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2005 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health
Subcommittee Public Education

Newman, Houck, Howell, Ruff, Blevins

Clerk: Jocelyn Lance
Staff: Norma Szakal,Brenda Edwards
Date of Meeting: January 28, 2005
Time and Place: 7:30 a.m., 3 West Conference Rm, General Assembly Building

S.B. 964 Substitute teachers; definition.

Substitute teachers.  Defines a long-term substitute as a teacher who is employed in the same position for more than 20 days.

Current Board of Education regulations provide that substitutes teachers "[b]e a minimum of 18 years of age (21 years of age preferred); [p]ossess good moral character; [h]ave earned a high school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED); and attend an orientation to school policies and procedures conducted by the local school division"(8 VAC 20-640-10).

Currently, Virginia school divisions typically define "long-term substitute" in employment policy.

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act directs states to ensure that, by the end of 2005-06, teachers in the core academic areas are "highly qualified." Ensuring accountability for highly qualified instructional personnel is a required annual "report card" from each state, detailing teacher qualifications and the percentage of classes not served by "highly qualified" teachers.

Pursuant to Title I, Part A, of the Act, schools must give each parent timely notice when their child has been assigned, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks, by a teacher who is not highly qualified (Section 1111(h)(6)(B)(ii)).

According to the U.S. Department of Education (No Child Left Behind:  A Toolkit for Teachers (updated 2004)), while "short-term substitute teachers do not need to meet the highly qualified teacher requirements under No Child Left Behind, it is strongly recommended that a long-term substitute teacher meet the requirements for a highly qualified teacher as defined in the law. In addition, as states and districts establish a definition for 'long-term substitute,' they should bear in mind that the law requires parent notification if a student has received instruction for four or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified."

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-302 of the Code of Virginia, relating to qualifications of temporarily employed teachers.

056898784

S.B. 981 Schools or day-care centers; noncustodial parent as an emergency contact.

Noncustodial parent as emergency contact.  Provides that, unless a court order has been issued to the contrary, the noncustodial parent of a student enrolled in a public school or day care center must be included, upon the request of such noncustodial parent, as an emergency contact for events occurring during school or day care activities.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-4.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to emergency contact information for public school pupils.

051282784

S.B. 1006 Children in foster care; public schools shall provide free education.

Educational protections for children in foster care.  Clarifies that the public schools in a school division shall be free to children in foster care living in that school division in the same manner as provided to homeless children and youth pursuant to the McKinney-Vento Act and state law.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-3, 22.1-3.1, 22.1-4.1, 22.1-5, 22.1-270, and 22.1-271.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to educational protections for children in foster care.

051452732

S.B. 1045 Diplomas; guidelines for awarding.

Diplomas; student-selected verified credits.  Directs the Board of Education to establish guidelines for local school boards, to be effective for the graduating class of 2007, for the award of verified credits, not to exceed two such credits per student, for passing scores on industry certifications and assessments approved by the Board of Education for substitution for the Standards of Learning assessments. Such guidelines shall be designed to ensure that students have acquired the knowledge and skills required to enter a technical or skilled trade upon graduation. School boards shall report annually to the Board of Education the number of industry certifications obtained and will include this number as a category on the school's achievement report card

Currently, the Standards of Accreditation (SOA) require the accumulation of a specific number of standard and verified units of credit for standard diplomas. The verified unit of credit is awarded upon passage of the relevant Standards of Learning (SOL) test (additional tests approved by the Board of Education), as well as the course (8 VAC 20-131-110 A, B). The Standard Diploma requires 22 credits, six of which must be verified units of credit, while the Advanced Studies Diploma requires 24 credits, with nine verified units. The SOA currently require verified units of credit in specific subjects, such as English, mathematics, science, history and social science. The Modified Standard Diploma is awarded to students with disabilities who are "unlikely to meet the credit requirements for a Standard Diploma" (8 VAC 20-131-50).

School accreditation is based on pass rates for the SOL assessments (8 VAC 20-131-300).

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-253.13:4 of the Code of Virginia, relating to high school diplomas.

051850832

S.B. 1136 No Child Left Behind Act; Board of Education to seek waiver.

No Child Left Behind Act; Board of Education to seek waiver.  Directs the Board of Education to seek a waiver from compliance with those provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act that are duplicative of the Commonwealth's prior educational accountability system as set forth in the Standards of Quality, Standards of Learning, and Standards of Accreditation, or are lacking in cost effectiveness, and that already comply with the spirit and intent of the federal act.

A BILL to direct the Board of Education to seek certain waivers from compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

057269732

S.B. 1250 Special education in public schools; medically fragile students entitled to services.

Medically fragile students; special education. Adds medically fragile students to those children with disabilities entitled to special education services in public schools.

The Board of Education shall promulgate regulations defining "medically fragile" students to include, at a minimum, those students with a medical condition that (i) has been diagnosed by a licensed physician; (ii) is unstable, pervasive, intermittent, chronic, progressive, or degenerative; and (iii) affects the student's ability to access effectively the general curriculum. The Board shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this act to be effective within 280 days of its enactment.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-213 of the Code of Virginia, relating to special education services for medically fragile children.

055292784

S.B. 1318 School boards; to issue guideline for time release programs in grades K-5 on school-by-school basis.

Education; time release programs.  Directs the local school boards to issue guidelines for time release programs in grades K-5 on a school-by-school basis. However, no time release program may be authorized unless two-thirds of the parents of children enrolled at a school vote in support of creating such program. The bill further prohibits the discontinuance of a time release program unless a majority of the parents of enrolled children vote in support of the discontinuance and provides for initiation of a vote to create or discontinue a time release program by petition.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-79 of the Code of Virginia, relating to powers and duties of school boards.

056347732