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2024 SESSION

24103266D
HOUSE BILL NO. 659
Offered January 10, 2024
Prefiled January 9, 2024
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-5, 22.1-7.1, and 22.1-7.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public schools; open school enrollment policies and guidance.
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Patrons-- Ballard and Coyner
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Referred to Committee on Education
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 22.1-5, 22.1-7.1, and 22.1-7.2 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 22.1-5. Regulations concerning admission of certain persons to schools; tuition charges.

A. Consistent with Article VIII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia, no person may be charged tuition for admission or enrollment in the public schools of the Commonwealth, whether on a full-time or part-time basis, who meets the residency criteria set forth in § 22.1-3 or is enrolled in any public school in the Commonwealth pursuant to § 22.1-7.1. No person of school age shall be charged tuition for enrollment in a program preparing students to pass a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education or alternative program offered as a regional or divisionwide initiative by the local school division in which such person is deemed to reside pursuant to § 22.1-3 or is enrolled pursuant to § 22.1-7.1. Further, no person of school age shall be denied admission or charged tuition when (i) such person's custodial parent has been deployed outside the United States as a member of the Virginia National Guard or as a member of the United States armed forces; and (ii) such person's custodial parent has executed a Special Power of Attorney under Title 10, United States Code, § 1044b providing for the care of the person of school age by an individual who is defined as a parent in § 22.1-1 during the time of his deployment outside the United States. The person of school age shall be allowed to attend a school in the school division in which the individual providing for his care, pursuant to the Special Power of Attorney under Title 10, United States Code, § 1044b, resides. Furthermore, when practicable, such persons of school age may continue to attend school in the Virginia school division they attended immediately prior to the deployment and shall not be charged tuition for attending such division.

The following persons may, however, in the discretion of the school board of a school division and pursuant to regulations adopted by the school board, be admitted into the public schools of the division and may, in the discretion of the school board, be charged tuition:

1. Persons who reside within the school division but who are not of school age.

2. Persons of school age who are residents of the Commonwealth but who do not reside within the school division, except as provided in this section.

3. Persons of school age who are attending school in the school division pursuant to a foreign student exchange program approved by the school board.

4. Persons of school age who reside beyond the boundaries of the Commonwealth but near thereto in a state or the District of Columbia which grants the same privileges to residents of the Commonwealth.

5. Persons of school age who reside on a military or naval reservation located wholly or partly within the geographical boundaries of the school division and who are not domiciled residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia; however, no person of school age residing on a military or naval reservation located wholly or partly within the geographical boundaries of the school division may be charged tuition if federal funds provided under P.L. 874 of 1950, commonly known as Impact Aid, shall fund such students at not less than 50 percent of the total per capita cost of education, exclusive of capital outlay and debt service, for elementary or secondary pupils, as the case may be, of such school division. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, such persons of school age who reside on a military or naval reservation with military-owned housing located wholly or partly within the geographical boundaries of multiple school divisions shall be deemed eligible for interscholastic programs immediately upon enrollment in a public elementary or secondary school in any of the aforementioned school divisions, provided that such persons (i) satisfy all other requirements for eligibility and (ii) are dependents of a military service member required by the military to live on the military installation as evidenced by a statement on command letterhead signed by, or by direction of, the service member's commanding officer.

6. Persons of school age who, as domiciled residents of the Commonwealth who were enrolled in a public school within the school division, are required as a result of military or federal orders issued to their parents to relocate and reside on federal property in another state or the District of Columbia, if the school division subsequently enrolling such persons is contiguous to such state or District of Columbia.

7. Persons of school age who reside in the school division and who are enrolled in summer programs, exclusive of required remediation as provided in § 22.1-253.13:1, or in local initiatives or programs not required by the Standards of Quality or the Standards of Accreditation.

For the purposes of determining the residency of persons described in subdivisions 1 and 2, local school boards shall adopt regulations consistent with the residency requirements regarding persons residing in housing or temporary shelter, or on property located in multiple jurisdictions, as articulated in § 22.1-3.

B. Persons of school age who are not residents of the Commonwealth but are living temporarily with persons residing within a school division may, in the discretion of the school board and pursuant to regulations adopted by it, be admitted to the public schools of the school division. Tuition shall be charged such persons.

