Senate Education and Health Committee Update

Yesterday morning the Senate Education and Health committee held their first meeting of the session where they considered legislation. Much of the agenda focused on health legislation but there were a few education-related bills as well as a presentation from Dr. Stewart Roberson, Chair of the SOL Innovation Committee. Additionally, Senator Steve Newman, chair of the committee, announced the members of the Senate Public Education subcommittee. Senator Bill Carrico will serve as the chair the subcommittee along with Senators Janet Howell, Mamie Locke, Tom Garrett and Siobhan Dunnavant. Below is a report on the bills and actions of the full committee. 

SB17 (Stanley) establishes the STEM Education Fund to be administered by the Board of Education for the purposes of providing grants for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education programs in qualified schools. Beginning in 2017, a STEM organization that provides funds to a qualified school (a public elementary and secondary schools at which at least 40 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch) for use in STEM programs may apply for a grant, up to 50,000 for organization per year, from the Fund. This bill was reported and referred to the Finance committee.

SB211 (Miller) requires at least 20 minutes of physical activity per day or an average of 100 minutes per week during the regular school year for students in grades kindergarten through five beginning with the 2018-2019 school year. The current requirement for a program of physical activity available to all students in grades six through twelve with a goal of at least 150 minutes per week remains unchanged. This bill was reported from the committee on a 10-4 vote.

SB246 (Stanley) establishes a grant program, beginning in 2017, to establish STEM competition teams at qualified schools. The bill defines a qualified school as a public secondary school where at least 40 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Grants are capped at $10,000 per school per year. This bill was reported and referred to the Finance committee.

SB250 (Black) allows local school boards to enter into agreements with nonpublic schools to provide student transportation to and from school field trips. Current law authorizes such agreements for transportation to and from school. This bill incorporates SB275 and was unanimously reported from the committee.

SB360 (Howell) requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop and implement a system to track teacher turnover and to annually report the findings to the Governor and General Assembly. The bill was unanimously reported from the committee.

SB573 (Ruff) directs the Board of Education to allow the issuance of temporary part-time teacher permits to qualified professionals with expertise and credentials in career and technical education areas who are recommended for the permit by employing school divisions. Part-time teacher permits may be issues to individuals who meet criteria established by the Board and may be extended upon the request of the employing school division. The bill was unanimously reported from the committee. 

House Education Committee update

This morning the House Education Committee met to consider four bills including two from yesterday’s Education Innovation subcommittee meeting and two bills that have been before the committee several times over the past few years. As expected, all of the bills were reported from the committee with HB8 and HB389 being referred to the House Appropriations Committee. Below is a report on the bills and actions of the full committee. 

HB 8 (D. Bell) establishes the Virginia Virtual Schools, a full-time virtual school governed by the Board of the Virginia Virtual School. The bill requires the School to be open to any school-age person in the Commonwealth and provide an educational program meeting the Standards of Quality for grades kindergarten through 12. It also requires the average state share of Standards of Quality per pupil funding for each enrolled student to be transferred to the School. HB8 was reported and referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a 14-7 vote.

HB389 (LaRock) allows a parent of any student to apply to the residing school division for a one-year, renewable Parental Choice Education Savings Account that consists of 90 percent of the SOQ per pupil state funds in which the student resides. The bill also permits the parent to use the Savings Account funds for education-related expenses of the student, including tuition, deposits, fees, and required textbooks at a private, sectarian, or nonsectarian elementary or secondary school or preschool that is located in the Commonwealth and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The bill also allows the parent to put up to $2,000 in a college fund.  HB389 was reported and referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a 13-9 vote.

HB259 (LaRock) prohibits the Board of Education from implementing the Common Core State Standards without prior approval of the General Assembly but permits the Board of Education to continue or create an educational standard or assessment that coincidentally is included in the Common Core State Standards. The bill was reported from the full committee on a 20-2 vote.

HB131 (R. Bell) prohibits school divisions from joining an athletic/interscholastic organization that doesn’t allow home school students to participate in public schools athletics or interscholastic activities. It allows students to be charged reasonable fees for participation. The bill also states that eligibility of a student receiving home instruction shall be limited to participation the school serving the attendance zone in which the student lives and will be subject to policies governing participation that the local school board may establish. The bill was reported from the committee on a 14-8 vote. 

Update from the first House Education Subcommittee on Education Innovation

The House Education subcommittee on education innovation met this morning for their first gathering of the year.  While there were several bills before the committee many were taken by for the day to work on bill language. However, there were two bills that the committee did take action on. 

