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2020 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health

Chair: L. Louise Lucas

Date of Meeting: January 9, 2020
Time and Place: 8:30 AM / Senate Room A

S.B. 4

Patron: Stanley

Public School Assistance Fund and Program created. Creates the Public School Assistance Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Education, for the purpose of providing grants to school boards to be used solely for the purpose of repairing or replacing the roofs of public elementary and secondary school buildings in the local school division. The bill permits any school board in the Commonwealth to apply for Program grants but requires the Department of Education to give priority in the award of grants to school boards that demonstrate the greatest need based on the condition of existing school building roofs and the ability to pay for the repair or replacement of such roofs.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 9 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-141.3, relating to the establishment of the Public School Assistance Fund and Program.

20100382D

S.B. 5

Patron: Stanley

Board of Education; uniform minimum standards for modern public school buildings. Requires the Board of Education to prescribe by regulation uniform minimum standards for the erection of modern public school buildings and the modernization of existing public school buildings for the purpose of promoting positive educational outcomes for each public elementary and secondary school student. The bill requires such regulations to include uniform minimum modern public school building standards that promote (i) the delivery of instruction that complies with the Standards of Learning by addressing enrollment capacity and available space and (ii) the health and safety of each enrolled student. The bill requires each school board to annually (a) assess and report to the Board the extent to which each public school building in the local school division complies with such uniform minimum standards and (b) submit to the Board a long-range plan for compliance with such uniform minimum standards, including an assessment of the cost of such compliance, in any case in which the school board determines that a public school building in the local school division does not comply with such standards.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-138 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Board of Education; uniform minimum standards for modern public school buildings.

20100391D

S.B. 44

Patron: Spruill

Public elementary and secondary school students; topical sunscreen. Permits any public elementary or secondary school student to possess and use topical sunscreen in its original packaging on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored event without a note or prescription from a licensed health care professional if the topical sunscreen is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for nonprescription use for the purpose of limiting damage to skin caused by exposure to ultraviolet light.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-274.5, relating to public elementary and secondary school students; topical sunscreen.

20100244D

S.B. 52

Patron: Stanley

Opioid addiction treatment pilot program. Requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Department), in partnership with community services boards, a hospital licensed in the Commonwealth, and telemedicine networks, to establish a two-year pilot program in Planning District 12 designed to provide comprehensive treatment and recovery services to uninsured or underinsured individuals suffering from opioid addiction or opioid-related disorders. The bill requires the Department and its partners to collaborate with a work group established by the Department of interested stakeholders to develop the pilot program.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 37.2-310.1, relating to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; opioid addiction treatment pilot established.

20100380D

S.B. 112

Patron: Suetterlein

Public schools; standard diploma requirements; dual-enrollment and work-based learning options. Requires the Board of Education to include in its standard diploma graduation requirements the options for students to complete a dual-enrollment course or high-quality work-based learning experience.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-253.13:4 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public schools; standard diploma requirements; dual-enrollment and work-based learning options.

20101058D

S.B. 134

Patron: Stuart

School boards; teachers; planning time and planning periods. Requires each local school board to ensure that each elementary school teacher has an average of one 45-minute period per school day of planning time and that each middle and high school teacher is provided one planning period per school day or the equivalent, which shall be at least 45 minutes or one class period, whichever is longer. The bill permits local school boards and teachers to enter into an appropriate contractual arrangement providing for compensation in lieu of such planning time or period. Under current law, public elementary school teachers are guaranteed at least an average of 30 minutes of planning time per school day during a school week.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-291.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to school boards; teachers; planning time and planning periods.

20101401D

S.B. 142

Patron: Dunnavant

Virtual Virginia. Requires that the Virtual Virginia Program, the statewide electronic classroom established by the Department of Education, be made available to all public schools. Currently, the program is available only to high schools. The bill requires the Department to utilize a learning management system for the purposes of implementing Virtual Virginia. The bill also authorizes the Department to charge a per-student fee to school divisions for each student enrolled in a full-time Virtual Virginia program beyond an initial allotment of 15 such students per school division and prohibits the Department from limiting the total number of such students by school division. The bill requires the Department to annually report on the Virtual Virginia Program to the General Assembly.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-212.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virtual Virginia.

