2018 General Assembly Approved Bill Report

Approved Bill Report

2018 General Assembly Summary

Education Related Legislation

Fairfax County Public Schools, Office of Government Relations

APPROVED BILL REPORT

This report describes all of the education-related legislation Approved by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor during the 2018 Virginia General Assembly Regular Session. Bills are subdivided into thirteen subject categories. If a bill of interest is not found in one category, please check another as legislation often can fit under multiple labels. Legislation is linked to the Division of Legislative Services’ web pages for text, up to date summary information, and fiscal impact statements.

All Approved legislation will go into effect July 1, 2018, unless otherwise noted in the legislation itself.

UPDATED: May 1, 2018

BUSES, BUILDINGS & SAFETY – APPROVED

Abandoned School Revitalization Zones HB 1179 (Pillion) and SB 448 (Chafin) allow localities to establish by ordinance one or more abandoned school revitalization zones for the purpose of providing incentives to private entities to purchase or develop real property or to assemble parcels suitable for economic development that include an abandoned school site. Each locality establishing an abandoned school revitalization zone may grant incentives and provide regulatory flexibility. The incentives may include, but not be limited to, (i) reduction of permit fees, (ii) reduction of user fees, (iii) reduction of any type of gross receipts tax or any other type of local tax as permitted by state law, and (iv) waiver of tax liens to facilitate the sale of property, if deemed appropriate. A school located in an abandoned school revitalization zone shall be eligible for participation in the Virginia Shell Building Initiative

Background Checks; Department of State Police to Recommend Options to Expedite Process SB 716 (Chase) requests that the Department of State Police (the Department) identify, analyze, and recommend options to expedite and improve the efficiency of its process for performing requested background checks. The bill requires the Department to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2018.

Bond Referenda; Authorizing Counties to Make Bond Issuance Contingent on Enactment of a Food and Beverage Tax HB 1390 (Aird) authorizes counties to enact ordinances providing that bonds shall be repaid from food and beverage tax revenues. The bill provides that if a county enacts such an ordinance, the referendum submitted to the voters shall include as a single question the issuance of bonds and the enactment of a food and beverage tax. Under current law, the questions of bond issuance and tax enactment are submitted as separate ballot questions.

Child Abuse and Neglect; Founded Reports Regarding Former School Employees HB 150 (Bulova) and SB 184 (Favola) require local departments of social services to notify the appropriate school board without delay if the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect was, at the time of the investigation or the conduct that led to the report, an employee of a school division located within the Commonwealth.

Child Abuse and Neglect; Notice of Founded Reports to Superintendent of Public Instruction HB 389 (Keam) and SB 183 (Favola) requires local departments of social services to notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction without delay when an individual holding a license issued by the Board of Education is the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect and if the founded complaint of child abuse or neglect is dismissed on appeal.

Child Day Programs at Public School Facilities; Exemptions HB 836 (Bagby) prohibits the Board of Social Services from adopting regulations governing child day programs located at public school facilities that require inspection or approval of the building, vehicles used to transport children attending the child day program that are owned by the school, or meals served to such children that are prepared by the school.

Clinics for the Treatment of Opioid Addiction; Location HB 155 (McQuinn) and SB 329 (Dunnavant) provide that the prohibition on locating clinics for the treatment of persons with opiate addiction through the use of methadone or opioid replacements other than opioid replacements approved for the treatment of opioid addiction by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration within one-half mile of a public or private licensed day care center or a public or private K-12 school shall not apply to an applicant for a license to operate in its current location if the facility is within one-half mile of a public or private licensed day care center or a public or private K-12 school in Henrico County or the City of Richmond and has been licensed and operated as a facility to provide treatment for persons with opiate addiction through the use of methadone or other opioid replacements by another provider immediately prior to submission of the application for a license. Note that the General Assembly accepted the Governor’s amendment to HB 155 to include the City of Newport News, and that SB 329 incorporated a similar bill, SB 455 (McClellan).

Commending Virginia Public School Bus Drivers SJ 60 (Hanger) commends Virginia public school bus drivers.

Net Energy Metering; Schools HB 1451 (Sullivan) directs Dominion Virginia Energy to conduct a pilot program, not exceeding 10 megawatts in the aggregate, under which any public school in the Commonwealth that generates more electricity from a wind-powered or solar-powered generation facility than it consumes in a billing period may either credit the excess electricity to the metered accounts of one or more other schools in the school division or be paid for the excess electricity at the contractually negotiated rate.

Reports to School Division Superintendents; Abduction HB 292 (Collins) adds abduction to the list of offenses that are reported to school division superintendents by a juvenile intake officer when a petition is filed alleging a student committed such offense. The bill adds abduction and acts of violence by mobs to the list of offenses reported to school division superintendents by a law-enforcement officer when a student who is 18 years of age or older is arrested for committing such an offense; acts of violence by mobs is already on the list reported by an intake officer for a minor student. The bill also adds abduction on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored activity to the list of incidents to be reported to school division superintendents and principals.

School Bus Operators; Required Training SB 557 (Hanger) and HB 810 (O’Quinn) require any school bus operator applicant who does not possess a commercial driver's license to receive (i) a minimum of 24 hours of classroom training and (ii) six hours of behind-the-wheel training on a school bus that contains no pupil passengers and requires any school bus operator applicant who possesses a commercial driver's license to receive (a) a minimum of four hours of classroom training and (b) three hours of behind-the-wheel training on a school bus that contains no pupil passengers. Current law leaves the setting of such hourly requirements to the Department of Education. Note that a similar bill to HB 810, HB 914 (Landes), failed.

School Bus Personnel; Training Program; Autism Spectrum Disorders SB 229 (Hanger) requires the Board of Education to establish a training program for school board employees who assist in the transportation of students on school buses, including individuals employed to operate school buses and school bus aides, on autism spectrum disorders, including the characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, strategies for interacting with students with autism spectrum disorders, and collaboration with other employees who assist in the transportation of students on school buses. The bill requires each school board employee who assists in the transportation of students with autism spectrum disorders on school buses to participate in such training program.

Trespass; Unmanned Aircraft System; Penalty HB 638 (Collins) and SB 526 (Obenshain) prohibits any political subdivision, which includes school boards, from regulating the use of privately owned, unmanned aircraft systems (drones). The bill also provides that any person who knowingly and intentionally causes an unmanned aircraft system to enter the property of another and come within 50 feet of a dwelling house (i) to coerce, intimidate, or harass another person or (ii) after having been given notice to desist, for any other reason, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill also provides that any person who is required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry who uses or operates an unmanned aircraft system to knowingly and intentionally (a) follow or contact another person without such person's permission or (b) capture images of another person without such person's permission when such images render the person recognizable is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Additionally, any respondent of a permanent protective order who uses or operates an unmanned aircraft system to knowingly and intentionally follow, contact, or capture images of any individual named in the protective order is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Governor’s amendments to the bill added a study of the potential impact of the legislation, due by Nov. 1, 2019. Note that a proposed Governor’s amendment to carve out school boards from the blanket prohibition on regulating drone usage was unsuccessful.