HB389 (LaRock) – You may remember a similar bill last year from Delegate LaRock creating the Parental Choice Education Savings Account. Last year we were successful in defeating this bill in the Senate but Delegate LaRock has decided to bring the bill back again this year with a broader focus. The bill allows a parent of any student to apply to the residing school division for a one-year, renewable Parental Choice Education Savings Account that consists of 90 percent of the SOQ per pupil state funds in which the student resides. The bill also permits the parent to use the Savings Account funds for education-related expenses of the student, including tuition, deposits, fees, and required textbooks at a private, sectarian, or nonsectarian elementary or secondary school or preschool that is located in the Commonwealth and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The bill also allows the parent to put up to $2,000 in a college fund.  The bill was reported from the subcommittee and referred to the House Appropriations Committee on a close 5-4 vote. It will be heard tomorrow morning in full committee.

HB259 (LaRock) – Again you may remember a similar bill from last year. This year’s version prohibits the Board of Education from implementing the Common Core State Standards without prior approval of the General Assembly but permits the Board of Education to continue or create an educational standard or assessment that coincidentally is included in the Common Core State Standards. The bill was reported from the subcommittee and will be heard tomorrow morning in full committee.

Check back tomorrow for more updates from the General Assembly. 

VSBA Advocacy in Action at the General Assembly

This morning, the co-chairs of the VSBA Task Force on Workforce Readiness, Mr. Bill Kidd (VSBA President; School Board Member, Wythe County) and Dr. Tom Brewster (Superintendent, Pulaski County) presented to the House Education Committee to update the committee on their work and share the results of the recently completed statewide survey of Virginia school divisions on workforce readiness programs and initiatives.

Task Force co-chairs Bill Kidd and Tom Brewster present to the House Education Committee 

Since its creation, the task force has worked diligently to develop their mission, create the statewide survey, and analyze the results of the survey to offer key findings and recommendations. Some of the key findings outline the need for increased funding to sustain current programs, develop new programs, update equipment and resources, and obtain the highest quality instructors and greater collaboration between business/industry leaders and CTE. They also found that the ability to employ the most qualified personnel for CTE instruction is an ongoing issue and that increased collaboration with business and industry, the community college system, and the core school setting is necessary.

Task Force co-chairs respond to questions from legislators. 

The legislators were very receptive to the information shared by the task force co-chairs and were very engaged with thoughtful questions and comments. After the presentation, the co-chairs along with task force member, Dr. Greg Smith (Superintendent, Richmond County) met with additional members of the General Assembly. We came away from the meetings encouraged and energized. We heard genuine interest in working together to help students better prepare for the new economy. VSBA will continue to capitalize on this momentum throughout the session and into the coming months.

Members of the Task Force meet with state Senator Bill Carrico to discuss their survey results and key findings. 

For more information about the VSBA Task Force on Workforce Readiness please visit the VSBA website. 

Committee changes

The 2016 General Assembly is off to a fast start and will be in full swing this week. Due to retirements and elections there have been a few changes in committee leadership and additions to committee membership.  Below is summary of changes to the education and money committees.

House Education Committee

Delegate Steve Landes will continue to serve as chair along with Delegate Brenda Pogge as vice-chair. Delegate Tag Greason will again chair the Education Innovation subcommittee and Delegate Dickie Bell will chair the Elementary and Secondary Education subcommittee.  Delegates Mark Dudenhefer, David LaRock, and Lamony Bagby have been added to the full committee membership.

Committee Membership - Landes (Chairman), Lingamfelter, Cole, Pogge, Massie, Greason, Bell, Dickie, LeMunyon, Robinson, Yost, Dudenhefer, Davis, Leftwich, LaRock, McClellan, Tyler, Bulover, Keam, Hester, Lindsey, Bagby 

Senate Education & Health Committee

Senator Steve Newman has been selected to chair the Senate Education and Health committee. Senator Bill Carrico will lead the Senate Public Education subcommittee again this year.  Senators Siobhan Dunnavant, Amanda Chase, and David Sutterlein have been added to the full committee membership.

Committee Membership - Newman (Chairman), Saslaw, Lucas, Howell, Locke, Barker, Black, Carrico, Garrett, Petersen, Cosgrove, Lewis, Dunnavant, Chase, Suetterlein 

House Appropriations Committee

Delegate Chris Jones will again serve as the chair of the House Appropriations committee and Delegate Jimmie Massie will lead the Elementary and Secondary Education subcommittee. Delegates Nick Rush, Delores McQuinn, and Joe Lindsey have been added to the full committee membership.

