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2021 SESSION

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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: January 21, 2021
Time and Place: 30 mins. after adj./SM West/Register to speak @ GA Website
https://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3

S.B. 1225

Patron: Boysko

Broadband services; education. Authorizes school boards to appropriate funds for the purposes of promoting, facilitating, and encouraging the expansion and operation of broadband services for educational purposes. The bill authorizes school boards to partner with private broadband service providers to promote, implement, and subsidize broadband for educational purposes to the households of students who would qualify for (i) a child nutrition program or (ii) any other program recognized or adopted by the local school board as a measuring standard to identify at-risk students.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 5 of Chapter 9 of Title 15.2 a section numbered 15.2-986 and by adding a section numbered 22.1-79.9, relating to promotion of broadband service for educational purposes.

21101489D

S.B. 1257

Patron: McClellan


Standards of Quality; work-based learning; teacher leaders and mentors; principal mentors; certain personnel positions and initiatives. Makes several changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishment of units in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning and principal mentorship statewide in Standard 1 and requiring the Board of Education to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leader and teacher mentor programs in Standard 5. The bill also makes several changes relating to school personnel in Standard 2, including (i) establishing schoolwide ratios of students to teachers in certain schools with high concentrations of poverty and granting flexibility to provide compensation adjustments to teachers in such schools; (ii) requiring each school board to assign licensed personnel in a manner that provides an equitable distribution of experienced, effective teachers and other personnel among all schools in the local school division; (iii) requiring each school board to employ teacher leaders and teacher mentors at specified student-to-position ratios; (iv) requiring state funding in addition to basic aid to support at-risk students and granting flexibility in the use of such funds by school boards; (v) lowering the ratio of English language learner students to teachers; (vi) requiring each school board to employ reading specialists and establishing a student-to-position ratio for such specialists; (vii) requiring school boards to employ one full-time principal in each elementary school; (viii) lowering the ratio of students to assistant principals and school counselors in elementary, middle, and high schools; and (ix) requiring each school board to provide at least four specialized student support positions, including school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-129, 22.1-199.1, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, 22.1-253.13:1, 22.1-253.13:2, 22.1-253.13:3, 22.1-253.13:5, 22.1-274, 22.1-274.01:1, 22.1-294, 22.1-299.4, as it is currently effective, 22.1-303, and 51.1-617, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, of the Code of Virginia and to repeal § 22.1-305.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Standards of Quality; work-based learning; teacher leaders and mentors; principal mentors; certain personnel positions and initiatives.

21101061D

S.B. 1288

Patron: Dunnavant

Department of Education; special education. Requires the Department of Education and the Board of Education to develop new policies and procedures and effect numerous modifications to existing policies and procedures to improve the administration and oversight of special education in the Commonwealth.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-214, 22.1-215, 22.1-253.13:4, and 22.1-298.1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-214.4, relating to Department of Education; special education.

21101787D

S.B. 1316

Patron: McClellan


Child care providers; background check portability; subsidy pilot program; report. Exempts prospective employees and volunteers of certain child care providers from statutory background check requirements where the individual completed a background check within the previous five years, provided that (i) such background check was conducted after July 1, 2017; (ii) the results of such background check indicated that the individual had not been convicted of any barrier crime and was not the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect; and (iii) the individual is an employee or volunteer of a child care provider that is subject to background check requirements or has been separated from such employment or volunteer position for not more than 180 days. The bill requires such child care providers, prior to hiring or allowing to volunteer any individual without the completion of a background check, to obtain written certification that such individual satisfies all such requirements and is eligible to serve as an employee or volunteer. The bill also directs the Department of Education (the Department) to establish a two-year pilot program for the purpose of stabilizing and improving the quality of services provided in the Commonwealth's child care industry. The bill provides that under the pilot program a fixed sum of funds, based on the number of children served and certain other factors, will be disbursed to participating child care providers who agree to meet higher standards of quality and care, as determined by the Department. The bill requires the Department to report to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than December 1 of each year of the pilot program certain information set forth in the bill. The bill also requires the Department, in collaboration with the School Readiness Committee, to (a) identify and analyze financing strategies that can be used to support the systemic costs of high-quality child care services, ensure equitable compensation for child care staff, and better prepare children for kindergarten and (b) analyze the effectiveness of using a cost-of-quality modeling system for the child care subsidy program. The bill requires the Department to report its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than December 1, 2021.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 19.2-389, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, 22.1-289.035, as it shall become effective, 22.1-289.039, as it shall become effective, 63.2-1720.1, and 63.2-1724 of the Code of Virginia, relating to child care providers; background check portability; subsidy pilot program; report.

21102634D

S.B. 1317

Patron: Dunnavant

Local school boards; open enrollment policy required. Requires all local school boards to establish and implement policies to provide for the open enrollment to any school of any student who is eligible to receive free or reduced lunch upon the request of a parent or guardian, subject to conditions and limitations established by the local school board.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-7.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to local school boards; open enrollment policy required.

21102514D

S.B. 1357

Patron: Dunnavant

Local school divisions; core subject competency assessments. Directs each local school division to develop and administer a fall and winter diagnostic assessment and a spring growth measurement assessment to each student to assess the student's competency in each core subject, as determined by the Department of Education.

A BILL to direct local school divisions to develop and administer diagnostic and growth assessments to each student to assess core subject competency.

21102515D

S.B. 1401

Patron: Pillion

Standards of Learning assessments; reduction; report. Reduces the total number and type of required Standards of Learning assessments to the minimum requirements established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended. The bill requires the Department of Education to annually report on the estimated projected and actual savings from the implementation of the bill and report the amount of such savings to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than the first day of each Regular Session of the General Assembly. The bill also requires that such amount be included in the total for Direct Aid to Public Education in any general appropriation act.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-253.13:3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Standards of Learning assessments; reduction; report.

21100971D

S.B. 1439

Patron: McClellan

Department of Education; guidelines on excused student absences; civic or political engagement. Requires, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, any middle school or high school student who is absent from school to engage in a civic or political event to be granted an excused absence.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-254 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Department of Education; guidelines on excused student absences; civic or political engagement.

21102439D