View: Week 1 Week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 Week 6

Legislative Summary Approved Educational Budget

2003 General Assembly

APPROVED LEGISLATION

FINANCE:

HB 2151 (Rust) codifies and broadens existing budget language directing the Department of Education to make calculations at the beginning and end of each school year to ensure that the level of locally appropriated school funding satisfies state-required levels of local school expenditures. The measure also requires DOE to report such information to the General Assembly’s education and money committees, and requires the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to report the state SOQ expenditure provided to each locality.

RETIREMENT:

HB 2122 (Reid) allows division superintendents to purchase up to10 years past service in another state, but under some tightly drawn circumstances. Superintendents can buy back the service, but at the cost of 10% of salary. In addition, the purchase has to be made as a lump-sum payment within a year of the superintendent becoming eligible to make the purchase. The school division can make the purchase, but if it does, the superintendent has to stay for the number of years purchased or be obligated to repay the school board and lose the extra service.

HB 2438 (Dillard) clarifies that certain retired school employees who return to work without giving up retirement benefits, can do so under successive one-year contracts. These provisions are due to expire on July 1, 2005.

HB 1518 (Black) prohibits local school boards that allow use of school facilities or distribution of literature from denying such access or opportunity to distribute literature by the boy or girl scouts organizations.

HB 1716 (Hogan) authorizes school superintendents to assign another identifying number to students ineligible to obtain a social security number or whose parent is unwilling to present such number, or to waive the requirement altogether.

HB 1896 (Stump) and SB 717 (Wampler) require school divisions that begin the student school year prior to August 15 to ensure that employees are paid within the first month of employment.

HB 2124 (Reid) allows school boards operating an academic year Governor’s School, with the approval of the respective local governing bodies, to select the fiscal agent for the school from among the treasurers of the participating localities. Current law requires the treasurer of the locality where such school is located to be the fiscal agent.

HB 2140 (Brink) requires the posting of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution in each public school. This bill amends an act approved by the 2002 General Assembly, which required schools to post the statement "In God We Trust, the National Motto, enacted by Congress in 1956.”

HB 2254 (Watts) makes permanent the timeframe for school boards to notify teachers who may be subject to a reduction in force due to a decrease in the school board budget. The notice has to be given within two weeks of approval of the school budget by the local governing body but no later than June 1.

HB 2437 (Dillard) modifies provisions governing school board member salaries to allow county school boards elected or appointed for staggered terms to establish a salary increase prior to July 1 of any year in which at least 40%, rather than the current 50%, of its members are to be elected or appointed.

HB 2806 (Saxman) allows local school boards to approve school schedules containing a four-day weekly calendar as long as the yearly minimum of 990 instructional hours is provided. No alternative plan that reduces the instructional time in core academic subjects is allowed.

SB 756 (O’Brien) requires that whenever a division superintendent's contract is being renegotiated, school board members must be notified at least 30 days before any meeting at which a vote on the renegotiated contract is planned.

SB 987 (Mims) authorizes school boards to display U.S. flag decals on school buses.

SB 1099 (Edwards) allows two or more school boards to establish joint or regional high schools to offer specialized training in various occupations addressing public safety and welfare

STANDARDS OF QUALITY, STANDARDS OF LEARNING, STANDARDS OF ACCREDITATION:

HB 1493 (Amundson) amends the SOQ to state that the quality of public education is dependent on a learning environment that promotes student achievement. The bill is similar to SB 710 (Puller) which 1) emphasizes quality instruction as that which enables each student to become a productive and educated citizen of Virginia and the United States, and 2) stipulates that the legislature provide for the support of public education as set forth in the Constitution.

HB 1503 (Landes) directs the Board of Education to establish criteria for awarding a diploma seal for civics education for the standard and advanced studies diplomas.

HB 1757 (Amundson) requires school boards to provide prevention, intervention or remediation programs for students who fail an end-of-course test required for the award of a verified unit of credit needed for graduation. School divisions also must add these students to their existing remediation reporting requirements. State SOL remediation funding totals over $30 million in the current budget.

HB 2442 (Dillard) requires school boards to enroll limited English proficient students in appropriate instructional programs and requires state funding for 10 instructional positions for each 1,000 students so identified. The current biennial budget includes over $19 million in funding for these positions.

SB 779 (Blevins) provides that there shall be no required administration of the Stanford 9 assessment.

OTHER:

HB 1464 (Carrico) directs the Board of Education to develop requirements for a general achievement diploma, to be awarded to students who pass the GED, complete a Board-established education and training program and satisfy other Board requirements.

HB 1498 (Lingamfelter) modifies current character education requirements to include instruction in Virginia's civic values, defined as the principles articulated in the Bill of Rights and reflected in the state seal.

HB 1744 (Byron) prohibits agency-issued identification cards, student identification cards and license certificates issued or replaced after July 1 from displaying a person’s entire social security number. Any such cards displaying a social security number would have to be replaced by July 1, 2006. The prohibition does not apply to driver’s licenses.

HB 1790 (Tata) clarifies, in various parts of the teacher grievance procedure that require 10-day timeframes for certain actions to take place, that the timeframe is 10 business days. SB 941 (Colgan) clarifies, concerning a hearing before a fact-finding panel, that time limitations established for choosing the panel members, holding the hearing and making the findings and recommendations to the school board, also are “business days.”

HB 2757 (Rust) clarifies and reinforces that employment applications require someone seeking employment by a school board to certify whether he has been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude. Current law requires that school board employment applications include certifications that the applicant has not been convicted of a felony, a crime of moral turpitude, or any offense involving the sexual molestation, physical or sexual abuse or rape of a child.

SCHOOL SAFETY and DISCIPLINE:

HB 1572 (Hamilton) requires law enforcement notice to school officials when a juvenile is found not guilty on criminal charges, or such charges are dismissed, withdrawn or reduced. Current law only requires notification when a petition is filed for certain crimes, but there is no follow-up as to the disposition of the charges unless there is a conviction.

