GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill No. 914.

House Bill No. 914 mandates certain procedural and substantive requirements for employee evaluations by local school boards. I do not believe the State should mandate the employment practices of local school boards. Article VIII, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia provides that the supervision of local schools shall be vested in local school boards. The Standards of Quality at § 22.1-253.13:7 already require each local school board to include in its policy manual "a cooperatively developed procedure for personnel evaluation appropriate to tasks performed by those being evaluated." I agree with the local school boards of Virginia that the Standards of Quality provide sufficient direction to them on the issue of personnel evaluations of their own employees.

For this reason, I am returning House Bill No. 914 without my signature.