Department of Education; plan to revise specialeducation staffing requirements; report. Directs the Departmentof Education, in collaboration with the Department of BehavioralHealth and Developmental Services and any other individuals withexpertise in special education as the Department of Education deemsappropriate, to develop a plan for revised special education staffingrequirements that addresses staffing needs of individual school divisionsand the needs of students who receive special education and aimsto improve special education teacher recruitment and retention. Thebill requires the Department of Education to submit a report on suchplan to the Governor, the Senate Committee on Education and Health,and the House Committee on Education by November 1, 2024. This bill was incorporated into SB 105.
Public school funding; certain calculations.Places several parameters on Standards of Quality funding calculationsperformed by the Department of Education, including (i) requiringthe Department, when calculating the cost of salaries under the Standardsof Quality funding formula, to include facilities staff and transportationstaff salaries in the calculation of any cost of competing adjustmentto salaries for instructional and support positions that is providedas part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to the general appropriationact; (ii) requiring the Department, when estimating the cost of anycompensation supplement for instructional and support positions underthe Standards of Quality funding formula, to include and estimatethe cost of such a compensation supplement for facilities staff;(iii) prohibiting the Department from applying any cap on inflationrate adjustments to non-personal cost categories during the biennialprocess of rebenchmarking the direct aid to public education budget;and (iv) requiring the Department to utilize a three-year averageof the most recently available data to calculate the composite indexof local ability-to-pay for each school division. This bill was incorporated into SB 105.
Public school staffing ratios; school counselors; specialized student support positions. Decreases from one to325 to one to 250 the ratio of full-time equivalent school counselorsrequired to be employed by each local school board per student enrolledin the local school division. The bill also increases the numberof specialized student support positions required to be employedby each local school board from at least three to at least four suchpositions per 1,000 students in the local school division. Such specializedstudent support positions include school social workers, school psychologists,school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavioranalysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions. This bill was incorporated into SB 105.
Public school funding; English language learnerstudents and children with disabilities. Requires, in additionto the positions supported by basic aid, state funding, pursuantto the general appropriation act, to be provided to cover (i) theactual average school division cost to educate children with disabilitiesand (ii) a per-pupil Standards of Quality funding add-on for Englishlanguage learner and special education students. This bill was incorporated into SB 105.
Public elementary and secondary schools; studentathletes; pre-participation mental health assessment required. Providesthat no public elementary or secondary school student is permittedto be a participant on or try out for any school athletic team orsquad with a predetermined roster, regular practices, and scheduledcompetitions with other elementary or secondary schools unless suchstudent has submitted to the school principal a signed report froma licensed physician, licensed advanced practice registered nurse,or licensed physician assistant acting under the supervision of a licensed physician attesting that such student has, within the preceding365 days, received both a physical examination and a mental healthassessment. Current law only requires that the signed report attestthat any such student has received a physical examination within thepreceding 12 months. The bill prohibits any public elementary orsecondary school from becoming a member of any organization or entitythat regulates or governs interscholastic programs that does notdeem eligible for participation any student who has satisfied therequirements for eligibility in accordance with the provisions ofthe bill. The provisions of the bill other than the requirement forthe Board of Education to convene a work group have a delayed effectivedate of July 1, 2025.
Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Team established;penalty; report. Establishes the Fetal and Infant Mortality ReviewTeam to develop and implement procedures to ensure that fetal andinfant deaths occurring in the Commonwealth are analyzed in a systematicway. The bill requires the Team to compile triennial statisticaldata regarding fetal and infant deaths and to make such data availableto the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Department of Health. The bill provides that information and records obtained or createdby the Team and portions of meetings of the Team at which individualfetal and infant deaths are discussed shall be confidential.
Child abuse and neglect; mandatory reporters; statute of limitations; penalties. Adds aggravated sexual battery of a child and attempted rape, sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, or object sexual penetration of a child to the list of offenses for which a failure to report subjects a mandatory reporter to criminal liability. The bill further requires that a prosecution for any misdemeanor violation for failing to report certain sexual acts committed against a minor be commenced within one year of the discovery of the offense. This bill was incorporated into HB 1542.
Board of Medicine; Board of Nursing; joint licensing of advanced practice registered nurses and licensed certified midwives. Moves the professions of advanced practice registered nurses and licensed certified midwives from being licensed jointly by the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing to being licensed by the Board of Nursing only.
