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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: February 24, 2022
Time and Place: 30 mins. after adj. / Subcommittee #2 -5th Floor Pocahontas
Update: Removed HB1272

H.B. 89

Patron: Walker

Disorderly conduct; students in grades kindergarten through grade eight. Provides that the crime of disorderly conduct shall not apply to any student in grades kindergarten through eight if the disorderly conduct occurred on the property of any elementary or secondary school, on a school bus, or at any activity conducted or sponsored by any elementary or secondary school. Current law provides that disorderly conduct shall not apply to any elementary or secondary school student in such locations and at such activities.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 18.2-415 of the Code of Virginia, relating to disorderly conduct in public places; certain students.

22105274D

H.B. 127

Patron: Davis

Academic year Governor's Schools; certain practices prohibited and permitted. Prohibits any academic year Governor's School or governing board member, director, administrator, or employee thereof from (i) discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin; (ii) engaging in proxy discrimination, as defined in the bill, in student admissions; or (iii) seeking information on students' race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin during the application process for admission to such school unless expressly required by federal law, and to the extent it is required by federal law, the bill requires such information to be withheld to the maximum extent practicable from any individual involved in admissions decisions to the end that admissions decisions are blind as to the applicants' race, sex, color, ethnicity, and national origin. The bill permits any academic year Governor's School or governing board member, director, administrator, or employee thereof to use traditional academic success factors, as defined in the bill, in student admissions and provides that such use presumptively does not constitute proxy discrimination. The bill also contains provisions relating to evidentiary burdens of proof in certain causes of action involving such proxy discrimination or traditional academic success factors. The bill requires each local school board that jointly manages and controls a regional academic year Governor's school to collaborate to ensure that each public middle school that is eligible to send students to attend such Governor's school offers coursework, curriculum, and instruction that is comparable in content and in rigor in order to provide each student in each such middle school with the opportunity to gain admission to and excel academically at such Governor's school.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-26.2, relating to academic year Governor's Schools; certain practices prohibited, permitted, and required.

22103749D

H.B. 340

Patron: Davis

Board of Education; high school graduation; alternative pathways to the advanced studies diploma. Directs the Board of Education to establish two pathways to the advanced studies high school diploma, and associated diploma seals for students who successfully follow and demonstrate excellence on such pathways: one pathway that requires advanced coursework in a career and technical education field but does not require coursework in world language and another pathway that requires advanced coursework in world language but does not require coursework in a career and technical education field.

A BILL to require the Board of Education to establish multiple pathways to the advanced studies diploma and associated diploma seals.

22105271D

H.B. 389

Patron: Bulova

Early childhood care and education; regional entities; Child Care Subsidy Program Overpayment Fund established. Requires the Board of Education to establish a system of regional entities that will be responsible for coordinating early childhood care and education services, guiding quality improvement of such services and coordinated access to such services for families, and implementing the uniform measurement and improvement system. The bill establishes the Child Care Subsidy Program Overpayment Fund, consisting of all overpayment moneys collected or recovered by the Department of Education or any state or local agency contracted to administer the Child Care Subsidy Program, net of any refunds due to the federal government, to be used solely for the purpose of covering the cost of providing training and supports to early childhood care and education entities.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-289.05 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 14.1 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-289.08:1, relating to early childhood care and education; regional entities; Child Care Subsidy Program Overpayment Fund established.

22104067D

H.B. 511

Patron: March


Students who receive home instruction; participation in interscholastic programs. Prohibits public schools from joining an organization governing interscholastic programs that does not deem eligible for participation a student who (i) receives home instruction; (ii) has demonstrated evidence of progress for two consecutive academic years; (iii) is in compliance with immunization requirements; (iv) is a person of school age for whom public school is free; (v) has not reached the age of 19 by August 1 of the current academic year; (vi) is an amateur who receives no compensation but participates solely for the educational, physical, mental, and social benefits of the activity; (vii) complies with all disciplinary rules and is subject to all codes of conduct applicable to all public high school athletes; and (viii) complies with all other rules governing awards, all-star games, maximum consecutive semesters of high school enrollment, parental consents, physical examinations, and transfers applicable to all high school athletes. The bill provides that no local school board is required to establish a policy to permit students who receive home instruction to participate in interscholastic programs. The bill permits reasonable fees to be charged to students who receive home instruction to cover the costs of participation in such interscholastic programs, including fees to cover the costs of additional insurance, uniforms, and equipment and fees for facility upkeep and facility maintenance. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 1 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-7.3, relating to participation in public school interscholastic programs by students who receive home instruction.

