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ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2006 SESSION
Chairman: H. Russell Potts, Jr.
Clerk: Hobie Lehman
Staff: Norma Szakal,Nicole Seeds
Date of Meeting: January 26, 2006
Time and Place: 8:00 AM, Thursday, Senate Room B, General Assembly Bldg
Education Bills will be heard first
Patron: Houck
Student Financial Security Program. Creates the Student Financial Security Program to provide supplemental funding for state-funded, need-based financial aid at two- and four-year public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth. The funding is designed to ensure that resources for student financial aid programs based in whole or in part on need are available to offset tuition increases at the various public institutions.
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 4.1 of Title 23 an article numbered 4, consisting of sections numbered 23-38.19:6, 23-38.19:7, and 23-38.19:8, relating to the Student Financial Security Act.061016740
Patron: Blevins
Fire and evacuation drills prohibited in schools during periods of mandatory testing. Requires the Board of Housing and Community Development to promulgate regulations prohibiting fire and evacuation drills in schools during periods of mandatory testing required by the Board of Education. The bill includes an enactment clause requiring the promulgation of emergency regulations.
A BILL to limit the frequency of school fire drills during Standards of Learning assessments.067045702
EMERGENCY
Patron: O'Brien
Community College Transfer Grant program. Establishes the Community College Transfer Grant program, to be administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, for the purpose of providing higher education grants to domiciles of Virginia who have successfully completed an acceptable associate degree program at a Virginia community college and have been admitted to an accredited nonprofit public or private institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. To be eligible to receive a grant under this program, students must be Virginia domiciles and must have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher while enrolled in an associate degree program at a Virginia community college. Students may receive grants for up to two academic years. The amount of grants awarded is based on the difference between the cost of tuition and educational and general fees paid by the recipient at a community college and the cost of such tuition and fees at the institution of higher education in which the student has been enrolled. As an incentive to institutions of higher education enrolling grant recipients, each such college or university will receive a grant of an amount specified in the appropriation act for each student it enrolls who receives a community college transfer grant.
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 23 a chapter numbered 4.02, consisting of sections numbered 23-38.10:8 through 23-38.10:14, relating to the establishment of a Community College Transfer Grant program.066053784
Patron: Quayle
Higher education; Office of Learning Technology. Creates the Office of Learning Technology within the State Council of Higher Education to facilitate and coordinate the voluntary participation of public and private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth in technology-enriched initiatives.
The Office is charged with establishing and administering agreements with nonprofit public and private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth and other entities for the identification of unmet needs for technology-enriched educational programs and opportunities, and the development and delivery of technology-enriched initiatives, including distance and distributed learning initiatives, for currently served populations and underserved constituencies. In addition, the Office must (i) review technology-enriched learning initiatives and make recommendations to the Council regarding unnecessary duplication in such initiatives; (ii) assist in the development of standards for improving access to, training for, and efficiency in such learning initiatives; and (iii) enter into contracts for related program development.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 23-9.6:1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 23 a chapter numbered 1.1:1, consisting of sections numbered 23-9.14:3 through 23-9.14:7, relating to the Office of Learning Technology within the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.064309800
Patron: Blevins
Virginia Public School Authority; pass-through of bond refunding savings. Authorizes the Virginia Public School Authority to implement a pass-through of refunding savings to a locality without requiring any further local legislative action on the part of the locality.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-167.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the pass-through of bond refunding savings by the Virginia Public School Authority.066610114
Patron: Edwards
Character education; participation in community service. Provides that character education programs in public schools may include opportunities for voluntary participation in community service activities pursuant to guidelines developed by the Board of Education.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-208.01 of the Code of Virginia, relating to character education.061005728
Patron: Edwards