Value Engineering HB 134 (Bell, J.J.) and SB 125 (Black) raise the minimum project cost requiring the use of value engineering from $5 million to $15 million. The bill exempts projects that are designed utilizing (i) a design-build contract or (ii) the Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995 from the value engineering requirements. Note that SB 125 incorporated SB 117 (Favola).

Virginia Public Procurement Act; Bid, Performance, and Payment Bonds; Waiver by Localities; Sunset HB 398 (Davis) adds a sunset date of July 1, 2021 to existing provisions authorizing a locality, where the bid, performance, and payment bond requirements are waived, to waive the requirement for prequalification for a bidder or contractor with a current Class A contractor license for non-transportation-related construction contracts in excess of $100,000 but less than $300,000 upon a written determination made in advance by the local governing body that waiving the requirement is in the best interests of the locality and prohibiting localities from entering into more than 10 such contracts per year.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; Exemption for Virginia-Grown Food Products; Required Documentation HB 760 (Landes) requires a public body to accomplish procurement by obtaining written informal solicitation of a minimum of three bidders or offerors if practicable and including a written statement regarding the basis for awarding the contract when purchasing Virginia-grown food products under the current exemption from the Virginia Public Procurement Act for the purchase of Virginia-grown food products for use by a public body where the annual cost of the product is not expected to exceed $100,000.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; Methods of Procurement; Single or Term Contracts for Professional Services HB 97 (Bell, J.J.) increases the maximum permissible aggregate or sum of all phases of single or term contracts for professional services that may be procured without requiring competitive negotiation from $60,000 to $80,000. The bill also increases the maximum total amount of all construction projects that may be performed in a one-year contract term of a contract for architectural or professional engineering services relating to multiple construction projects from $500,000 to $750,000, applying to localities with populations of 78,000 or less.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; Executive Branch Agency's Goals for Participation by Small Businesses SB 651 (McPike) expands the requirement under the Virginia Public Procurement Act that any executive branch agency's goals for participation by small businesses include a minimum of three percent participation by service disabled veteran businesses from applying only to when contracting for information technology goods to all goods and services.

Wireless Support Structures; Public Rights-of-Way Use Fees HB 1427 (Kilgore) and SB 823 (McDougle) establishes an annual wireless support structure public rights-of-way use fee to be charged to wireless services providers and wireless infrastructure providers in connection with a permit for occupation and use of the public rights-of-way under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (VDOT) for the construction of new wireless support structures. The amount of the use fee is (i) $1,000 for any wireless support structure at or below 50 feet in height; (ii) $3,000 for any wireless support structure above 50 feet and at or below 120 feet in height; (iii) $5,000 for any wireless support structure above 120 feet in height; and (iv) $1 per square foot for any other equipment, shelter, or associated facilities constructed on the ground. The measure provides that the use fee amounts shall be adjusted every five years on the basis of inflation. The measure also provides that VDOT may elect to continue enforcing any existing agreement, contract, license, easement, or permit allowing the use of the public rights-of-way by a wireless services provider or wireless infrastructure provider existing prior to July 1, 2018.

Zoning for Wireless Communications Infrastructure HB 1258 (Kilgore) and SB 405 (McDougle) establish parameters regarding applications for zoning approvals for certain wireless support structures. Applications for certain new wireless support structures that are 50 feet or less above ground level and for the co-location on an existing structure of a wireless facility that is not a small cell facility are exempt from requirements that they obtain a special exception, special use permit, or variance, though a locality may require administrative review for the issuance of any zoning permits or an acknowledgement that zoning approval is not required for such projects. Aspects of the zoning approval process addressed in this measure include periods for approval or disapproval of applications; a requirement that applications are deemed approved if not approved or disapproved within the applicable period; application fees; a prohibition against unreasonably discriminating between applicants and other wireless services providers, providers of telecommunications services, and other providers of functionally-equivalent service; and limits on the number of new wireless support structures that can be installed in a specific location. The measure prohibits a locality, in its receiving, consideration, and processing of an application for zoning approval, from engaging in certain activities. The measure states that it does not prohibit a locality from disapproving an application submitted under a standard process project on the basis of the availability of existing wireless support structures within a reasonable distance that could be used for co-location at reasonable terms and conditions without imposing technical limitations on the applicant. The measure also requires that any publicly owned or privately owned wireless service provider operating within the Commonwealth or serving residents of the Commonwealth shall, by January 1, 2019, and annually thereafter until January 1, 2025, provide to the Department of Housing and Community Development a report detailing, by county, city, or town, enhanced service capacity in previously served areas and expansion of service in previously unserved geographic areas that are provided access to wireless service. The measure also directs the Secretariats of Commerce and Trade and Public Safety and Homeland Security to convene a group of stakeholders to develop a plan for expanding access to wireless services in unserved and underserved areas of the Commonwealth.

CONDUCT & DISCIPLINE - APPROVED

Compulsory School Attendance HB 829 (Bagby) clarifies that each parent of a school-age child in the Commonwealth is required to cause his child to attend school. Current law requires parents to “send” their child to school.

Informal Truancy Plans HB 274 (Ward) provides that a student may have up to three discretionary diversions for truancy so long as the immediately previous diversion occurred at least three calendar years prior to the current diversion.

Long Term Suspensions HB 1600 (Bourne) clarifies that that a long-term suspension could extend beyond a 45-school day period not to exceed 364 calendar days if the offense is one described in 22.1-277.07 (firearms) or 22.1-277.08 (drugs) or involves serious bodily injury or the school board or division superintendent or his designee finds that aggravating circumstances exist, as defined by the Department of Education. The Department’s definition of aggravating circumstances will include a consideration of the student’s disciplinary history.

Schedule I Controlled Substances HB 1194 (Garrett) adds various drugs to the list of Schedule I controlled substances.

Student Attendance, Unexcused Absences HB 1485 (Filler-Corn) and SB 841 (Favola) make several changes to the procedures relating to interventions when a pupil fails to report to school for a total of five scheduled school days for the school year, no indication has been received by school personnel that the pupil's parent is aware of and supports the pupil's absence, and a reasonable effort to notify the parent has failed; including granting additional flexibility as to how and when interventions are to occur, permitting but not requiring the attendance officer to participate in the initial plan to address non-attendance, as well as in any conference necessitated by additional absences subsequent to the development of the initial plan. In addition, the bills permit but do not require the attendance officer to file a complaint with the juvenile and domestic relations court alleging the pupil is a child in need of supervision or to institute criminal proceedings against the parent pursuant to relevant law.

Suspensions; Students in Grades PreK-3 SB 170 (Stanley) limits suspensions for students in grades preK-3 to 3 days or expulsions unless the conduct involved drug offenses, firearm offenses, certain criminal acts, physical harm or threats thereof, or aggravating circumstances, which would be defined by the Department of Education.

