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2015 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health
Subcommittee Public Education

Carrico (Chairman), Howell, Locke, Smith, Cosgrove

Clerk: Patty Lung
Staff: Thomas Stevens, Ryan Brimmer
Date of Meeting: February 2, 2015
Time and Place: 9:00 a.m. - 3rd Floor East Conf. Room

S.B. 983

Patron: Garrett

Four-year public institutions of higher education; dual enrollment programs. Permits four-year public institutions of higher education to offer at a public high school through a dual enrollment program courses similar to those offered by the comprehensive community college that serves the area when such community college is unable to offer its courses at the public high school despite good faith negotiations with the appropriate school board employees. The bill also removes obsolete provisions about extension programs and facilities for such programs.

S.B. 998

Patron: Stuart

School divisions; concussion policies and procedures; management plan. Requires each local school division to establish a management plan for implementation of and compliance with its policies and procedures regarding the identification and handling of suspected concussions in student-athletes.

S.B. 1063

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.

S.B. 1286

Patron: McDougle

Public schools; annual budget publication. Requires each local school division to publish the annual school budget in line item form on its website. Current law does not require the published budget to be in line item form.

S.B. 1293

Patron: Martin

Public elementary and secondary schools; student identification numbers. Prohibits the Department of Education and each local school board from requiring any student enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school or his parent to provide the student's federal social security number. The bill requires the Department to instead develop a system of unique student identification numbers and requires each local school board to assign such a number to each student enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school. Under current law, every student is required to present a federal social security number within 90 days of his enrollment; if a student is ineligible to obtain a social security number or his parent is unwilling to present a social security number, the superintendent may assign another identifying number or waive the requirement.

S.B. 1347

Patron: Miller

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 enhancing the funding and quality of services provided to serve the unique needs of uniformed services-connected students residing in the Commonwealth.

S.B. 1354

Patron: Reeves

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 enhancing the funding and quality of services provided to serve the unique needs of uniformed services-connected students residing in the Commonwealth.

S.B. 1369

Patron: Norment

Establishment of the Virginia Science Technology Engineering and Applied Mathematics Academy. Establishes the Virginia Science Technology Engineering and Applied Mathematics (STEAM) Academy, Inc., as a private, nonprofit organization and a statewide, publicly accessible, special, residential high school of science, technology, engineering, and applied mathematics governed by a board of directors of up to 21 appointed, elected, and ex officio members whose leadership and direction of the Virginia STEAM Academy is informed by a consortium leadership team consisting of students and parents and representatives from elementary and secondary education, higher education, business, science, engineering, the arts, civic organizations, government, and the military. The bill requires the board of directors to establish a curriculum and a student admissions process and seek independent accreditation for the Virginia STEAM Academy. The bill requires the Virginia STEAM Academy to receive the proportionate share of state and federal funds allocated to each enrolled student by the school division in which the student's parents reside and the agreed-upon share of local funds allocated to each enrolled student by the school division in which the student's parents reside that is established in the general appropriation act.

S.B. 1370

Patron: Watkins

Richmond City Public Schools Learning Excellence by Aligning Public Schools Commission. Establishes the Richmond City Public Schools Learning Excellence by Aligning Public Schools Commission for the purposes of evaluating Richmond City Public Schools facilities and making recommendations to the Richmond City School Board, Richmond City Council, and Mayor of Richmond. The bill also establishes a trust to fund the recommendations of the Commission. The provisions of the bill sunset on July 1, 2017.

S.B. 1386

Patron: Vogel

Teacher licensure; professional development. Requires every person seeking initial teacher licensure or renewal of a teaching license to receive professional development on the screening, intervention, accommodation, and use of technology for students with reading disabilities, including dyslexia.