The House Education Committee met Wednesday, February 21, 2024, and considered the following pieces of legislation related to K-12 Education.
SB 105 (Lucas) Renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund as the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from such Fund pursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtained national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to (i) all public school staff who are candidates for initial national certification or maintenance of national certification to cover certain costs of obtaining or maintaining such certification and (ii) all public school staff who have successfully obtained or maintained such certification. The bill also declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award in the amount of $7,500 all public school staff who have obtained or maintained such certification. Current law declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award of $5,000 in the first year and $2,500 in each subsequent year all teachers who have obtained or maintained such certification. The bill also establishes the At-Risk Program for the purpose of supporting programs and services for students who are educationally at risk, including prevention, intervention, or remediation activities required pursuant to relevant law, teacher recruitment programs and initiatives, programs for English language learners, the hiring of additional school counselors and other support staff, and other programs relating to increasing the success of disadvantaged students in completing a high school degree and providing opportunities to encourage further education and training. The bill also contains provisions relating to certain funding requirements for the At-Risk Program. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education to (a) develop and implement a data collection process related to English language learner expenditures and student English proficiency levels to begin to address the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission's 2023 review of Virginia's K-12 Funding Formula and (b) develop, in coordination with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services or any other relevant stakeholders, a plan for revised special education staffing requirements that addresses the staffing needs of each special education program in each school division. The bill provides for the inclusion of the provisions of the first enactment in the general appropriation act beginning July 1, 2026.
The bill reported with a substitute 19-0.
SB 220 (Favola) Makes several changes relating to special education and related services for children with disabilities in public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth, including requiring (i) the Department of Education to (a) review and update all forms and worksheets relating to referral, evaluation, reevaluation, and eligibility, and to review and update guidance on the implementation of all such forms and worksheets; (b) develop guidance for students and parents on and processes relating to the alternative path to earning a standard diploma through credit accommodations, including special permission credit accommodations for locally awarded verified credits; and (c) review and consider updating its regulations to include parent and student input as required content in an individualized education program (IEP), define "short-term objectives" for the purpose of IEP content, and include, as appropriate, short-term objectives derived from measurable goals as content in an IEP; (ii) each public elementary or secondary school, after a child with a disability graduates from, ages out of, or otherwise leaves any such school, to retain the special education records of such child for at least seven years; (iii) each education preparation program offered by a public or private institution of higher education or alternative certification program that provides training for any student seeking initial licensure by the Board of Education with certain endorsements as specified in the bill to (a) include a program of coursework and require all such students to demonstrate mastery in instructional practices to support specially designed instruction, as that term is defined in the bill, in inclusive settings and (b) ensure that coursework and, as available, field practice opportunities that build knowledge of instructional practices to support specially designed instruction in inclusive settings are a focus of the education preparation program; and (iv) each school board to notify the parent of any student with disabilities who has an IEP and who fails to meet the graduation requirements of such student's right to a free and appropriate education to age 21, as provided in relevant law. The bill requires the Department of Education to submit to the Chairs of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by November 1, 2024 an initial report on its progress toward improving services to students with disabilities, including estimated costs, requirements, and the timeline to implement a Virginia Individualized Education Program data system and template and plans, estimated costs, and timelines for the implementation of other provisions of the bill relating to the development and provision of high quality professional development and instructional practices to support the provision of specially designed instruction in inclusive settings. The bill also requires each school board to adopt by January 1, 2028 policies relating to the utilization of the components of the Virginia Individualized Education Program data system and template or a local alternative. Finally, the bill directs the Virginia Commission on Youth to study and make recommendations to the General Assembly by November 1, 2025 on Virginia's special education dispute resolution system.
The bill reported with a substitute 19-0.
