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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: February 19, 2015
Time and Place: 7:45 A.M. - Senate Room B

H.B. 1303 Local school boards; administration of Standards of Learning assessments.

Patron: Farrell

Department of Education; release of Standards of Learning assessments. Requires the Department of Education to make available to school divisions Standards of Learning assessments typically administered by the middle and high schools by December 1 of the school year in which such assessments are to be administered or when newly developed assessments are available, whichever is later.

H.B. 1309 Local school boards; arming of school security officers.

Patron: Cole

Local school boards; arming of school security officers. Permits local school boards to arm school security officers with batons, stun weapons, or any spray device designed to incapacitate a person and to allow school security officers to use such devices under the appropriate circumstances.

H.B. 1320 Teacher licensure renewal; college credit.

Patron: Farrell

Teacher licensure renewal; college credit. Requires every teacher seeking licensure renewal to receive such professional development as may be prescribed by the Board but prohibits the Board from requiring such teachers to satisfy any such requirement by completing coursework and earning credit at an institution of higher education.

H.B. 1338 Electronic textbooks; funding.

Patron: Farrell

Electronic textbooks; School Performance Report Card; instructional costs. Requires the Department of Education, for the purpose of including in the annual School Performance Report Card for school divisions the percentage of each school division's operating budget allocated to instructional costs, to allocate to instructional costs each school division's expenditures on the hardware necessary to support electronic textbooks. 

H.B. 1361 Virginia Virtual School, Board of; established, report.

Patron: Bell, Richard P.

Virginia Virtual School established. Establishes the Board of the Virginia Virtual School (the Board) as a policy agency in the executive branch of state government, under the authority of the Secretary of Education, for the purpose of governing the full-time virtual school programs offered to students enrolled in the Virginia Virtual School (the School). The bill gives the 13-member Board operational control of the School and assigns the Board's powers and duties. The bill requires the School to be open to any school-age person in the Commonwealth and provide an educational program meeting the Standards of Quality for grades kindergarten through 12. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2016.

H.B. 1419 Standards of Learning; changes.

Patron: Head

Standards of Learning. Requires the Department of Education to develop processes for informing school divisions of changes in the Standards of Learning.

H.B. 1436 Dispensing of interchangeable biosimilars; sunset provision.

Patron: O'Bannon

Dispensing of interchangeable biosimilars; sunset. Extends by one year, through July 1, 2016, the requirement that a pharmacist who dispenses an interchangeable biosimilar in the place of a prescribed biological product provide electronic, written, or telephonic notification of the substitution to the prescriber within five business days of dispensing or as set forth in a collaborative practice agreement. This provision is currently set to expire on July 1, 2015.

H.B. 1515 Maternity patients; information about safe sleep environments for infants.

Patron: Bulova

Information for maternity patients; safe sleep environments for infants. Adds information about safe sleep environments for infants that is consistent with current information available from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the list of information that licensed nurse midwives, licensed midwives, and hospitals must provide to maternity care patients.

H.B. 1581 Family life education; advance directives related to mental health.

Patron: Watts

Family life education; advance directives related to mental health. Requires the family life education curriculum developed by the Board of Education to include, as a component of instruction in mental health education and awareness, instruction on the availability of advance directives, as set forth in the Health Care Decisions Act (§ 54.1-2981 et seq.), related to mental health that permit an adult declarant to appoint an agent and authorize the agent to seek the hospitalization and evaluation of the declarant if the declarant shows signs of mental illness.

H.B. 1584 Fire services and emergency medical services; revises certain terminology.

Patron: Stolle

Fire services and emergency medical services. Revises terminology related to fire services and emergency medical services and reorganizes provisions governing fire services and emergency medical services. The bill also contains technical amendments.

H.B. 1612 School service providers; protection of student personal information.

Patron: Greason

School service providers; student personal information. Requires each entity that operates pursuant to a contract with a local school division a website, mobile application, or online service that (i) is designed and marketed solely for use in elementary or secondary schools, (ii) is used at the direction of teachers or other employees at elementary or secondary schools, and (iii) collects and maintains, uses, or shares information that identifies an individual student or is linked to information that identifies an individual student to maintain certain protections for such information, including transparency, privacy policies, information security programs, and access to an individual student's person information by the student and his parents.

H.B. 1615 Standards of Learning; integrated assessments to include multiple subject areas.

Patron: Greason

Standards of Learning; integrated assessments. Permits the end-of-course and end-of-grade Standards of Learning assessments prescribed by the Board of Education to be integrated to include multiple subject areas.

