Updated February 9, 2001

The Schedule

Both chambers must act on the budget bill of the other house by February 14. The deadline for committee action on bills is February 19. Adjournment is slated for February 24.

The House Education Committee meets Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. in House Room C and Fridays at 9:00 a.m. in the Appropriations Room. The Senate Education and Health Committee will meet on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. in Senate Room B. Sub-committees will meet periodically throughout the session. Click for a schedule of weekly meetings.

The Issues

The House and Senate money committees released their respective amendments to the state budget on February 4. Each chamber then approved their version of the budget by Friday. Both budgets provide some funding for a teacher salary increase. The Senate included funding for the state share of 6% teacher salary increase, effective December 1. The House included money for the state share of a 3.5% teacher pay hike, also effective December 1. The Senate budget maintains the use of general fund dollars for the school construction grants program and the school building maintenance program. It does transfer approximately $69 million from the Literary Fund for teacher retirement (as had been routinely done in the 80’s and early 90’s). The Literary Fund will be made whole again in the current biennium through an interest rate subsidy that will allow school projects on the Fund’s waiting list to be funded, and there will be no need for future borrowing to restore the Literary Fund principal. Finally, the Senate budget restores $15.4 million for full state funding of the retired teacher health insurance credit, the cost of which had been proposed to be shared with localities. The House version opts for a study of combining the health insurance credit fund with VRS, but does not restore the program to 100% state funding.

The House has approved several bills dealing with the SOL tests, graduation requirements and school accreditation. They include the following:

HB 2394 provides for a formula that allows the classwork grade of a student who has narrowly failed the relevant SOL test twice to be considered in order to receive a verified unit of credit;

HB 2163 requires the use of various criteria (such as improvement in test scores and student attendance rates) in determining school accreditation and requires that SOL test results account for no more than three-quarters of a school’s accreditation rating;

HB 2122 directs the Board of Education to establish guidelines for awarding verified credit to students who pass a course but fail the relevant SOL test twice; and

HB 2777 requires the Board of Education to conduct a public hearing before revising or adopting SOL resource guides.

In the Senate, SB 1265 calling for multiple criteria in determining both accreditation and student performance was withdrawn. SB 1424, which would have prohibited SOL testing in any area in which the SOL was under revision, was defeated in Senate committee.

The House Transportation Committee approved a bill (HB 2689) to require seatbelts in all school buses by 2003, but the House Appropriations Committee defeated the bill. That committee also tabled HB 2393 which would have required elementary school guidance counselors, as well as several bills (HB 2084, HB 2086 and HB 2816) concerning remediation programs and services.

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