SB 225 (Pekarsky) Requires each local school board to develop and implement a policy to require the annual notification of the parent of each student enrolled in the local school division, to be sent by email and SMS text message within 30 calendar days succeeding the first day of each school year, of the parent's legal responsibility to safely store any firearm present in the household, risks associated with improperly stored firearms, statistics relating to firearm-related accidents, injuries, and death among youth, and other tips and strategies. The bill requires each school board to make such parental notification available in multiple languages on its website.
The bill reported with a substitute 14-6.
SB 314 (Roem) Requires the Department of Education to establish and appoint such members as it deems necessary or appropriate to the Farm to School Program Task Force for the purpose of increasing student access throughout the Commonwealth to high-quality farm to school programs, defined in the bill as programs (i) whereby public schools purchase and feature prominently in school meals locally produced food or (ii) that involve experiential student learning opportunities relating to local food and agriculture, including school and community garden programs and local farm visits. The bill requires the Task Force to collaborate with local school boards, community-based organizations, farmers, relevant state and local agencies, and other relevant stakeholders to (a) assess existing farm to school programs within the Commonwealth to identify and disseminate to each local school board best practices for implementing and sustaining such programs, (b) establish and distribute to each local school board a guidance document for the establishment and operation of school garden programs, (c) provide information and resources to each local school board to assist it in leveraging grant funds to support farm to school programs, and (d) collect such data and make such policy recommendations to local school boards, the Board of Education, and the General Assembly as it deems appropriate.
The bill reported with a substitute 19-1.
SB 352 (Peake) Establishes universal licensure by reciprocity as a category of teacher licensure in the Commonwealth for teachers who hold a valid out-of-state teaching license with full credentials and without deficiencies that has been in force for at least three years prior to and is in force at the time of application and meet other provisions set forth in the bill. The bill also permits the division superintendent rather than the Board of Education, as in current law, to issue a career and technical education teacher a provisional license to allow time for the teacher to attain the industry certification credential required by law. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education to compile, publicly post on its website, and update as necessary, data on teacher licensure standards and requirements for each state for the purposes of facilitating the determination of the compatibility of out-of-state teacher licenses with requirements for teacher licensure and licensure by reciprocity in the Commonwealth and increasing transparency of such licensure requirements.
The bill reported with a substitute 19-0.
SB 435 (Suetterlein) Requires the Board of Education to permit school boards to administer, during the 2024-2026 school years, assessments as alternatives to the through-year growth assessment system established by the Board, provided that any such alternative assessment is aligned to the Standards of Learning.
The bill reported 20-0.
SB 441 (Durant) Requires each school board to respond within 10 business days of receiving any request for employment verification of a former employee of the school board when such verification is requested by another school board.
The bill reported with a substitute 20-0.
SB 498 (Carroll Foy) Requires each division superintendent or his designee to notify the parent of each student in the local school division of any school-connected overdose, defined as any verified overdose that occurs on school premises during or after regular school hours or during school-sanctioned activities whether on or off school premises, within 24 hours of learning of the overdose. The bill requires such notification to include as much information as is known about the circumstances surrounding the overdose, to the extent that the disclosure of any such information is not prohibited by any applicable law, rule, or regulation relating to the disclosure and protection of a minor's personal, confidential, or otherwise sensitive information. The bill requires the Board of Education to establish guidelines for school-connected overdose response and parental notification policies, including (a) a model action plan for each school board to follow in responding to the overdose, including communicating and coordinating with the Department of Education and the local law-enforcement liaison or local law-enforcement agency that employs the school resource officers for such school division, and (b) criteria for issuing the parental notification to ensure sensitivity to the privacy interests of any affected individuals.
The bill reported with a substitute 19-0.
SB 608 (Aird) Requires the Department of Education to establish the Office of Community Schools as an office within the Department for the purpose of supporting the development and growth of community schools throughout the Commonwealth in accordance with the Virginia Community School Framework and, subject to the appropriation of funds, requires the Office to establish and administer the Community School Development and Implementation Planning Grant for the purpose of providing grants to school boards that seek to designate any school within the local school division as a community school to assist with the planning and implementation of such designation over a period of three to five years.
