The 2006 General Assembly is now in session
Week 1 Update—January 13, 2006
The 2006 General Assembly session began Wednesday, January 11, 2006. The session runs 60 days and is scheduled to end on March 11, 2006. “Cross-over day,” the last day for each house to act on its own bills, is February 14. House and Senate versions of the two-year budget for fiscal years 2007 and 2008 will be released on February 19.
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)
New budget to be shaped
Governor Warner submitted his proposed 2006-2008 state budget to the General Assembly money committees in mid-December. It proposes no major new programs and projects state revenues for the next biennium to grow 6% in FY07 and 5.3% in FY08. Strong revenue collections in the current fiscal year (FY06) are anticipated to produce a $1.2 billion surplus, which the budget rolls over into the next biennium to be used for one-time expenditures.
Here is a run-down of major education-budget provisions contained in Governor Warner’s proposed spending plan:
The spending proposal contains $1.5 billion more for public education over the two-year period. Most of this funding ($942 million) is to update state costs of the Standards of Quality (SOQ). However, funding is not included for the four standards endorsed by the Board of Education in 2004 but not funded in the current biennium (principals, assistant principals, reading specialists, speech language pathologists). The budget projects public school enrollment over the biennium to increase by about 32,000 students.
It adds $61.4 million in FY07 and $106.2 million in FY08 to fund the state share of a 3% salary increase for teachers and instructional and support staff, effective December 1, 2006. There is no additional percentage salary increase provided for FY08; the funding for FY08 is provided to continue the cost of the increase provided in FY07.
An additional $20 million in FY07 and $21.3 million in FY08 is provided to reflect increased costs due to revising the local composite index of local ability to pay.
Lottery proceeds are projected to decrease by $15.7 million over the biennium. The total estimated funding to be distributed to school divisions on a per pupil basis is $156.9 million in both fiscal years. About 36% of lottery profits are distributed to school divisions; the remainder goes toward the state share of costs for basic aid and the SOQ prevention, intervention, and remediation program.
The budget sets a 10.98% retirement rate (9.2% rate for teacher retirement, 1.22% for group life and 0.56% for teacher retiree health care credit). This does not include the 5% employee share that many school divisions pay on behalf of their employees. The governor trims the recommended rates of the VRS board, assumes a higher rate of annual return on investments than did VRS, and projects gains and losses over 30-years. The VRS board suggested a 23-year window. The governor’s recommendations save the state $120 million.
The budget distributes an additional $185 million in sales tax revenues to education and appropriates additional federal funding, primarily for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act grants and school nutrition programs. It funds textbooks at the state share of $101.81 per pupil in both years (the amount funded in FY06 is the state share of $63.12 per pupil). It also continues funding at $1.18 million each year for school efficiency reviews, and provides additional funding for Project Discovery, the Communities in School program and for Governor Warner’s Education for a Lifetime initiatives.
We can expect education funding to be a critical part of discussions in the money committees in the coming weeks, as incoming Governor Tim Kaine placed a high priority on state education funding during the fall gubernatorial campaign (Kaine speaks to legislators on Monday night). Click here for additional information about Governor Warner's proposed education budget for 2006-2008 (Budget Bill)
Education Legislation
Many education-related bills already have been introduced and printed. Here are some of the highlights. Additional legislation will be listed in next week's report.
HB 20 Allows local school divisions to electronically store and maintain student scholastic records.
HB 51 Requires seatbelts on school buses (also HB 84).
HB 58 Requires school resource officers, where present in schools, to provide Internet safety instruction to students.
HB 107 Requires posting of signs indicating drug-free school zones.
HB 137 Provides for release of Standards of Learning (SOL) tests at least once every three years; current law requires release after administration of such tests (also SB 34).
HB 163 Emphasizes parent rights to review family life curricula.
HB 164 Requires that any family life education course that discusses sexual intercourse emphasize that abstinence is the accepted norm and the only guarantee against unwanted pregnancy.
HB 205 Prohibits a person convicted of a sexually-violent offense from living near a school.
HB 273 Requires school boards to pay higher salaries to teachers in high-demand subject areas and prohibits any cap on maximum teacher salaries.
HB 274 Directs the Board of Education (BOE) to not require licensure for school superintendents, principals, assistant principals and supervisors.
HB 338 Requires an annual assessment of the body mass index (BMI) of students.
HB 348 Authorizes the BOE to initiate a review of any alleged violation of its regulations by a local school board or school board employee (also SB 39)
HB 377 Requires the BOE to replace any school board where all schools in the school division fail to meet SOA requirements for four consecutive years.
HB 391 Authorizes a pre-Labor school opening (2006-07 school year only) for T.C. Williams High School (also SB 366).
HB 392 Requires the state to pay all costs incurred by localities resulting from student testing required by the NCLB Act.
HB 481 Requires each local school division to allocate 65% of its operating budget to instructional spending (also HB 780).
HB 493 Directs guidelines on school division sanctioning of high school baccalaureate ceremonies.
HB 582 Revises various pupil/teacher ratios in the SOQ.
HB 650 Increases the maximum speed limits for school buses in certain situations.
SB 61 Amends the SOQ to incorporate the four standards endorsed by the BOE in 2004 (noted above).
SB 71 Changes the BOE’s required review of the SOQ from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years.
SB 74 Revises provisions governing teacher licensure regulations and regulation of teacher education programs.
SB 75 Requires schools to implement a "medical emergency response plan" as part of their school crisis and emergency management plan.
SB 97 Prohibits school fire drills during BOE-required testing.
SB 206 Requires regulations to address the prevention and reduction of childhood obesity in schools.
SB 241 Places the burden of persuasion on the school division in an administrative hearing concerning a disabled child’s education plan.
SB 296 Allows local school boards to establish the school calendar.
SB 324 Establishes a state goal that the average teacher salary equal or exceed the national average.
SB 410 Directs the BOE to develop an NCLB Act initiative elimination plan.
SB 411 Directs the state to withdraw from NCLB participation.
Please contact CEPI if you have any questions or need additional information about the 2006 General Assembly.
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