Early childhood education. Requires, on and after July 1, 2010, all school divisions to provide early childhood education programs for four-year-olds and five-year-olds who are not eligible to attend kindergarten or at-risk early childhood education programs and whose parents voluntarily wish to enroll them in such programs. These mandated early childhood education programs must be coordinated with the current at-risk early childhood programs, be consistent with the Department's guidelines for early childhood education, and meet the standards established by the Board of Education. The Board of Education is required to promulgate regulations to implement the orderly phase-in of the required programs with the current voluntary programs for at-risk four-year-olds and at-risk five-year-olds who are not eligible to attend kindergarten. An enactment clause provides that the implementation and funding of the required public school early childhood education programs will be as set forth in the appropriation act. The grants for the at-risk programs may continue to be funded in public schools or other local agencies; however, the Standards of Quality funding of early childhood education will only be provided to public schools.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-199.1 and 22.1-253.13:1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to early childhood education.066004728
Patron: Edwards
Childhood obesity. Requires the Board of Education to promulgate, in cooperation with the State Health Department, regulations establishing standards to facilitate the prevention and reduction of childhood obesity in the public schools. This bill also requires division superintendents to complete instruction concerning the causes and consequences of overweight and obese students, and the relationship between nutrition, health, and learning by July 1, 2008. The requirement for instruction may be satisfied by attendance at conferences, seminars, or in-service training.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-60.1, 22.1-253.13:5, and 22.1-275.1 of the Code of Virginia, and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-16.4 and by adding in Chapter 6 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-70.4, relating to childhood obesity.066006728
Patron: Ticer
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; burden of proof. Places the burden of persuasion on the school division in an administrative hearing concerning the individualized education program of a child with a disability.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-214 of the Code of Virginia, relating to administrative hearings concerning individualized education programs.064363828
Patron: Wagner
Public institutions of higher education; intellectual property. Removes limitations and requirements currently in place governing the assignment of intellectual property rights at public institutions of higher education. Instead, each institution will be required to adopt its own policies concerning assignment of intellectual property that will govern any research contracts to which it is a party. Each institution must forward a copy of its policies to the Joint Commission on Technology and Science and report annually to the Joint Commission on Technology and Science as to the assignment of any intellectual property interests by that institution. The bill removes the requirement that the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia create guidelines for institutions to follow in developing their policies.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-2233.2, 23-4.3 and 23-4.4 of the Code of Virginia and to repeal § 23-9.10:4 of the Code of Virginia, relating to intellectual property developed at public institutions of higher education.063909162
Patron: Bell
Triennial census or statistical survey of school-age persons residing in school divisions. Provides school divisions the option of choosing to conduct a statistical survey rather than the traditional census every three years. The statistical survey or census may be conducted by agents or contractors appointed by each school board on the recommendation of the division superintendent or pursuant to a contract for a statistical survey.
A BILL to amend and reenact Article 4 (§§ 22.1-281 through 22.1-286) of Chapter 14 of Title 22.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the triennial census or statistical survey of school-age persons residing in school divisions.063320700
Patron: Whipple
Teachers; compensation. Establishes, as a goal of the Commonwealth, that the average salary for Virginia public school teachers equal or surpass the national average salary for public school teachers. The bill requires the evaluation of each teacher with continuing contract status at least once every three years. Such teachers who have an unsatisfactory evaluation must be evaluated the following year. Additionally, the bill provides that the evaluations must be maintained in the employee's personnel file and copies of the evaluations must be made available to the Board of Education upon the request of the Board. Further, the Board of Education must establish guidelines for the evaluation of instructional personnel and for the review by the division superintendent or his designee of an unsatisfactory evaluation.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-289.1 and 22.1-295 of the Code of Virginia, relating to teacher quality.065658129
Patron: Saslaw
Opening of the 2006 school year at T.C. Williams High School. Authorizes, in a noncodified provision, the School Board of the City of Alexandria to set the 2006-2007 school calendar for T.C. Williams High School so that the first day students are required to attend the old T.C. Williams High School for the 2006-2007 school year will be prior to Labor Day of 2006 and the last day students are required to attend the old T.C. Williams High School will be at the end of May 2007. In setting its 2006-2007 school calendar for all other Alexandria schools, the School Board of the City of Alexandria must comply with the provisions of § 22.1-79.1, requiring the first day of the school year to be after Labor Day. The act will expire on January 1, 2007.
