Our legislators are gathering in Richmond beginning this week to ponder, participate and pass legislation for the Commonwealth. While education issues are not their total focus by any means, for building principals education policy and the associated guidelines are significant to school operation and instruction. A quick review of the proposed legislation, both for the House and Senate, lists former bills not passed, but which are returning again this year. New legislation in this session’s list brings hope for positive action in public schools.
Listed below are some of the House and Senate bills proposed for this session. Bet Neale, VASSP Director of Goverment Relations developed this list for VASSP. This is not a total list. You may access the complete listing of bills at http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/
HB 21 Employee firearms training. Requires every school board in the Commonwealth to
designate at least one qualified person for every school in the district who, upon application
with the school board, may carry a concealed handgun on school property.
Chief patron: Marshall, R.G.
HB 63 Public school interscholastic programs; participation by students receiving home
instruction. Note: Likely to pass House and Senate Ed – chance to defeat in full Senate; some
ducks think it might be “interesting” to take offense and indicate if these students take SOL or
equivalent, follow all rules of school, pay fee, etc. they are welcome to try out for teams???
Chief patron: Bell, Robert B.
HB 66 School resource officers; local school board to place officer in each public school.
Requires that there be a school resource officer in each public elementary and secondary
school.
Chief patron: Ramadan
HB 113 Opportunity Educational Institution; abolished.
Chief patron: Marshall, R.G.
HB 114 Private or religious schools; possession of firearm, etc., on school property.
Chief patron: Cole
HB 134 Diabetes; care of students who have been diagnosed. Parent may designate in a
diabetes care plan a delegated care aide to provide diabetes care for the student when a
school nurse or physician is not present in the school or at a school-sponsored activity –
delegated care aide to receive training in diabetes care; every school employee to receive
basic training in responses to emergency situations; changes from one to two the minimum
number of employees in a school that must be trained with regard to a student with diabetes
who attends the school.
Chief patron: Cole
HB 172 Standards of Learning tests; expedited retake. Requires the Board of Education to
promulgate regulations to provide the same criteria for eligibility for an expedited retake of
any Standards of Learning test to all students regardless of grade level or course.
Chief patron: Farrell
HB 175 Administration of Standards of Learning assessments. Requires the BOE to make SOL
assessments available to each local school board in advance of each school year; requires
the school board to administer such assessments on the date during the school year that
the board deems most appropriate to evaluate each student’s knowledge, application of
knowledge, critical thinking, and skills related to the Standards of Learning being assessed.
Chief patron: Farrell
HB 198 Sufficient cause for suspension or expulsion. Prohibits an incident that occurs in any
setting other than on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity from
being deemed sufficient cause for the suspension or expulsion of a student, except in cases in
which the division superintendent has received a report of an adjudication of delinquency or a
conviction for a certain criminal offense. NOTE: Talking to Landes to explain concerns including
cyberbullying, etc.
Chief patron: Landes
HB 228 Evaluation by certified Teacher of Visually Impaired. Requires each visually impaired
student to be evaluated by a certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired and requires the
student to receive instruction in Braille or the use of Braille unless the team responsible for
developing the student’s IEP
Chief patron: Cole
HB 318 A-to-F school grading system. abolish
HB 447 Standards of Learning assessments. Requires the number and type of assessments to
meet but not exceed the minimal requirements established by the federal Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, except that the Board of Education is permitted
to administer additional assessments in science and social sciences in grades five and eight.
Chief patron: Minchew
HB 472 Parental responsibility to prevent bullying. Authorizes principals to request that
parents meet with the principal or his designee to receive training in bullying prevention.
Chief patron: McQuinn
HB 493 Limited public forums for student religious viewpoint expression. Policy to permit a
student speaker to express a religious viewpoint at all school events at which a student is
permitted to publicly speak. The policy shall declare each such school event to be a limited
public forum, provide a neutral method for the selection of student speakers, and require
each school principal to provide a disclaimer in advance of each such school event that the
school division does not endorse any religious viewpoint that may be expressed by student
speakers.
Chief patron: Lingamfelter
HB 498 Standards of Learning assessments and alternative assessment tools. Standards of
Learning assessments administered to students (i) in grade three to be limited to English
and mathematics, (ii) in grade four to be limited to English, mathematics, and the Virginia
and Community history and social science assessment, (iii) in grade five to be limited to
English, writing, mathematics, and science, and (iv) in grade six to be limited to English and
mathematics, beginning with the 2015-2016 school year. The bill requires the history and
social science Standards of Learning assessment in grades seven through 12 to be limited to
History, Economy, and Civics in grade eight and Modern World and United States History in
grade 10, 11, or 12, beginning with the 2015-2016 school year. NOTE: We spoke to Krupicka
today – he understands that his bill will likely be rolled into a Republican bill, likely Greason,
since he is chair of House Ed sub. Expect revisions, etc.
Chief patron: Krupicka
HB 515 Statements of students; admissibility; parental notification. Provides that statements
made by a student to a school employee as a result of an interrogation are inadmissible in a
delinquency proceeding unless the student’s custodian was present at the time the statement
was made. The bill also makes mandatory the notification of the parents of any student who
violates certain school board policy or compulsory school attendance requirements and allows
such notification to be made by an administrative designee as well as the school principal.
