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2021 SPECIAL SESSION I

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Senate Committee on Education and Health
Subcommittee Public Education

Hashmi (Chair), Howell, Locke, Dunnavant, Peake

Clerk: Michael Jackson
Staff: Julia Carlton, Anna Moir
Date of Meeting: February 11, 2021
Time and Place: 30 mins. after adj./Senate Chamber/Register to speak @ GA Website
Updated: HB2305 added to the docket

H.B. 1736

Patron: Adams, D.M.

School nurses; nomenclature. Prohibits any individual who provides nursing services in a public elementary or secondary school as a school board employee or through a contract with the local health department from using the title of school nurse unless such individual is a registered nurse who possesses an active license to practice in the Commonwealth.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-274 of the Code of Virginia, relating to school nurses; requirements.

21102518D

H.B. 1823

Patron: Askew

Public schools, child day programs, and certain other programs; carbon monoxide detectors required. Requires each building that was built before 2015 and that houses any public school classroom for students, licensed child day program, or other program that serves preschool-age children to be equipped with at least one carbon monoxide detector.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-138.2, by adding in Article 8 of Chapter 14.1 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-289.058, and by adding a section numbered 63.2-1705.2, relating to public schools, child day programs, and certain other programs; carbon monoxide detectors required.

21101635D

H.B. 1838

Patron: Reid

Loudoun County school board; staggered terms. Enables the Loudoun County school board to stagger the terms of its members at the November election immediately preceding the end of the board's term and upon the board's prior vote for staggered terms.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-57.3:1.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Loudoun County school board; staggered terms.

21100857D

H.B. 1865

Patron: Delaney

Certain students in kindergarten through grade 3; reading intervention services. Requires reading intervention services for students in kindergarten through grade three who demonstrate deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading test or any reading diagnostic test that meets criteria established by the Department of Education to be evidence-based, including services that are grounded in the science of reading, and include explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction, to include phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, vocabulary development, and text comprehension as appropriate based on the student's demonstrated reading deficiencies. The bill requires the parent of each student who receives such reading intervention services to be notified before the services begin and the progress of each such student to be monitored throughout the provision of services.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-253.13:1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to certain students in kindergarten through grade 3; reading intervention services.

21101101D

H.B. 1909

Patron: Subramanyam

Certain school board property; establishment of gun-free zone permitted. Permits any school board to deem any non-school zone property that it owns or leases as a gun-free zone and prohibit any individual from knowingly possessing, purchasing, transferring, carrying, storing, or transporting firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof while such individual is upon such property, except certain individuals such as law-enforcement officers and qualified retired law-enforcement officers.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-131.1, relating to certain school board property; establishment of gun-free zone permitted.

21103262D

H.B. 2013

Patron: Roem

School board policies; school meal debt; enforcement. Requires each school board to adopt a policy that prohibits the board from filing a lawsuit against a student or the student's parent because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-79.7 of the Code of Virginia, relating to school board policies; school meal debt; enforcement.

21101524D

H.B. 2019

Patron: McQuinn

Public elementary and secondary schools; possession and administration of undesignated stock albuterol inhalers and valved holding chambers. Requires each local school board to adopt and implement policies for the possession and administration of undesignated stock albuterol inhalers and valved holding chambers in every public school in the local school division, to be administered by any school nurse, employee of the school board, employee of a local governing body, or employee of a local health department who is authorized by the local health director and trained in the administration of albuterol inhalers and valved holding chambers for any student believed in good faith to be in need of such medication. The bill requires the Department of Health, in conjunction with the Department of Education, to develop and implement policies for the administration of stock albuterol in public schools.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 8.01-225, 22.1-274.2, and 54.1-3408 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public elementary and secondary schools; possession and administration of undesignated stock albuterol inhalers and valved holding chambers.

21102599D

H.B. 2027

Patron: Coyner

Standards of Learning assessments; reading and mathematics; grades three through eight; individual student growth. Requires the Board of Education to establish, in lieu of a one-time end-of-year assessment and for the purpose of providing measures of individual student growth over the course of the school year, a through-year growth assessment system, aligned with the Standards of Learning, for the administration of reading and mathematics assessments in grades three through eight. The bill requires such through-year growth assessment system to include at least one beginning-of-year and one end-of-year assessment in order to provide individual student growth scores over the course of the school year, provided that the total time scheduled for taking all such assessments shall not exceed 150 percent of the time scheduled for taking a single end-of-year proficiency assessment. The bill requires the Department of Education to ensure adequate training for teachers and principals on how to interpret and use student growth data from such assessments to improve reading and mathematics instruction in grades three through eight throughout the school year. The bill requires such through-year growth assessment system to be fully implemented in each local school division no later than the 2024-2025 school year.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-253.13:3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Standards of Learning assessments; reading and mathematics; grades three through eight; individual student growth.

21103824D

H.B. 2105

Patron: Bulova

Early childhood education; quality rating and improvement system participation; School Readiness Committee. Delays until the 2022%962023 school year the requirement for all publicly funded early childhood education providers to participate in a quality rating and improvement system to be established by the Board of Education by July 1, 2021. The bill also delays from the fall of 2023 to the fall of 2024 the publication of initial quality ratings for such providers. The bill reinstates the School Readiness Committee and alters the composition and scope of the work of the School Readiness Committee.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 2.2-208.1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend and reenact the second and eleventh enactments of Chapter 860 and the second and eleventh enactments of Chapter 861 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, relating to early childhood education; quality rating and improvement system participation; School Readiness Committee.

