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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.
2014 SESSION
Chairman: Stephen H. Martin
Clerk: Patty Lung, Wesley Bland
Staff: Thomas Stevens, Ryan Brimmer
Date of Meeting: January 16, 2014
Time and Place: 8:00 a.m. - Senate Room B
Patron: Marsden
Public school textbooks; East Sea. Requires all textbooks approved by the Board of Education to note that the Sea of Japan is also referred to as the East Sea.
Patron: Black
Public school textbooks; East Sea. Requires all textbooks approved by the Board of Education to note that the Sea of Japan is also referred to as the East Sea.
Patron: Favola
Teachers; dismissal. Extends from five business days to 10 business days the deadline for a teacher to request a hearing after receiving written notice of a recommendation of dismissal.
Patron: Martin
Disposition of remains; definition of "next of kin". Expands the definition of "next of kin" as used in the context of authority to make decisions regarding disposition of a decedent's remains to include any person who consents to pay the costs of disposition of the decedent's remains upon his death. Currently, "next of kin" includes any person designated to make arrangements for the disposition of the decedent's remains upon his death pursuant to a signed and notarized writing or the legal spouse, adult child, parent, sibling, grandparent, guardian of a minor, guardian of minor siblings, or any other relative of the decedent in descending order of blood relationship.
Patron: Edwards
Standards of Learning assessments; revisions. Requires that all revisions to any Standards of Learning assessment are finalized by December 31 of the school year prior to the school year in which the revised assessment is administered.
Patron: Miller
Policies on concussions in student-athletes. Requires each non-interscholastic youth sports program utilizing public school property to establish policies and procedures based on either the local school division's guidelines or the Board of Education's guidelines regarding the identification and handling of suspected concussions in student-athletes. The bill also directs the Board of Education to review and revise the Board's guidelines on concussions as necessary.
Patron: Stuart
Policies on concussions in student-athletes. Requires each non-interscholastic youth sports program utilizing public school property to either (i) establish policies and procedures based on either the local school division's guidelines or the Board of Education's guidelines regarding the identification and handling of suspected concussions in student-athletes or (ii) follow the policies and procedures regarding the identification and handling of suspected concussions required of local school divisions in existing law. The bill also directs the Board of Education to review and revise the Board's guidelines on concussions as necessary.
Patron: McWaters
Critical congenital heart defect screening of newborns. Requires the Board of Health to include in its regulations governing hospitals a requirement that every hospital implement a protocol for testing newborn infants for critical congenital heart defects, including performing pulse oximetry screening for newborn infants and providing appropriate follow-up and treatment for infants diagnosed with a critical congenital heart defect.
Patron: Carrico
Occupational therapy; practice as a therapist or therapist assistant applicant. Provides that a person who has graduated from a duly accredited educational program in occupational therapy may practice under the title "Occupational Therapist, License Applicant" and that a person who has graduated from a duly accredited occupational therapy assistant education program may practice under the title "Occupational Therapy Assistant, License Applicant" until he has received a failing score on any examination required by the Board of Occupational Therapy or until six months have elapsed from the date of graduation, whichever occurs sooner.
Patron: Carrico
Student religious viewpoint expression. Codifies the right of students to (i) voluntarily pray or engage in religious activities or religious expression before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that students may engage in nonreligious activities or expression; (ii) organize prayer groups, religious clubs, "see you at the pole" gatherings, or other religious gatherings before, during, and after school to the same extent that students are permitted to organize other activities and groups; and (iii) wear clothing, accessories, or jewelry that display religious messages or religious symbols in the same manner and to the same extent that other types of clothing, accessories, and jewelry are permitted. The bill also requires each school division to adopt a policy to permit a student speaker to express a religious viewpoint at any school event at which a student is permitted to publicly speak. The policy shall declare each such school event to be a limited public forum, provide a neutral method for the selection of student speakers, and require each school principal to provide a disclaimer in advance of each such school event that the school division does not endorse any religious viewpoint that may be expressed by student speakers.
Patron: McWaters
Higher education; students' personal information. Prohibits public institutions of higher education from selling, trading, releasing, or otherwise distributing students' personal information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and social security numbers, to third-party vendors.
Patron: Edwards
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; elimination of certain duties and programs. Eliminates the duty of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to (i) develop policies and procedures for disclosing certain information to students on student lending practices; (ii) develop, in collaboration with public institutions of higher education and the Department of Health, education programs for college students on the etiology, effects, and prevention of infection with human immunodeficiency virus; and (iii) establish institutes that provide in-service training on the effective use of technology to teachers, administrators, and librarians. The bill transfers the administration of the Virginia Vocational Incentive Scholarship Program for Shipyard Workers and the companion Fund from SCHEV to Tidewater Community College and specifies that shipyard workers enrolled in a certain apprenticeship program are eligible for such program and fund. The bill abolishes the Virginia Graduate and Undergraduate Assistance Program, the College Scholarship Assistance Program, and the Virginia College Savings Program. The bill does not impact the Virginia College Savings Plan, commonly referred to as the Virginia 529 College Savings Plan or Virginia 529. Finally, the bill relocates a traineeship program administered by the Board of Education from Title 23 to Title 22.1.
