Wednesday 1/16/19 Update from the General Assembly

Things are moving along at a fast pace at the General Assembly this week.  In addition, the filing deadline for bills is this coming Friday, which means the new bills continue to be filed each day. 

In addition to meeting one-on-one with legislators to discuss bills, today VSBA staff attended several committee/subcommittee meetings detailed below.

The House Education Committee met this morning and considered the following bills of interest:

HB 1725 (Knight) would require each school board, in consultation with the local building official and state or local fire marshal, to develop a procurement plan to ensure that all security enhancements to public school buildings are in compliance with the Uniform Statewide Building Code and Statewide Fire Prevention Code.  The committee reported the bill unanimously

HB 1752 (Krizek) would prohibit local school boards from requiring students to attend school on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The bill was reported on a vote of 19 - 1 -1. 

HB 1738 (Rush) would require the licensed architect or professional engineer who provides the required statement to accompany the school superintendent's approval on all plans and specifications for new or remodeled public school building construction to be trained and experienced in crime prevention through environmental design.  The committee reported the bill on a vote of 21-0.

HB 1732 (O’Quinn) was amended to require the development and implementation of annual training on safety procedures for staff and students.  The amended bill was reported unanimously by the Committee.

HB1733 (Gilbert) would require the school board in each school division in which the local law-enforcement agency employs school resource officers to enter into a memorandum of understanding with such local law-enforcement agency that sets forth the powers and duties of the school resource officers. The bill requires each such school board and local law-enforcement agency to review and amend or affirm the memorandum at least once every five years.  The bill was reported unanimously by the Committee.

HB 1729 (Landes) would require each school counselor employed by a school board in a public elementary or secondary school to spend at least 80 percent of his staff time during normal school hours in the direct counseling of individual students or groups of students.  The bill also changes the name from guidance counselor to school counselor.  The bill was reported on a vote of 18-0.


Subcommittee # 2 of the House Education Committee also met this morning and considered the following bills:

HB 1710 (Krizek) would require the Board of Education to make regulations to require each new public school bus purchased for the transportation of students to be equipped with a seat belt consisting of a lap belt and shoulder strap or harness in every seat. The bill requires each school board to ensure that no later than July 1, 2037, each school bus that it uses for the transportation of students is equipped with a seat belt in every seat.  The bill was recommended to be reported and re-referred to Appropriations on a vote of 6 to 4. 

HB 1724 (Krizek) would establish the Grow Your Own Teacher Pilot Programs Fund and permits the Department of Education to award grants from such fund to local school boards to establish Grow Your Own Teacher Pilot Programs whereby the local school board provides scholarships not to exceed $7,500 per academic year for attendance at a baccalaureate institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to any individual who (i) graduated from a public high school in the local school division, (ii) was eligible for free or reduced price lunch throughout the individual's attendance at a public high school in the local school division, and (iii) commits to teach, within three years of graduating from the baccalaureate institution of higher education in the Commonwealth and for a period of at least four years, at a public high school at which at least 50 percent of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch in the school division in which such individual graduated from high school. The bill provides that in the event that any program scholarship recipient fails or refuses to comply with such teaching obligation, the sum of all scholarship funds received by such individual shall be converted to a loan that is subject to repayment with interest. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2024.  The bill was amended in subcommittee to apply only to Longwood University.   The bill was recommended to be reported and re-referred to Appropriations on a vote of 9 to 1.

HB 1623 (Cole) would permit any student whose parent has received orders to relocate to a duty station in the Commonwealth to register for courses and other academic programs and participate in the lottery process for charter schools and college partnership laboratory schools in the school division in which such student will reside at the same time and in the same manner as students who reside in the local school division. The bill requires each such student to provide to the school board proof of residency in the local school division no later than 10 days after his parent establishes such residency.  The bill was reported and referred to appropriations 10 -0.


Finally, the House Appropriations Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee met this evening and considered the following bills:

HB 1921 (Bourne) would permit any school board to finance capital projects with any funds appropriated to it by the local governing body that are unexpended by the school board in any year.  The subcommittee recommended that the bill be tabled on a vote of 4 to 2.

