditions, to school boards that leverage federal, state, and local programs and resources to finance the design and construction of new school buildings and facilities or the modernization and maintenance of existing school buildings and facilities. The bill was Left in the House Appropriations Committee.
HB 2228 (Guzman) Would have provided that, for the purposes of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act, "occupational disease" includes injuries from conditions resulting from repetitive and sustained physical stressors, including repetitive and sustained motions, exertions, posture stress, contact stresses, vibration, or noise. The bill provides that such injuries are covered under the Act. Such coverage does not require that the injuries occurred over a particular period, provided that such a period can be reasonably identified and documented and further provided that the employment is shown to have primarily caused the injury, considering all causes. The bill was Left in the House Appropriations Committee.
HB 2247 (Aird) Would have removed several conditions on the Board of Education's constitutional duty to determine school division boundaries and requires the Board, in fulfilling such duty, to consider equity in educational programs within and between school divisions. The bill was Stricken at the request of the Patron.
HB 2277 (Bell) Would have required any child with a disability who receives special education and related services, reaches age 22 after September 30, 2020, and is scheduled to complete high school in the spring of 2021 to be given the option for an extension to attend high school for the duration of the 2021-22 school year. The bill was Left in the House Appropriations Committee.