A BILL to authorize T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria to be opened before Labor Day in 2006; sunset.062040816
Patron: Lambert
Information sharing among users of the Virginia Congenital Anomalies Reporting and Education System. Allows hospitals, medical facilities, and other persons required to report birth defects to the system and conduct patient follow-up to share data and information, and to view existing information, as authorized by the Commissioner of Health, to prevent duplication of reportable information, facilitate follow-up of patients, and minimize costs, while preserving the confidentiality of personally identifiable data and health record information. Requires the Commissioner to provide a secure system that may include online data entry of information. This bill establishes certain minimum reporting requirements and eliminates the reporting requirement related to Agent Orange exposure. For the purposes of only complying with the reporting requirements, authorized users of the system must provide written affirmation to the Commissioner that the confidentiality of information will be preserved, as a condition to access personally identifiable data. The advisory committee to assist the Board of Health with the promulgation of regulations to implement the system has been retained; however, the specificity of the contents of the regulations has been removed.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 32.1-69.1 and 32.1-69.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to information sharing among users of the Virginia Congenital Anomalies Reporting and Education System.062322748
Patron: Lambert
Standards of Quality; Standard 1, Standards of Learning. Provides that the Board of Education require Standards of Learning assessments to reflect instruction related to the contributions of diverse people (e.g., consideration of disability, ethnicity, race, and gender) to society.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-253.13:1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Standards of Quality; Standard 1, Standards of Learning.062311748
Patron: Lambert
Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure. Changes the composition and tenure of and appointing authority for the Board of Education's Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure. This bill provides that the nonlegislative citizen members of the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure will be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. This bill also reorganizes the Code section and makes technical amendments to comply with the change in the appointing authority for the Advisory Board and the Joint Rules Committee Legislative Guidelines.
Currently, the members of the Advisory Board are appointed by the Board of Education. Members serve three-year terms.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-305.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the composition of and appointments to the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure.062348748
Patron: Devolites Davis
Nurse practitioners; prescriptive authority. Expands the prescriptive authority of nurse practitioners to include Schedule II controlled substances. Nurse practitioners currently have the authority to prescribe Schedule III through VI controlled substances.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-2957.01 of the Code of Virginia, relating to prescription of certain controlled substances by nurse practitioners.067861726
Patron: Quayle
Certified nurse midwives. Clarifies the relationship between licensed physicians and nurse practitioners, categorized as certified nurse midwives, as one of collaboration and consultation, rather than as one of supervision. The bill also directs the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing to jointly promulgate regulations specifying collaboration and consultation to include (i) participation in the development of a written protocol, (ii) development of guidelines for availability and ongoing communications which provide for and define consultation among the collaborating parties and the patient, and (iii) periodic joint evaluation of services delivered.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 54.1-2901 and 54.1-2957 of the Code of Virginia, relating to certified nurse midwives.066523772
Patron: Quayle
Sexually transmitted infections; testing. Requires Virginia four-year public colleges and universities to provide STI testing free of charge to students. In order to fund the requirement, the institutions may raise their student activities fee by $5.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 23-9.2:3.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to sexually transmitted infection testing.064322800
Patron: Puckett
Designation as rural hospital. Establishes in state law that any hospital that was designated a Medicare-dependent small rural hospital, as defined in 42 U.S.C. §1395ww(d)(5)(G)(iv) prior to October 1, 2004, shall be designated a rural hospital pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1395ww(d)(8)(E)(ii)(II) on and after September 30, 2004. For purposes of Medicare, reimbursement for hospitals designated as Medicare-dependent small rural hospitals is calculated through a different mechanism than for other hospitals.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 32.1-122.07 and 32.1-125.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to designation as rural hospital.062035792
Patron: Stosch
Articulation, transfer, and dual enrollment and admissions agreements. Requires all four-year public institutions of higher education to develop articulation, transfer, and dual enrollment and admissions agreements, including dual admissions programs for qualified students to be simultaneously accepted by a community college and, contingent upon the successful completion of an acceptable associate degree program from the community college, by the four-year public institution of higher education. The State Council of Higher Education must include in its guidelines for these agreements conditions required to establish dual admissions programs that set forth the obligations of the students accepted in the programs, including grade point average requirements, acceptable associate degree programs, completion timetables, and the students' access to the privileges of enrollment in both institutions while attending either institution.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 23-9.2:3.02, 23-9.6:1, and 23-9.14:2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to articulation, transfer, and dual enrollment and admissions agreements between community colleges and four-year institutions of higher education.062002824
Patron: Stosch
Private College Enrollment Grant Program. Creates the Private College Enrollment Grant Program for the purpose of providing higher education grants on a per capita basis to private nonprofit institutions of higher education that agree, in the interest of providing access to higher education for Virginia's burgeoning student population, to enroll Virginia domiciles. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is designated as the administering agency of the program and is authorized to develop and enter into contracts with Virginia's private nonprofit institutions to provide grants on a per capita basis to such institutions on behalf of enrolled Virginia domiciles. The Council is also authorized to promulgate necessary and appropriate regulations to administer the program, including measures to ensure the reduction of out-of-pocket tuition costs to Virginia's student population.
