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2007 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health
Subcommittee Public Education

Newman (Chairman), Houck, Howell, Ruff, Blevins

Clerk: Patty Lung, Jocelyn Lance
Staff: Jessica Eades, Brenda Edwards
Date of Meeting: January 26, 2007
Time and Place: Friday, 8:00 a.m., 3rd Fl West, General Assembly Building

S.B. 863 At-risk students; after school programs.

Patron: Miller

At-risk students; after school programs.  Allows local school boards to establish after school programs designed to prevent at-risk youth from engaging in illegal or gang-related activities for students who attend elementary, middle, or high schools. To be eligible to attend one of these programs, a student must be enrolled in a public school in the relevant school division. State and local funds appropriated for educational purposes may be used to support such programs.

S.B. 1038 Public school contract employees; requires school boards to obtain data on convictions of crime.

Patron: O'Brien

Data on convictions of certain crimes; public school contract employees. Requires school boards to obtain certification, from a contractor or employee of a contractor, that all employees who will have direct unsupervised contact with students (i) have not been convicted of a felony or any offense involving the sexual molestation or physical or sexual abuse or rape of a child; and (ii) have not been convicted of a misdemeanor involving actual or threatened harm to any person or property, or of any offense listed in subsection G of §16.1-260, prior to awarding a contract for services requiring direct unsupervised contact with students. The bill also provides that the requirement be waived in emergency situations where it is reasonably anticipated that the contractor or his employees will have no direct contact with students.

S.B. 1147 Standard diploma; requirements to include one concentration in career and technical education.

Patron: Wagner

Graduation requirements; standard diploma. Expands the requirements for earning a standard diploma to include one concentration in career and technical education.

S.B. 1197 Public schools; regulations of foods containing trans fatty acids.

Patron: Edwards

Board of Education regulations; eliminating trans fats.  Requires the Board of Education to promulgate regulations for the elimination of foods containing trans fatty acids from public schools by the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. The gradual elimination shall begin with their elimination from vegetable oils used in school cafeterias by the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. The final ban shall extend to all (i) foods sold as part of the official school breakfast and lunch programs, (ii) foods sold in vending machines on school grounds, and (iii) competitive foods sold during school hours.

S.B. 1338 Standards of Quality; local school boards to enroll students in gifted education programs.

Patron: McDougle

Standards of Quality; Standard 1; gifted education programs. Requires local school boards to identify and enroll students gifted in general intellectual aptitude or specific academic aptitude in mathematics, the sciences, the English language, and history or the social sciences. This bill provides that school boards must determine whether to offer identification and enrollment of students gifted in general intellectual aptitude or students gifted in specific academic aptitude, or identification and programs for both groups of students. Further, the bill states that school boards may provide identification and differentiated instructional programs for students gifted in technical and practical arts, or visual or performing arts aptitude. For students in kindergarten and at every grade level through 12th grade, school boards are required to identify gifted students and enroll them in appropriate programs, in accordance with standards established by regulations of the Board of Education. School boards must either meet or exceed the standards established by the Board.

S.B. 1346 School boards; contractors for schools to prove employees not convicted felons.

Patron: Newman

Local school boards; contractors.  Provides that prior to awarding a contract for the provision of services that require the contractor or his employees to have direct unsupervised contact with students, the school board must require the contractor to provide certification that all employees who will have direct unsupervised contact with students have not been convicted of a felony or any offense involving the sexual molestation or physical or sexual abuse or rape of a child.