HB 1856 (Lingamfelter) revises, in the Gun Free Schools Act, the definition of “firearm” to exclude any weapon in which ammunition may be discharged by pneumatic pressure. Language is added to further define firearm as a weapon designed to expel a single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material.

HB 1907 (Almand) modifies the "Gun-Free Schools" law to add possession of an air rifle or BB gun on school property to those firearms-related offenses for which students are expelled from school for one year, unless the school board decides otherwise based on special circumstances that may exist.

HB 2091 (Joannou) requires the Board of Education to develop standards for school board policies on alcohol and drugs, to include guidance for voluntary and mandatory drug testing procedures.

HB 2615 (Sears) and SB 1071 (Rerras) clarify that the prohibition against possessing drugs with intent to distribute on school properties, recreation centers, libraries, and hospitals applies regardless of where the person intended to distribute the drugs.

HB 2621 (Sherwood) requires safety audits at each public school to be conducted annually (current law simply requires they be conducted) and that they include specific recommendations regarding structural adjustments, safety procedure and student conduct standards. The bill also provides that the results of such audits be made public within 90 days of completion, but gives school boards the authority to withhold or limit the release of any security plans and specific vulnerability assessment components.

HB 2671 (Hamilton) delays for one year, until September 15, 2004, the date upon which training and employment standards for persons employed as school security officers will be applicable.

HB 2680 (Black) revises provisions concerning reports to local law enforcement of certain incidents occurring on school property. The bill gives discretion to principals on whether to report incidents of assault and battery without bodily injury, while requiring reports of more serious incidents involving assault and battery with bodily injury, sexual assault, death, shooting, stabbing, cutting or wounding. The principal must still notify parents of the students involved in any of these incidents.

HB 2763 (Hurt) clarifies an exception for a possessing an unloaded firearm on school property in a "closed container" to provide that the definition of "closed container" includes a locked vehicle trunk.

OTHER:

HB 1559 (Orrock) delays filing of a complaint against a juvenile alleged to be truant from school to allow for a truancy plan to be developed, provided the juvenile and his parent/guardian agree to and participant in development of such a plan. If the juvenile does not complete the plan successfully within 90 days, the petition shall be filed in court.

HB 1786 (Kilgore) specifies that a court may suspend a juvenile’s driving privileges for up to 6 months when there is a violation of the curfew or passenger restrictions of a provisional driver's license. Provisional drivers' licenses are initial licenses issued to persons less than 18 years old; drivers are restricted in the number of child passengers they may transport and the hours during which they may drive.

HB 2257 (Watts) changes the provisional driver’s license statute to limit the number of less-than-18-year-old passengers allowed in a vehicle operated by a driver less than 18 years old to one for the first year of licensure, and thereafter three until the driver turns 18. Current law provides that drivers less than 17 years old cannot transport more than one passenger who is less than 18 years old, while drivers who are at least 17 but less than 18 cannot transport more than three passengers who are less than 18 years old. These limitations do not apply to members of the driver's family or household.

SB 1190 (Wagner) allows persons under 18 whose driver's licenses have been suspended to petition the court for restricted licenses to drive to and from work, provided they have no other means of transportation.

HB 1520 (Black) and SB 991 (Mims) expand the definition of "child in need of services" to include a child under age 14 whose behavior, conduct or condition presents or results in a serious threat to the well-being and physical safety of the child or any other person.

HB 1617 (Albo) and SB 864 (Saslaw) define “hazing” to mean recklessly or intentionally endangering the health or safety of, or to inflict bodily injury on, a student in connection with or for the purpose of initiation, admission into or affiliation with, or as a condition for membership in a club, organization, association, fraternity, sorority or student body, whether or not the student voluntarily participated in the activity.

HB 1651 (Albo) expands the record exemption, under the Freedom of Information Act, for investigator notes and other correspondence and information regarding an active investigation of individual employment discrimination complaints, to include investigations conducted by a local governing body or school board.

HB 1761 (Amundson) authorizes the Department of Information Technology to establish contracts for school teachers to purchase personal computers and related devices for use outside the classroom.

HB 1832 (Athey) and SB 1204 (Newman) require the Board of Education, in conjunction with the creation of a new Amber Alert program to provide notice and information about child abductions, to develop a program to provide parental access to child identification/protection kits. The Board shall notify local school divisions about the availability of such kits, which may include instructions and materials that may be used to compile identification information about the child, including a current photo, fingerprints, DNA samples and important medical information, and instructions for the proper safekeeping of the kit by parents.

HB 1834 (Reese) directs the Board of Education to prescribe regulations concerning scoliosis screening for certain students. School boards must either provide educational information to parents or implement a regular screening program for pupils in grades five through 10. Parents also may indicate to school officials that their children not participate in such screening.

HB 1925 (Nixon) amends the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 to include technology infrastructure as a qualifying project.

HB 2086 (Abbitt) increases the civil penalty for willful and knowing violations of the Freedom of Information Act from $100 to $250 for the first violation and from $500 to $1,000 for any subsequent violation.

HB 2288 (Devolites) and SB 1043 (Blevins) require a written interagency agreement, based on state guidelines, between local social services departments and school divisions as a protocol for investigating child abuse and neglect reports against school personnel. The bill also prescribes certain investigation procedures when a school employee is the subject of the complaint or report.

HB 2404 (Oder) provides for parents of home-schooled students to teach the behind-the-wheel portion of driver education.

HB 2833 (Reid) exempts from athletic trainer certification requirements the application of protective taping by any coach or physical education instructor. Currently, these individuals may conduct or assist with exercise or conditioning programs or classes without certification.

SB 659 (Ruff) adds school board employees who are exposed to persons in a manner that may transmit HIV or hepatitis B or C to those individuals deemed to have consented to testing for infection with such viruses and the release of test results to the exposed person. In addition, persons, including students, directly exposed to the body fluids of a school board employee also are deemed to have consented to testing for infection with these viruses and the release of the test results to the exposed school board employee. Parental consent is required for testing of minors and if consent is withheld, the school board may petition the juvenile court for an order requiring the testing. This measure mirrors current requirements for health care providers and law-enforcement personnel.