Committee Membership - Jones (Chairman), Ingram, Cox, Landes, O'Bannon, Lingamfelter, Poindexter, Massie, Peace, Greason, Knight, Anderson, Garrett, Stolle, Rush, Torian, Hester, Sickles, James, Carr, McQuinn, Lindsey. 

Senate Finance Committee

Senators Tommy Norment and Emmett Hanger will serve as co-chairs of the Senate Finance committee. Senator Steve Newman will serve as the chair of the Senate Finance K-12 Education subcommittee.  Senators Mark Obenshain, George Barker, and Siobhan Dunnavant have been added to the full committee membership.

Committee Membership - Hanger (Co-Chair), Norment (Co-Chair), Howell, Saslaw, Lucas, Newman, Ruff, Wagner, McDougle, Vogel, Carrico, Alexander, Obenshain, Barker, Dunnavant 

The 2016 General Assembly Session begins

Today is the first day of the 2016 General Assembly session. For the next 60 days, the 140 members of the legislature will debate thousands of bills ranging from education and transportation to public safety and veterans affairs. Additionally, they must work together with the governor to develop the 2017-2018 biennial budget.  

Right now there are hundreds, if not thousands, of bills that have been filed with the House and Senate Clerk's Office and we expect to see many more coming online in the next few days. Some of the major themes we’re seeing in education include additional changes to the Standards of Learning assessments and school accountability, weapons on school campuses, workforce readiness and CTE, virtual and blended learning, and school choice. Your VSBA lobbying team has been very busy meeting with legislators, reading bills, and developing our overall strategy to ensure success for our students, schools, and local school boards. 

Be sure to visit the VSBA Legislative Blog throughout session to get updates and details about what’s happening in Richmond. Additionally, we’ll be providing quick updates on the VSBA Twitter Handle – @VASchoolBoards. I would also encourage you to review the latest edition of the VSBA newsletter which includes an article about “Preparing for the 2016 General Assembly Session.”

Finally, don’t forget to attend the upcoming VSBA Capital Conference February 10-11 at the Richmond Marriott. This conference offers you an opportunity to interact with your legislators and advocate for your school division and public education. You will receive key presentations on Virginia’s political landscape and updates on legislation and the state budget. In addition to the presentation, you will have the opportunity to hear directly from Governor Terry McAuliffe, Secretary of Education Anne Holton, Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones, and Dr. Glenn DuBois, Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System as well as attend the always-popular VSBA Legislative Reception. We look forward to seeing you in Richmond! 

Preparing for the 2016 General Assembly Session

Next week marks the start of the 2016 General Assembly. It’s going to be a tough year for public education with the always challenging biennial budget process and several pieces of school choice legislation including the charter school constitutional amendment. With a continued focus on education by the General Assembly, it’s important to have a strong, coordinated message that is communicated regularly to your local legislators. 

During session, VSBA needs your assistance and active support to engage the public and your elected officials. The VSBA Lobbying Team are your daily boots on the ground, but legislators want to hear from YOU! Your voice as a constituent and local leader is extremely valuable to them. So how do you communicate effectively, create a strong message and stay on topic? Below are a few how-to tips for you to utilize during the sessions and throughout the year with your advocacy work:

• Make personal, face-to-face contact with your legislators whenever possible. Remember to call ahead when you will be in town to meet with your legislators. If you can’t travel to Richmond, don’t hesitate to pick-up the phone to have a conversation with them. The personal interactive is key to developing and continuing that strong relationship. 
• Time is always limited when meeting with your legislators. Be prepared by knowing the issues and having facts to support your position. If you don’t know an answer to one of their questions, be honest and follow-up with the answer after your meeting. 

• Be sure to know the basic legislative process. Your input about the local impact of legislation can be helpful at any time. However, be sure about when and to whom to lobby. Depending on where the bill is in the legislative process, concentrate your efforts on the appropriate members.

• Always remember to be courteous to your member and respect their time limitations. 

• Legislative aides are an important part of the process. Even when you can’t talk directly to a legislator, speaking with their legislative aide is vital. They are most often advising the members on specific bills and preparing them each day for session. 

Over the next few months, VSBA will be calling on you through various action alerts. When we put out an alert, we ask that you follow up with a call or email to your legislator(s) urging their support or opposition to a bill. Also, don’t forget to share VSBA’s legislative priorities and express your opposition to the charter school constitutional amendment. 

You can stay up-to-date on the happenings at the General Assembly through the VSBA Legislative blog, Facebook, or Twitter account. We look forward to seeing you at the 2016 VSBA Capital Conference on February 10 and 11 at the Richmond Marriott.