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2015 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health

Chairman: Stephen H. Martin

Clerk: Patty Lung
Staff: Thomas Stevens, Ryan Brimmer
Date of Meeting: January 22, 2015
Time and Place: 8:00 A.M. - Senate Room B
Docket updated to remove SB851

S.B. 713 Patient-Centered Medical Home Advisory Council; established.

Patron: Stanley

Patient-Centered Medical Home Advisory Council. Establishes the Patient-Centered Medical Home Advisory Council (Council) as an advisory council in the executive branch. The bill requires the Council to advise and make recommendations to the Department of Medical Assistance Services on reforms to the Commonwealth's program of medical assistance that would increase the quality of care while containing costs through a patient-centered medical home system. The bill defines a patient-centered medical home as a team approach to providing health care that (i) originates in a primary care setting; (ii) fosters a partnership among the patient, the personal provider and other health care professionals, and, where appropriate, the patient's family; (iii) utilizes the partnership to access all medical and nonmedical health-related services needed by the patient to achieve maximum health potential; and (iv) maintains a centralized, comprehensive record of all health-related services to promote continuity of care.

S.B. 715 Medicaid; DMAS to enter into contracts in regions with regional care organizations.

Patron: Stanley

Medicaid; regional care organizations. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services (Department), subject to approval of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to enter into contracts in regions of the Commonwealth with regional care organizations (RCOs). Under the contracts, an RCO will provide medical care to Medicaid beneficiaries and receive capitated payments from the Department. The Department is required to enroll a majority of the Commonwealth's Medicaid beneficiaries into RCOs. An RCO may contract with any willing health care provider to provide services in a Medicaid region if the provider is willing to accept the payments and terms offered to comparable providers. In order to be certified as an RCO, an organization is required to be certified by the Department as meeting eligibility requirements, including financial standards and service delivery network requirements.

S.B. 718 Telemedicine; Department of Health to establish a three-year pilot program, report.

Patron: Stanley

Telemedicine; pilot program. Directs the Department of Health, in partnership with a hospital licensed in the Commonwealth, to establish a three-year telemedicine pilot program designed to reduce patient use of emergency department facilities for the treatment of low-acuity conditions. The bill requires the Department to report the results of the pilot program to the State Board of Health and to the General Assembly by October 1, 2018.

S.B. 724 SOL; Bd. of Education prohibited from adopting revisions that implement Common Core State Standards.

Patron: Black

Board of Education; Standards of Learning. Prohibits the Board of Education from adopting revisions of the Standards of Learning that implement the Common Core State Standards unless it has the prior statutory approval of the General Assembly.

S.B. 727 A-F school grading system.

Patron: Black

A-F school grading system. Repeals the A-F school grading system created in the 2013 Session and amended in the 2014 Session.

S.B. 757 Standards of Learning; eligibility for retake of test.

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.

S.B. 782 The use of seclusion and restraint in public schools; Board of Education regulations.

Patron: Favola

The use of seclusion and restraint in public schools; Board of Education regulations. Requires the Board of Education to adopt regulations on the use of seclusion and restraint in public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth. The bill requires that such regulations incorporate certain existing guidance documents; include definitions of terms, criteria for use, restrictions for use, training requirements, notification requirements, reporting requirements, and follow-up requirements; and address distinctions between certain student populations. The bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth.

S.B. 805 STEM programs; grants for donations to qualified schools.

Patron: Stanley

Grants for donations to science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) programs at qualified schools. Establishes a grant program administered by the Board of Education beginning in 2015 for donations made by STEM organizations to qualified schools. The donations must be used by qualified schools to support STEM programs. The bill defines qualified schools as those public elementary and secondary schools at which at least 40 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Grants are capped at $50,000 per organization per year.

S.B. 821 Opportunity Educational Institution; repeals Institution.

Patron: Miller

Opportunity Educational Institution repealed. Repeals the Opportunity Educational Institution.

S.B. 823 Public schools; physical activity requirement.

Patron: Miller

Public schools; physical activity requirement. Requires at least 20 minutes of physical activity per day or an average of 100 minutes per week during the regular school year for students in grades kindergarten through five. This requirement becomes effective beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.

S.B. 837 Emergency medical services personnel; alternate method created for background checks.

Patron: Puller

Emergency medical services personnel; background checks; process. Creates an alternative method for national criminal history background checks for emergency medical services personnel, allowing local governments that have procedures in place for the collection of fingerprints and personal descriptive information and the forwarding of such fingerprints and information directly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to do so instead of forwarding fingerprints and information through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the national criminal history background checks.

S.B. 849 Community colleges; enrollment policies.