HB  1969 (Delaney) would require all sums derived from local funds unexpended by a school board in any year to remain a part of the funds of the school board for use the next year. Under current law, such sums are required to remain a part of the funds of the governing body that appropriated the funds to the school board. The subcommittee recommended that the bill be tabled on a vote of 4 to 2.

HB 2144 (Turpin) would establish the Duty-Free Lunch Grant Fund and Program for the purpose of awarding grants on a competitive basis to school boards to provide teachers in the local school division with an uninterrupted lunch period during which they have no instructional, administrative, or other duties to perform. The bill requires the Department of Education to administer the Program and to establish such guidelines and procedures as it deems necessary for the administration of the Program, including guidelines and procedures for grant applications, awards, and renewals.  The subcommittee recommended that the bill be tabled on a vote of 4 to 2.

GA Update for 1/14/19

Subcommittee 3 of the House Education Committee met this morning this morning and considered the following bill of interest:

HB 1788 (Ransone) would require the Public School Records Consortium and the Records Oversight Committee to confer with school boards and division superintendents and submit to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than November 1, 2019, recommendations on ways in which school boards and school board employees can better promote efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the implementation of the Virginia Public Records Act.  The subcommittee recommended that the bill be reported on a vote of 8 to 0.

The House Education Committee also met this morning and heard a presentation from the Superintendent of Public Instruction.  The Committee did not act on any bills today.

Subcommittee 1 of the House Education Committee met this evening and considered the following bills:

HB 1908 (VanValkenburg) would direct the Department of Education to update the "Window into a Green Virginia" curriculum developed by the Departments for sixth grade science to include a unit on the benefits, including the energy benefits, of recycling and reuse.  The subcommittee voted to recommend the bill for reporting, with minor amendments, on a vote of 5 to 3.

HB 2041 (Kory) would prohibit school divisions from suspending students for infractions involving only cell phone use or only instances of dress code violations.  The bill was passed by indefinitely on a vote of 6 to 2.

HB 1930 (Bell, R.P.) was amended and, as amended, would require (i) the Board of Education to collaborate with various stakeholders to biennially update its guidelines on policies to inform and educate coaches, student-athletes, and student-athletes' parents or guardians of the nature and risk of concussions, criteria for removal from and return to play, risks of not reporting the injury and continuing to play, and the effects of concussions on student-athletes' academic performance and (ii) each local school division to biennially update its policies and procedures regarding the identification and handling of suspected concussions in student-athletes.  The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting on a vote of  8 to 0. 

HB 1877 (Convirs-Fowler) was amended in subcommittee to require school divisions to offer high school equivalency programs  on a year-round basis.  The subcommittee recommend that the bill be reported and referred to Appropriations on a vote of 6 to 2.

HB 1693 (Rodman) as originally filed would have require any high school family life education curriculum offered by a local school division to include, at least four times during grades 11 and 12, instruction for students with intellectual or developmental disabilities on a variety of topics, including social skills, self-esteem, sexuality, and rights and responsibilities.  A substitute was adopted in subcommittee that would require VDOE to establish guidelines for age-appropriate instruction related to sexual health, self-restraint, self-protection, respect for personal privacy, and personal boundaries of others for IEP teams to utilize when developing IEPs.  The substitute would also require IEP teams to consider such guidelines when developing IEPs  for students with disabilities.  The subcommittee recommended the bill for reporting on a vote of  7 to 1. 

HB 1619 (Thomas) would expand eligibility for services under the Children's Services Act to students who transfer from an approved private school special education program to a public school special education program established and funded jointly by a local governing body and school division located within Planning District 16 for the purpose of providing special education and related services when (i) the public school special education program is able to provide services comparable to those of an approved private school special education program and (ii) the student would require placement in an approved private school special education program but for the availability of the public school special education program.  The subcommittee recommended that the bill be reported and referred to Appropriations on a vote of 8 to 0.

GA Update for 1/10/19

The General Assembly is off to a quick start this year, in part because this is a short session.

The Senate Education and Health Committee met this morning and considered the following bills of interest:

SB 1213 (Newman) requires the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety to develop a case management tool for use by public elementary and secondary school threat assessment teams and requires such threat assessment teams to use such tool to collect and report to the Center quantitative data on its activities.  The bill was reported and rereferred to the Senate Finance Committee unanimously.