22101194D

H.B. 583

Patron: Roem

Public elementary and secondary school students; ability to pay for meals and school meal debt; extracurricular school activities. Requires each school board to adopt policies that prohibit the school board or any school board employee from denying a student the opportunity to participate in any extracurricular school activity 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 public elementary and secondary school students; ability to pay for meals and school meal debt; extracurricular school activities.

22101050D

H.B. 587

Patron: Roem

School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program; processing of applications. Requires each public elementary or secondary school to process each web-based or paper-based application for participation in the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture within six working days after the date of receipt of the completed application. The foregoing provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of August 1, 2023. The bill requires school divisions that cannot currently comply with the foregoing requirements to develop a plan for ensuring compliance by August 1, 2023.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-207.2:2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program; processing of applications.

22101066D

H.B. 787

Patron: LaRock

Training or instruction on certain concepts in public elementary and secondary education; declaration as unlawful and discriminatory practice. Declares it an unlawful and discriminatory practice for any local school board or employee or contractor thereof to train or instruct any individual on any divisive concept, as defined in the bill, for the purpose of promoting and encouraging such individual to adopt or believe such concept. The bill requires the Department of Education to establish model policies for the prevention of such unlawful and discriminatory practice and each local school board to adopt policies that are consistent with but may be more comprehensive than the model policies established by the Department.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-207.7, relating to public schools; moral and character education; certain teaching declared unlawful and discriminatory.

22106442D

H.B. 789

Patron: LaRock

Family life education programs; student participation; summaries. Prohibits any public elementary or secondary school student from participating in any family life education program without the prior written consent of his parent. The bill requires the summary that is required to be posted and distributed to parents for each such program to include contact information for the individual or office responsible for maintaining printed and audio-visual program materials.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-207.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to family life education programs; student participation; summaries.

22100735D

H.B. 873

Patron: Greenhalgh

School boards; employment of school resource officers or school security officers. Requires each school board to (i) enter into a collaborative agreement with the local law-enforcement agency to employ at least one school resource officer or (ii) employ at least one school security officer in each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division. The bill prohibits the Board of Education from granting any school board a waiver from such requirement but permits the Board of Education to grant a partial waiver to allow the sharing of a single school resource officer or school security officer by two different public schools that (a) are adjoining or are within close proximity to each other and (b) share facilities such as parking.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 9.1-184, 22.1-79.4, and 22.1-280.2:3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to school boards; employment of school resource officers or school security officers.

22106167D

H.B. 879

Patron: Rasoul

Board of Education; membership; qualifications. Requires the nine-member Board of Education, all of whom are appointed by the Governor, to include at least one member with experience or expertise in local government leadership or policymaking, at least one member with experience or expertise in career and technical education, and at least one member with experience or expertise in early childhood education.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-9 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Board of Education; membership; qualifications.

22100654D

H.B. 1024

Patron: LaRock

Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts established. Permits the parents of qualified students, defined in the bill, to apply to the school division in which the qualified student resides for a one-year, renewable Parental Choice Education Savings Account that consists of an amount that is equivalent to a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the resident school division in which the qualified student resides, including the per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per pupil share of special education funding for which the qualified student is eligible. The bill permits the parent of the qualified student to use the moneys in such account for certain education-related expenses of the qualified student, including tuition, deposits, fees, and required textbooks at a private elementary school or secondary school that is located in the Commonwealth. The bill also contains provisions relating to auditing, rescinding, and reviewing expenses made from such accounts.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 13 of Title 22.1 an article numbered 2.1, consisting of sections numbered 22.1-222.1 through 22.1-222.5, relating to Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts.