20101465D

S.B. 167

Patron: Favola

Dismissal of teachers; grounds; incompetency. Removes receipt of one or more unsatisfactory performance evaluations from the list of factors that "incompetency" may be construed to include for the purpose of establishing grounds for the dismissal of public school teachers.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-307 of the Code of Virginia, relating to dismissal of teachers; grounds; incompetency.

20102273D

S.B. 186

Patron: Dunnavant

Department of Education; individualized education program teams; guidelines. Requires the Department of Education to establish guidelines for individualized education program (IEP) teams to utilize when developing IEPs for children with disabilities to ensure that IEP teams consider the need for age-appropriate instruction related to sexual health, self-restraint, self-protection, respect for personal privacy, and personal boundaries of others. The bill requires each local school board, in developing IEPs for children with disabilities, in addition to any other requirements established by the Board of Education, to ensure that IEP teams consider such guidelines.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-217.03, relating to the Department of Education; individualized education program teams; guidelines.

20101446D

S.B. 238

Patron: Barker

Public schools; kindergarten instructional time. Increases from 540 hours to 990 hours the minimum instructional hours in a school year for students in kindergarten, beginning July 1, 2022. The bill directs the Board of Education to adopt regulations by July 1, 2022, establishing standards for accreditation that include a requirement that the standard school day for students in kindergarten average at least 5.5 instructional hours in order to qualify for full accreditation.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-79.1 and 22.1-253.13:2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public schools; kindergarten instructional time.

20103301D

S.B. 239

Patron: Barker

Medical assistants; administration of fluoride varnish. Allows a medical assistant to possess and administer topical fluoride varnish pursuant to an oral or written order or a standing protocol issued by a doctor of medicine, osteopathic medicine, or dentistry.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-3408 of the Code of Virginia, relating to medical assistants; administration of fluoride varnish.

20103323D

S.B. 260

Patron: Chase

Public institutions of higher education; tuition and fees; public comment; notice of meeting. Requires the governing boards of public institutions of higher education to provide students and the public 15 days' prior notice of the date and location of any meeting at which, under current law, public comment must be permitted prior to any vote by the governing board to approve an increase in undergraduate tuition or mandatory fees.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 23.1-307 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public institutions of higher education; tuition and fees; public comment; notice of meeting.

20103538D

S.B. 274

Patron: Barker

Motion picture theaters; required open-captioned showings. Requires any motion picture theater that has four or more separate auditoriums to provide two scheduled showings of a motion picture that engages open captions for a particular showing of an open-captioned-available motion picture each week in any auditorium showing any open-captioned-available motion picture. The measure requires one showing in each auditorium to be during peak weekend motion picture attendance hours, and at least half of the other open-captioned showings to be during peak weekday motion picture attendance hours. If any auditorium is showing more than one motion picture during a week, the theater may select the motion picture to offer as open-captioned showings, but shall show a different motion picture on the weekend than it shows during the week. The measure prohibits a theater from providing more than one open-captioned showing at overlapping times unless the theater has more auditoriums than available showtimes. Persons suffering loss or injury resulting from a violation may bring an action to recover damages and reasonable attorney fees or injunctive relief.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 59.1 a chapter numbered 20.1, consisting of sections numbered 59.1-261.1, 59.1-261.2, and 59.1-261.3, relating to motion picture theaters; open-caption showings.

20101030D

S.B. 275

Patron: Barker

School enrollment; students formerly in foster care. Provides for the immediate enrollment of any student who was in foster care upon reaching 18 years of age but who has not yet reached 22 years of age for whom the local department of social services or child-placing agency is unable to produce documents normally required for enrollment. Under current law, an exception to the requirement for such documentation is provided only to students currently in foster care.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-3.4 of the Code of Virginia, relating to school enrollment; students formerly in foster care.

20101876D