SB 1215 (Newman) was amended to require the development and implementation of annual training on safety procedures for staff and students.  The amended bill was reported unanimously by the Committee.

SB 1220 (Newman) requires each school board to include the chief law-enforcement officer, the fire chief, the chief of the emergency medical services agency, and the emergency management official of the locality, or their designees, in the development and review of school crisis, emergency management, and medical emergency response plans.  The bill was reported unanimously by the Committee.

SB 1249 (Reeves) permits a child of a military family that will be relocating to a Virginia school division pursuant to orders to register for courses and other academic programs and participate in the lottery process for charter schools and college partnership laboratory schools at the same time and in the same manner as students who already reside in the local school division.  The bill was reported unanimously by the Committee.

SB 1258 (Dunnavant) amends the Standards of  Quality to require school boards to employ one licensed behavior analyst for every five schools.  Because these positions would be required by the SOQ, the state would be required to to provide the state share of the cost of such positions.  The bill was reported and rereferred to the Senate Finance Committee on a vote of 13-2.

SB 1298 (Barker) requires VDOE to collect and report certain data regarding alternative education programs that are provided for students who are suspended or expelled from school.  The bill was reported unanimously.

This afternoon, the Public Education Subcommittee of the Senate Education and Health Committee met and considered the following bills of interest:

SB 1142 (Favola) requires the Board of Education to establish the State School Health Advisory Committee, consisting of no more than 20 nonlegislative citizen members, to advise the Board, the Governor, and the General Assembly on (i) the role of employees in public elementary or secondary schools in providing health care services at such schools and (ii) the need for any training associated with delivery of health care services.  The bill was recommended to report unanimously.

SB 1159 (Black)  requires any family life education curriculum offered in any elementary school, middle school, or high school to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the harmful physical and emotional effects of female genital mutilation, associated criminal penalties, and the rights of the victim including any civil action.  The bill was recommended to report unanimously.

SB 1236 (DeSteph) requires school boards to adopt and implement policies to ensure employees have equal access to education employee associations and professional educator liability insurance providers.  The bill is troubling because, among other things, it would remove the discretion of the local school board or superintendent to decide what groups are permitted to attend new teacher or employee orientations.  The bill was recommended to report on a vote of 3-2.

SB 1269 (Cosgrove) requires the Board of Education to waive the requirement that school divisions provide additional teaching days or teaching hours to compensate for school closings resulting from an evacuation directed and compelled by the Governor. The bill provides that there shall be no proportionate reduction in the amount paid by the Commonwealth from the Basic School Aid Fund or the amount paid by a local governing body.  The motion to recommend reporting the bill failed on a 2-2 vote.  However, the full Committee could still take action on the bill.

SB 1275 (Black) requires any school board that offers a Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program to make the program available to any student who receives home instruction and resides in the local school division. The bill  is particularly problematic because it prohibits any such school board from requiring any such student to enroll on a full or part-time basis or to meet other eligibility requirements for such a program beyond those required of public school students.  Because the students would not be required to enroll, the school division would receive no state or local funds for the additional students participating in the program.  The bill was recommended to report on a vote of 3-2.

SB 1295 (Spruill) requires each school board to (i) develop and implement a policy to prohibit the use and distribution of tobacco products and nicotine vapor products on a school bus, on school property, or at an on-site or off-site school-sponsored activity and (ii) include in its code of student conduct a prohibition against possessing tobacco products or nicotine vapor products on a school bus, on school property, or at an on-site or off-site school-sponsored activity. Current law only places these requirements on each school board with regard to electronic cigarettes. The bill requires such policy to include adequate provisions for enforcement among students, employees, and visitors, including the enumeration of possible sanctions or disciplinary action consistent with state or federal law, and referrals to resources to help staff and students overcome tobacco addiction. The bill provides such policies may include procedures for effectively communicating the policy to students, their parents and families, school personnel, visitors on school premises, and local residents, groups, businesses, and other organizations served by the school.  The bill, which is an Administration (Governor) bill, was recommended to report on a vote of 4-1.

