2019 General Assembly Update
Key Education-Related Subjects
Week ending Friday, February 1, 2019
Fairfax County Public Schools, Office of Government Relations

Additional information regarding the education-related legislation described below, as well as for all other bills related to education can be found in the thirteen subject categories located on the web pages of the FCPS Office of Government Relations at https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/departments-and-offices/government-relations/virginia-general-assembly.  Bills in these categories are linked to the Virginia Division of Legislative Services web pages, which provide up-to-date summary, fiscal impact and bill status information.

The General Assembly will reach “Cross-over” after its floor session on Tuesday, February 5.  From that point forward, all bills remaining active will have passed either the full House or Senate, and will now move on to the other chamber for their consideration.

Education-Related Bills

Virginia Public Records Act; Implementation in Local School Divisions HB 1788 (Ransone) would require the Public School Records Consortium and the Records Oversight Committee to confer with school boards and division superintendents and submit to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than November 1, 2019, recommendations on ways in which school boards and school board employees can better promote efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the implementation of the Virginia Public Records Act.

Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act; Collection and Dissemination of Information Concerning Religious Preferences and Affiliations HB 2494 (Tran) would prohibit any state agency maintaining an information system that includes personal information from collecting or disseminating to federal government authorities information concerning the religious preferences and affiliations of data subjects for the purpose of compiling a list, registry, or database of individuals based on religious affiliation, national origin, or ethnicity, unless specifically required by state or federal law. This prohibition would apply even if consent is given to disseminate such information to public institutions of higher education, state facilities under Title 37.2 (Behavioral Health and Developmental Services), and juvenile correctional facilities established pursuant to Title 66 (Juvenile Justice) or Chapter 11 (§ 16.1-226 et seq.) of Title 16.1 (Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts). 

Municipal Net Energy Metering, pilots HB 2792 (Tran) and SB 1779 (Ebbin) would direct the State Corporation Commission to establish a pilot program that affords the opportunity for any municipality to participate in net energy metering if it is a retail customer of an investor-owned electric utility. In order to qualify for the program, the municipality would be required to own and operate a renewable generating facility that is located on the municipality's premises and is intended primarily to offset all or part of the municipality's own electricity requirements. Under the pilot program, a municipal customer-generator that generates electricity in amounts that exceed the amount of electricity consumed by the municipal customer-generator, determined annually, would receive a credit against its electricity consumption at one or more other separately metered buildings or facilities. The measure would provide that the amount of any such credit shall be equal to or greater than the generation-energy related rate under the Electrical Supply Service Charges of the host building plus all applicable generation-related riders or taxes and fuel-related riders or taxes, without the assessment by the utility of any service charges or fees in connection with or arising out of such crediting. The duration of the pilot program would be six years.

Early Graduation; Average Daily Membership SB 1587 (Suetterlein) would  provide that a student who graduates from a public high school in less than four school years will be counted in the average daily membership in the relevant school division until the graduation of his class cohort or he is no longer of school-age, whichever is earlier. The provisions of the bill would not apply to any student who completes a high school equivalency examination.

School Attendance Officer; Motion for a Rule to Show Cause; Child in Need of Supervision HB 2119 (Carroll Foy) and SB 1279 (Barker) would authorize a school attendance officer or division superintendent or his designee acting as an attendance officer to complete, sign, and file with the intake officer, on forms approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia, a motion for a rule to show cause regarding the violation or enforcement of a school attendance order entered by a juvenile and domestic relations district court in response to the filing of a petition alleging the juvenile is a child in need of supervision. The bill would also provide that such a filing is not considered the unauthorized practice of law.

Children in Residence or Custody; Participation in Educational Programs HB 1986 (Bell, Richard P.) and SB 1314 (Hanger) would require that any child who is admitted to a state hospital or state mental health facility for inpatient treatment shall, if appropriate, participate in any education and training program in such state hospital or state mental health facility unless such child has been excused from attendance at school attendance due to a bona fide religious training or belief.

State Share for Basic Aid; Duration of Certain Agreements HB 1807 (Bell, Richard P.) and SB 1771 (Hanger) would provide that certain cost-savings agreements between school divisions will remain in effect until terminated by the school divisions. 

Early Graduation, Public School Average Daily Membership; SB 1587 (Suetterlein) would provide that a student who graduates from a public high school in less than four school years will be counted in the average daily membership in the relevant school division until the graduation of his class cohort or he is no longer of school-age, whichever is earlier. The provisions of the bill would not apply to any student who completes a high school equivalency examination.