H.B. 1616 Career and technical education; alignment with national certification requirements.

Patron: Greason

Career and technical education; alignment with national certification requirements. Requires each sequence of courses constituting a career and technical education program to be aligned with national certification requirements, if such requirements exist for the sequence of courses.

H.B. 1672 A-F school grading system; repeals system created in 2013, redesigns School Performance Report Card.

Patron: Greason

A-F school grading system; School Performance Report Card. Repeals the A-F school grading system created in the 2013 Session and amended in the 2014 Session and requires the Board of Education, in consultation with the Standards of Learning Innovation Committee and no later than July 1, 2016, to redesign the School Performance Report Card so that it is more effective in communicating to parents and the public the status and achievements of the public schools and local school divisions in the Commonwealth and submit such design to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health for final approval.

H.B. 1674 School accreditation; review of status by Board of Education.

Patron: Greason

School accreditation frequency. Eliminates the requirement for the Board of Education to annually review the accreditation status of public elementary and secondary schools and permits the Board to review the accreditation status of schools annually, once every two years, or once every three years. The bill requires the frequency of such review to be based on criteria established by the Board that take into consideration each school's accreditation history, most recent accreditation status, and performance on metrics contained in the School Performance Report Card. The bill requires the Board to review in the subsequent the accreditation status of any school that fails to achieve full accreditation. The bill requires Standards of Learning assessments scores to continue to be reported on the School Performance Report Card annually, regardless of accreditation frequency.

H.B. 1675 Graduation requirements; local alternative paths to standard or verified units of credit.

Patron: Greason

Graduation requirements; local alternative paths to standard or verified units of credit. Requires the Board of Education, in establishing course and credit requirements for a high school diploma, to permit local school divisions to waive (i) the requirement for students to receive 140 clock hours of instruction to earn a standard unit of credit or (ii) the requirement for students to achieve a satisfactory score on a Standards of Learning assessment or Board-approved substitute test to earn a verified unit of credit upon providing the Board with satisfactory proof, based on Board guidelines, that the students for whom such requirements are waived has learned the content and skills included in the relevant Standards of Learning. The provisions of clause (ii) have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2016.

H.B. 1676 Postsecondary credential, etc.; local school board agreements with community colleges.

Patron: Byron

Dual enrollment; career and technical education. Permits each local school board to enter into agreements for postsecondary credential, certification, or license attainment with community colleges or other public institutions of higher education or educational institutions established pursuant to Title 23 that offer a career and technical education curriculum. The bill requires such agreements to specify (i) the options for students to take courses as part of the career and technical education curriculum that lead to an industry-recognized credential, certification, or license concurrent with a high school diploma and (ii) the credentials, certifications, or licenses available for such courses.

H.B. 1692 Higher educational institutions; alternative tuition or fee structures offered to students.

Patron: Rush

Four-year public institutions of higher education; alternative tuition or fee structures. Permits each public institution of higher education to offer alternative tuition or fee structures to students. The bill provides that if a public institution of higher education, with the approval of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (Council), offers alternative tuition or fee structures, including discounted tuition, four-year flat tuition rates, discounted student fees, or student fee and student services flexibility, to any Virginia-domiciled, first-time, incoming freshman undergraduate student who enrolls full time with the intent to earn a degree in a program that leads to employment in a high-demand field in the region, according to guidelines established by the Council, each student who receives the benefits of such an alternative tuition or fee structure shall count one and a half times for the purpose of (i) targeted economic and innovation incentives pursuant to subdivision 3 of § 23-38.87:16, (ii) the base adequacy funding guidelines adopted and periodically updated by the Joint Subcommittee Studying Higher Education Funding Policies, or (iii) biennial assessments of institutional performance as set forth in Part 4 of the general appropriation act and consistent with § 23-9.6:1.01.

H.B. 1698 Students; questionnaires and surveys requesting sexual information, etc.

Patron: Wilt

Student questionnaires and surveys; parental notification and consent. Requires each school board, in any case in a questionnaire or survey requesting that students provide sexual information, mental health information, medical information, information on student health risk behaviors, other information on controlled substance use, or any other information that the school board deems to be sensitive in nature is to be administered, to give the parent 30 days' written notice of the nature and types of questions, the purposes and age-appropriateness of the questionnaire or survey, how such information will be used, who will have access to such information, the steps that will be taken to protect student privacy, and whether and how any findings or results will be disclosed. The bill gives the parent the right to request that an advance copy of the questionnaire or survey be sent to him, to review the document in person at the school, and to exempt his child from participation. Under current law, (i) such written notice only applies to surveys or questionnaires on sexual information and information on student health risk behaviors, (ii) the detailed contents of the notice only apply to information on student health risk behaviors, and (iii) the parent has the right to review questionnaires and surveys but no right to request that a copy be sent to him.

