Updated Friday January 20, 2006

The 2005 General Assembly is now in session

Week 2 Update—January 21, 2005

The deadline for introduction of bills is 5 p.m., Friday, January 21. Budget amendments proposed by delegates and senators were due earlier this week. “Cross-over day,” the last day for each house to act on its own bills, is February 8. House and Senate amendments to the current two-year budget will be released on February 6.

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 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 (Meetings)
 

Budget Issues

Lawmakers received news this past week that revenue projections for the first half of the current fiscal year are running more than 18% above projections. Reacting to this news at a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee, senior budget writer William Wampler reiterateed that one-time, nonrecurring expenses should be the focus of the committee. Budget amendments requested by legislators will be available by mid-week and we can expect hundreds of requests for different ways to allocate revenues, including to enhance state support for funding public education. Recall that the amendments to the current two-year budget proposed by Governor Warner last month recommend a 3% salary increases for teachers, effective December 1, 2005; provided additional lottery profits to school divisions; and utilized an additional $20 million from the Literary Fund for the interest rate subsidy program for school construction loans. Click here for additional information about Governor Warner's proposed budget amendments (State Budget)

 

Education Legislation

The House and Senate Education Committees already have approved bills proposed by the Board of Education (BOE) to amend the Standards of Quality (SOQ).

HB 1762 and SB 779 make various amendments that heavily emphasize data collection and analysis, and use of such results in instructional program evaluation. The changes also address reviews of professional development programs and increase from 10 to 17 the number of instructional positions/1,000 students who have limited English proficiency. This standard already is funded in the budget.

Nine bills have been submitted so far that directly address the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Most either request or direct the BOE to seek a waiver from compliance with the Act’s accountability provisions that are duplicative of the accountability reforms made by the state. However, HJ 665 directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to examine the capacity of the state education system to meet existing state requirements plus those of NCLB. HJ 708 and SJ 437 request Congress to include an automatic waiver from NCLB accountability requirements for states, like Virginia, that have increased student achievement through their own accountability measures. The bills are similar to those submitted last year, but that were not acted on in the final days of the regular session.

Here are more education-related bills that have been submitted so far:

HB 1766  and SB 958  amend the SOQ to require school boards to employ speech-language pathologists with caseloads not exceeding 60 students per position.

HB 1942  creates a tax credit (for business entities) to promote educational opportunities for at-risk children, with grants to be awarded for student tuition at public and nonpublic schools.

HB 2171  and HB 2266  address bullying, harassment and intimidation in the BOE and local school division codes of student conduct.

HB 2267  establishes immunity from civil damages for any school employee, student or volunteer who reports incidents of bullying, intimidation and harassment.

HB 2297  directs the Virginia High School League to allow participation in interscholastic activities by home-schooled and charter school students.

HB 2613  requires school boards to obtain consent of parents at least 30 days before the conduct of a survey or questionnaire of students, if the survey will disclose certain information about the parents. 

HJ 576  requests the Department of Education (DOE) to study the correlation between student attendance and achievement and methods of improving attendance.

HJ 589  establishes a joint subcommittee to study the relationship between obesity and the school lunch program.

HJ 655  directs JLARC to study implications of granting fiscal autonomy to elected school boards.

SB 964  defines a long-term substitute as a teacher employed in the same position for more than 20 days; school boards now are required to ensure that temporarily employed teachers serving as long-term substitutes exceed baseline employment qualifications.

SB 1130  requires physical education instruction to include 30 minutes daily of cardio-vascular, muscle building and stretching exercises.

SJ 402  requests the DOE to study best educational practices and programs for use in schools.

Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2005 General Assembly.

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