SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2009 SESSION

  • print version
Senate Committee on Education and Health
Subcommittee Public Education

Blevins (Chairman), Howell, Ruff, Locke, Miller, J.C.

Clerk: Jocelyn R. Lance
Staff: Jessica Eades, Brenda Edwards
Date of Meeting: January 26, 2009
Time and Place: Monday, 1/2 hr. after Senate adj., 4 E Conf. Rm, Gen. Assembly Bl

S.B. 827 Family life education; value and benefits of marriage for men, etc. to list of topics covered.

Patron: Smith

Family life education; value and benefits of marriage. Adds the value and benefits of marriage for men, women, children, and communities to the list of topics to be covered in family life education curricula.

Impact Statements

S.B. 956 Autism Tuition Assistance Grant Program; established.

Patron: Stosch

Autism Tuition Assistance Grant Program; established.  Establishes a tuition assistance grant program for students with autism. The program provides grants of no more than $20,000 a year per student to a Virginia nonsectarian private school of choice for students identified as autistic and for whom individual education plans have been written.

The bill requires that in order to receive the grant the following conditions be satisfied: (i) the student has attended a public school in the Commonwealth and has received special education services for at least one year prior to the receipt of the grant; (ii) the parent has obtained acceptance for admission of the student to an eligible private school; (iii) the parent has executed and submitted to the division superintendent a written statement acknowledging that the public school has implemented an individualized educational program that is reasonably calculated to provide educational benefit; and (iv) the parent has requested the grant of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and notified the division superintendent of that request.

The Board of Education is required to promulgate regulations to administer the Grant Program within 280 days of enactment.

S.B. 1040 No Child Left Behind Act; prohibits Board of Education from complying with any provisions unfunded.

Patron: Hanger

No Child Left Behind; compliance.  Prohibits the Board of Education from complying with any provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act that are unfunded and are not an integral or necessary component of the Commonwealth's own Standards of Quality, Standards of Accreditation, or Standards of Learning. Also states that the Board of Education shall not require any localities to comply with such provisions.

S.B. 1322 Food allergies; Board of Education to establish guidelines for managing children in public schools.

Patron: Whipple

Guidelines for managing food allergies.  Requires the Board of Education to establish guidelines for managing and caring for children with food allergies in the public schools. The guidelines must provide a protocol for caring for children with life-threatening food allergies and requirements for accommodating children with special dietary needs and training of school personnel, and incorporate Board of Education policies pertaining to the management of food allergies and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service standards for accommodating children with special dietary needs. This bill also requires local school boards to adopt guidelines consistent with the Board's by July 1, 2010, and to ensure that all school personnel with direct contact with students are appropriately trained in identifying and managing children who have been exposed to specific food allergens.

S.B. 1342 Triennial census of school population; eliminates requirement every 3 years a census take place.

Patron: Reynolds

Triennial census of school population; sales and use tax distribution. Eliminates the requirement that every three years a census of all school-age persons residing within each school division take place. Also eliminates all related requirements regarding appointment and compensation of persons taking census, agents, and census results. Amends the procedure regarding sales and use tax distribution to localities so that distribution is based on the average daily membership of the school division rather than the school-age population of a school division.

S.B. 1367 Food allergies; school board develop, etc. policy for management of students with life-threatening.

Patron: Barker

Public schools; students with life-threatening allergies.  Requires that no later than January 1, 2010, each local school board develop and implement a policy for the management of public school students with life-threatening food allergies. This policy shall be based on the Department of Education's Special Care Issues Guidelines relating to food allergies and anaphylaxis.