H.B. 1714 Standards of Learning; third grade through eighth grade assessments.

Patron: LeMunyon

Third grade through eighth grade Standards of Learning assessments; science. Permits the Board of Education to require each student to take a Standards of Learning assessment in science after the student receives instruction in the grade six science, life science, and physical science Standards of Learning and before the student completes grade eight. Current law permits the Board to require each student to take this Standards of Learning assessment in grade eight.

H.B. 1715 Higher educational institutions; students exhibiting suicidal tendencies or behavior, policies.

Patron: LeMunyon

Public institutions of higher education; students exhibiting suicidal tendencies or behavior; notification. Requires the board of visitors or other governing body of every public institution of higher education to establish policies and procedures that advise students, faculty, and staff, including residence hall staff, of the proper procedures for notifying the threat assessment team when a student has exhibited suicidal tendencies or behavior.

H.B. 1723 Radon; persons certified as proficient to offer screening, testing, and mitigation.

Patron: Simon

Radon; persons certified as proficient to offer screening, testing, and mitigation. Updates and clarifies provisions governing the credentialing of individuals who may conduct or offer to conduct radon screening, testing, or mitigation in the Commonwealth and updates provisions governing the standards for radon testing in the Commonwealth.

H.B. 1733 Prescription drug orders; delivery to PACE program facility.

Patron: Hodges

Delivery of prescription drug orders; PACE programs. Provides that prescription drug orders dispensed to a patient and delivered to a program of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE) facility licensed by the Department of Medical Assistance Services may be stored, retained, and repackaged at the facility on behalf of a patient for subsequent delivery or administration The bill requires that repackaging of dispensed prescription drugs retained by the PACE facility be performed by a pharmacist, pharmacy technician, nurse, or other person who has successfully completed a Board-approved training program for such purpose. The bill directs the Board of Pharmacy to promulgate regulations related to training, packaging, labeling, and recordkeeping for such repackaging.

H.B. 1735 Optometrists, TPA-certified; administration of certain Schedule II drugs.

Patron: Hodges

TPA-certified optometrists; administration of certain Schedule II drugs. Allows TPA-certified optometrists to administer Schedule II drugs consisting of hydrocodone in combination with acetaminophen, in accordance with federal law. The bill contains technical amendments.

H.B. 1736 Wholesale distributors; notice to Board of Pharmacy when ceasing distribution of certain drugs.

Patron: Hodges

Wholesale distributors; notice to Board of Pharmacy when ceasing distribution to a dispenser due to suspicious ordering. Requires a wholesale distributor or nonresident wholesale distributor that ceases distribution of Schedule II through V drugs to a pharmacy, licensed physician dispenser, or licensed physician dispensing facility located in the Commonwealth due to suspicious orders of controlled substances to notify the Board of Pharmacy within five days of the cessation. The bill defines "suspicious orders of controlled substances;" provides that a wholesale distributor or nonresident wholesale distributor shall be immune from civil liability for notifying the Board of Pharmacy in accordance with this act unless such notice was given in bad faith or with malicious intent; and provides that the Board of Pharmacy shall not impose any disciplinary or enforcement action against a licensee or permit holder solely on the basis of notice received from a wholesale distributor or nonresident wholesale distributor in accordance with this act.

H.B. 1737 Outsourcing facilities; new regulatory framework created for permitting.

Patron: Hodges

Outsourcing facilities and nonresident outsourcing facilities and compounding for office-based administration. Creates a new regulatory framework for permitting of outsourcing facilities thatcompound drugs and are located within the Commonwealth and registering nonresident outsourcing facilities in the Commonwealth.

H.B. 1738 Hospices; notice to dispenser of patient's death within 48 hours.

Patron: Hodges

Hospices; notice to dispenser of patient's death. Requires every hospice licensed by the Department of Health or exempt from licensure pursuant to § 32.1-162.2 with a hospice patient residing at home at the time of death to notify every pharmacy that has dispensed partial quantities of a Schedule II controlled substance for a patient with a medical diagnosis documenting a terminal illness, as authorized by federal law, within 48 hours of the patient's death.

H.B. 1750 Investigational drugs; expanded access.