FINANCE/PURCHASING/FOOD SERVICES – APPROVED

Literary Fund; Application for Loans by Regional and Joint Schools SB 658 (Wagner) clarifies that school boards of school divisions participating in a regional or joint school may jointly apply to the Board of Education for a loan from the Literary Fund to benefit the regional or joint school.

Revenue Reserve Fund, Created. HB 763 (Jones, S.C.) creates the Revenue Reserve Fund (“the Fund”) to offset shortfalls in the budget of two percent or less of certified tax revenues collected. This fund is separate and above and beyond the Revenue Stabilization Fund as required by Article X, Section 8 of the Constitution of Virginia.

School Meal Policies HB 50 (Hope) and SB 840 (Favola) require each local school board to adopt policies that prohibit school board employees from requiring a student who cannot pay for a meal at school or who owes a school meal debt to do chores or other work to pay for such meals or wear a wristband or hand stamp and would require school board employees to direct any communication relating to a school meal debt to the student's parent, which may be made by a letter addressed to the parent to be sent home with the student.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; Methods of Procurement; Single or Term Contracts for Professional Services HB 97 (Bell, J.J.) increases the maximum permissible aggregate or sum of all phases of single or term contracts for professional services that may be procured without requiring competitive negotiation from $60,000 to $80,000. The also increases the maximum total amount of all construction projects that may be performed in a one-year contract term of a contract for architectural or professional engineering services relating to multiple construction projects from $500,000 to $750,000, applying to localities with populations of 78,000 or less.

INSTRUCTION & STANDARDS OF LEARNING – APPROVED

Career and Technical Education Credentials; Testing Accommodations for English Language Learners HB 442 (Carroll Foy) requires the Department of Education to develop, maintain, and make available to each local school board a catalogue of the testing accommodations available to English language learners for each certification, examination, assessment, and battery that satisfies the career and technical education credential graduation requirement. The bill requires each local school board to develop and implement policies to require each high school principal or his designee to notify each English language learner of the availability of such testing accommodations prior to the student's participation in any such certification, examination, assessment, or battery. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2019.

Career and Technical Education; Diplomas HB 1530 (Davis) requires the Board of Education to make recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than November 1, 2018, relating to strategies for eliminating any stigma associated with high school career and technical education pathways and the choice of high school students to pursue coursework and other educational opportunities in career and technical education and related fields such as computer science and robotics and the consolidation of the standard and advanced diplomas into a single diploma and the creation of multiple endorsements for such diploma to recognize student competencies and achievements in specific subject matter areas.

Career Investigation Courses and Programs of Instruction HB 632 (Bulova) requires the Board of Education (Board) to establish content standards and curriculum guidelines for courses in career investigation; develop, in consultation with certain stakeholders, resource materials that are designed to ensure that students have the ability to further explore interest in career and technical education opportunities in middle and high school; and disseminate such career investigation resource materials to each school board. The bill directs each school board to require each middle school student to take at least one course or alternative program of instruction in career investigation.

Child Care Providers; Criminal History Background Check; Repeal Sunset HB 873 (Orrock) and SB 121 (Wexton) extend from July 1, 2018, to July 1, 2020, the expiration date and contingency on the requirement that the following individuals undergo fingerprint-based national criminal history background checks: (i) applicants for employment by, employees of, applicants to serve as volunteers with, and volunteers with any licensed family day system, child day center exempt from licensure pursuant to § 63.2-1716, registered family day home, or family day home approved by a family day system; (ii) applicants for licensure as a family day system, registration as a family day home, or approval as a family day home by a family day system, as well as agents of such applicants and any adult living in such family day home; and (iii) individuals who apply for or enter into a contract with the Department of Social Services under which a child day center, family day home, or child day program will provide child care services funded by the Child Care and Development Block Grant of 2014, as well as the applicant's current or prospective employees and volunteers, agents, and any adult living in the child day center or family day home. Note that a similar bill, HB 1128 (Filler-Corn), failed.

Child Day Programs; Exemptions from Licensure HB 1017 (Toscano) and SB 682 (Deeds) exempt from licensure any child day program that is offered by a local school division, staffed by local school division employees, and attended by preschool-age children or children who are enrolled in public school within such school division. The bill provides that such programs shall be subject to safety and supervisory standards established by the local school board.

Diploma Seals; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics HB 167 (Miyares) requires the Board of Education to establish criteria for awarding a diploma seal for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for the Board of Education-approved diplomas.

Driver Education Courses; Instructor Qualifications SB 359 (McClellan) provides that the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles (Commissioner) may, in lieu of the requirements established by the Department of Education for driver education instructor qualification, accept 20 years' service as a traffic enforcement officer with patrol experience with any local police department by a law-enforcement officer who (i) retired or resigned while in good standing from such department, (ii) was certified through a criminal justice training academy, and (iii) has been certified to teach driver training by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Current law only allows the Commissioner to accept 20 years' service with the Department of State Police by a person who retired or resigned while in good standing from such department in lieu of such requirements for driver education instructor qualification.

Driver Education Programs; Parent/Student Driver Education Component SB 126 (Cosgrove) permits any school division outside Planning District 8, at the discretion of the local school board, to administer a parent/student driver education component as part of the driver education curriculum. Under both current law and the bill, such component is a requirement in Planning District 8 (Northern Virginia). The bill allows for school divisions outside Planning District 8 to administer such component in-person or online (note also that school divisions inside Planning District 8 would still be required to administer such component in person).

Dual Enrollment HB 3 (Landes) requires the State Board for Community Colleges and the Virginia Community College System to develop and implement, in coordination with the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, the Department of Education, and the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, (i) a plan to achieve and maintain the same standards regarding quality, consistency, and level of evaluation and review for dual enrollment courses offered by local school divisions pursuant to § 23.1-907 as are required for all courses taught in the System and (ii) a process and criteria for determining whether any dual enrollment course offered in the Commonwealth that meets or exceeds such standards is transferable to a public institution of higher education as (a) a uniform certificate of general studies program or passport program course credit, (b) a general elective course credit, or (c) a course credit meeting other academic requirements of a public institution of higher education. HB 919 (Jones) and SB 631 (Dunnavant) make several changes to the Virginia Community College System to ensure a standard quality of education at all comprehensive community colleges, and to ensure in the transfer of community college credit to four-year public institutions of higher education. Included among those changes are a requirement that community colleges would be required to indicate whether dual enrollment courses offered at a local school division would be eligible for transfer. The Community College system is also required to maintain a database of all dual enrollment courses offered across the Commonwealth. The bill also requires the State Board for Community Colleges to establish quality standards for dual enrollment courses. The bill contains enactment clauses that would mandate that the State Board for Community Colleges develop an initial plan for standardization to be presented no later than September 1, 2018 and that the Virginia Community College System shall establish the one-semester Passport Program and one-year Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program as required by this act by July 1, 2020, and each associate-degree-granting public institution shall offer such programs by the 2020-2021 academic year.. Note that SB 631 incorporated provisions from SB 77 (Sturtevant) and SB 107 (Suetterlein).