21102419D

H.B. 2135

Patron: Roem

Certain school boards; student meals; participation in the Afterschool Meal Program. Requires each school board that governs a local school division that has a student population that qualifies for free and reduced-price meals at a minimum percentage of 50 percent in the prior school year and simultaneously offers educational or enrichment activities and is consequently eligible to participate in the Afterschool Meal Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Child and Adult Care Food Program to apply to the Department of Education to participate in the Afterschool Meal Program for each such school to subsequently and simultaneously serve federally reimbursable meals and offer an afterschool education or enrichment program, pursuant to FNS guidelines and state health and safety standards. The bill requires the Department of Education to administer the Afterschool Meal Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The bill provides that the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall issue a waiver to this requirement upon determination that participation is not financially viable for a school or group of schools. The bill requires the Department of Education to develop a process and criteria for evaluating such waivers. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-207.4:2, relating to certain school boards; student meals; participation in the Afterschool Meal Program.

21102541D

H.B. 2176

Patron: Torian

School board policies; abusive work environments; definitions. Defines, for the purposes of mandatory school board policies relating to abusive work environments, the terms "abusive conduct," "abusive work environment," "physical harm," and "psychological harm." The bill clarifies that the requirement to adopt such policies shall not be construed to limit a school board's authority to adopt policies to prohibit any other type of workplace conduct as the school board deems necessary.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-291.4 of the Code of Virginia, relating to school board policies; abusive work environments; definitions.

21102247D

H.B. 2238

Patron: Kory

Licensed private schools for students with disabilities; accreditation. Directs the Board of Education to require, pursuant to regulation, any private school for students with disabilities that is licensed by the Board, as a condition for renewal of its initial license to operate, to obtain accreditation from an accrediting agency recognized by the Virginia Council for Private Education within three years of the issuance of its initial triennial license by the Board. The bill provides that, notwithstanding the foregoing requirement, any private school for students with disabilities that is licensed to operate by the Board as of July 1, 2021, shall obtain accreditation from an accrediting agency recognized by the Virginia Council for Private Education no later than July 1, 2024.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-323 of the Code of Virginia, relating to licensed private schools for students with disabilities; accreditation.

21101979D

H.B. 2299

Patron: Carr

Department of Education; duties; special education. Requires the Department of Education to (i) provide training and guidance documents to local school divisions on the development of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for children with disabilities, (ii) develop a training module for each individual who participates in an IEP meeting, with the exception of parents, (iii) annually conduct structured reviews of a sample of IEPs from a sufficiently large sample of local school divisions to verify that the IEPs are in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations, (iv) develop and maintain a statewide plan for improving (a) its ongoing oversight of local practices related to transition planning and services for children with disabilities and (b) technical assistance and guidance provided for postsecondary transition planning and services for children with disabilities, (v) develop and maintain a statewide strategic plan for recruiting and retaining special education teachers, and (vi) (a) conduct a one-time targeted review of the transition sections of a random sample of students' IEPs in each school division; (b) communicate its findings to each local school division, school board, and local special education advisory committee; and (c) ensure that local school divisions correct any IEPs that are found to be out of compliance no later than the end of the 2021-22 school year.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-214.4, relating to the Department of Education; duties; special education.

21102478D

H.B. 2305

Patron: Tyler

Board of Education; guidance on the governance of academic year Governor's Schools. Requires the Board of Education to issue guidance on the governance of academic year Governor's Schools, including communication and outreach practices, admissions policies, and guidelines on diversity, equity, and inclusion training. The bill requires such guidance to focus on the importance of increasing access to Governor's Schools for historically underserved students and to include best practices on (i) conducting information sessions about the school and the availability of gifted, advanced, and specialty education program opportunities for feeder public middle schools; (ii) strengthening the student pipeline in feeder public middle schools, prioritizing the most underserved and underrepresented students and public middle schools; and (iii) conducting programs related to and evaluations of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The bill requires the Board of Education, in developing such guidance, to collaborate with relevant stakeholders representing the geographical areas served by the Regional Governor's Schools, including local school boards representing the geographical areas served by the Regional Governor's Schools, Regional Governor's School boards, and Governor's School directors.

A BILL to require the Board of Education to issue guidance on the governance of academic year Governor's Schools.

21103341D

H.B. 2316

Patron: Mundon King

Department of Education and Board of Education; special education and related services for students with disabilities. Requires the Department of Education to update its special education eligibility worksheets as necessary, including clarifying any ambiguity or vagueness in eligibility criteria, and provide to each local school division the appropriate level of guidance on eligibility determinations for special education and related services. The bill requires the Board of Education to amend its regulations to ensure that each education preparation program graduate in a K-12 general education endorsement area demonstrates proficiency in understanding the role of general education teachers on the individualized education program (IEP) team.

A BILL to require the Department of Education and Board of Education to take certain actions relating to special education and related services for students with disabilities.

21103331D