College and Career Access Pathways Partnerships HB 2123 (Caroll Foy) would permit each local school board to enter into College and Career Access Pathways Partnerships (Partnerships), currently referred to as agreements, with comprehensive community colleges or other public institutions of higher education or educational institutions that offer a career and technical education curriculum. The bill would require any such Partnership to specify the options for students to take courses, including dual enrollment courses, as part of the career and technical education curriculum that lead to course credit or an industry-recognized credential, certification, or license concurrent with a high school diploma, specify the credit, credentials, certifications, or licenses available for such courses, and permit students to participate in pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs at comprehensive community colleges concurrent with a high school diploma and receive college credit and high school credit for successful completion of any such program. 

Child Day Programs; Exemptions From Licensure HB 2280 (Head) would add to the list of programs that are not considered child day programs and are not subject to licensure programs of recreational activities offered by a local government, staffed by local government employees, and attended by school-age children and programs offered by a local school division, operated for no more than four hours per day, staffed by local school division employees, and attended by children who are at least four years of age and are enrolled in public school or a preschool program within such school division.

Education and Workforce Development; Virginia Works Portal SB 1589 (Dunnavant) would create the Virginia Works Portal, administered by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority, to provide one-stop access to information regarding career paths, education, workforce development, and employment opportunities in the Commonwealth. The bill would create the five-person Virginia Works Board to oversee the Portal and the Virginia Works Advisory Committee of public and private sector stakeholders to advise the Board.

Break to Express Breast Milk HB 1862 (McQuinn) and HB 1916 (Yancey) would require employers, including the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions, to provide reasonable unpaid break time each day to an employee who needs to express breast milk for the employee's nursing child for one year after the child's birth. An employer would also be required to make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location in close proximity to the work area, other than a toilet stall, where such an employee can express breast milk in privacy. An employer would not be held to have violated these requirements if it has made reasonable efforts to comply with them. The measure would apply to employees who are exempt under § 7 of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

Teacher Licensure; Provisional License HB 2486 (Robinson) would require the Board of Education, in its regulations providing for licensure by reciprocity, to grant special consideration to individuals who have successfully completed a program offered by a provider that is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. The bill also requires the Board of Education to develop guidelines that establish a process to permit a school board or any organization sponsored by a school board to petition the Board for approval of an alternate route to licensure that may be used to meet the requirements for a provisional or renewable license or any endorsement.

Teacher licensure; Alternate Routes HB 1643 (Hope) would require the Board of Education to develop guidelines that establish a process to permit a school board or any organization sponsored by a school board to petition the Board for approval of an alternate route to licensure that may be used to meet the requirements for a provisional or renewable license or any endorsement.

Public Employment; Inquiries by State Agencies and Localities Regarding Criminal Convictions, Charges, and Arrests SB 1199 (Dance) would prohibit state agencies from including on any employment application a question inquiring whether the applicant has ever been arrested or charged with any crime. The bill would prohibit state agencies from asking an applicant if he has ever been convicted of any crime unless the inquiry takes place after the applicant has received a conditional offer of employment, which offer may be withdrawn if the applicant has a conviction record that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the position. The prohibition would not apply to applications for employment with law-enforcement agencies, certain positions designated as sensitive, or in instances where a state agency is expressly permitted to inquire into an individual's criminal history for employment purposes pursuant to any provision of federal or state law. The bill would also authorize localities to adopt ordinances prohibiting such inquiries, with similar limitations.

Licensed Local School Board Instructional or Administrative Employees; Service Retirement Allowance SB 1227 (Chase) would extend from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2025, the sunset date for provisions requiring school boards, division superintendents, if so requested, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to annually identify and report critical shortages of teachers and administrative personnel and permitting any person receiving a service retirement allowance who is hired as a local school board instructional or administrative employee required to be licensed by the Board of Education to elect to continue to receive the retirement allowance during such employment under certain conditions.

Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits; Benefits and Eligibility Requirements; Eligible students With a Disability HB 2351 (Miyares) and SB 1365 (DeSteph) would increase the scholarship amount available for an eligible student with a disability from 100 percent to 300 percent of the per pupil amount distributed to the local school division as the state's share of the standards of quality costs, or the actual qualified educational expenses of the student, whichever is less. The bill would broaden the definition of "eligible student with a disability" to include any child who is a resident of Virginia for whom an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) has been written and finalized in accordance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In addition, the family household income of the eligible student with a disability who is receiving the scholarship would not exceed 400 percent of the federal poverty level.  The bill would also provide that an eligible student with a disability may only receive the increased amount of scholarship funds if they attend a school for students with disabilities that is licensed by the Department of Education to serve students with disabilities, complies with the nonpublic school accreditation requirements of the Virginia Association of Independent Schools, is exempt from taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not receive public funds to supplement the cost of the education of the eligible student with a disability who is receiving the scholarship.

Vapor Product Tax; School Mental Health Counselors Fund Created; Quit Now Virginia Fund Created SB 1606 (Ebbin) would create a state tax on electronic cigarettes, electronic cigars, electronic cigarillos, and similar products and devices (vapor) and authorize cities and towns and certain counties to impose a tax on vapor products. The state tax would be imposed at a rate of 40 percent of the wholesale price. The bill would provide that 90 percent of the tax revenue generated by the state tax would be distributed to the School Mental Health Counselors Fund, created by the bill. Such funds would be required to be used to fund the state's share of Standards of Quality Costs related to increasing the ratio of school counselors to students. The bill would provide that 10 percent of the tax revenue generated by the state tax would be distributed to the Quit Now Virginia Fund, created by the bill. Such funds would be required to be used to fund the Virginia Department of Health's costs to provide phone-based and Internet-based services with the purpose of discouraging and eliminating the use of tobacco products and providing counseling and support for smoking cessation efforts.  Counties, cities, and towns that are currently authorized to tax cigarettes would be authorized to also tax vapor products at rates determined by the local governing bodies. The bill would authorize Arlington and Fairfax Counties to impose a vapor products tax, but at a rate that does not exceed the state tax on vapor products created under the bill. 

Income Tax Credits Related to Education; Neighborhood Assistance Act Tax Credit Program SB 1160 (Ruff) would make changes to the Neighborhood Assistance Act tax credit program, as it relates to educational services, and the Education Improvement Scholarships tax credit program. The would bill provide that in making an allocation of credits to neighborhood organizations under the neighborhood assistance program, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall consider the portion of the organization's total revenues used to support low-income persons and qualified students with disabilities, not just the amount of credits that an organization received for the prior year. The bill would also allow certain neighborhood organizations that provide scholastic assistance services, defined as scholastic assistance organizations, to be eligible to receive an allocation of education improvement scholarship tax credits and establishes guidelines for receiving such an allocation. 

Required Immunizations; Acellular Pertussis Booster HB 2215 (Bourne) would extend the time by which an acellular pertussis booster shall be administered from prior to entry into the sixth grade to prior to entry into the seventh grade.

Free Public Elementary and Secondary Education; Eligibility Criteria HB 2297 (Simon) would require every person of school age to be deemed to reside in a school division for the purpose of eligibility for free public elementary and secondary education in such school division when all or any portion of the building in which such person resides with certain other individuals or as an emancipated minor is taxable by the locality in which the school division is located.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; Meetings Held Through Electronic Communication Means SB 1182 (Stuart) would clarify that certain requirements of current law regarding participation in public meetings through electronic communication means do not apply to meetings held to address a state of emergency declared by the Governor, specifically the requirements that public bodies adopt a written policy regarding participation by electronic communication, have a quorum of a public body physically assembled at a primary or central location, and make arrangements for the voice of any member participating from a remote location to be heard by all persons at the primary or central location.

Required Training of Local Elected Officials SB 1430 (Obenshain) would require all local elected officials to take training on the provisions of the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act at least once every two years. The bill would require such officials in office on July 1, 2019, to complete such training no later than December 31, 2019. The bill would also prohibit an attorney for the Commonwealth from serving simultaneously as a county, city, or town attorney. The bill would require the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council (the Council) to offer guidance to any person who contacts the Council with an inquiry regarding ethics, conflicts issues, or a person's duties under the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act, the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act, or lobbying laws. SB 1431 (Obenshain) would require the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council to provide, and local elected officials to complete, training on the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill would require local elected officials to complete such training at least once every two years while they are in office. The bill would also eliminate the three-day notice requirement for a hearing on a petition for mandamus or injunction alleging a violation of the Act.

State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act; School Boards and School Employees; Hiring of Relatives SB 1491 (Chafin) would remove the prohibition for a school board to hire or employ, or for a division superintendent to recommend to the school board for employment, a relative of the school division superintendent.