Dual Language Programs and Positions HB 507 (Mullin) provides that the instructional programs for students with limited English proficiency implemented by each local school board may include dual language programs whereby such students receive instruction in English and in a second language and the additional full-time equivalent instructional positions for students identified as having limited English proficiency that are funded pursuant to the general appropriation act may include dual language teachers who provide instruction in English and in a second language.

Family Life Education Curricula SB 101 (McClellan) requires any high school family life education curriculum offered by a local school division to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the consequences of nonconsensual sexual activity, conduct, or touching. The bill also permits any family life education curriculum offered by a local school division to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the dangers and repercussions of using electronic means or social media to engage in sexually explicit communications or send or display sexually explicit images and the prevention, recognition, and awareness of child abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse. Note that this bill incorporated provisions from SB 425 (McClellan), SB 789 (Surovell) and SB 843 (Favola).

Family Life Education Curricula; Personal Privacy and Personal Boundaries HB 45 (Filler-Corn) requires any family life education curriculum offered in any elementary school, middle school, or high school to incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the importance of the personal privacy and personal boundaries of other individuals and tools for a student to use to ensure that he respects the personal privacy and personal boundaries of other individuals.

Health Instruction; Mental Health HB 1604 (Bell, R.B.) and SB 953 (Deeds) require health instruction to incorporate standards that recognize the multiple dimensions of health by including mental health and the relationship of physical and mental health so as to enhance student understanding, attitudes, and behavior that promote health, well-being, and human dignity. The bills also direct the Board of Education to review and update the health Standards of Learning for students in grades nine and 10 to include mental health.

Health Education; Prescription Drugs HB 1532 (Herring) permits the health education program required for each public elementary and secondary school student to include an age-appropriate program of instruction on the safe use of and risks of abuse of prescription drugs that is consistent with curriculum guidelines developed by the Board of Education and approved by the State Board of Health. The bill requires the Board of Education to consider the curriculum adopted by the School Board of the City of Virginia Beach regarding drugs and the opioid crisis in developing such curriculum guidelines.

High School Equivalency Programs; Eligibility HB 803 (O’Quinn) extends eligibility to participate in programs of preparation and instruction to take a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education to individuals who are at least 16 years of age.

High School Graduation Requirements; Course Load HB 329 (Yancey) requires the Board of Education, in establishing high school graduation requirements, to permit students to exceed a full course load in order to participate in courses offered by an institution of higher education that lead to a degree, certificate, or credential at such institution.

High School Graduation Requirements; Substitution of Computer Coding Credit for Foreign Language Credit for English Learners HB 443 (Carroll Foy) requires the Board of Education, in establishing high school graduation requirements, to permit any English language learner who previously earned a sufficient score on an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate foreign language examination, or on an SAT II Subject Test in a foreign language to substitute computer coding course credit for any foreign language course credit required to graduate, except in cases in which such foreign language course credit is required to earn an advanced diploma offered by a nationally recognized provider of college-level courses.

High School to Work Partnerships; Establishment; Exemptions HB 544 (Freitas) and SB 960 (Suetterlein) permit each local school board to (i) establish High School to Work Partnerships (Partnerships) between public high schools and local businesses to create opportunities for high school students to (a) participate in an apprenticeship, internship, or job shadow program in a variety of trades and skilled labor positions or (b) tour local businesses and meet with owners and employees or (ii) delegate the authority to establish Partnerships to the local school division's career and technical education administrator or his designee, in collaboration with the guidance counselor office of each public high school in the school division. The bill requires such local school boards to educate high school students about opportunities available through such Partnerships. The bill also requires the Board of Education, the Department of Labor and Industry, and the State Board for Community Colleges to identify Partnerships that may be eligible for exemptions from certain federal and state labor laws and regulations and establish procedures by which such exemptions may be obtained for such Partnerships.

Home Instruction of Children; Education Options HB 1370 (Pogge) clarifies that a parent who provides home instruction through a program of study or curriculum is required to provide his child with such program of study or curriculum to satisfy the requirements for the home instruction of such child.

Instructional Time (Recess) HB 1419 (Delaney) and SB 273 (Petersen) require local school boards to provide a minimum of 680 hours of instructional time to students in elementary school in the four academic disciplines of English, mathematics, science, and history and social science; or, for students in half-day kindergarten, a minimum of 375 hours of instructional time in the four academic disciplines of English, mathematics, science, and history and social science. Local school boards will be allowed to include and the Board of Education be required to accept, for elementary school, unstructured recreational time that is intended to develop teamwork, social skills, and overall physical fitness in any calculation of total instructional time or teaching hours, provided that such unstructured recreational time does not exceed 15 percent of total instructional time or teaching hours.

Instruction in American Sign Language; Academic Credit; Foreign Language Requirements HB 84 (Bell, Richard P.) requires any local school board that does not offer any elective course in American Sign Language to grant academic credit for successful completion of an American Sign Language course offered by a comprehensive community college or a multi-division online provider approved by the Board on the same basis as the successful completion of a foreign language course and count completion of any such American Sign Language course toward the fulfillment of any foreign language requirement for graduation.

Work-Based Learning Experiences for Students; Notification HB 399 (Keam) requires each school board to implement a plan to notify students and their parents of the availability of internships, externships, apprenticeships, credentialing programs, certification programs, licensure programs, and other work-based learning experiences.

Worker Retraining Tax Credit; Manufacturing Instruction for Students HB 129 (Yancey) modifies the existing worker retraining tax credit by allowing credit to manufacturers conducting a manufacturing orientation, instruction, and training program that is (i) provided to students in grades six through 12, (ii) coordinated with the local school division and certified as qualified for tax credit by the Virginia Economic Partnership Development Authority, and (iii) conducted either at a plant or facility used by the manufacturer or at a public middle or high school in Virginia. The credit would equal 35 percent of the manufacturer's direct costs in providing the program, not to exceed $2,000 for any year. The bill also provides that the Department of Taxation (the Department) shall not issue more than $1 million in tax credits per year. Under current law, the Department is authorized to issue up to $2.5 million in credits each year.

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY – APPROVED

Collection of Student Demographic Data SB 238 (DeSteph) prohibits local school boards from requiring a student or his parent to disclose information related to the student's race or ethnicity unless the student or his parent is given an option to designate "other" for the student's race or ethnicity or such disclosure is required by federal law.

Comprehensive Plan; Broadband Infrastructure HB 640 (Boysko) provides that a locality's comprehensive plan shall consider strategies to provide broadband infrastructure that is sufficient to meet the current and future needs of residents and businesses in the locality.

Data Collection and Dissemination; Governance SB 580 (Hanger) amends the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act (§ 2.2-3800 et seq.) to facilitate the sharing of data among agencies of the Commonwealth and between the Commonwealth and political subdivisions. The bill creates the position of Chief Data Officer of the Commonwealth (CDO), housed in the office of the Secretary of Administration, to (i) develop guidelines regarding data usage, storage, and privacy and (ii) coordinate and oversee data sharing in the Commonwealth to promote the usage of data in improving the delivery of services. The bill also creates a temporary Data Sharing and Analytics Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee) to advise the CDO in the initial establishment guidelines and best practices, and to make recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly regarding a permanent data governance structure. The bill directs the CDO and the Advisory Committee to focus their initial efforts on developing a project for the sharing, analysis, and dissemination of data at a state, regional, and local level related to substance abuse, with a focus on opioid addiction, abuse, and overdose. Note that this bill incorporates provisions from SB 459 (Edwards), SB 719 (Dunnavant), SB 804 (Carrico), and SB 830 (Barker).