SB 738 (Houck) provides that a public body, before processing a request for records, may require the requester to pay any amounts owed to the public body for previous records requests that are unpaid at least 30 days after billing.

SB 1330 (Stosch) makes several clarifying changes to the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002, including that a responsible public entity may reject any unsolicited proposal and that, if a proposal is rejected, any fees related to the proposal must be returned to the private entity.

HOUSE RESOLUTIONS

HJR 549 (Cox) designates April as Backpack Safety Awareness Month. The resolution cites statistics that 55% of students carry more in their backpacks than the recommended national guidelines of 10-15% of body weight and a survey revealing that two-thirds of school nurses report seeing students with pain or injury attributed to carrying backpacks.

HJR 608 (Hamilton) encourages the Board of Education and State Council of Higher Education and SCHEV to ensure that the Board’s current performance and leadership standards are reflected in higher education preparation and training programs for principals and superintendents.

HJR 613 (Baskerville) highlights the coming 50^th anniversary in 2004 of the Brown v. Board of Education decision that decried segregated schools and expresses General Assembly regret over the 1959-1964 closing of the public schools in Prince Edward County.

HJR 642 (Byron) recognizes the potential cost savings of contracting for independent educational performance assessment services. This resolution notes the new data requirements of the “No Child Left Behind” Act and that the development and implementation of new software to collect and analyze this new data could be costly and time-consuming work.

HJR 752 (Bloxom) urges Congress to continue the funding of career and technical education when reauthorizing the Carl Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act in 2003. In the current fiscal year, Virginia receives over $27 million in grant funds.

SENATE RESOLUTIONS

SJR 305 (O’Brien) requires the Department of Education to collect information regarding ratios of students with individualized education plans in Virginia school divisions to the general student population.

SJR 316 (Marsh) directs the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission to coordinate with various offices and agencies, including local school boards, to plan commemoration events for the 50th Anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision that outlawed public school segregation.

SJR 347 (Hanger) continues the work of the Tax Code study commission, which is to complete its work and make recommendations by the 2004 General Assembly.

SJR 349 (Hanger) directs JLARC to collect information regarding best practices at high-performing schools, and to specifically identify and examine 1) demographic and other factors that may influence academic success, 2) practices and demographic information of the best- and poorest-performing school divisions, and 3) successful practices in those high-performing school divisions with fiscal or other challenges.

Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2003 General Assembly.

Back to 2003 General Assembly

Click here to see archived General Assembly Updates.

EDUCATION BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

Overview

The approved budget includes $27.5 million for compensation supplements in FY04. The funding is for the state share of a 2.25% teacher salary increase effective January 1, 2004, for instructional and support staff positions funded through the Standards of Quality (SOQ) and other state programs. These incentive-based funds require a local match based on the composite index. In his amendments to the General Assembly-approved budget, the governor struck language that made the salary increase contingent on revenues. Also, budget language is added to retain the December 1 deadline for production of the required annual report on teacher salaries.

The budget restores $10 million to the Literary Fund for an FY04 interest rate subsidy program for school building projects. This FY04 subsidy program was proposed for elimination in the introduced budget, which also diverted $22.1 million in FY03 and $40 million in FY04 in Literary Fund dollars to pay for teacher retirement (the legislature concurred with this). The $10 million restoration is expected to leverage $100 million to fund 28 projects on the Board of Education’s first priority waiting list for school construction loans. The budget still contains $27.5 million in FY04 for school construction grants to localities.

The spending plan establishes a $10.1 million Student Achievement Block (SAG) grant made up of funding from the dropout prevention, school health incentive and technology assistants programs. Approximately $1.7 million from the school health incentive and $5.1 million from the technology payments will be used to help fund the salary increase for teachers discussed above. The SAG grant can be used for K-3 class size reduction, early reading intervention, at-risk four-year olds, SOL remediation or dropout prevention programs. The budget decreases funding by about $855,000 for the Algebra Readiness and the Early Intervention Reading programs by assuming a one percent improvement in eighth grade math scores (Algebra Readiness) and a one percent decline in children needing services (Early Reading).

The budget reduces funding in FY04 for Project Discovery ($49,060), the Southwest Virginia Public Education Consortium ($107,700) and the Southside Virginia Public Education Consortium ($82,750); it eliminates funding for the Western Virginia Public Education Consortium ($63,750) and for migrant education grants ($300,000). The small school division grants are retained, but language is added to require the recipients (Norton City and Highland County) to enter into cost-sharing arrangements with other school divisions.

The approved budget appropriates nearly $45 million ($28.3 million for FY03 and $16.3 million for FY04) in additional lottery proceeds to school divisions. It also contains provisions included in the introduced budget that made technical adjustments and updated accounts to reflect participation, enrollment and other factors that drive funding.

Federal Funding

The budget once again is buffered by the addition of $91 million in federal funding in FY04 (largely due to the No Child Left Behind Act) for programs on English language acquisition, special education, 21^st century community learning centers, technology, and teacher/principal training & recruitment. This is on top of a $22.2 million federal funding increase contained in the introduced budget. The exact amount of federal funding to be realized is not known at this time.

Department of Education
The approved spending plan also makes the following budget and language changes in the Department of Education

*Adds $15.3 million in federal funding for FY04 for teacher quality enhancement, state assessment, special education, community service, teacher/principal training and recruitment, technology and 21^st century community learning centers.

*Includes provisions contained in the introduced budget that add more than $750,000 for supporting Governor Warner’s Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools (PASS) in FY04. This initiative was instituted last year to assist low-performing schools in meeting SOL testing/pass rate goals.

*Adds $425,000 in FY04 to restore funding for the state-supplied algebra readiness diagnostic test and $2.8 million to develop and administer separate Standards of Learning (SOL) history tests in grades 6 through 8. These amounts were proposed to be eliminated in the introduced budget.