Patron: Stanley

Community colleges; enrollment policies. Requires the State Board for Community Colleges to develop policies directing community colleges to offer any open seat in any career or technical education course that is not at full capacity to (i) students enrolled in public high schools that are located in the region served by the community college and (ii) individuals who (a) reside in the region served by the community college, (b) are unemployed at the time of enrollment or have an annual household income that does not exceed 100 percent of the federal poverty level, and (c) have registered for job services with the Virginia Workforce Connection.

S.B. 852 Public schools; corporal punishment, exception.

Patron: Carrico

Public schools; corporal punishment; exception. Authorizes a public school athletic coach to require a student-athlete to participate in conditioning or exercise, such as performing push-ups or running laps, as part of a disciplinary process if the student-atlete and his parent have signed a form that (i) enumerates actions, such as being late to or missing a practice, that would result in discipline involving conditioning or exercise; (ii) specifies the required conditioning or exercise for each action that would result in discipline; and (iii) acknowledges that the student-athlete and his parent understand and accept the disciplinary process. The bill contains technical corrections.

S.B. 856 School-sponsored fund-raisers; regulations by Board of Education.

Patron: Stanley

School-sponsored fund-raisers; regulations. Directs the Board of Education to promulgate regulations to limit the number of school-sponsored fund-raisers that are exempt from the requirements of Section 10 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 USC 1779, as amended by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, to 30 per school per school year. The regulations shall also establish a procedure by which a local school division may request approval to hold additional exempt fund-raisers.

S.B. 874 Standards of Learning; eligibility for retake of tests.

Patron: Cosgrove

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 assessment in reading or mathematics to each student regardless of grade level.

S.B. 897 Standards of Learning; eligibility for retake of tests.

Patron: Miller

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, with the exception of the writing Standards of Learning tests, to each student regardless of grade level or course. The bill contains an emergency clause.

EMERGENCY

S.B. 902 Minors; procedures for collection of physical evidence.

Patron: Petersen

Minors; procedures for collection of physical evidence. Allows a licensed physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or registered nurse to perform a physical evidence recovery kit examination for an unemancipated minor whom he reasonably suspects is an abused or neglected child, provided (i) the licensed physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or registered nurse reports the suspected abuse, (ii) there is a need to conduct the examination in order to preserve physical evidence of the alleged abuse from degradation, and (iii) a good faith effort has been made to obtain consent to the examination from a parent or other legally authorized representative and such consent either has not been obtained or was refused.

S.B. 988 Sexual orientation change efforts prohibited.

Patron: Lucas

Sexual orientation change efforts prohibited. Prohibits any health care provider from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with any person under 18 years of age. The bill defines "sexual orientation change efforts" as including the provision of treatment, interventions, counseling, or services intended to change a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expressions, but not including treatment, interventions, counseling, or services provided to persons seeking to transition from one gender to another or that provide acceptance, social support, and identity exploration and development.

S.B. 992 Community Colleges, State Board for; policy for award of academic credit for military training.

Patron: Dance

State Board for Community Colleges; policy for the award of academic credit for military training. Requires the State Board for Community Colleges to adopt, no later than December 31, 2015, a policy for the award of academic credit to any student enrolled at a comprehensive community college who has successfully completed a military training course or program as part of his military service that is applicable to the student's certificate of degree requirements and is recommended for academic credit by a national higher education association that provides academic credit recommendations for military training courses or programs, noted on the student's military transcript issued by any of the armed forces of the United States, or otherwise documented in writing by any of the armed forces of the United States.

S.B. 995 Standards of Learning tests; expedited retake.

Patron: Stuart

Standards of Learning tests; expedited retake. Requires the Board of Education to adopt regulations to provide the same criteria for eligibility for an expedited retake of any Standards of Learning test to all students regardless of grade level or course, permits local school boards to adopt such uniform criteria, and requires the locality in which the school division is located to bear the cost of implementation.

S.B. 997 Emergency medical services personnel; background checks, process.

Patron: Stuart

Emergency medical services personnel; background checks; process. Creates an alternative method for criminal history background checks for emergency medical services personnel, allowing local governments that have procedures in place for the collection of fingerprints and personal descriptive information and the forwarding of such fingerprints and information directly to the Department of State Police or the Federal Bureau of Investigation to do so instead of forwarding fingerprints and information through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the national criminal history background checks.

S.B. 1018 Practical nurse or registered nurse; establishes criminal history record check for applicants.

Patron: Dance

Board of Nursing; criminal history record check for applicants for licensure. Establishes state and federal criminal history background check requirements for applicants for licensure as a practical nurse or registered nurse, beginning January 1, 2016.

S.B. 1024 Apprenticeship-related instruction.

Patron: Alexander

Apprenticeship-related instruction. Transfers the duty to establish policies for apprentices governing the provision of apprenticeship-related instruction delivered by state and local public education agencies and to provide for the administration and supervision of related and supplemental instruction from the State Board for Community Colleges to the Commissioner of Labor and Industry.