Freedom of Information Act, Access to Student Directory Information HB 1 (Wilt) specifies that student directory information may be disclosed in accordance with federal and state law and regulation, provided that the school has given notice to the parent or eligible student of (i) the types of information that the school has designated as directory information; (ii) the right of the parent or eligible student to refuse the designation of any or all of the types of information about the student as directory information, and (iii) the period of time within which the parent or eligible student must notify the school in writing that he does not want any or all of the types of information about the student designated as directory information. However, no school would be able to disclose the address, telephone number, or email address of a student pursuant to 34 C.F.R. § 99.31(a) (11) or the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) unless the parent or eligible student has affirmatively consented in writing to such disclosure. SB 512 (Suetterlein) prohibits the custodian of a scholastic record from releasing the address, phone number, or email address of a student in response to a Freedom of Information request without written consent. For any student who is (i) 18 years of age or older, (ii) under the age of 18 and emancipated, or (iii) attending an institution of higher education, written consent of the student shall be required. For any other student, written consent of the parent or legal guardian of such student shall be required.

Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act; Sharing and Dissemination of Data HB 1277 (Garrett) amends the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act (§ 2.2-3800 et seq.) to facilitate the sharing of data among agencies of the Commonwealth and between the Commonwealth and political subdivisions.

Virginia Information Technologies Agency; Additional Duties of CIO; Cybersecurity Review HB 1221 (Thomas) requires the Chief Information Officer of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency to conduct an annual comprehensive review of cybersecurity policies of every executive branch agency, with a particular focus on breaches in information technology that occurred in the reviewable year and any steps taken by agencies to strengthen cybersecurity measures, and issue a report of his findings to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance, which shall not contain technical information deemed security sensitive or information that would expose security vulnerabilities.

Virginia Public Records Act; Records Retained in Electronic Medium HB 228 (Cole) provides that notwithstanding any provision of law requiring a public record to be retained in a tangible medium, an agency may retain any public record in an electronic medium, provided that the record remains accessible for the duration of its retention schedule and meets all other requirements of the Virginia Public Records Act (§ 42.1-76 et seq.). The bill provides that this provision shall not be deemed to affect any law governing the retention of exhibits received into evidence in a criminal case in any court.

PERSONNEL – APPROVED

Autism Spectrum Disorders Training Program for School Bus Personnel SB 229 (Hanger) requires the Board of Education to establish a training program for school board employees who assist in the transportation of students on school buses, including individuals employed to operate school buses and school bus aides, on autism spectrum disorders, including the characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, strategies for interacting with students with autism spectrum disorders, and collaboration with other employees who assist in the transportation of students on school buses. The bill would require each school board employee who assists in the transportation of students with autism spectrum disorders on school buses to participate in such training program.

Child Abuse and Neglect; Notice of Founded Reports to Superintendent of Public Instruction HB 389 (Keam) and SB 183 (Favola) require local departments of social services to notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction without delay when an individual holding a license issued by the Board of Education is the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect and if the founded complaint of child abuse or neglect is dismissed on appeal.

Child care providers; criminal history background check HB 873 (Orrock) and SB 121 (Wexton) extend from July 1, 2018, to July 1, 2020, the expiration date and contingency on the requirement that the following individuals undergo fingerprint-based national criminal history background checks: (i) applicants for employment by, employees of, applicants to serve as volunteers with, and volunteers with any licensed family day system, child day center exempt from licensure pursuant to § 63.2-1716, registered family day home, or family day home approved by a family day system; (ii) applicants for licensure as a family day system, registration as a family day home, or approval as a family day home by a family day system, as well as agents of such applicants and any adult living in such family day home; and (iii) individuals who apply for or enter into a contract with the Department of Social Services under which a child day center, family day home, or child day program will provide child care services funded by the Child Care and Development Block Grant of 2014, as well as the applicant's current or prospective employees and volunteers, agents, and any adult living in the child day center or family day home. Note that a similar bill, HB 1128 (Filler-Corn), failed.

Dual Language Instruction Licensure Endorsement HB 1156 (Wilt) requires the Board of Education, in its regulations governing licensure, to provide for licensure of teachers with an endorsement in dual language instruction pre-kindergarten through grade six. The bill requires the Board, in establishing the requirements for such endorsement, to require, at minimum, coursework in dual language education; bilingual literacy development; methods of second language acquisition; theories of second language acquisition; instructional strategies for classroom management for the elementary classroom; and content-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The bill provides that (i) each teacher with such an endorsement is exempt from the Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment requirement but is subject to the subject matter-specific professional teacher's assessment requirements and (ii) no teacher with such an endorsement is required to obtain an additional endorsement in early/primary education pre-kindergarten through grade three or elementary education pre-kindergarten through grade six in order to teach in pre-kindergarten through grade six.

Healthy School Workplaces HB 1044 (Torian) requires each school board to adopt policies to prohibit abusive work environments in the school division, provide for the appropriate discipline of any school board employee who contributes to an abusive work environment, and prohibit retaliation or reprisal against a school board employee who alleges an abusive work environment or assists in the investigation of an allegation of an abusive work environment.

Professional and Occupational Regulation; Authority to Suspend or Revoke Licenses, Certificates, Registrations, or Permits; Default or Delinquency of Education Loan or Scholarship HB 1114 (VanValkenburg) provides that the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, the Department of Health Professions, the Board of Accountancy, and the Board of Education shall not be authorized to suspend or revoke the license, certificate, registration, permit, or authority it has issued to any person who is in default or delinquent in the payment of a federal-guaranteed or state-guaranteed educational loan or work-conditional scholarship solely on the basis of such default or delinquency.

School Boards; Employment of Certain Individuals HB 1000 (Gilbert) and SB 343 (Peake) permit any school board to employ an individual who, at the time of the individual's hiring, has been convicted of a felony, provided that such individual (i) was employed in good standing by a school board on or before December 17, 2015; (ii) has been granted a simple pardon for such offense by the Governor or other appropriate authority; and (iii) has had his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The bill permits a school board to employ, until July 1, 2020, a person who does not satisfy the conditions set forth in clauses (ii) and (iii), provided that such person has been continuously employed by the school board from December 17, 2015, through July 1, 2018. Note that the bill was intended to address the decision of the Virginia Supreme Court in Butler v. Fairfax County School Board. Note also that SB 343 incorporated provisions from SB 928 (Obenshain).