C. No tuition charge authorized or required in this section shall exceed the total per capita cost of education, exclusive of capital outlay and debt service, for elementary or secondary pupils, as the case may be, of such school division and the actual, additional costs of any special education or gifted and talented program provided the pupil, except that if the tuition charge is payable by the school board of the school division of the pupil's residence pursuant to a contract entered into between the two school boards, the tuition charge shall be that fixed by such contract.

D. School boards may accept and provide programs for students for whom English is a second language who entered school in Virginia for the first time after reaching their twelfth birthday, and who have not reached 22 years of age on or before August 1 of the school year. No tuition shall be charged such students, if state funding is provided for such programs.

§ 22.1-7.1. Open school enrollment policy.

A. Any As used in this section:

"Nonresident student" means any student who is enrolled in a school within such student's school division but outside of the attendance area in which the student resides pursuant to an open enrollment policy.

"Open enrollment" means a policy adopted and implemented by a local school board to allow any student to enroll in any school within the school division of attendance regardless of the location of the student's residence.

B. The Board shall develop and make available to each school board model policies and guidance relating to the open enrollment to any school of any student residing within the school division upon the request of a parent. Such model policies and guidance shall detail (i) the application process for open enrollment; (ii) responsibilities relating to school transportation for a nonresident student; (iii) any specific disciplinary actions that may disqualify a student from open enrollment; (iv) prohibitions on the recruitment of a student from one school to another, including recruitments related to athletic or extracurricular activities; (v) the criteria by which enrollment capacity is established for each school; (vi) a random selection process in the event open enrollment requests exceed a given school's enrollment capacity; (vii) continued enrollment of any nonresident student enrolled in a school pursuant to this section; (viii) preference or priority for any student whose parent is an employee of the receiving school; and (ix) procedures for reporting and making publicly available the open enrollment capacity of each school.

C. Each local school board may shall, in accordance with the model policies and guidelines developed by the Board pursuant to subsection B, establish and implement policies to provide for the open enrollment to any school of any student residing within the school division upon the request of a parent or guardian. In developing such policies, a local school board may include the following conditions and limitations:

1. An application process whereby a parent or guardian indicates a school preference for purposes of his child attending a school in the child's school division but outside of the attendance area in which the child resides;

2. A requirement that the parent or guardian provide transportation for the student attending a school other than his assigned school;

3. A requirement that a student may be disqualified from attending a school other than his assigned school if he has been subject to a specified disciplinary action;

4. A prohibition on the recruitment of a student from one school to another by a school division employee;

5. A limitation on participation in certain athletic activities for a student who chooses to attend a school other than his assigned school;

6. A random, unbiased selection process in the event open enrollment requests exceed the capacity of a school;

7. A provision that a student shall be permitted to remain at the receiving school until the student has completed the highest grade level in the school; and

8. A preference to a student (i) who resides in a location that has been subject to a change in school attendance area during the previous two years, (ii) who has a sibling attending the receiving school, or (iii) whose parent or guardian is an employee of the receiving school.

B. D. A copy of the school division's policies for open enrollment, if any, shall be posted on the division's and each school's official website and shall be available to the public upon request.

C. E. Nothing in this section shall interfere with a local school board's authority to adopt a pupil assignment plan pursuant to § 22.1-79.

D. For the purposes of this section, "open enrollment" means a policy adopted and implemented by a local school board to allow any student to enroll in any school within the school division of attendance regardless of the location of the student's residence.

§ 22.1-7.2. Enrollment for students residing on a military installation or in military housing.

A. As used in this section, "military installation" means a base, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, fort, or other activity under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, including any leased facility, that is located in whole or in part within the Commonwealth. "Military installation" does not include any facility used primarily for civil works, rivers and harbors projects, or flood control projects.

B. Any local school board of a school division in which a military installation or other military housing is located shall establish and implement policies to provide for the enrollment to any school of any student residing on a military installation or in military housing within the school division upon the request of his parent if space in the school is available. In developing such policies, a local school board may include any of conditions listed in subsection A B of § 22.1-7.1 or any other condition deemed appropriate by the local school board.

C. A copy of the school division's policies for enrollment for students residing on a military installation or in military housing within the school division shall be posted on the division's website and shall be available to the public upon request.

2. That the Board of Education shall establish and make available to each school board the model policies and guidelines relating to open enrollment pursuant to subsection B of § 22.1-7.1 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act, no later than August 1, 2024.