*Adds language to require the Board of Education (BOE) to consider caseload standards for speech-language pathologists in its review of the SOQ.

*Adds language to require the BOE to convene a task force to develop a plan for consolidating services for the deaf and/or blind and multi-disabled.

Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2003 General Assembly.

Back to 2003 General Assembly

Click here to see archived General Assembly Updates.

Summary

The Schedule

The General Assembly adjourned on Saturday, February 22, after quickly approving changes to the biennial budget. The approved budget, as well as legislation passed during the just-completed 46-day session, now goes to Governor Warner for his action. The Governor has 30 days from the session’s end to act on bills presented to him; the legislature then gathers on April 2 for its annual reconvened session to consider amendments and vetoes proposed by the governor. Click here for a schedule of weekly meetings
(http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?021+oth+MTG

The Budget
The remainder of this weekly summary will be devoted to information about education-related provisions for the remainder of the 2002-2004 budget as proposed by the budget negotiators and then approved by the legislature. The conference committee of senior budget writers ran overtime in reaching a compromise spending plan. A budget agreement was not reached until early Friday morning (the original deadline had been Tuesday night). The amendments were made available on Saturday, allowing a short amount of time for review prior to votes on the budget and the adjournment.

The education budget is highlighted by the provision of state funds for salary increases and the infusion of additional federal grant money. Provisions of the compromise spending plan related to public education include the following:

Salary increases for SOQ-funded instructional and support staff were included in the approved plan. The budgeted amount of $27.5 million is intended to cover the state-share of a 2.25% pay hike, effective January 1, 2004. The pay raise is "conditional;” that is, it may be swept away to cover state budget shortfalls should August 2003 revenue forecasts force a downward revision in revenue estimates. Budget language specifically states that all but $8 million could be swept if the revenue picture forces such action. School divisions would be scheduled to receive the state payment upon certification by March 1, 2004 that salary increases of 2.25% have been given for FY04.

The budget restores $10 million for an interest rate subsidy program (proposed for elimination in FY04 in the introduced budget) for school construction. The majority of this amount comes from Literary Fund money made available for this purpose due to an amendment that restored $7.25 million to the general fund to pay for teacher retirement. The budget still contains $55 million over the two years in the School Construction Grants program.

Funding from several new or continued federal grants provide additional dollars to bolster the education budget. Over $91 million in grant money is budgeted for school divisions for FY04, the largest being $50 million for teacher/principal training and recruitment, and $18 million in special education grants.

Several actions were taken on the Student Achievement Grant (SAG) program. You will recall that the introduced budget collapsed three existing incentive or categorical programs (dropout prevention, school health incentive grants and technology resource assistants) into the SAG program, to be used for reducing class sizes and various prevention/remediation services. The budget reduces the $16.9 million SAG program by $6.8 million, and adds language to include dropout prevention services as one of the allowable uses of funding from the program.

Funding of $2.8 million is provided to develop and administer separate History Standards of Learning tests in grades 6 through 8 (funding had been removed in the introduced budget) Funding for development of the tests ($977,985) was removed in the introduced budget. In addition, language in the introduced budget overriding state law, which currently requires the separate tests, is removed

The budget restores funding of $425,000 for the state-supplied Algebra Readiness diagnostic test (funding had been removed in the introduced budget). A related amendment restores language concerning the state-provided diagnostic test used to determine which children need the intervention.

Additional language amendments 1) require the Board of Education to consider caseload standards for speech-language pathologists in its current review of the adequacy of the Standards of Quality, and 2) remove the provision that allowed SOL remediation funding to be block granted with the SOQ remediation funding school divisions receive, in order to restore reporting requirements on the use of the SOL remediation funding.

Click here for the “Conference Report” of approved amendments to the 2002-2004 state budget (http://leg2.state.va.us/moneyweb.nsf/bud2003)

Back to 2003 General Assembly

Click here to see archived General Assembly Updates.

The Schedule

House and Senate budget negotiators have been appointed and face a Tuesday deadline to reach a compromise spending plan for the remainder of the biennium.

Both the House Education Committee and Senate Education and Health Committee have completed their dockets for the session. Monday is the last day for committees to meet. Click here for a schedule of weekly meetings
(http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?021+oth+MTG

The Issues

Budget:

The House and Senate have formally rejected the budgets proposed by the opposite chamber. A committee of conference will meet over the coming days to reach a compromise spending plan for the remainder of the current biennium. Members of the budget conference committee are Senators Chichester (Stafford), Wampler (Bristol), Stosch (Henrico) and Colgan (Prince William) and Delegates Callahan (Fairfax), Putney (Bedford), Dillard (Fairfax), Hamilton (Newport News) and Thomas (Roanoke).

As noted in last week’s newsletter, the two budgets split on such notable items as teacher salaries and school construction. While the Senate provides an FY04 teacher pay raise of $16.2 million, it also includes accompanying language that it is the intent that these funds be combined with $8.1 million of additional lottery funds to be appropriated in FY04 to provide a meaningful raise. The $16.2 million would be provided to school divisions that certify by March 1, 2004 that they have given a 2% salary increase to instructional and support personnel, effective January 1, 2004. The House proposal does not include a teacher pay raise, but does contain salary increases for state employees, college faculty and state-supported local employees. Both budgets contain language that stipulate that if the August 2003 revenue forecast would need to be lowered from the estimate on which budget is built, then funds for salary increases may be reduced by the amount required to offset a further downward revision of FY04 revenue estimate used in the GA-approved budget. In lieu of proposing a teacher salary increase, the House proposes $16.9 million for the state share of a health insurance premium supplement for teachers, using funds from the Student Achievement Block Grant. The grant program, as proposed in the introduced budget, would consolidate funds from the dropout prevention, health incentive and technology assistants programs to be used for early reading, at-risk 4-year olds, class size reduction and remediation activities. The Senate proposed language to allow funds in this program to be used for dropout prevention services.