Chief patron: Minchew
HB 553 A-to-F school grading system. Changes the A-to-F school grading system by
requiring the Board of Education, beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, to assign
each public elementary and secondary school five separate grades based on (i) individual
school performance and (ii) the performance of students who are (a) receiving special
education, (b) enrolled in English as a second language (ESL) programs, (c) eligible to receive
free or reduced price meals, and (d) not eligible to receive free or reduced price meals.
Chief patron: Krupicka
HB 618 Individual school performance grading system. Delays from October 1, 2014, to
October 1, 2017, the date by which the Board of Education is required to implement the A to F
individual school performance grading system. The bill requires the Board to report individual
school take into account certain additional factors in assigning grades including all state
mandated assessments.
Chief patron: Mason
HB 640 Standards of Learning assessments. Provides that the number and type of
Standards of Learning assessments shall meet but not exceed the minimal requirements
established by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.
Chief patron: Campbell
HB 726 Suspension and expulsion of students. Requires that each student who is suspended
or expelled from attendance shall be afforded the opportunity to continue to progress in the
curriculum of the school division during the suspension or expulsion. The bill also requires any
student who is suspended for more than 10 days cumulatively in a school year to receive a
plan of positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to address the student’s
behavior so that it does not continue to impede the student’s learning or other students’
learning.
Chief patron: McClellan
HB 850 Standards of Learning assessments; Board of Education no later than January 1, 2015,
to make recommendations to the General Assembly for reducing the frequency with which
Standards of Learning assessments are administered to students while ensuring adequate
measurement of student academic achievement.
Chief patron: LeMunyon
HB 930 Standards of Learning assessments; reform. Provides that (i) the number and type of
Standards of Learning assessments shall meet the minimal requirements established by the
federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and (ii) beginning with
the 2014-2015 school year, the Board of Education shall administer the following Standards
of Learning assessments: (a) reading and mathematics in grades three and four; (b) reading,
writing, mathematics, and science in grade five; (c) reading and mathematics in grade six;
(d) reading, mathematics, and civics in grade seven; (e) reading, mathematics, and science in
grade eight; and (f) algebra 1, algebra 2, biology, chemistry, reading, writing, United States
history, world history 1, and world history 2 once each in grades nine through 12. The bill
permits the Board to subsequently reduce the Standards of Learning assessments administered
as long as the number and type of assessments meet the minimal requirements established by
federal law. The bill also requires the Board of Education to establish Standards of Learning
Revision Committees for each Standards of Learning subject area that will convene at least
two years prior to any Board review of the Standard of Learning in the relevant subject area
to perform several tasks, including (i) recommending changes to the Standard of Learning and
(ii) developing and updating an assessment bank that includes formative and performance-
based assessments that are aligned to the Standards of Learning and that are used at the local
level by teachers for diagnostic purposes and planning instruction.
Chief patron: Greason
HB 1054 High school diploma course and credit requirements; computer science. Requires
the Board of Education to consider all computer science course credits earned by students
to be science course credits in establishing course and credit requirements for a high school
diploma.
Chief patron: Loupassi
HB 1066 Industry certification and state licensure examinations; substitution for S.O.L.
assessments. Requires the Board of Education to authorize local school boards to select and
substitute industry certification and state licensure examinations for Standards of Learning
assessments for the purpose of awarding verified units of credit for career and technical
education courses.
Chief patron: Webert
SB 43 Teachers; extends deadline to request hearing after receiving notice of dismissal.
Chief patron: Favola
SB 155 Physical activity requirement. Requires at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day
during the regular school year for students in grades kindergarten through eight.
Chief patron: Miller
SB 236 Right to religious viewpoint expression. Codifies the right of students to (i) voluntarily
pray or engage in religious activities or religious expression before, during, and after the school
day in the same manner and to the same extent that students may engage in nonreligious
activities or expression; (ii) organize prayer groups, religious clubs, “see you at the pole”
gatherings, or other religious gatherings before, during, and after school to the same extent
that students are permitted to organize other activities and groups; and (iii) wear clothing,
accessories, or jewelry that display religious messages or religious symbols in the same manner
and to the same extent that other types of clothing, accessories, and jewelry are permitted. The
bill also requires each school division to adopt a policy to permit a student speaker to express
a religious viewpoint at any school event at which a student is permitted to publicly speak.
The policy shall declare each such school event to be a limited public forum, provide a neutral
method for the selection of student speakers, and require each school principal to provide a
disclaimer in advance of each such school event that the school division does not endorse any
religious viewpoint that may be expressed by student speakers.
Chief patron: Carrico
SB 240 Withholding child from custodial parent. Makes it a Class 3 misdemeanor for any
principal, assistant principal, or supervisor employed by a local school board who fails to
or refuses to release a child into the custody of the child’s custodial parent or other legal
custodian, unless such failure or refusal is necessitated by a critical event or emergency
governed by the school crisis, emergency management, and medical emergency response plan.
Chief patron: Carrico
