The Senate Education and Health Committee met Thursday, February 23, 2024, and considered the following bills related to K-12 education. To review the entire committee docket, click here.
HB 98 (Green) Requires each local school board to accept participation in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps as fulfillment of any physical education requirements applicable to students in grades nine through 12.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-253.13:1, as it shall become effective, of the Code of Virginia, relating to public secondary schools; satisfaction of physical education requirements; participation in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.The bill reported on a vote of 13-2.
HB 121 (Sullivan, Jr.) Requires the Board of Education to include in the Standards of Learning for health education for grade nine and grade 10 an in-person or online severe allergic reaction awareness training that includes certain topics enumerated in the bill.
The bill reported with substitute on a vote of 13-2.
HB 131 (Convers Fowler) Requires the Department of Education to continue to maintain until July 1, 2029, a learning needs dashboard that includes an interactive bar chart feature to compare annual pass rates and an interactive scatterplot feature to compare changes in pass rates between select years on history and social sciences, mathematics, reading, science, and writing Standards of Learning assessments on a statewide basis and for specific local school divisions, public elementary and secondary schools, and student subgroups.
This is a Section 1 bill and does not amend or reenact any sections of the Code of Virginia. The bill reported on a vote of 14-1.
HB 168 (Keys Gamarra) Requires the Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board a resource document containing guidance and best practices for providing the necessary supports and services to homeless students, including guidance and best practices relating to (i) decisions regarding whether and when such a student should remain enrolled in a school in a previous school division of residence, (ii) wrap-around supports and services for such students that include the parents when they are available and specific wrap-around supports and services for such students who may have experienced additional trauma prior to becoming homeless, and (iii) any other means by which such students can be best served and protected, particularly those homeless children and youths at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking.
The bill reported on a vote of 14-1.
HB 224 (Henson) Went by for the week.
HB 253 (Cole) Requires each school board to permit any student enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school in the local school division who provides acceptable proof of identification, if requested, and who signs up in accordance with the sign-up procedures for the respective school board meeting or is physically present at a school board meeting to submit oral comments during any public comment portion of such meeting.
The bill was reported with amendment by a 15-0 vote.
HB 360 (Simonds) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to biennially calculate, compare, and report to the Board of Education and the General Assembly the differences between the fixed staffing ratios in the Standards of Quality funding formula and the actual staffing ratios in local school divisions in the Commonwealth so that such fixed staffing ratios can be regularly adjusted as needed to more closely approximate such actual staffing ratios.
The bill reported and was referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on a vote of 15-0.
HB 501 (Cohen) Requires any divisionwide or public elementary or secondary school-specific school building evacuation plan, policy, or protocol to include provisions that seek to maximize the opportunity for students with mobility impairments to evacuate the school building alongside their non-mobility-impaired peers.
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-137.4, relating to school building evacuation plans, policies, and protocols; students with mobility impairments.
The bill reported on a vote of 15-0.
HB 599 (Simonds) Permits any school board, with the concurrence of the local governing body, to establish a capital reserve fund as a savings account into which it exclusively deposits the local operating funds that remain unexpended at the end of the year for future school division capital expenditures at no additional cost to local taxpayers, subject to certain conditions enumerated in the bill.
The bill reported on a vote of 15-0.
HB 603 (Price) Requires health instruction provided to elementary and secondary school students to include certain topics relating to mental health that are enumerated in the bill, including (i) general themes of social and emotional learning, including self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, relationship skills, and social awareness; (ii) signs and symptoms of common mental health challenges; and (iii) mental health wellness and healthy strategies for coping with stress and negative feelings, including conflict resolution skills.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-207 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public schools; health instruction; certain topics relating to mental health.
The bill reported on a vote of 11-4.
HB 659 (Ballard) Requires the Board of Education to develop and make available to each school board guidance on best practices relating to open school enrollment, including on several topics enumerated in the bill.
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-7.1:1, relating to Board of Education; guidance on best practices for open school enrollment policies.
The bill was Passed by Indefinitely on a 9-5 vote.