SB 1397 (Peake) requires the Board of Education to issue a license to an individual seeking initial licensure who has not completed the professional assessments prescribed by the Board, if such individual (i) holds a provisional license that will expire within three months, (ii) is employed by a school board, (iii) is recommended for licensure by the division superintendent, (iv) has attempted, unsuccessfully, to obtain a qualifying score on the professional assessments prescribed by the Board, (v) has received an evaluation rating of proficient or above on the performance standards for each year of the provisional license and such evaluation was conducted in a manner consistent with the Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents, and (vi) meets all other requirements for initial licensure. The bill removes the requirement that the Board of Education prescribe an assessment of basic skills for individuals seeking entry into an approved education preparation program and establish a minimum passing score for such assessment.  The bill was recommended to report unanimously.

2019 General Assembly Session Kicks Off

The 2019 session of the General Assembly convened today.  VSBA staff is in Richmond advocating for our members and legislative positions. Be sure to check your email for information regarding bills that VSBA is tracking.

As much as we enjoy fighting on your behalf, we realize that you are the most effective advocates for education in the Commonwealth. If you haven’t already, we strongly encourage you to contact your legislators and educate them on positions of importance to you and the VSBA. To that end, we want to make sure you are aware of several tools that will help you stay on top of everything going on. Below are links to resources for our members to help with advocacy:

http://www.vsba.org/advocacy_government_relations/resource_info/#’
http://www.vsba.org/advocacy_government_relations/education_bills/

Please check back here regularly for updates throughout session and also pay attention to any action alerts on time sensitive items that may you receive from us via email. We would especially encourage you to watch the “How to Lobby” Video, which details how to effectively advocate positions to elected officials. 

We hope to see you at our 2019 Capital Conference on January 14 and 15. The second day of the Conference is focused on visits of our members with your elected officials. We would encourage you to schedule those meetings now if you haven’t already.

As always, thank you for your continued efforts on behalf of students in the Commonwealth.  If you have questions regarding VSBA’s work at the General Assembly, you may contact VSBA Chief Lobbyist, Stacy Haney, at shaney@haneyphinyo.com or VSBA Lobbyist Lilla Wise at LillaWise@msn.com.

Governor Northam Announces Proposed Budget Amendments

This morning, Governor Northam announced his proposed budget amendments to the Joint Money Committees.  The Governor's proposal includes approximately $88 million to increase the previously approved 3% teacher pay raise to a 5% pay raise, effective July 1, 2019.  Also included is approximately $36 million to fund additional school counselor positions. 

For more information, you can access the Governor's Press release here. 

You can access the  Governor's proposed budget amendments here.  (Type Education in the box at the top left to see only the education-related amendments).

The presentation provided to the Joint Money Committees by the Secretary of Finance can be accessed here.

The presentation provided by Dan Timberlake, Director of the Department of Budget and Finance can be accessed here.

House Select Committee on School Safety Makes Recommendations

The House Select Committee on School Safety met yesterday.  Speaker Cox presented 25 recommendations to be advanced.  Click here to download the presentation.  The recommendations include 19 legislative (or budgetary) items and 5 "miscellaneous" recommendations for localities and school board.

November is "VSBA Take Your Legislator to School" Month

November is "VSBA Take Your Legislator to School" Month 

The start of VSBA Take Your Legislator to School Month is less than a month away! We hope that your division has invited at least one of your legislators to visit during the month of November. There are many benefits from participating in VSBA Take Your Legislator to School Month, including strengthening ties between school divisions, local communities, and our elected officials, and creating opportunities for productive dialogue so that educational and political leaders can work together to ensure that we provide the best possible education for our students.

The VSBA encourages school divisions to choose an area of focus for your legislative visits. Is there a program or initiative in your division that you are most proud of or wish to highlight? What would you like your elected representatives to know about our schools? Don’t be afraid to share your challenges, as well as your successes. Your legislator(s) should end their visit with a better appreciation of public education and what can be done to improve it.

We ask that you please share photos of your legislative visits with VSBA so that we can use them in future publications. I am also including a link to our website where you will find additional resources and a video message from VSBA President Scott Albrecht: http://www.vsba.org/resources/take_legislators_to_school.

Thank you for your continued efforts on behalf of Virginia’s education system. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.