Concerning school construction, the House proposes to restore $12 million diverted from the Literary Fund in the introduced budget to support an interest rate subsidy program for school construction. This could generate $120 million to fund 32 school projects. Most of this money would come from the “global settlement” announced in early January; however, $2 million is projected to come from the diversion of a portion of local fines related to speeding on interstates and other highways to the Literary Fund.

Click here for information on House and Senate proposed amendments to the 2002-2004 state budget (http://141.104.22.210/VDOE/suptsmemos/2003/inf021.html )

Legislation:

The House Education Committee easily completed its short docket of education-related bills, while it took the Senate Education and Health Committee several extra meetings to dispose of House bills. Here are few highlights of this past week’s action:

As previously reported, HB 1493 and SB 710 contain aspirational language to amend the SOQ to express General Assembly and Board of Education belief that the quality of public education is dependent upon an appropriate learning environment designed to promote student achievement. While HB 1493 has passed both chambers, SB 710 has gotten caught up in a disagreement over some House amendments. The House tacked on language emphasizing quality instruction as that which enables each student to become a productive and educated citizen of Virginia and the United States. Another amendment includes additional aspirational language that the legislature provide for the support of public education as set forth in the Constitution. The bill is in conference.

HB 1757 requires remediation programs for students who fail an end-of-course test required for the award of a verified unit of credit needed by the student for graduation. The amended bill has been approved by the Senate.

HB 2140, which requires posting of the Bill of Rights in each public school, has now passed both chambers.

Both chambers have approved HB2151, which codifies and broadens existing budget language concerning reporting of education expenditures. The bill directs DOE to make calculations at the beginning and end of each school year to ensure that sufficient funding has been appropriated to support the estimated required local expenditure. The bill also requires JLARC to annually report on the level of state expenditures.

HJR 613 highlights the coming 50^th anniversary in 2004 of the Brown v. Board of Education decision that decried segregated schools and expresses General Assembly regret over the 1959-1964 closing of the public schools in Prince Edward County. It has passed both the House and Senate.

After an earlier controversy and votes on negotiation of superintendent contracts, the House Education unanimously approved a much different version this past week. SB 756 requires that whenever a division superintendent's contract is being renegotiated, school board members must be notified at least 30 days before any meeting at which a vote on the renegotiated contract is planned.

SB 987, which authorizes school boards to display U.S. flag decals on school buses, also has passed both chambers.

Next Friday’s update will include information on the compromise budget recommended by the budget conference committee. Votes on that proposal will be one of the legislature’s final acts before the scheduled February 22 adjournment

Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2003 General Assembly.

Back to 2003 General Assembly

Click here to see archived General Assembly Updates.

February 7, 2003

The Schedule

House and Senate budget negotiators will be appointed by the middle of next week and have until February 18 to reach a compromise spending plan for the remainder of the 2002-2004 budget.

The House Education Committee meets on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. in House Room C and Wednesdays at 8 a.m. in the Appropriations Room. The Senate Education and Health Committee meets on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. in Senate Room B. Sub-committees meet periodically throughout the session. Click here for a schedule of weekly meetings
(http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?021+oth+MTG

The Issues

Budget:

The House and Senate money committees released their respective amendments to the introduced 2002-2004 budget. Each chamber subsequently approved its budget on Thursday. A conference committee of senior legislators will meet to hammer out a compromise spending plan.

The two budgets split on such notable items as teacher salaries and school construction. Here is a rundown of the major proposals:

Teacher Salaries/Benefits: The Senate provides FY04 teacher salary supplement of $16.2 million. Accompanying language states that it is the intent that these funds be combined with $8.1 million of additional lottery funds to be appropriated in FY04 to provide a meaningful raise. The $16.2 million would be provided to school divisions that certify by March 1, 2004 that they have given a 2% salary increase to instructional and support personnel, effective January 1, 2004. If the August 2003 revenue forecast would need to be lowered from the estimate on which budget is built, then the these funds may be reduced by the amount required to offset a further downward revision of FY04 revenue estimate used in the GA-approved budget.

Meanwhile, the House includes language to use the $16.9 in the Student Achievement Block Grant (proposed in the introduced budget to consolidate funds from the dropout prevention, health incentive and technology assistants programs and to be used for early reading, at-risk 4-year olds, class size reduction and remediation activities) for paying the state share of a health insurance premium supplement for teachers. Each division would receive the same dollar amount for health insurance premiums as it would have received under the block grant. The House does not propose a teacher pay raise.

School Construction: The House restores $12 million diverted from the Literary Fund in the introduced budget to support an interest rate subsidy program (proposed for elimination in FY04 in the introduced budget) for school construction. This is estimated to generate $120 million to fund 32 school projects. Most of this money would come from the “global settlement” announced in early January (which the governor proposed using for DMV). However, a $2 million chunk is projected to come from the diversion of a portion of local fines related to speeding on interstates and other highways to the Literary Fund. No such action was taken in the Senate.

Dropout Prevention: The Senate adds language allowing funds in the Student Achievement Block Grant program to be used for dropout prevention services.

Testing: The House restores $2.9 million for separate history tests in grades 6, 7 and 8 and $425,000 to reinstate the algebra readiness diagnostic test proposed in the introduced budget to be eliminated. Part of the funding comes from the elimination of several local and regional programs, including nearly $850,000 for Project Discovery.

Click here for information on House and Senate proposed amendments to the 2002-2004 state budget (http://leg2.state.va.us/MoneyWeb.NSF/sb2003)

Legislation:

With the General Assembly now in its second half (and the House considering Senate bills and the Senate considering House bills), there actually are few major education-related bills left for consideration. House Education has only about a dozen public education bills before it and will complete its docket next Wednesday. The majority of bills in Senate Education and Health are health bills, with only about two dozen affecting K-12 education. Following is a list of some of the bills that are on track for passage in the opposite chamber:

HB 1493 and SB 710 contain aspirational language to amend the SOQ to express General Assembly and Board of Education belief that the quality of public education is dependent upon an appropriate learning environment designed to promote student achievement.