Patron: Ransone

Expanded access to investigational drugs, biological products, and devices. Provides that a manufacturer of an investigational drug, biological product, or device may make such investigational drug, biological product, or device available to a person who has a terminal illness when (i) no comparable or satisfactory alternative treatment options approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are available to treat his terminal illness; (ii) the potential benefits of the use of the investigational drug, biological product, or device outweigh the risks of use of the investigational drug, biological product, or device; (iii) his treating physician has recommended use of the investigational drug, biological product, or device; and (iv) the person has provided informed written consent to use of the investigational drug, biological product, or device. The bill provides that a manufacturer that provides an investigational drug, biological product, or device for treatment of a person's terminal illness may provide the investigational drug, biological product, or device free of charge or may require the person to pay costs associated with manufacture of the investigational drug, biological product, or device and that health insurance providers may, but are not required to, provide coverage for costs associated with use of the investigational drug, biological product, or device. The bill provides immunity from civil liability for health care providers who recommend an investigational drug, biological product or device and for manufacturers of investigational drugs, biological products or devices that make such drugs, products or devices available to a person who meets the criteria set forth in the bill.

H.B. 1752 SOL; Bd. of Education prohibited from adopting revisions that implement Common Core State Standards.

Patron: LaRock

Board of Education; Common Core State Standards. Prohibits the Board of Education from replacing the educational objectives known as the Standards of Learning with Common Core State Standards without the prior statutory approval of the General Assembly but permits the Board to continue or create an educational standard or assessment that is coincidentally included in the standards referred to as the Common Core State Standards.

H.B. 1753 Home instruction of children; requirements, year-end assessments, cutoff date.

Patron: LaRock

Children; receiving home instruction; one year probationary period; exemption. Eliminates the ability of the division superintendent to impose a one year academic probationary period on a child who begins home instruction on or after the first day of February of the school year and whose parent does not provide the required evidence of educational progress.

H.B. 1754 Home instruction of children; parent to provide certain testing scores to division superintendent.

Patron: LaRock

Requirements for home instruction of children; Testing Options.

H.B. 1792 Gamete donors; HIV testing protocol.

Patron: Stolle

HIV testing of gamete donors; testing protocol. Repeals the requirement for HIV testing of gamete donors in accordance with regulations of the Board of Health that establish a testing protocol for such donors.

H.B. 1810 Prescription Monitoring Program; civil subpoenas.

Patron: Herring

Prescription monitoring program; subpoenas. Provides that information in possession of the Prescription Monitoring Program shall not be available for civil subpoena, nor shall such information be disclosed, discoverable, or compelled to be produced in any civil proceeding, nor shall such records be deemed admissible as evidence in any civil proceeding for any reason.

H.B. 1818 Health professions; regulation, updated terminology.

Patron: Stolle

Regulation of health professions; updated terminology. Changes the term "respiratory care practitioner" to "respiratory therapist" throughout the Code of Virginia. The bill also changes the term "x-ray" to "ionizing radiation" in the context of the practice of radiologic technology and updates the definition of "radiologic technologist."

H.B. 1839 Controlled substances; scheduling.

Patron: Robinson

Scheduling of certain controlled substances. Removes hydrocodone combination products from Schedule III and classifies alfaxalone, suvorexant, and tramadol as Schedule IV controlled substances.

H.B. 1841 Prescription Monitoring Program; requirements for dispensers.

Patron: Herring

Prescription Monitoring Program; requirements for dispensers. Requires the Department of Health Professions to register every dispenser licensed by the Board of Pharmacy with the Prescription Monitoring Program and eliminates the requirement that such registration occur upon filing of an application for licensure or renewal of a license. The bill also limits the requirement that a prescriber who prescribes benzodiazepine or an opiate request information from the Director of the Department of Health professions for the purpose of determining what other covered substances are currently prescribed to a patient in cases in which the course of treatment is anticipated at the onset of treatment to last more than 90 days. The bill provides that the provisions of this act relating to registration of dispensers shall become effective on January 1, 2016.

H.B. 1873 Public schools; Board of Education to promulgate regulations for accreditation ratings.

Patron: Krupicka

Public schools; accreditation ratings. Directs the Board of Education to promulgate regulations establishing additional accreditation ratings that recognize the progress of schools that do not meet accreditation benchmarks but have significantly improved their pass rates, are within specified ranges of benchmarks, or have demonstrated significant growth for the majority of their students and to implement such regulations by the 2016-2017 school year.

H.B. 1914 Pharmacists; possession of epinephrine and oxygen for emergencies.