Sexual Misconduct in Elementary and Secondary Schools HB 438 (Bulova) and SB 605 (Ebbin) require the Board of Education to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of federal law that prohibit any local school board or any individual who is an employee, contractor, or agent of a local school board from assisting an employee, contractor, or agent of such local school board in obtaining a new job if such local school board or individual knows or has probable cause to believe that the employee, contractor, or agent engaged in sexual misconduct regarding a minor or student in violation of law.

State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act; School Boards and School Board Employees HB 212 (Wright) and SB 124 (Black) allow any school district to invoke the current exemption from the prohibition against hiring, under certain circumstances, a school district employee who is related to a member of the school board. Note that this bill incorporated provisions from SB 301 (Favola), SB 345 (Peake), SB 763 (Peake), and SB 764 (Peake).

Teacher Licensure and Reciprocity HB 1125 (Landes) and SB 349 (Peake) make several changes to the teacher licensure process, including:

extending the renewable license from a five year license to a 10 year license;
allowing an individual who seeks a provisional teacher license to satisfy certain licensure requirements during the period of provisional licensure;
permitting the Board of Education to extend, for at least one additional year, but for no more than two additional years, the three-year provisional license of a teacher upon receiving from the division superintendent (a) a recommendation for such extension and (b) satisfactory performance evaluations for such teacher for each year of the original three-year provisional license;
permitting teachers with a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, to receive licensure by reciprocity without passing additional licensing assessments;
eliminating the requirements that teachers seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license (a) demonstrate proficiency in the use of educational technology for instruction and (b) receive professional development in instructional methods tailored to promote student academic progress and effective preparation for the Standards of Learning end-of-course and end-of-grade assessments;
permitting any division superintendent to apply to the Department of Education for a biennial waiver of the teacher licensure requirements for any individual whom the local school board hires or seeks to hire to teach in a trade and industrial education program and meets certain criteria; and,
specifying that for the purpose of Board of Education regulations for the approval of teacher education programs, the term "education preparation program" includes four-year bachelor's degree programs in teacher education.

In addition, the bills require the Board of Education to include in its regulations for teacher licensure an alternate route to licensure for elementary education pre K-6 and an alternate route to licensure for special education general curriculum K-12. Note that SB 349 incorporated provisions from a number of bills, including: SB 257 (Sutterlein), SB 409 (McDougle), SB 548 (Dunnavant), SB 549 (Dunnavant), SB 551 (Dunnavant), SB 558 (Dunnavant), SB 723 (Peake), and SB 863 (Sturtevant).

SB 76 (Favola) specifies that for the purpose of Board of Education regulations for the approval of teacher education programs, the term "education preparation program" includes four-year bachelor's degree programs in teacher education. HB 2 (Bell, R.P.) and SB 103 (Suetterlein) require the Board of Education to provide for teacher licensure by reciprocity for any spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Commonwealth who has obtained a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for a Virginia license is received by the Department of Education. The bill would provide that no service requirements or licensing assessments shall be required for any such individual. HB 215 (Knight) declares eligible for a renewable one-year license to teach in public high schools in the Commonwealth any individual who has (i) received a graduate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education; (ii) completed at least 30 credit hours of teaching experience as an instructor at a regionally accredited institution of higher education; (iii) received qualifying scores on the professional teacher's assessments prescribed by the Board, including the communication and literacy assessment and the content-area assessment for the endorsement sought; and (iv) completed certain other licensure requirements. HB 80 (Krizek) requires the Board of Education, in its regulations providing for teacher licensure by reciprocity, to permit applicants to submit third-party employment verification forms.\

RETIREMENT & INSURANCE – APPROVED

Group Accident and Sickness Insurance; Eligibility for Continuation of Coverage HB 1368 (Jones) disqualifies a discharged employee from continuation of health insurance coverage under his former employer's group policy if the employee was discharged as a result of gross misconduct. The provision does not apply if the employer is required to provide for continuation of coverage under its group health plan pursuant to the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985.

Health Insurance; Copayments for Prescription Drugs; Disclosures HB 1177 (Pillion) and SB 933 (Saslaw) provide that no provider contract between a health carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy or its contracting agent shall contain a provision authorizing the carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager to charge, requiring the pharmacy or pharmacist to collect, or requiring an enrollee to make, a copayment for a covered prescription drug in an amount that exceeds the least of the applicable copayment for the prescription drug that would be payable in the absence of this section; or the cash price the enrollee would pay for the prescription drug if the enrollee purchased the prescription drug without using the enrollee's health plan. The measure requires provider contracts between a health carrier or its pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy or its contracting agent to contain specific provisions that allow a pharmacy to disclose to an enrollee information relating to the provisions of this section and the availability of a more affordable therapeutically equivalent prescription drug; sell a more affordable therapeutically equivalent prescription drug to an enrollee if one is available; offer and provide direct and limited delivery services to an enrollee as an ancillary service of the pharmacy. The measure applies to provider contracts entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2019.

Virginia Retirement System; Technical Amendments HB 846 (Ingram) and SB 248 (Dance) make technical amendments to Title 51.1, Pensions, Benefits, and Retirement, including clarifying that medical boards may be composed of not only physicians but also other health care professionals and that the only federal civilian service eligible to be purchased as membership credit is full-time service.

Workers' Compensation; Employer's Liability for Medical Services Provided Outside of the Commonwealth HB 558 (Habeeb) clarifies that the "medical community," when referring to providers of medical services rendered under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act outside of the Commonwealth, shall be determined by the zip code of the principal place of business of the employer if located in the Commonwealth. If the employer's principal place of business is not in the Commonwealth, then it shall be determined by the zip code of the location where the Workers' Compensation Commission would conduct its hearing regarding a dispute concerning the medical services.

Workers' Compensation; Proof of Coverage Information HB 531 (Habeeb) removes the provision that prevents the Workers' Compensation Commission from aggregating proof of coverage information filed with the Commission by an insurance carrier or rate service organization on behalf of an employer with the proof of coverage information filed by or on behalf of other employers.

Workers' Compensation; Uninsured Employer's Fund; Financing Tax HB 82 (Habeeb) repeals an enactment clause that provides that the maximum tax rate that may be assessed on insurance carriers or self-insured employers for the purpose of funding workers' compensation benefits that are awarded against uninsured employers from the Uninsured Employer's Fund will revert from 0.5 percent to 0.25 percent on July 1, 2018. Repealing the enactment will maintain the maximum rate at its current level of 0.5 percent.

SCHOOL BOARD GOVERNANCE – APPROVED

Administrative Process Act; Guidance Documents HB 297 (Bulova) exempts guidance documents, defined in the bill, from the requirements of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.), provided that the agency that developed the guidance document certifies that the document conforms to the definition of a guidance document. Each guidance document would then be subject to a 30-day public comment period through the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall website, after publication in the Virginia Register of Regulations and prior to final publication by the agency. If a comment were received during the public comment period asserts that the guidance document is contrary to state law or regulation or that it should not be exempt, the adoption of the guidance document shall be delayed an additional 30 days, during which time the agency shall address the comments and provide a response in writing. The bill also provides that guidance documents do not include agency rulings and advisory opinions, forms and instructions, bulletins and legislative summaries, studies and reports, and internal manuals and memoranda. Note that the legislation includes an effective date of January 1, 2019.