HB 1498 adds Virginia's civic values to the list of traits that may be taught as part of character education in schools; meanwhile, HB 1503 directs the Board of Education to establish criteria for awarding a diploma seal for excellence in civics education.

HB 1716 authorizes division superintendents to assign another identifying number to students ineligible to obtain a federal social security number, or waive the requirement altogether.

HB 1757 requires school boards to offer, and students to participate in prevention, intervention, and remediation programs when the student fails an end-of-course test required for award of a verified unit of credit needed for graduation.

HB 1907 modifies the "Gun-Free Schools" law to add possession of an air rifle or BB gun on school property to those offenses for which school boards may expel students.

HB 2091 requires the Board of Education to develop standards for school board policies on alcohol and drugs, to include guidance for voluntary and mandatory drug testing procedures.

HB 2140 requires posting of the Bill of Rights in each public school.

HB 2621 requires school safety audits to be conducted annually, to include specific recommendations, and that the results of such audits be made public within 90 days.

SB 779 provides that in grades where an SOL test is administered, there shall be no required administration of the Stanford 9 assessment.

SB 987 authorizes school boards to display U.S. flag decals on school buses.

Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2003 General Assembly.

Back to 2003 General Assembly

Click here to see archived General Assembly Updates.

The House and Senate money committees will release their versions of the amended 2002-2004 budget on Sunday. The “crossover” deadline for considering legislation in the house of origin is Tuesday.

The House Education Committee meets on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. in House Room C and Wednesdays at 8 a.m. in the Appropriations Room. The Senate Education and Health Committee meets on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. in Senate Room B. Sub-committees meet periodically throughout the session. Click here for a schedule of weekly meetings (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?021+oth+MTG

The Issues

Budget:
As indicated above, the House and Senate money committees will release their respective amendments to Governor Warner’s introduced budget at separate meetings Sunday afternoon. Information on the budget proposal should be available on-line (http://leg2.state.va.us/MoneyWeb.NSF/sb2003 )
by sometime Monday. Republican leaders in the House have indicated that their version of the budget will emphasis public education initiatives. They also say they will propose restoring $12 million of the $20 million the governor’s budget cut from a school construction interest rate subsidy program. Such funds, if available, can leverage more than $100 million in loans for school construction projects on the Board of Education’s priority waiting list.

Hundreds of teachers, parents, educators and others braved sub-freezing temperatures this past Monday to gather on the Capitol grounds for a rally in support of funding for public education. They called on the General Assembly to provide funding for teacher salaries, which has been absent from the state budget for several years, and to funnel dollars to address recommendations in the 2001 JLARC report which indicated a $500 million annual shortfall in state funding of public education

Click here for information on Governor Warner’s proposed education-related amendments to the 2002-2004 state budget

http://141.104.22.210/VDOE/suptsmemos/2002/inf171.html

Legislation related to education funding:

The House Appropriations Committee has defeated HB 2098 (Plum), which established as a policy of the state that the average salary for public school teachers equal or surpass the national average salary. The Senate Finance Committee took the same action on SB 1171 (Puckett). Senate Finance also defeated several other education funding bills that carried big pricetags, including SB 842 (Quayle), which would have required school boards to ensure that each elementary school teacher receive three hours of planning time per week, and SB 848 (Howell), which would have increased the health care credit for retired teachers from $2.50 to $4/month for each full year of creditable service. The state originally paid for this program entirely, but last year, shifted about $36 million of the costs to localities.

SJR 418 (Saslaw) was defeated on a tie vote in the Senate Finance Committee. This is the Constitutional amendment to require the state to pay its share of SOQ costs. HJR 700 (Plum), the companion amendment in House Privileges & Elections, was defeated today, as was HJR 598 (Scott), an amendment to require the state to pay no less that 55% of the SOQ.

Finally, HB 2433 (Dillard), which proposed to increase the state sales tax by one cent for public education, narrowly was defeated in the House Finance Committee. On a 12-10 vote, the bill was referred to the Tax Study Commission. The bill proposed to funnel half of the revenue generated to teacher salaries and reading instruction, and the remaining half to the state’s general fund.

Other Legislation:

HB 1839 (Reese) provided a good example this week of the unpredictability of the legislative process. The bill, as presented on the House floor, required school boards to provide public notice of their intent to extend, modify or renegotiate the superintendent’s contract. In its original form, it required such notice 28 days prior to the intended action and to hold a public hearing on the matter. Following a vigorous floor debate, the bill first was narrowly approved, then narrowly defeated, reconsidered, and then overwhelmingly defeated. A similar Senate bill has been approved. SB 756 (O’Brien) requires all school board members to be notified at least 30 days in advance of any meeting where a vote is planned on the superintendent’s contract.

The House Privileges and Elections Committee has defeated HJR 545 (Lingamfelter), a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the General Assembly to provide vouchers or tax credits to students in sectarian and non-sectarian private schools.

The full House has approved HB 2896 (Saxman), which allows local school boards to approve school schedules containing a four-day weekly calendar as long as the yearly minimum of 990 instruction are provided. No alternative plan that reduces the instructional time in the core academic subjects is allowed.

Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2003 General Assembly.

Back to 2003 General Assembly

Click here to see archived General Assembly Updates.

Week 3 January 24, 2003

The Schedule

The House and Senate money committees will release their versions of the amended 2002-2004 budget on February 2. The “crossover” deadline for considering bills in their house of origin is February 4.

The House Education Committee is scheduled to meet on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. in House Room C and Wednesdays at 8 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 here for a schedule of weekly meetings
(http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?021+oth+MTG

The Issues

Budget:
With a $2.1 billion budget gap and initiatives to increase revenues falling to defeat, action on the budget has been quiet, and largely focused on tinkering with the spending plan introduced in December by Governor Warner. Compounding the gloomy news, the next two-year budget will be challenged by the costs of one-time fixes used in the current budget proposal, re-benchmarking of the SOQ and VRS rate changes. Legislators and staff are anticipating a nearly $1 billion budget gap heading into the 2004-2006 biennium. However, election-minded legislators proposed to allocate millions of dollars with the submittal of budget amendments requesting nearly $2 billion in spending. Senators proposed budget amendments totaling over $1 million.