Patron: Alexander
Funeral services, cremation. Provides that, in cases where no next of kin, designated person, or agent is available, any person over 18 years of age who is able to provide visual identification of a deceased and is willing to pay the costs of cremation may do so, as part of the requirements for cremation.
Patron: McEachin
Insurance; employees of public institutions of higher education or localities. Requires the state health plan, for employees of higher education, to provide means for coverage of any other class of persons as may mutually be agreed upon by the institution and the employee to be purchased. The bill also expands the list of people who may be provided certain types of insurance by a locality, adding the dependents of officers and employees of a locality, as well as the dependents of those employed by commissions and other entities controlled by or working closely with a locality, to the list of people to whom a locality may provide accident and health insurance. The bill expands the potential eligibility for health insurance programs to include the dependents of eligible members of volunteer fire or rescue companies and the dependents of retired officers and employees. The bill requires any locality providing insurance to dependents of employees to provide the same programs to dependents of constitutional officers in some cases.
Patron: Deeds
DBHDS; evaluate qualifications and training of individuals performing evaluations of individuals subject to emergency custody orders; report. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to review requirements for qualifications, training, and oversight of individuals designated by community services boards to perform evaluations of individuals subject to emergency custody orders and to make recommendations for changes to such requirements. The Department shall report its findings by December 1, 2014.
Patron: Miller
Third grade SOLs; math and English only. Directs the Board of Education to require only math and English reading Standards of Learning assessments for third graders.
Patron: Puckett
Prescription Monitoring Program; prescriber requirements. Requires prescribers licensed in the Commonwealth to register with the Prescription Monitoring Program. The bill also requires registered prescribers to request, from the Director of the Department of Health Professions, information regarding a patient's treatment history prior to issuing a prescription for benzodiazepine or an opiate.
Patron: Stuart
Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program; eligibility. Extends the benefits of the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program to the spouse or child of a veteran with at least a 90 percent permanent, service-related disability. Under current law, the spouse or child would be eligible for benefits only if the veteran's disability was incurred during military operations against terrorism, on a peacekeeping mission, as a result of a terrorist act, or in any armed conflict.
Patron: Alexander
Disposition of dead bodies. Establishes a process for the disposition of unclaimed dead bodies. The bill contains an emergency clause.
EMERGENCY
Patron: Deeds
Standards of Learning; expedited retakes. Requires the Board of Education to promulgate regulations to (a) increase the number of students and the number of grade levels that are eligible for an expedited retake of Standards of Learning assessments and (b) permit students in grades three through five who score in the 390 to 399 range on a Standards of Learning assessment to receive focused remediation and to take an alternative assessment in the established testing window.
Patron: Deeds
Standards of Learning assessments. Requires the Standards of Learning assessments administered to students (i) in grades three and four to be limited to English and mathematics; (ii) in grade five to be limited to English, mathematics, and science; and (iii) in grade six to be limited to English, mathematics, and history and social science. The bill requires local school boards to develop grading and evaluation systems to measure the academic progress of students in grades three through six in all Standards of Learning content areas in accordance with guidelines established by the Board of Education and requires the Board of Education to establish such guidelines.
Patron: Vogel
Appeal of computation of the local composite index. Provides a procedure for appealing the computation of the composite index of local ability-to-pay before a review committee consisting of three Board of Education members, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Secretary of Education or his designee, and the Secretary of Finance or his designee. The school boards are authorized to petition the Board of Education for review of the determination of the cost apportioned to the school boards for maintaining an educational program meeting the Standards of Quality.
Patron: Miller
Public schools; individual school performance grading system. Delays from October 1, 2014, to October 1, 2017, the date by which the Board of Education is required to implement the A to F individual school performance grading system. The bill requires the Board to provide a clear series of A to F grades for schools and to take into account certain factors in assigning grades including all state mandated assessments; any assessment developed or approved for use by the relevant local school board; student mobility; the experience and qualifications of staff; total cost and funding per pupil; extracurricular activities and the number of participants in such activities; and parental engagement and satisfaction levels. The bill also requires the Board to make the system and grades available to the public in a format which allows for a comparison of similarly situated schools in terms of percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, percentage of English language learners, local funding beyond what is required by the composite index, student mobility, and any other category the Board deems appropriate.
Patron: Miller
Standards of Quality; waivers from third grade Standards of Learning assessments in certain scenarios. Allows a public elementary school that had an adjusted pass rate of less than 75 percent on the third grade Standards of Learning reading assessment administered during the previous school year to apply to the Board of Education for a two-year waiver from the science or history and social science Standards of Learning assessment requirement, or both, for third grade students. Elementary schools that apply for a two-year waiver must satisfy certain conditions to be granted the waiver. The bill contains an expiration date of July 1, 2016.