S.B. 1091 Public schools; adjustment of calculation of local composite index for funding.

Patron: Vogel

Adjustment of the calculation of the local composite index for public school funding. Directs the Department of Education to adjust its funding calculations for the local ability to pay by using the use-value assessment of real property, instead of the true value, in localities that have adopted use-value taxation.

S.B. 1105 School Health Advisory Board; established, report.

Patron: Miller

School Health Advisory Board. Establishes the School Health Advisory Board in the executive branch to advise the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Board of Education on health policy, including pending legislation, school health, health education, school environment, and health services.

S.B. 1111 People with Disabilities, Virginia Board for; membership, powers and duties.

Patron: Barker

Virginia Board for People with Disabilities; membership; powers and duties. Modifies membership eligibility and the duties of the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities and changes the name of the State Planning Council to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to align the Code of Virginia with the federal Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000.

S.B. 1117 Child abuse or neglect, suspected; time period for investigation.

Patron: Norment

Reports of suspected child abuse or neglect; time period for investigation and report; school division employees. Clarifies that, in cases of alleged child abuse or neglect where the subject of the report is an employee of a school division who is suspected of abusing or neglecting a child in the course of his educational employment, the time period for investigating reports of alleged child abuse or neglect, making a determination of whether the report is founded or unfounded, and transmitting the required report to the Department of Social Services and the person who is the subject of the investigation shall be mandatory and every local department shall make the required determination and report within the specified time period without delay.

S.B. 1122 Higher educational institutions; parental notification of student's suicidal tendencies.

Patron: Barker

Public institutions of higher education; parental notification of student's suicidal tendencies. Requires the governing body of a public institution of higher education to establish policies and procedures requiring the notification of the parent of a dependent student when the institution obtains information outside the mental health treatment setting that such student is exhibiting suicidal tendencies if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.

S.B. 1235 Cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil; recommendation and dispensing.

Patron: Marsden

Recommendation and dispensing of cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil. Provides that a person may possess cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil pursuant to a valid recommendation of a practitioner of medicine or osteopathy made upon a determination that the person has a debilitating epileptic condition.

S.B. 1265 Acute psychiatric bed registry; frequency of updating.

Patron: Deeds

Acute psychiatric bed registry; frequency of updating. Requires state facilities, community services boards, behavioral health authorities, and private inpatient psychiatric service providers to (i) update information included in the acute psychiatric bed registry whenever there is a change in bed availability for the facility, board, authority, or provider and (ii) review information included in the acute psychiatric bed registry for accuracy at least once daily.

S.B. 1294 Board of Nursing; criminal history record check for applicants for licensure.

Patron: Martin

Board of Nursing; criminal history record check for applicants for licensure. Establishes state and federal criminal history background check requirements for applicants for licensure as a practical nurse or registered nurse, beginning January 1, 2016.

S.B. 1322 State Board for Community Colleges; policy for the award of academic credit for military training.

Patron: Stosch

State Board for Community Colleges; policy for the award of academic credit for military training. Requires the State Board for Community Colleges to adopt, no later than December 31, 2015, a policy for the award of academic credit to any student enrolled at a comprehensive community college who has successfully completed a military training course or program as part of his military service that is applicable to the student's certificate of degree requirements and is recommended for academic credit by a national higher education association that provides academic credit recommendations for military training courses or programs, noted on the student's military transcript issued by any of the armed forces of the United States, or otherwise documented in writing by any of the armed forces of the United States.

S.B. 1330 Board for Rights of the Disabled and Board for the Rights of Virginians with Disabilities; repeal.

Patron: Edwards

Board for Rights of the Disabled and Board for the Rights of Virginians with Disabilities; repeal. Repeals an obsolete section of the Code of Virginia stating that whenever the terms "Board for Rights of the Disabled" and "Board for the Rights of Virginians with Disabilities" are used, the terms shall mean "Virginia Board for People with Disabilities." The terms "Board for Rights of the Disabled" and "Board for the Rights of Virginians with Disabilities" do not appear in the Code of Virginia. This bill is a recommendation of the Code Commission.

S.B. 1335 State Board for Community Colleges; policy for the award of academic credit for military training.

Patron: Cosgrove

State Board for Community Colleges; policy for the award of academic credit for military training. Requires the State Board for Community Colleges to adopt, no later than December 31, 2015, a policy for the award of academic credit to any student enrolled at a comprehensive community college who has successfully completed a military training course or program as part of his military service that is applicable to the student's certificate of degree requirements and is recommended for academic credit by a national higher education association that provides academic credit recommendations for military training courses or programs, noted on the student's military transcript issued by any of the armed forces of the United States, or otherwise documented in writing by any of the armed forces of the United States.