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 23 a chapter numbered 4.1:1, consisting of sections numbered 23-38.19:6 through 23-38.19:9, relating to the establishment of a Private College Enrollment Grant program.060239824
Patron: Stosch
Community College Transfer Grant Program. Establishes the Community College Transfer Grant Program for the purpose of providing higher education grants or vouchers to domiciles of Virginia who have successfully completed an acceptable associate degree program at a Virginia Community College and have been admitted to an accredited nonprofit public or private institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is designated as the administering agency of the program and must promulgate necessary and appropriate regulations for its administration. Eligibility for the program is limited to domiciles of the Commonwealth, and recipients of grants or vouchers may only receive such tuition assistance for two academic years or the equivalent number or credit hours.
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 23 a chapter numbered 4.02, consisting of sections numbered 23-38.10:8 through 23-38.10:13, relating to the establishment of a Community College Transfer Grant Program.060238824
Patron: O'Brien
Certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth. Modifies the law relating to certificates of birth resulting in stillbirth to provide retroactive application to any circumstances occurring after July 1, 2003, (the effective date of the law), in which the individual listed as the mother or father on a report of fetal death occurring in the Commonwealth did not have knowledge of his right to request a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth. The bill also revises the law to provide, consistent with the Board of Health's regulations, that when no report of spontaneous fetal death is available to establish the event, documentation from the following sources is acceptable: the physician or licensed nurse midwife who provided care to the mother, documentation from the medical record maintained at the hospital of occurrence, copy of the report of spontaneous fetal death, or documentation from the funeral service director (if such services were provided).
A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-258.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth.063864784
Patron: Rerras
Registration of new student. Requires a parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of a child of school age to provide to a public school, upon registration of a student, information concerning certain criminal convictions or delinquency adjudications. When the registration results from foster care placement, the information shall be furnished by the local social services agency or licensed child-placing agency that made the foster care placement.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-3.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to information required upon admission of new students.066541804
Patron: Obenshain
Compulsory school attendance, truancy, and chronic tardiness. Incorporates the concept of chronic tardiness into the reporting, recordkeeping, and enforcement provisions of the compulsory school attendance law and other enforcement provisions relating to the welfare of children, including the law relating to juvenile and domestic courts and the parental responsibility law relating to public education and discipline. This bill requires the Board of Education to promulgate regulations defining "chronically tardy" to identify those children who are in violation of compulsory school attendance by reason of being habitually and without justification absent from school for a significant portion of the day because of routine and substantial late arrival to school.
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 16.1-228, 22.1-254, 22.1-258, 22.1-259, 22.1-260, 22.1-262, 22.1-265, 22.1-266, 22.1-267, and 22.1-279.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to compulsory school attendance; truancy and chronic tardiness.061028782
Patron: Hanger
In-state tuition rates; prohibited for certain individuals. Prohibits the board of visitors or other governing body of a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth from authorizing in-state tuition rates for individuals who are not citizens or nationals of the United States, are unlawfully present in the United States, or do not possess a valid visa.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 23-9.2:3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to prohibiting the receipt of in-state tuition benefits by certain individuals at public institutions of higher learning.066708732
Patron: Lambert
Certificate of public need; exemption. Exempts from the definition of "medical care facility" a specialized center for the provision of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) restricted to obese, disabled, or claustrophobic patients.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-102.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to a certificate of public need.069844748
Patron: Potts
Approval of teacher education programs. Prohibits the Board of Education from conditioning full approval of teacher education programs provided by an institution of higher education on (i) the number of students in individual licensure programs, such as, but not limited to, prekindergarten-three, Spanish, music education, high school physics, or other disciplines, or (ii) documented efforts to increase enrollment in such programs.
A BILL relating to approval of teacher education programs.066707788
Patron: Devolites Davis
Investigations of physicians without disciplinary actions. Requires that, whenever an individual files a written complaint against a physician licensed by the Board of Medicine that is investigated but does not result in disciplinary action being taken by the Board, the Director of the Department of Health Professions shall provide the person who filed the relevant written complaint an explanation of the Board's decision that disciplinary action was not warranted.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-2400.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to investigations of physicians without disciplinary action by the Board of Medicine.065742726
Patron: Devolites Davis
Board of Nursing; instruction in child abuse recognition and intervention. Mandates that the Board of Nursing require, on and after July 1, 2006, any person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license as a professional nurse, clinical nurse specialist, or practical nurse shall have received instruction in child abuse recognition and intervention. Further, the Board must require approved nursing education programs to provide such instruction.
A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-3011 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 54.1-3013.1, relating to the Board of Nursing; nursing education programs to include child abuse recognition and intervention.065740726