Patron: Hodges

Pharmacists; oxygen and epinephrine. Provides that a prescriber may authorize pharmacists to possess epinephrine and oxygen for administration in treatment of emergency medical conditions.

H.B. 1930 Higher educational institutions; response to violence, penalty.

Patron: Bell, Robert B.

Institutions of higher education; reporting acts of sexual violence. Requires any responsible employee of a public or private nonprofit institution of higher education who in the course of his employment obtains information that an act of sexual violence has been committed against a student or on campus property or other property related to the institution to report such information to the Title IX coordinator for the institution as soon as practicable. The bill requires the Title IX coordinator to report such information to a review committee which shall meet within 72 hours of the receipt of information of an alleged act of sexual violence and which shall include the Title IX coordinator, a representative of law enforcement, and a student affairs representative. At the conclusion of the review committee meeting, the Title IX coordinator shall disclose the information regarding the alleged act of sexual violence, including personally identifiable information, to the law-enforcement agency responsible for investigating the alleged act and the representative of law enforcement on the review committee shall consult with the local attorney for the Commonwealth in cases involving a felony sexual assault. The bill also requires the governing board of each public or private institution of higher education to (i) establish a written memorandum of understanding with a local sexual assault crisis center or other victim support service and (ii) adopt policies to provide victims with information on contacting such center or service.

H.B. 1962 School board members, local; professional development activities requirement.

Patron: Landes

Local school board members; professional development. Adds additional topics to the professional development activities required of local school board members and requires members to certify their compliance annually with the clerk of the school board. The bill requires the local clerk to record individual members' compliance at the first school board meeting of the year. The bill also directs the Board of Education, in conjunction with the Virginia School Boards Association, to establish criteria for the professional development and training of local school board members. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2016.

H.B. 2020 Licensed local school board instructional or administrative employees; service retirement allowance.

Patron: BaCote

Licensed local school board instructional or administrative employees; service retirement allowance. Extends the sunset date from July 1, 2015, to July 1, 2016 for provisions (i) requiring school boards, division superintendents, if so requested, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to annually identify and report critical shortages of teachers and administrative personnel and (ii) permitting any person receiving a service retirement allowance who is hired as a local school board instructional or administrative employee required to be licensed by the Board of Education to elect to continue to receive the retirement allowance during such employment under certain conditions. The bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to prepare and furnish a report at least annually to the Virginia Retirement System that contains the names of (a) each school that has been identified as at-risk pursuant to criteria established by the Department of Education, including failure to achieve full accreditation and the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunch and (b) each at-risk school's respective school division. The bill permits a person receiving a service retirement allowance who is hired as a local school board instructional or administrative employee required to be licensed by the Board of Education in a school that has been identified as at-risk to elect to continue to receive the retirement allowance during such employment.

H.B. 2137 Teachers; initial license with no industry certification credential, may issue provisional license.

Patron: Yancey

Teacher licensure; career and technical education endorsement. Permits the Board of Education, upon request of the employing school division or educational agency, to issue a provisional license to a teacher seeking an initial license in the Commonwealth who has not attained an industry certification credential in the area in which the teacher seeks endorsement to allow time for the teacher to attain such required credential.

H.B. 2169 Education, Board of; annual report on the condition & needs of public education in the Commonwealth.

Patron: Hester

Board of Education; annual report on the condition and needs of public education in the Commonwealth. Changes from November 15 to December 1 the date by which the Board of Education is required to submit to the Governor and the General Assembly a report on the condition and needs of public education in the Commonwealth and identify any school divisions and schools that have failed to meet the existing prescribed standards of quality.

H.B. 2216 Epinephrine; possession and administration in private schools.

Patron: Greason

Epinephrine; possession and administration in private schools. Requires the Board of Education to adopt regulations for the possession and administration of epinephrine in private schools for students with disabilities. The bill authorizes employees of licensed private schools for students with disabilities and accredited private schools to possess and administer epinephrine to a student believed in good faith to be having an anaphylactic reaction and provides liability protection for such employees.

H.B. 2236 Chesapeake Hospital Authority; changes compensation for members.

Patron: Leftwich

Chesapeake Hospital Authority. Changes the compensation for members of the Chesapeake Hospital Authority from $3,000 per year to $250 per meeting attended, and requires the Authority to adopt as part of its bylaws a definition of "compensable meeting" prior to compensating any member.

H.B. 2238 Virginia Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts; established.

