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2022 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Education and Health

Chair: L. Louise Lucas

Clerk: Michael Jackson,Thomas Jackson
Staff: Julia Carlton, Anna Moir
Date of Meeting: February 17, 2022
Time and Place: 8 AM Senate Committee Room A / Pocahontas Building
https://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3

H.B. 4

Patron: Wyatt

School principals; incident reports. Requires that school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense and report to the parents of any minor student who is the specific object of such act that the incident has been reported to law enforcement. Under current law, principals are required to make such reports only for such acts that may constitute a felony offense.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 8.01-47, 22.1-279.3:1, and 22.1-279.3:3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to school principals; incident reports.

22105170D

H.B. 9

Patron: Ware

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.

22100668D

H.B. 81

Patron: Kilgore

Board of Health; Statewide Telehealth Plan; Virginia Telehealth Network. Requires the Board of Health to consult with the Virginia Telehealth Network in developing and maintaining the Statewide Telehealth Plan. The bill requires the Board of Health to leverage the expertise of the Virginia Telehealth Network, or another Virginia-based nongovernmental organization focused on telehealth if the Virginia Telehealth Network is no longer in existence, to (i) provide direct consultation to any advisory groups and groups tasked by the Board with implementation and data collection, (ii) track implementation of the Statewide Telehealth Plan, and (iii) facilitate changes to the Statewide Telehealth Plan as accepted medical practices and technologies evolve.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-122.03:1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Board of Health; Statewide Telehealth Plan; Virginia Telehealth Network.

22100950D

H.B. 213

Patron: Robinson

Optometrists; laser surgery. Allows an optometrist who has received a certification to perform laser surgery from the Board of Optometry (the Board) to perform certain types of laser surgery of the eye and directs the Board to issue a certification to perform laser surgery to any optometrist who submits evidence satisfactory to the Board that he (i) is certified by the Board to prescribe for and treat diseases or abnormal conditions of the human eye and its adnexa with therapeutic pharmaceutical agents pursuant to Code requirements and (ii) has satisfactorily completed such didactic and clinical training programs provided by an accredited school or college of optometry that includes training in the use of lasers for the medically appropriate and recognized treatment of the human eye as the Board may require.

The bill also requires the Board to adopt regulations (i) establishing criteria for certification of an optometrist to perform permitted laser surgeries and (ii) requiring optometrists to register annually with the Board and to report information regarding any disciplinary action, malpractice judgment, or malpractice settlement against the provider and any evidence that indicates the provider may be unable to engage safely in the practice of his profession. The bill also requires optometrists certified to perform laser surgery to report certain information regarding the number any types of laser surgeries performed and the conditions treated as well as any adverse treatment outcomes associated with the performance of such laser surgeries to the Board, and requires the Board to report such information to the Governor and the Secretary of Health and Human Resources annually

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 54.1-2400.01:1, 54.1-3200, and 54.1-3201 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 32 of Title 54.1 an article numbered 6, consisting of a section numbered 54.1-3225, relating to optometrists; laser surgery.

22103931D

H.B. 230

Patron: Coyner

Applications for teacher licensure by reciprocity; military spouses; timeline for determination. Requires the Board of Education's licensure regulations to provide for licensure by reciprocity for any spouse of an active duty or reserve member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a member of the Virginia National Guard who has obtained a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for a Virginia license is received by the Department of Education. Current law requires such regulations to provide for licensure by reciprocity for any spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Commonwealth. The bill requires such an individual to submit an official copy of the military permanent assignment orders of the individual's spouse as part of the complete application packet. The bill requires the Department to determine and communicate such individual's eligibility for licensure by reciprocity within 15 business days of receipt of the complete application packet.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-298.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to applications for teacher licensure by reciprocity; military spouses; timeline for determination.

22102411D

H.B. 242

Patron: Adams, D.M.

Practice of licensed professional counselors. Adds licensed professional counselors to the list of eligible providers who can disclose or recommend the withholding of patient records, face a malpractice review panel, and provide recommendations on involuntary temporary detention orders.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 8.01-413, 8.01-581.20, 16.1-340.1, 20-124.6, 32.1-127.1:03, 37.2-809, 38.2-608, 53.1-40.2, and 54.1-2969 of the Code of Virginia, relating to practice of licensed professional counselors.

22102041D

H.B. 246

Patron: Kilgore

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.

22103920D

H.B. 418

Patron: Delaney

Public elementary and secondary education; at-risk add-on funds; Reading Recovery. Removes Reading Recovery from the list of programs and initiatives for which school boards may use at-risk add-on funds.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-199.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public elementary and secondary education; at-risk add-on funds; Reading Recovery.

22101570D

H.B. 555

Patron: Hayes

Health care providers; transfer of patient records in conjunction with closure, sale, or relocation of practice; electronic notice permitted. Allows health care providers to notify patients either electronically or by mail prior to the transfer of patient records in conjunction with the closure, sale, or relocation of the health care provider's practice. Current law requires health care providers to provide such notice by mail.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-2405 of the Code of Virginia, relating to health care providers; transfer of patient records in conjunction with closure, sale, or relocation of practice; electronic notice permitted.