22100732D

H.B. 1026

Patron: Guzman


Superintendent of Public Instruction; establishment of the Digital Citizenship, Internet Safety, and Media Literacy Advisory Council. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish and appoint no more than 12 members to the Digital Citizenship, Internet Safety, and Media Literacy Advisory Council (the Council), including at least one of each of the following: teacher, librarian, representative of a parent-teacher organization who is the parent of a school-age child, school administrator, and individual with expertise in digital citizenship, Internet safety, and media literacy. The bill requires the Council to (i) develop and recommend to the Board of Education for adoption a model policy for local school boards that would enable such school boards to better support the digital citizenship, Internet safety, and media literacy of all students in the local school division; (ii) develop and recommend to the Board for adoption model instructional practices for the safe, ethical, and responsible use of media and technology by students in public elementary and secondary schools; (iii) design and post on the Department of Education's website a page with links to successful instructional practices, curricula, and other teacher resources used in school divisions within and outside of the Commonwealth for the safe, ethical, and responsible use of media and technology by students and teachers; and (iv) submit a report of its findings to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than October 31, 2023. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2024.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 3 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 24.1, relating to Superintendent of Public Instruction; establishment of the Digital Citizenship, Internet Safety, and Media Literacy Advisory Council.

22103266D

H.B. 1034

Patron: Ransone

Department of Education; school boards; guidelines for the provision of counseling services in public schools. Requires the Department of Education to develop and each local school board to adhere to guidelines for the provision of counseling services in public schools, which shall include (i) provisions for parental consent; written parental notification; parental involvement, as appropriate; and confidentiality; (ii) procedures by which a parent may limit or prohibit his child's participation; (iii) appropriate exceptions to the procedures by which a parent may limit or prohibit his child's participation such as imminent need, health, or safety or maintaining order in the school; and (iv) any other provision deemed necessary by the Department.

A BILL to direct the Department of Education to develop and each local school board to adhere to guidelines for the provision of counseling services in public schools.

22101073D

H.B. 1064

Patron: Brewer

Public School Trades Incentive Fund and Program; established. Establishes the Public School Trades Incentive Fund and Program, to be administered by the Department of Education, for the purpose of providing grants on a competitive basis to any school board that seeks to (i) establish, expand, or restore high school programs that teach students skilled trades that lead to earning industry-recognized certifications or credentials or (ii) establish, expand, or restore middle school programs that encourage and recruit students to participate in high school programs that teach students skilled trades that lead to earning industry-recognized certifications or credentials.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 4 of Chapter 13 of Title 22.1 a section numbered 22.1-227.2, relating to Public School Trades Incentive Fund and Program; established.

22102053D

H.B. 1093

Patron: Batten

Public elementary and secondary education; school boards and employees; cultural competency training; evaluations. Requires the evaluation of each public school teacher and principal and division superintendent to include an evaluation of cultural competency if the relevant local school board has adopted and implemented policies to require cultural competency training. Under current law, such an evaluation of cultural competency is required and not conditioned upon any such action of the local school board. The bill permits any school board to adopt and implement policies that require each teacher and any other school board employee holding a license issued by the Board of Education to complete cultural competency training, in accordance with guidance issued by the Board of Education, at least every two years, but only after providing 30 days' advanced written notice of and holding a public hearing regarding the adoption and implementation of such policies. Current law requires such cultural competency training and makes no provision for such notice and public hearing.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-253.13:5 and 22.1-298.7 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public elementary and secondary education; school boards and employees; cultural competency training; evaluations.

22102820D

H.B. 1108

Patron: Rasoul

Public schools; instruction concerning gambling. Requires instruction concerning gambling and the addictive potential thereof to be provided by the public schools as prescribed by the Board of Education. The bill requires the Board of Education to report to the Chairmen of House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health a description of such instruction.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-206 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public schools; instruction concerning gambling.

22102732D