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Green v. County School Board of New Kent County HJ 37 (Mc Quinn) and SJ 81 (Dance) commend the 50th anniversary of Green v County School Board of New Kent County. Note that this resolution also incorporates HJ 137 (Peace).

Commending Resolutions:

HJ 50 (Keam) commends the James Madison High School softball team
HJ 79 (Murphy) commends the Langley High School volleyball team
HJ 185 (Hugo) commends the Westfield High School football team
HJ 238 (Delaney) commends the Westfield High School field hockey team
HJ 300 (Keam) commends the James Madison High School band
HJ 354 (Sullivan) commends the McLean High School band
HJ 355 (Sullivan) commends the McLean High School boys' tennis team
HJ 356 (Sullivan) commends the McLean High School Highlander marching band
HJ 357 (Sullivan) commends The Highlander
HJ 359 (Sullivan) commends the Longfellow Middle School Rubik’s Cube team
HJ 360 (Sullivan) commends the Longfellow Middle School Science Olympiad team
HJ 363 (Keam) commends the James Madison High School girls’ swim and dive team
HJ 389 (Plum) commends the Pantry at South Lakes High School
HJ 431 (Filler-Corn) commends the W.T. Woodson High School boys' basketball team
HJ 461 (Filler-Corn) commends the Lake Braddock Secondary School band

SJ 66 (Petersen) commends the W. T. Woodson High School boys’ basketball team
SJ 67 (Petersen) commends the Westfield High School field hockey team
SJ 125 (Petersen) commends the Westfield High School football team

County Manager Plan of Government; Popular Election of School Board HB 231 (Hope) clarifies that in a county with the county manager plan of government (Arlington County), the county may have an elected school board notwithstanding the default method of school board appointment as set out in the Code.

Division Superintendents; Timeline for Appointment HB 81 (Krizek) requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, upon the request of a school board, to grant such school board up to an additional 180 days to appoint a new division superintendent.

Ethics Laws; Study and Report SJ 75 (Norment) establishes a two-year joint subcommittee consisting of six legislative members and two nonlegislative citizen members to study the current ethics laws in the Commonwealth. In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall study the disclosure requirements of the members of the General Assembly and lobbyists and identify those portions of the ethics laws that should be repealed, substantially amended, rewritten for clarity, or retained in their present form. In its review, the joint subcommittee shall examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the ethics laws in promoting public trust and confidence in the service of public officials.

Military Student Enrollment Policies HB 1085 (Yancey) requires school boards to establish policies to provide for the enrollment of students living on a military base or in military housing to any school within the school division upon space availability. In developing such policies, school boards can include any condition enumerated in the current statute governing open enrollment or "any other condition deemed appropriate by the local school board."

School Board of the City of Norfolk; Salaries of Appointed Members HB 779 (Heretick) and SB 361 (Spruill) eliminate the cap on the annual salary that the school board of the City of Norfolk may pay its appointed members. Beginning July 1, 2018, all members of the school board of City of Norfolk will be elected members. Salaries of elected school board members are subject to the same limitations as members of local governing bodies.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Access to Student Directory Information HB 1 (Wilt) specifies that student directory information may be disclosed in accordance with federal and state law and regulation, provided that the school has given notice to the parent or eligible student of (i) the types of information that the school has designated as directory information; (ii) the right of the parent or eligible student to refuse the designation of any or all of the types of information about the student as directory information, and (iii) the period of time within which the parent or eligible student must notify the school in writing that he does not want any or all of the types of information about the student designated as directory information. However, no school will be able to disclose the address, telephone number, or email address of a student pursuant to 34 C.F.R. § 99.31(a) (11) or the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) unless the parent or eligible student has affirmatively consented in writing to such disclosure. SB 512 (Suetterlein) prohibits the custodian of a scholastic record from releasing the address, phone number, or email address of a student in response to a Freedom of Information request without written consent. For any student who is (i) 18 years of age or older, (ii) under the age of 18 and emancipated, or (iii) attending an institution of higher education, written consent of the student shall be required. For any other student, written consent of the parent or legal guardian of such student shall be required.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; Definition of Electronic Communication HB 906 (Robinson) clarifies the definition of electronic communication in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act by amending it to mean the use of technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities to transmit or receive information. This bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; Meetings Held by Electronic Communication Means HB 907 (Robinson) consolidates existing provisions concerning public meetings conducted by electronic communication means. HB 908 (Robinson) removes the Freedom of Information Act requirement that the remote locations from which members of a public body participate in meetings through electronic communication means be open to the public. Instead, members of the public must be provided an electronic communication means substantially equivalent to that provided to members of the public body through which the public may witness the meeting. The bill provides that public access to remote locations from which members of the public body participate through electronic communication means shall be encouraged, but not required; however, if three or more members are gathered at the same remote location, such remote location must be open to the public. The bill also amends the annual reporting requirements for public bodies that meet by electronic communication means.

SPECIAL SERVICES – APPROVED

Autism Advisory Council; Sunset SB 234 (Hanger) extends the sunset provision of the Autism Advisory Council from July 1, 2018, to July 1, 2020. Note that this bill incorporated content from SB 337 (Stuart).

Data Collection and Dissemination; Governance SB 580 (Hanger) amends the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act (§ 2.2-3800 et seq.) to facilitate the sharing of data among agencies of the Commonwealth and between the Commonwealth and political subdivisions. The bill creates the position of Chief Data Officer of the Commonwealth (CDO), housed in the office of the Secretary of Administration, to (i) develop guidelines regarding data usage, storage, and privacy and (ii) coordinate and oversee data sharing in the Commonwealth to promote the usage of data in improving the delivery of services. The bill also creates a temporary Data Sharing and Analytics Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee) to advise the CDO in the initial establishment guidelines and best practices, and to make recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly regarding a permanent data governance structure. The bill directs the CDO and the Advisory Committee to focus their initial efforts on developing a project for the sharing, analysis, and dissemination of data at a state, regional, and local level related to substance abuse, with a focus on opioid addiction, abuse, and overdose. Note that this bill incorporated provisions from SB 459 (Edwards), SB 719 (Dunnavant), SB 804 (Carrico), and SB 830 (Barker).