22102359D

H.B. 598

Patron: Hayes

Registered surgical technologist; criteria for registration. Requires the Board of Medicine to register as a surgical technologist any applicant who has practiced as a surgical technologist or attended a surgical technologist training program at any time prior to October 1, 2022, and registers with the Board by December 31, 2022. Under current law, an applicant who practiced as a surgical technologist at any time in the six months prior to July 1, 2021, and registered by December 31, 2021, is eligible for certification by the Board. The bill also provides that no person shall use the designation "C.S.T." or any variation thereof unless such person (i) is certified by the Board and (ii) has successfully completed an accredited surgical technologist training program and holds a current credential as a certified surgical technologist from the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting or its successor.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-2956.12 of the Code of Virginia, relating to registered surgical technologist; criteria for registration.

22103959D

H.B. 604

Patron: Sickles

Board of Nursing; education programs; oversight. Gives the Board of Nursing the power and duty to prescribe minimum standards and approval curricula for educational programs preparing persons for registration as a medication aide and to provide periodic surveys of training programs.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 54.1-3005 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Board of Nursing; educational programs; oversight.

22102371D

H.B. 659

Patron: Hope

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to establish a work group to study and make recommendations regarding the cases in which the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall conduct an investigation of the death of a person who dies while receiving services from a licensed program. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Department) to establish a work group to study and make recommendations regarding appropriate investigations, including recommendations regarding when autopsies may be appropriate, of the deaths of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities who are residents of the Commonwealth and who die while receiving services from a program licensed by the Department. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2022.

A BILL to direct the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to establish a work group to study and make recommendations regarding the cases in which the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall conduct an investigation of the death of a person who dies while receiving services from a program licensed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

22105108D

H.B. 680

Patron: Hope

State plan for medical assistance services; case management services; individuals with severe traumatic brain injury. Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to update the state plan for medical assistance services to include a provision for the payment of medical assistance for targeted case management services for individuals with severe traumatic brain injury.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-325 of the Code of Virginia, relating to state plan for medical assistance services; case management services; individuals with severe traumatic brain injury.

22101512D

H.B. 741

Patron: Bell

Annual public elementary and secondary school safety audits; creation or review of school building floor plans required. Requires each local school board, as part of each annual school safety audit, to create a detailed and accurate floor plan for each public school building in the local school division or certify that the existing floor plan for each such school is sufficiently detailed and accurate but provides that such floor plan may be withheld from public disclosure.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-279.8 of the Code of Virginia, relating to annual public elementary and secondary school safety audits; creation or review of school building floor plans required.

22101168D

H.B. 979

Patron: Tran

Board of Education; provisional teacher licensure; teachers licensed or certified outside of the United States. Requires the Board of Education to provide for the issuance of a provisional license, valid for a period not to exceed three years, to any individual who has held within the last seven years a valid and officially issued and recognized license or certification to teach issued by an entity outside of the United States but does not meet the requirements for a renewable license.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-298.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Board of Education; provisional teacher licensure; teachers licensed or certified outside of the United States.

22103549D

H.B. 1022

Patron: Guzman

Certain public elementary and secondary school students; excused absences; attendance at pow wow. Provides that, subject to guidelines established by the Department of Education, any student who is a member of a state-recognized or federally recognized tribal nation that is headquartered in the Commonwealth and who is absent from school to attend such tribal nation's pow wow gathering shall be granted an excused absence, provided that the parent of such student provides to the student's school advance notice of such absence in the manner required by the school.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-254 of the Code of Virginia, relating to certain public elementary and secondary school students; excused absences; attendance at pow wow.

22103817D

H.B. 1345

Patron: Fariss

Virginia Transplant Council; membership. Adds Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters to the membership of the Virginia Transplant Council.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-297.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Transplant Council; membership.

22104556D

H.B. 1352

Patron: Bell

Private elementary and secondary schools; retaliation for good faith reports of child abuse or neglect prohibited. Prohibits any private elementary or secondary school from retaliating in any manner against any individual who in good faith reports child abuse or neglect as mandated by relevant law.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-291.3:1, relating to private elementary and secondary schools; retaliation for good faith reports of child abuse or neglect prohibited.

22103713D

H.J.R. 145

Patron: Davis

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; statewide strategic plan; report. Endorses the framework of mission, vision, goals, and strategies for the statewide strategic plan for higher education developed and approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) as the Commonwealth's vision and plan for higher education and requires SCHEV to report annually for six years on the Commonwealth's progress toward achieving the plan's goals to the Governor, the General Assembly, institutions of higher education, and the public.

Endorsing the framework of the statewide strategic plan for higher education developed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia as the Commonwealth's vision and plan for higher education. Report.

22104838D