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2022 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health
Subcommittee Public Education

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

Clerk: Michael Jackson,Thomas Jackson
Staff: Julia Carlton, Anna Moir
Date of Meeting: January 20, 2022
Time and Place: 30 mins. after adj. / Subcommittee #2 -5th Floor Pocahontas
https://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3

S.B. 156

Patron: Hashmi

Public schools; English language learners. Requires state funding to be provided to support new divisionwide ratios of English learner students in average daily membership to full-time equivalent teaching positions, as follows: (i) for each English language learner identified as proficiency level one, one position per 25 students; (ii) for each English language learner identified as proficiency level two, one position per 30 students; (iii) for each English language learner identified as proficiency level three, one position per 40 students; and (iv) for all other English language learners, one position per 50 students. Under the bill, in order to provide additional support for instruction of English language learners, $150 shall be appropriated in year one to divisions for each English learner student to support professional development of instructional and support staff, purchase resources developed for students learning English, and offer grants to community-based organizations that offer support services to English language learners in school settings.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-253.13:2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public schools; English language learners.

22102237D

S.B. 157

Patron: Hashmi

Competitive compensation for certain positions in public elementary and secondary schools. Declares it the goal of the Commonwealth that its public school teachers and all other individuals employed in Standards of Quality-funded positions be compensated at a rate that is competitive, defined as at or above the national average salary for the position, in order to attract and keep highly qualified individuals in such positions. The bill requires state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficient to fund a five percent annual pay increase for each such position, effective from the 2023%9624 school year through the 2027%9628 school year, provided that such five percent annual pay increase (i) is subject to a local matching requirement in accordance with each local school board's composite index of local ability-to-pay and (ii) shall be adjusted annually as necessary to account for rebenchmarking and to yield a rate of compensation percentage increase for all Standards of Quality-funded positions that is pegged to providing a competitive average teacher salary in the Commonwealth. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2023.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-289.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to competitive compensation for certain positions in public elementary and secondary schools.

22103846D

S.B. 178

Patron: Peake

Public school teachers; probationary term of service, grounds for dismissal, and dismissal hearings. Permits each school board to extend for up to two additional years the three-year probationary term of service that is required for each teacher in the school division before the issuance of a continuing contract and prohibits each school board from reemploying a teacher whose performance evaluation during such probationary period is not satisfactory. The bill provides that, for the purpose of the dismissal of a teacher for cause, the term "incompetency" may be construed to include consistent failure to meet the endorsement requirements for the position or one or more unsatisfactory performance evaluations. The bill also eliminates the option for a school board to conduct a teacher dismissal hearing before a three-member fact-finding panel, requires each such hearing to be set no later than 15 days after the request for the hearing, and reduces from 10 days to five days the minimum period of advance written notice to the teacher of the time and place of such hearing.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-303, 22.1-307, 22.1-311, and 22.1-313 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public school teachers; probationary term of service, grounds for dismissal, and dismissal hearings.

22103200D

S.B. 239

Patron: Hashmi

STEM+C; Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board. Adds science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computing (STEM+C), which includes real-world, interdisciplinary, and computational instruction and preparation of students in STEM+C, to the list of topics that shall be included in the Standards of Learning for the Commonwealth. The bill also directs the Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board to develop and submit to the Board of Education (i) a rubric that shall be used by the Board of Education in setting out what factors permit a school to be defined as a STEM school and (ii) recommendations for the Board to create a measurement for quality of STEM programming in general education instruction. The bill also directs the Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board to draft and report to the Department of Education proposed common language and terminology that better defines the basic literacies employed in STEM+C as methodological approaches to solving universal human challenges and, as essential, generalizable and transferable literacy toward the application of skills and content needed to solve those challenges. The bill also directs the Department of Education, based on such proposed language and terminology and no later than December 1, 2022, to recommend finalized language and terminology to the Board of Education.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-253.13:1 and 22.1-367 of the Code of Virginia, relating to STEM+C; Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board.

22103912D

S.B. 261

Patron: Hashmi

Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board; comprehensive review of labor statistics categories; report. Directs the Virginia Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Advisory Board (the Board) to perform a comprehensive review of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics categories within the standard occupational classification system and assess deficit areas that do not capture Virginia's existing STEM+C (Computing) workforce profile for the purpose of better aligning K-12 and higher education priorities. The Board shall report its findings to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology no later than October 1, 2022.

A BILL to direct the Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board to perform a comprehensive review of labor statistics categories, STEM+C workforce, and STEM education; report.

