Week 6 Update—February 20, 2004

The General Assembly has passed its halfway point toward a scheduled March 13 adjournment. House and Senate versions of the two-year budget for fiscal years 2005 and 2006 will be released on February 22.  

The House Education Committee is scheduled to meet on Mondays at 9:00 a.m. in House Room C and Wednesdays at 8:30 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 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 Budget

            The House and Senate versions of the2004-2006 budget, which are expected to differ greatly, will be released this Sunday, February 22. Both chambers took steps on Tuesday toward shaping their respective spending plans. The Senate Finance Committee approved two comprehensive bills that will generate additional revenues for various state programs and services. A measure to increase the state cigarette tax to 35 cents per pack by July, 2005, would  provide nearly $230 million to offset Medicaid costs. The Virginia Investment Act, the omnibus measure that contains various tax increase and relief provisions, would net an additional $2 billion for the state’s coffers. Meanwhile, the House approved HB 1488, which would repeal certain sales tax exemptions granted over the years to generate more than $520 million for the state, localities and the transportation trust fund. Most of the money to be generated would come from personal property exemptions previously granted to public service corporations and airlines. These actions are expected to form the basis of House and Senate versions of the budget, will be presented respectively by the House Appropriations Committee at 2 p.m. and the Senate Finance Committee at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Legislation

The following education-related legislation remains to be considered by the opposite chamber in the second half of the General Assembly session:

HB 380 includes provisions that charter school applications contain certain disclosures by school personnel and governing board members, and that applications can be renewed for a period of five, rather than three, years. The bill also allows Board of Education (BOE) review and comment on applications, requires school boards to state reasons for denial of an application and includes a provision that the changes in this bill expire in 2009.

HB 513 directs the BOE to develop model student conduct policies that include self defense. HB 1331 requires policies against hazing.

HB 573 directs the BOE to require passage of the School Leader's Licensure Assessment (SLLA) as a condition of initial licensure for principals, effective July 1, 2005.

HB 575 allows the BOE to waive the requirement that school divisions provide additional teaching days to compensate for school closings due to a declared state of emergency.

HB 576 authorizes school divisions to employ “turnaround specialists” to assist failing schools, and to provide enhanced retirement benefits for such personnel and for licensed instructional personnel teaching in a middle school where there is a DOE-identified critical need.

HB 675 allows persons providing home school instruction to hold a high school diploma, rather than a bachelor’s degree.

HB 1013 creates the At-Risk Student Academic Achievement Program and Fund. This is the VML/VACo/First Cities plan to provide funding for at-risk students, as they are more likely to have difficulty passing Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. Grants awarded through this program are subject to budget appropriations.

HB 1014 and SB 479 contain numerous revisions to the Standards of Quality (SOQ) as proposed by the BOE; a second enactment clause states that amendments requiring additional state funding (such as increasing the number of principals) will not take effect unless funded in the budget.

HB 1038 requires school boards to post in each school a notice that teachers are required to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect to social services.

HB 1048 limits issuance of local eligibility licenses to teachers in areas outside the core academic areas, and specifically prohibits such licenses from being issued to special education teachers. This measure is designed to comply with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act provisions requiring highly qualified teachers.

HB 1256 and SB 452 revise current law to allow school divisions missing instructional days due to weather or emergencies to make up the first five days missed, then one day for every two days missed, up to 15.

HB 1294 modifies the current school corrective action plan process within the SOQ to authorize the BOE to require an academic review of schools that have not achieved full accreditation and to pursue circuit court enforcement of the corrective action plan when the school division fails to develop or implement it.

HB 1358 allows waiver of the post-Labor Day school opening law if a school division is surrounded by a division with a waiver, has at least 10% nonresident students and shares program and curricula with the other divisions.

HJR 105 creates a joint subcommittee to study state assistance to localities for school infrastructure needs.

HJR 123 requests the BOE to review its regulations for incorporation of an alternative licensure route for principals and assistance principals

HJR 124 continues the Commission to Review, Study and Reform Educational Leadership to receive reports and information regarding BOE recommendations on alternative licensure and a two-tiered licensure system.

HJR 179 encourages the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold, in a case now before it, a public school district policy requiring teachers to allow willing students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

HJR 192 and SJR 77 ask Congress to provide a waiver from the NCLB Act school accountability provisions for states, such as Virginia, that have successfully raised student achievement through their own standards and accountability reforms.

SB 27 requires employers to permit employees to take up to four hours of leave annually (not compensated if the employer chooses) to be involved in their child’s school.

SB 222 requires the BOE to establish guidelines to assist school boards in developing cultural diversity policies that promote knowledge of racial and ethnic cultures.

SB 335 restricts service of summons to a teacher in a custody or visitation case to a sheriff or deputy, and applies a $12 fee for such summons.

SB 416 requires the BOE to consult with the regional superintendents' study groups to develop a timetable for reporting SOL test scores to schools and school divisions.

SB 520 requires school boards to have a written contract for unlicensed workers employed full-time or part-time for at least 10 months of the year.

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