HB 777 (Callsen) Provides that in the event that a student in a kinship care arrangement moves into a different school division during the school year as a result of safely returning home, being emancipated, or transitioning to a new kinship care arrangement, such student shall be deemed to continue to reside in the previous school division of residence for the remainder of the school year for the purpose of tuition-free enrollment and attendance. The bill also provides that certain provisions of law relating to continuity of public school enrollment and attendance for students in foster care apply to a student who has transitioned out of foster care and whose custody has been transferred to the student's parent or prior legal guardian or who has been emancipated.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-3 and 22.1-3.4 of the Code of Virginia, relating to enrollment of and provision of free public education for certain students.
The bill reported on a vote of 15-0.
HB 919 (Srinivasan) Directs the Department, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Department of Medical Assistance Services, to develop, adopt, and distribute to each school board a model memorandum of understanding between a school board and a nationally recognized school-based telehealth provider that sets forth the parameters for the provision of mental health teletherapy to public school students enrolled in the local school division by such provider. Current law only requires the development, adoption, and distribution of a model memorandum of understanding between a school board and a public or private community mental health services provider. The bill also permits each school board to adopt policies and procedures to increase the accessibility of school-based mental health services for students enrolled in each school division that may not have access to mental health services otherwise by providing or expanding virtual mental health resources and establishing or expanding a partnership with a community mental health service provider or a nationally recognized school-based telehealth provider that provides mental health teletherapy to students.
The bill reported on a vote of 14-1.
HB 963 (Earley) Requires the Department of Education to survey each school board to determine (i) whether it has an existing policy or practice relating to the donation of excess food, as that term is defined in relevant law, from public elementary or secondary schools in the local school division to local food banks or shelters that serve meals or otherwise provide food to individuals in need and (ii) if so, how such policy or practice is implemented and the impact that it has on the local community. The bill requires the Department of Education, after completing such survey, to compile in a guidance document or Superintendent's Memo and distribute to each school board a list of resources and best practices on the subject of excess food donation.
HB 1039 (Bennett-Parker) Permits any local school board to adopt and implement policies for the possession and administration of undesignated nasal or injectable glucagon in each public elementary or secondary school in the local school division, provided that such policies are consistent with the guidance outlined in the most recent revision of the Diabetes Management In School: Manual for Unlicensed Personnel published by the Department of Education and include guidance on several items enumerated in the bill. The bill also permits any public elementary or secondary school to maintain a supply of nasal or injectable glucagon in any secure location that is immediately accessible to any school nurse or other employee trained in the administration of nasal and injectable glucagon prescribed to the school by a prescriber. The bill requires any such school to ensure that such a supply consists of at least two doses. The bill permits any school nurse or other authorized employee who is trained in the administration of nasal and injectable glucagon consistent with the guidance outlined in the most recent revision of the Diabetes Management In School: Manual for Unlicensed Personnel published by the Department to administer nasal or injectable glucagon from undesignated inventory with parental consent and if the student's prescribed glucagon is not available on school grounds or has expired. The bill permits any school board to accept donations of nasal or injectable glucagon from a wholesale distributor of glucagon or donations of money from any individual to purchase nasal or injectable glucagon for the purpose of maintenance and administration in a public school in the local school division as permitted pursuant to the aforementioned provisions of the bill.
The bill reported on a vote of 15-0.
HB 1473 (Clark) Requires the Department of Education to develop, in collaboration with the Department of Health, a fentanyl education and awareness informational one-sheet designed to promote awareness of the dangers associated with and the prevalence of fentanyl and provide essential information on fentanyl overdose prevention and preparedness among high school-age students. The bill requires the Department of Education to make available to each school board and post in a publicly accessible location on its website such informational one-sheet and to annually review and update such informational one-sheet in collaboration with the Department of Health to ensure its currency and accuracy. The bill requires each public high school or secondary school that includes grades nine through 12 to annually distribute such informational one-sheet to each student in grades nine through 12 within the first two weeks of the school year. This bill incorporates HB 1007.
The bill reported on a vote of 15-0.
To view a copy of the full committee agenda, click here. To view a recorded live-stream of the committee meeting, click here.