Patron: LaRock

Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts. Permits the parents of certain students with disabilities to apply to his resident school division for a Parental Choice Education Savings Account to consist of the student's Standards of Quality per pupil funds and to be used for certain expenses of the student, including (i) tuition, fees, or required textbooks at a private elementary or secondary school or preschool that is located in the Commonwealth and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin; (ii) educational therapies or services for the student from a practitioner or provider, including paraprofessionals or educational aides; (iii) tutoring services; (iv) curriculum; (v) tuition or fees for a private online learning program; (vi) fees for a nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement test, an Advanced Placement examination, or any examination taken to gain admission to an institution of higher education; or (vii) tuition fees or required textbooks at a public two-year or four-year institution of higher education in the Commonwealth or at an accredited private institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. The bill also contains provisions for the audit and revocation of such accounts.

H.B. 2243 Psychologists; continuing education requirements.

Patron: Robinson

Psychologists; continuing education requirements. Allows a psychologist who completes more than 14 hours of continuing education in a single year to carry up to seven hours forward to meet the requirements for the next year.

H.B. 2245 School board clerks; electronic maintenance of records.

Patron: Head

School board clerks; electronic maintenance of records. Permits the clerk of each school board to keep volumes of meeting minutes and receipt and disbursement records, vouchers, contracts, and other official papers electronically.

H.B. 2276 Standard diploma; career and technical education credential, exemption.

Patron: Orrock

Standard diploma; career and technical education credential; exemption. Permits a student to receive satisfactory competency-based instruction to satisfy the standard diploma requirements in lieu of achieving a career and technical education credential when such credential in a particular subject area is not readily available or appropriate or does not adequately measure student competency.

H.B. 2303 Sexually violent predators; notice of hearings, conditional release plan.

Patron: Wright

Sexually violent predators; notice of hearings; conditional release plan. Requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, in preparing a conditional release plan for a sexually violent predator, to consult with the attorney for the Commonwealth, the chief law-enforcement officer, and the local governing body for the locality that is the proposed location of the predator's residence upon his conditional release. The bill also provides that such attorney for the Commonwealth receive a copy of any petition (i) for the conditional release of a predator, (ii) to take a conditionally released predator into emergency custody, (iii) for the release of a predator taken into emergency custody, or (iv) to modify or remove conditions on a predator's release.

H.B. 2318 High school graduation rate; Board of Education's formula for assessing rates.

Patron: Orrock

High school graduation rate formula; Standards of Accreditation; exclusions. Requires the Board of Education's formula for assessing high school graduation rates, as applied to the Standards of Accreditation, to exclude from rates of on-time graduates each student who fails to graduate on time based on extenuating circumstances that are outside of the control of the local school board, as determined by the Board. Such provisions has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2016. The bill requires the Board to report to the chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health on the Board's progress towards updating its formula for collecting, analyzing, and reporting high school graduation and dropout data no later than December 1, 2015.  

H.B. 2320 Cooperative degree program; Secretary of Education, et al., shall develop a plan to establish.

Patron: Cline

Cooperative online degree program plan. Requires the Secretary of Education and the Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in consultation with each two-year or four-year public or private, nonprofit institution of higher education in the Commonwealth and the Virginia Community College System, to develop a plan to establish and advertise a cooperative degree program whereby any undergraduate student enrolled at any two-year or four-year public or private, nonprofit institution of higher education in the Commonwealth may complete, through the use of online courses at any such institution, the course credit requirements to receive a degree at a tuition cost not to exceed $4,000 per academic year and report no later than October 1, 2016 to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Finance, and the Senate Committee on Education and Health on the progress made toward developing such cooperative degree program plan.

H.B. 2350 Student data security; Department of Education to develop a model data security plan.

Patron: Austin

Department of Education; student data security. Directs the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, to develop a model data security plan that may be used by school divisions to implement policies and procedures related to the protection of student data and data systems. The Department would also be required to designate a chief data security officer to assist local school divisions with the development or implementation of data security plans. The bill also authorizes the Department to convene a working group to assist with the initial development of the model plan.

H.B. 2354 State Board for Community Colleges; policy for the award of academic credit for military training.

Patron: Yancey

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.

H.B. 2373 Uniformed services-connected students; Department of Education shall establish process to identify.

Patron: Ramadan

Uniformed services-connected students; identification. Requires the Department of Education to establish a process for the identification by local school divisions of newly enrolled students who have a parent in the uniformed services. Local school divisions are required to identify such students in accordance with the process. Nonidentifiable, aggregate data collected from the identification of such students shall be made available to local, state, and federal entities for the purposes of eligibility for federal grant funding.