22101764D

S.B. 275

Patron: DeSteph

Public school libraries; printed and audiovisual materials; selection, evaluation, checkout, and removal procedures. Requires each local school board to adopt policies that address the selection and evaluation of all printed and audiovisual materials purchased by, donated to, or otherwise made available to the school division that will be available to students in school libraries and requires such policies to contain clear procedures for (i) parental involvement in and a reasonable opportunity for public comment before the selection and evaluation of printed and audiovisual materials that will be available to students in school libraries; (ii) mandatory prior written parental consent before a student is permitted to check out from the school library any such printed or audiovisual materials that could be considered grooming video or materials, as that term is defined in relevant law; and (iii) the removal from the school library of any such printed or audiovisual materials that could be considered grooming video or materials, as that term is defined in relevant law.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-253.13:7 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public school libraries; printed and audiovisual materials; selection, evaluation, checkout, and removal procedures.

22101481D

S.B. 285

Patron: Ebbin


High school interscholastic athletic competition; prevention of hate speech and ethnically or racially insensitive expressions. Requires the organization governing high school athletics and academic activities for public and approved nonboarding nonpublic high schools (the organization), with such funds as may be appropriated by the General Assembly for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, to develop (i) rules and standards for the prevention of inequities involving the use of hate speech or ethnically or racially insensitive expressions during athletic and academic competitions sponsored by the organization's member schools, (ii) procedures for the enforcement of and penalties for the violation of such rules and standards, and (iii) training materials on such rules and standards. The bill requires each member school of the organization to abide by and implement such rules, standards, procedures, and penalties and ensure that each student who will participate in high school interscholastic athletic or academic competition, the parent of each such student, and each individual, whether paid or unpaid, who coaches a team that will participate in high school interscholastic athletic or academic competition receives and reviews such training materials. The bill requires the organization to make part of the process to become a registered official in good standing for any association offering services to the organization an education and training requirement that is consistent with the training materials developed by the organization. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-271.9, relating to high school interscholastic athletic and academic competition; prevention of hate speech and ethnically or racially insensitive expressions.

22100981D

S.B. 356

Patron: Stuart

Children's Services Act; special education programs. Expands eligibility for services under the Children's Services Act to students who transfer from an approved private school special education program to a public school special education program established and funded jointly by a local governing body and school division located within Planning District 16 (George Washington Regional) for the purpose of providing special education and related services when (i) the public school special education program is able to provide services comparable to those of an approved private school special education program and (ii) the student would require placement in an approved private school special education program but for the availability of the public school special education program.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-5211 and 2.2-5212 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Children's Services Act; special education programs.

22102236D

S.B. 574

Patron: Mason

Child care; background checks. Allows applicants for employment and applicants to serve as volunteers to work in certain child day centers, family day homes, and family day systems pending the results of a full background check, provided that (i) the applicant has received qualifying results on a fingerprint-based background check through the Central Criminal Records Exchange or the Federal Bureau of Investigation and (ii) the applicant is supervised at all times by a person who received a qualifying result on a full background check within the past five years.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-289.035 of the Code of Virginia, relating to child care; background checks.

22102864D

S.B. 596

Patron: Pillion

School attendance; 4-H educational programs and activities. Provides that students who miss a partial or full day of school while participating in 4-H educational programs and activities shall not be counted as absent for the purposes of calculating average daily membership and shall receive course credit in the same manner as they would for a school field trip. The bill directs each local school board to develop policies and procedures for students to make up missed work and may determine the maximum number of school days per academic year that a student may spend participating in 4-H educational programs and activities to not be counted absent.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-207.7, relating to school attendance; 4-H educational programs and activities.

22103919D

S.B. 598

Patron: Pillion

College partnership laboratory schools; application and establishment. Permits any public institution of higher education, private institution of higher education, or private business to apply to the Board of Education (the Board) to establish a college partnership laboratory school as a new school or through the conversion of all or part of an existing school. Under current law, only public and private institutions of higher education that operate approved teacher education programs are permitted to apply to the Board to establish such a school and no explicit provision is made for the conversion of an existing school. The bill requires the Board, in reviewing such applications, to give substantial preference to any application from a historically black college or university and any application to establish a college partnership laboratory school in an underserved community, which the bill defines as a geographical area that is served by public schools in which a high percentage of students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunch, as determined by the Board.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-349.1, 22.1-349.5, 22.1-349.6, 22.1-349.9, 22.1-349.10, and 22.1-349.11, of the Code of Virginia, relating to college partnership laboratory schools; application and establishment.

22104003D

S.B. 600

Patron: Pillion

School safety audits; law-enforcement officers. Requires each local school board to require its schools to fully collaborate with the chief law-enforcement officer of the locality or his designee when conducting required school safety audits. Under current law, the division superintendent is required to make the results of such audits available to the chief law-enforcement officer upon request, and his approval is not needed. The bill also requires that the completed walk-through checklist using the standardized checklist provided by the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety be made available to the chief law-enforcement officer of the locality or his designee. Current law requires that the completed walk-through checklist be made available to the chief law-enforcement officer or his designee upon request.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-279.8 of the Code of Virginia, relating to school safety audits; law-enforcement officers.

22103761D