Education groups plan to make a push for support of school funding proposed in the governor’s budget at a rally on the Capitol grounds on Monday morning. House and Senate money committees face a Sunday, February 2 deadline for releasing their respective versions of an amended 2002-2004 budget. Click here for information on Governor Warner’s proposed education-related amendments to the 2002-2004 state budget

http://141.104.22.210/VDOE/suptsmemos/2002/inf171.html

Legislation related to education funding:

Not surprisingly, most of the bills that push the increased funding for education already have fallen to defeat. Bills calling for the state to fund tat least 55% of the total actual costs of public education and to phase in funding increases over several years have been tabled for the year. HB 2433 (Dillard) proposes to increase the state sales tax by one cent, with half of the revenue generated to be targeted for teacher salary increases and reading instruction, and the remaining half to be sent to the state’s general fund. This bill is in House Finance and will be considered Jan. 27. Another sales tax increase bill that would target money to public and higher education, and fund school construction, has been recommended for defeat by a subcommittee. Other bills authorizing up to $1 billion in bonds for school construction likely will be defeated next week.

Other Legislation: The following legislation has been approved by the respective education committees:

HB 1498--Modifies the current character education requirement to require instruction in civic values (approved by House).

HB 1503-- Directs the Board of Education to establish criteria for awarding a diploma seal for excellence in civics education (approved by House).

HB 2140—Requires posting of the Bill of Rights in all public school buildings.

HB 2349--Requires the school report card to also include NAEP and Standord 9 test scores.

HB 2441—Directs the BOE to provide alternative SOL tests for limited English proficient students, as required by the No Child Left Behind Act.

HB 2621—Requires school safety audits to be conducted annually, to include specific recommendations, and that the results of such audits be made public within 90 days (approved by House)

HB 2671—Delays, until September 2004, requirements for training and employment standards for persons employed as school security officers.

HJR 608 encourages the BOE and SCHEV to ensure that the Board’s current performance and leadership standards are reflected in higher education preparation and training programs for principals and superintendents. This is a recommendation of the Commission to Review, Study, and Reform Educational Leadership.

SB 779—Provides that in grades where an SOL test is administered, there shall be no required administration of the Stanford 9 assessment (approved by Senate).

SB 987—Authorizes school boards to display U.S. flag decals on school buses.

SB 1100—Provides that public school character education programs may include voluntary participation in community service activities.

Finally, HJR 570, the Constitutional amendment on delegation of hiring/firing authority, as recommended by the Commission to Review, Study, and Reform Educational Leadership, was defeated in the House Privileges and Elections Committee.

Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2003 General Assembly.

Back to 2003 General Assembly

Click here to see archived General Assembly Updates.

Week 2 January 17 Update

2003 General Assembly

The Schedule

The deadline for introduction of bills is 5 p.m., Friday, January 17. Budget amendments proposed by House members were released this week. Delegates filed 650 proposed amendments, requesting nearly $2 billion. Senate amendments will be released next week; the deadline for senators to propose budget changes was this past Wednesday. The House and Senate money committees will release their versions of the amended 2002-2004 budget on February 4.

The Issues

Education groups are being particularly active this session on the budget. This past Monday, all but a handful of the state’s school superintendents descended on Richmond to thank Governor Warner for his efforts to preserve public education funding in the introduced budget and to urge lawmakers to go along with his plan. The major statewide education groups are planning an education funding rally on the Capitol grounds Monday, January 27.

Though revisions to the current two-year state budget are yet to be made, the head of the Senate Finance Committee already is looking ahead to the next budget. Committee chairman John Chichester opened the first meeting of that budget-writing panel this past week by essentially looking to the next General Assembly. While noting the structural problems with the state’s budget, he said that the legislature will have “little choice but to resort to one time fixes” in approving the budget this session. He noted that the next biennial budget will be challenged by these one time fixes, re-benchmarking of the Standards of Quality and VRS rate changes, and that lawmakers will have to look at “both sides of the equation” in determining the right mix of services and resources.

Governor Warner has submitted technical budget amendments to the spending plan he introduced on December 20. One amendment increases, in FY03, the distribution from one-cent sales tax dedicated to education by $4.5 million. This increase is anticipated as a result of proposed vendor registration and tax compliance measures. The sales tax increase then is offset by a decrease in basic aid of $2.5 million. Under the SOQ funding formula, sales tax revenue increases will decrease the amount of basic aid that is shared between state and local governments.

The House and Senate money committees must report their versions of the budget by February 2. Click here for information on Governor Warner’s proposed education-related amendments to the 2002-2004 state budget

http://141.104.22.210/VDOE/suptsmemos/2002/inf171.html

To supplement last week’s report, following are additional education-related bills that are working their way through the House and Senate education committees.

HB 2254 removes a July 1, 2003, sunset provision to continue the current requirement that all school boards notify teachers subject to a reduction-in-force within two weeks of school budget approval but no later than June 1.

HB 2349 requires the school report card to also include NAEP and Standord 9 test socres.

HB 2403 directs the BOE to develop guidelines for nutritional products in food vending machines in schools.

HB 2407, HB 2408 and HB 2409 require administrative investigation into student incidents involving self-defense, possession of eating utensils or grooming devices and possession on non-prescription medications, prior to disciplinary action being taken.

HB 2441 directs the Board of Education to provide alternative SOL tests for limited English proficient students, as required by the No Child Left Behind Act. HB 2442 requires school boards to identify such students and to enroll them in appropriate instructional programs.

HB 2621 requires school safety audits to be conducted annually, to include specific recommendations, and that the results of such audits be made public within 90 days.

HB 2633 requires the DOE to make school report card results and certain student data available to school divisions in a format suitable for including on school division websites.