Patron: Howell
Genetic counseling; licensure. Establishes a mandatory licensing process for genetic counselors, including educational and training requirements. The bill establishes requirements for license renewal, including continuing education mandates, and creates the Advisory Board on Genetic Counseling to assist the Board of Medicine in regulating the practice of genetic counseling.
Patron: McEachin
Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority; selection or removal of Chief Executive Officer. Requires that in situations where a majority of the members of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority and the Board of Visitors of Virginia Commonwealth University do not agree upon the selection, removal, or conditions of appointment, including salary, of the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority, the two boards will each select a committee of three members to consider the matters upon which the boards disagree in a joint committee meeting. The decision of the joint committee is binding upon the two boards. In the event that a majority of the members of each committee do not agree, then the President of the University shall decide the matters upon which the committees disagree. The President's decision will be binding upon the two boards.
Patron: Edwards
Early childhood education. Requires, on and after July 1, 2019, 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, 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. Implementation and funding of the required public school early childhood education programs is contingent on funding 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.
Patron: Reeves
Individual school performance; A-to-F grading system. Requires the Board of Education to (i) provide an opportunity for public comment on the A-to-F school grading system and the grades assigned to each public school in the Commonwealth and (ii) include in its report to the General Assembly a summary of the public comments. The bill also requires the Board to make its report to the General Assembly by November 30, 2015. The bill contains an expiration date of July 1, 2016.
Patron: Barker
Public schools; Standards of Learning tests. Directs the Board of Education to promulgate regulations to provide the same criteria for eligibility for an expedited retake of any Standards of Learning test to each student regardless of grade level or course.
Patron: Alexander
Dead bodies, disposition. Authorizes the Department of Corrections to accept and dispose of an unclaimed dead body of a person who has been received into the state corrections system and died prior to his release and whose body the Commissioner of Health refuses to accept. The bill also provides liability protection for such acceptance and disposition.
Patron: Hanger
Deferred compensation plan for Medicaid program independent contractors. Authorizes the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System to develop policies and procedures to allow certain independent contractors performing services for the Commonwealth's Medicaid program to participate in the deferred compensation plan for employees of the Commonwealth and authorizes the Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services to provide payments or transfers to and to participate in any deferred compensation plan for independent contractors providing services for the Commonwealth's Medicaid program established by the Board.
Patron: Hanger
Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan; eligibility. Eliminates the requirement that an individual under the age of 19 must have been without health insurance for at least four months or must meet the requirements set forth in the Virginia Plan for Title XXI of the Social Security Act (Children's Health Insurance Program) to be eligible for assistance under the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan.
Patron: Norment
Virginia Military Institute board of visitors; appointment of executive committee and president. Removes the requirement that the Virginia Military Institute board of visitors must wait until after July 1 in any year to appoint an executive committee of the board or the president of the board. The bill also removes the requirement that the board must dissolve its executive committee at its next regular meeting or the following July 1. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron: Norment
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; articulation, dual admissions, and guaranteed admissions agreements. Renames the State Transfer Module as the State Transfer Tool and requires the State Council of Higher Education to develop guidelines to govern the development and implementation of articulation, dual admissions, and guaranteed admissions agreements between the Commonwealth's public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education. Under current law, the Council is required to use the State Transfer Module to develop articulation, transfer, and dual enrollment and admissions agreements between the Commonwealth's public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education.
Patron: Obenshain
Charter schools; personnel. Allows public charter schools to designate in their applications whether their employees will participate in the Virginia Retirement System. The bill directs the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System to develop procedures allowing school boards that approve such applications to exempt the charter school employees from participation. The bill also (i) requires at least 75 percent of public charter elementary school teachers to be licensed and at least 50 percent of public charter middle and high school teachers to be licensed and (ii) specifies that all teachers otherwise be "highly qualified," as defined by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Patron: Martin
Disposition of dead bodies. Establishes a process for the disposition of unclaimed dead bodies.
EMERGENCY
Patron: Black
Limited public forums for student religious viewpoint expression; school division policy. Requires each school division to adopt a policy to permit a student speaker to express a religious viewpoint at all school events at which a student is permitted to publicly speak. The policy shall declare each such school event to be a limited public forum, provide a neutral method for the selection of student speakers, and require each school principal to provide a disclaimer in advance of each such school event that the school division does not endorse any religious viewpoint that may be expressed by student speakers.
Patron: Barker
Advance Health Care Directive Registry; submission of documents. Provides that the legal representative or designee of an individual who has executed a health care power of attorney, advance directive, or declaration of an anatomical gift may submit the document to the Advance Health Care Directive Registry. Current law provides that only the person who executed the document may submit it.
Patron: Garrett
Longwood University Board of Visitors; removal of visitors. Provides that if any member of the Longwood University Board of Visitors fails to perform the duties of his office for one year without sufficient cause shown to the board, the office of such visitor shall be vacated. The bill also provides that if so many of such visitors fail to perform their duties that a quorum is not met for a year, the rector, any member of the board, or the president of the University may certify such fact to the Governor and the offices of all visitors failing to attend shall be vacated.