Dual Enrollment HB 3 (Landes) requires the State Board for Community Colleges and the Virginia Community College System to develop and implement, in coordination with the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, the Department of Education, and the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, (i) a plan to achieve and maintain the same standards regarding quality, consistency, and level of evaluation and review for dual enrollment courses offered by local school divisions pursuant to § 23.1-907 as are required for all courses taught in the System and (ii) a process and criteria for determining whether any dual enrollment course offered in the Commonwealth that meets or exceeds such standards is transferable to a public institution of higher education as (a) a uniform certificate of general studies program or passport program course credit, (b) a general elective course credit, or (c) a course credit meeting other academic requirements of a public institution of higher education. HB 919 (Jones) and SB 631 (Dunnavant) make several changes to the Virginia Community College System to ensure a standard quality of education at all comprehensive community colleges, and to ensure the transfer of community college credit to four-year public institutions of higher education. Included among those changes are a requirement that community colleges would be required to indicate whether dual enrollment courses offered at a local school division would be eligible for transfer. The Community College system is also required to maintain a database of all dual enrollment courses offered across the Commonwealth. The bill also requires the State Board for Community Colleges to establish quality standards for dual enrollment courses. The bill contains enactment clauses that would mandate that the State Board for Community Colleges develop an initial plan for standardization to be presented no later than September 1, 2018 and that the Virginia Community College System shall establish the one-semester Passport Program and one-year Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program as required by this act by July 1, 2020, and each associate-degree-granting public institution shall offer such programs by the 2020-2021 academic year. Note that SB 631 incorporated provisions from SB 77 (Sturtevant) and SB 107 (Suetterlein).

Education Preparation Programs; Reading Specialists; Dyslexia HB 1265 (Cline) and SB 368 (Newman) require each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education that leads to a degree, concentration, or certificate for reading specialists to include a program of coursework or other training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder. The bill requires such programs to (i) include coursework in the constructs and pedagogy underlying remediation of reading, spelling, and writing and (ii) require reading specialists to demonstrate mastery of an evidence-based, structured literacy instructional approach that includes explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction. Note that an identical bill, awaits the Governor’s signature.

Freedom of Information Act, Access to Student Directory Information HB 1 (Wilt) specifies that student directory information may be disclosed in accordance with federal and state law and regulation, provided that the school has given notice to the parent or eligible student of (i) the types of information that the school has designated as directory information; (ii) the right of the parent or eligible student to refuse the designation of any or all of the types of information about the student as directory information, and (iii) the period of time within which the parent or eligible student must notify the school in writing that he does not want any or all of the types of information about the student designated as directory information. However, no school will be able to disclose the address, telephone number, or email address of a student pursuant to 34 C.F.R. § 99.31(a) (11) or the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) unless the parent or eligible student has affirmatively consented in writing to such disclosure. SB 512 (Suetterlein) prohibits the custodian of a scholastic record from releasing the address, phone number, or email address of a student in response to a Freedom of Information request without written consent. For any student who is (i) 18 years of age or older, (ii) under the age of 18 and emancipated, or (iii) attending an institution of higher education, written consent of the student shall be required. For any other student, written consent of the parent or legal guardian of such student shall be required.

Homeless Children SB 961 (Mason) aligns provisions regarding when a homeless child or youth is deemed to reside in a school division with Subtitle VII-B of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 11431 et seq.) and updates references to such Act.

Instruction in American Sign Language; Academic Credit; Foreign Language Requirements HB 84 (Bell, R.P.) requires any local school board that does not offer any elective course in American Sign Language to grant academic credit for successful completion of an American Sign Language course offered by a comprehensive community college or a multi-division online provider approved by the Board on the same basis as the successful completion of a foreign language course and count completion of any such American Sign Language course toward the fulfillment of any foreign language requirement for graduation.

Military Children; Tuition SB 775 (Locke) prohibits the child of a person on active military duty who is attending school for free from being charged upon such child’s relocation pursuant to orders his parent received to relocate to a new duty station or to be deployed. The bill allows the child to remain enrolled in the current school division free of tuition through the end of the school year. The bill also prohibits the child of a person on active military duty who is eligible to attend a school for free from being charged tuition by a school division that will be that child's school division of residence upon such child's service member parent's relocation to the jurisdiction for that school division pursuant to orders received.

Practice of Social Work HB 614 (Price) provides that the Board of Social Work may license baccalaureate social workers, master's social workers, and clinical social workers, as those terms are defined, and may register persons proposing to obtain supervised post-degree experience in the practice of social work.

Public Institutions of Higher Education; Loans to Students; Collection HB 165 (Yancey) requires each public institution that makes a loan to a student to (i) include in loan documents for each such loan an individual plan for the repayment of principal and interest and the payment of any late fees and clear and detailed information about the collection process for such loan pursuant to the Virginia Debt Collection Act, including information about the agency or entity that is responsible for collection, and (ii) establish a process for notifying each student or, in the case of an undergraduate student and as appropriate, the student's parent of any loan payment that is past due no later than (a) 30 days after such payment becomes past due and (b) if necessary, the end of the academic term during which such payment becomes past due. The bill permits each such institution, with the consent of the borrower, to modify the terms of any loan for which payments are past due to provide for repayment forbearance on such loan and repayment to commence on a mutually agreed-upon date in the future.

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; Longitudinal Data HB 347 (Landes) requires the data that the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia annually collects and publishes on the percentage of graduates of public institutions of higher education and certain nonprofit private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth who are known to be employed in the Commonwealth and the average salary and the average higher education-related debt for such graduates to be disaggregated by degree program and level as well as to be made available to each admitted student.

Student Attendance, Unexcused Absences HB 1485 (Filler-Corn) and SB 841 (Favola) make several changes to the procedures relating to interventions when a pupil fails to report to school for a total of five scheduled school days for the school year, no indication has been received by school personnel that the pupil's parent is aware of and supports the pupil's absence, and a reasonable effort to notify the parent has failed; including granting additional flexibility as to how and when interventions are to occur, permitting but not requiring the attendance officer to participate in the initial plan to address non-attendance, as well as in any conference necessitated by additional absences subsequent to the development of the initial plan. In addition, the legislation permits but does not require the attendance officer to file a complaint with the juvenile and domestic relations court alleging the pupil is a child in need of supervision or to institute criminal proceedings against the parent pursuant to relevant law.

Suicide Prevention Activities, Report HB 569 (Gooditis) requires the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to report annually by December 1 to the Governor and the General Assembly on the Department's activities related to suicide prevention across the lifespan.

STANDARDS OF QUALLITY/STANDARDS OF ACCREDITATION – APPROVED

High School Graduation Requirements; Clock Hours SB 664 (McPike) requires the Board of Education, in its graduation requirements, to permit local school divisions to waive the requirement for students to receive 140 clock hours of instruction after the student has completed the course curriculum and relevant Standards of Learning end-of-course assessment, or Board-approved substitute, provided that such student subsequently receives instruction, coursework, or study toward an industry certification approved by the local school board.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND ATHLETIC PROGRAMS – APPROVED

NONE

STUDENT TESTING – APPROVED

TAXATION – APPROVED

Real Property Tax; Land Use Valuation HB 871 expands the definitions of “real estate devoted to agricultural use” and “real estate devoted to horticultural use” to be used in the special classification of real estate that is eligible for a use value assessment and would expand the definitions to include property devoted to the production of products made from plants, animals, fruits, vegetables and nursery products on such property.

2018 General Assembly Approved Bill Report

Approved Bill Report

Related Pages

2018 General Assembly Session

Passed Bill Report

2017 General Assembly Comprehensive Report

2023 General Assembly Session

2019 General Assembly Bill Report

2019 General Assembly Session