HB 2680 provides discretion for principals to report certain assaults to law enforcement and to parents of involved students

HJR 562 proposes a study of the SOQ funding formula.

HJR 570 proposes a Constitutional amendment to authorize the General Assembly to legislate the possible delegation of hiring and firing authority by some entity other than the local school board. This is a recommendation of the Commission to Review, Study, and Reform Educational Leadership.

HJR 572 establishes a study of the effects of school vouchers and tuition tax credits and deductions on school enrollment.

HJR 700 proposes a Constitutional amendment to require that the SOQ be prescribed every two years and that the state and localities pay their required share of SOQ costs.

SB 1223 directs local school boards seeking legal counsel in certain cases regarding provision of special education services to strive first to use the services of existing local counsel.

Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2003 General Assembly.

Back to 2003 General Assembly

Click here to see archived General Assembly Updates.

Week 1 Update

January 10,2003

The 2003 General Assembly is now in session

The 2003 General Assembly session began Wednesday, January 8, 2003. The session runs 46 days and is scheduled to end on February 22, 2003. "Cross-over day," the last day for each house to act on its own bills, is February 4.

The House Education Committee is scheduled to meet on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. in House Room C and Wednesdays at 8 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 here for a schedule of weekly meetings:
(http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?021+oth+MTG)

Budget to be Focus
The General Assembly will focus much of its energies on proposed amendments to the 2002-2004. After closing a $3.8 billion budget gap during last year's session, lawmakers face a $2.1 gap for the remainder of the biennium. The governor's introduced budget largely preserves public education from funding cuts, outside of those resulting from technical adjustments due to enrollment loss, changes in sales tax collections, lower inflation projections and lower projected participation rates in various programs.

The budget provides funding for projected increases in student enrollment (more than 10,000 additional students are expected before the end of the FY04 fiscal year). It also provides nearly $45 million in additional lottery proceeds to localities through the current funding mechanism (60% of the profits go to the state to help pay for basic aid, while the remaining 40% is distributed to school divisions).

The proposed budget diverts about $62 million in Literary Fund dollars to pay for teacher retirement and social security. As a result, the interest rate subsidy program planned for FY04 will not be available, meaning that low interest loans for school facility projects on the Board of Education's waiting list will not be available. The administration says the current low interest rates in the bond market will help offset the negative impact of the diversion.

The budget also proposes to collapse three existing incentive or categorical programs (dropout prevention, school health incentive grants and technology resource assistants) into a Student Achievement Grant program, but retains the funding to school divisions.

Numerous reductions are proposed in the Department of Education's budget, some of which were put forth in the governor's October reductions. These include closing down the remaining two Best Practices Centers, postponing on-line SOL testing for a year, discontinuing use of the Stanford 9 test in the 4th, 6th and 9th grades and delaying administration of separate history tests in FY04. The Algebra Readiness diagnostic test is proposed to be discontinued. School divisions will have to determine student eligibility for this test, which is used to identify students participating in the algebra readiness program. School divisions also would be required to pay processing fees for late submission of SOL tests (now being paid by the state). Finally, nearly a quarter million dollars is proposed to support the Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools (PASS), initiated last summer to assist poor-performing schools.
Federal funding also props up the budget through the distribution of "No Child Left Behind" dollars. These grants (Reading First, Teacher Quality and Limited English Proficiency) total over $17 million.

Expect a lot of discussion the next several weeks in the money committee about education funding. In particular, the House Appropriations Committee spent a lot of time this past year examining all incentive, categorical and special projects included in the education budget, and may make moves toward consolidating or eliminating more of them. The House and Senate money committees must report their versions of the budget by February 2.

Click here for information on Governor Warner's proposed education-related amendments to the 2002-2004 state budget
http://141.104.22.210/VDOE/suptsmemos/2002/inf171.html

Many education-related bills already have been introduced and printed. Here are some of the highlights. Additional legislation will be summarized in next week's report:

HB 1378 requires school boards to appoint a non-voting student member to the board.

HB 1493 and SB 710 contain aspirational language to amend the SOQ to express General Assembly and Board of Education belief that the quality of public education is dependent upon an appropriate learning environment within school facilities built and equipped to meet the Standards of Quality.

HB 1495 directs the state fund at least 55%of the total actual costs of public education.

HB 1639 requires school board procedures to allow a parent to transfer a student to another school when the public school enrollment in the student's school exceeds building capacity. It also provides for a one-year monetary supplement to the parent upon such move.

HB 1758 and SB 885 authorize the Virginia Public School Authority to issue bonds to fund $1 billion in school construction grants.

HB 1839 requires local school boards to provide public notice of the intention to renegotiate, extend, or amend a division superintendent's contract at least 28 days prior to the date of school board action on such renegotiation, extension, or amendment.

HB 2140 requires posting of the text of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States in each public school

HB 2151 requires twice-yearly (at beginning and end of the school year) reporting of locally-appropriated schools funding to ensure satisfaction of state-required levels of local school expenditures.

HB 2091 requires drug testing in public schools.

HB 2138 requires the filing of reports related to school acceptable Internet use policies to include an accounting all incidents in violation of such policies occurring in that biennium.

SB 756 requires any local school board, in renegotiating a division superintendent contract to increase compensation or benefits, to hold at least one public hearing prior to issuing final approval of such action and record its affirmative vote, by member, for such increase.

SB 923 provides that no public elementary school in Virginia can contract for, allow, or continue the use of vending machines dispensing soft drinks or solid foods having empty calories, high fat, high sodium or caffeine content.

SB 987 provides that Board of Education regulations addressing school buses shall include provisions for the display of decals depicting the flag of the United States on the sides and rear of school buses.

SB 1171 establishes as a policy of the Commonwealth that the average Virginia teacher salary for Virginia equal or surpass the national average salary for public school teachers and directs the Board of Education and the General Assembly to implement this policy in prescribing and revising the Standards of Quality.

Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2003 General Assembly.