Board of Education; creation and maintenance of Virginia Parent Data Portal. Requires the Board of Education, on or before July 1, 2025, to create and maintain the Virginia Parent Data Portal that, among other things, (i) displays individualized student assessment data on all state-supported assessments, as that term is defined in the bill, (a) in a format that shows both current and cumulative data over time and (b) within 45 days of a state-supported assessment window closing for each state-supported assessment; (ii) provides a description of the purpose of each state-supported assessment, an explanation of how to interpret student data on each state-supported assessment, and a comparison of a student's performance on each state-supported assessment with the performance of the student's school, the student's school division, and the Commonwealth; (iii) is viewable from a mobile device in addition to a desktop computer; and (iv) provides functionality to enable school division personnel to manage and restrict user access to students and their parents.The bill requires the Board and the Department of Education to provide certain guidance and technical assistance to local school divisions on professional development for principals and teachers in parent engagement on and interpretation of student assessment data available through the Portal and requires each school board to annually provide high-quality professional development to principals and teachers on such topics.The bill satisfies the reenactment requirement of Chapter 652 of the Acts of Assembly of 2023.
Early childhood care and education; publicly funded providers; exemption from licensure for certain child day programs. Excepts military child care fee assistance or any child care subsidy paid by a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States from the federal funds that would otherwise render a child day program as a "publicly funded provider," as that term is defined and used in relevant law relating to early childhood care and education. The bill also exempts from licensure by the Superintendent of Public Instruction any child day program that (i) serves only dependent children of military personnel and (ii) (a) is located on a military base or federal property or (b) is certified as a family child care provider by a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States and provides that any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or its agent, including an installation commander of a military base on which a child day program is located, may assume responsibility for approving or determining which children may be served by the program that is so exempted from licensure. This bill was incorporated into SB 702.
Electric utilities; energy efficiency programs; duty to implement the Energy Policy of the Commonwealth; RPS program requirements; competitive procurement. Provides that "in the public interest" for the purpose of assessing energy efficiency programs means that the State Corporation Commission determines that the program is cost-effective and directs the Commission to initiate a proceeding no later than December 31, 2025, to establish a single, consistent cost-effectiveness test for use in evaluating proposed energy efficiency programs.The bill provides (i) that "total electric energy" for purposes of the RPS Program requirements does not include energy sold to certain customers purchasing 100 percent renewable energy and (ii) that in any RPS program compliance year, any electric energy that was generated in the previous calendar year from certain nuclear generating plants, or any zero-carbon electric generating facilities, including small modular nuclear reactors and green hydrogen facilities, will reduce the utility's RPS Program requirements by an equivalent amount.The bill provides that the Commission and its staff have the affirmative duty to ensure the Commonwealth implements the Energy Policy of the Commonwealth at the lowest reasonable cost, taking into account all cost-effective demand-side management options and the security and reliability benefits of the regional transmission entity to which each incumbent electric utility has joined.The bill requires that for certain required petitions by Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia for approvals to construct, acquire, or purchase the generating capacity using energy derived from sunlight or onshore wind, at least 35 percent of such generating capacity is from the purchases of energy from solar or onshore wind facilities owned by persons other than such utilities. Current law requires 35 percent of such generating capacity to be from the purchases of energy from solar or onshore wind facilities owned by persons other than such utilities.
Public school funding; certain calculations; certain support services positions; programs for at-risk students. Places several parameters on Standards of Quality funding calculations performed by the Department of Education, including (i) requiring the Department, when calculating the cost of salaries under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include facilities staff and transportation staff salaries in the calculation of any cost of competing adjustment to salaries for instructional and support positions that is provided as part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to the general appropriation act; (ii) requiring the Department, when estimating the cost of any compensation supplement for instructional and support positions under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include and estimate the cost of such a compensation supplement for facilities staff; (iii) prohibiting the Department from applying any cap on inflation rate adjustments to non-personal cost categories during the biennial process of rebenchmarking the direct aid to public education budget; and (iv) requiring the Department to utilize a three-year average of the most recently available data to calculate the composite index of local ability-to-pay for each school division. The bill also amends Standard of Quality 2 by (a) including in the definition of "support services position" any central office clerical position that is not otherwise set forth in such definition, (b) requiring a per-pupil Standards of Quality funding add-on to be provided for English language learner and special education students, (c) requiring, in addition to the positions supported by basic aid, state funding, pursuant to the general appropriation act, to be provided to cover the actual average school division cost to educate children with disabilities, and (d) establishing the At-Risk Program, defined in the bill as any state funding provided for programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation or pursuant to the at-risk add-on for the purpose of supporting programs for students who are educationally at risk. The bill requires (1) the determination of the amount of state funding for which a school division is eligible pursuant to such At-Risk Program to be based on the school division's identified student percentage, defined in the bill as the fraction, expressed as a percentage, that results from dividing the number of identified students enrolled in a school division by the total number of students enrolled in such school division, weighted by the factor of 1.5, and then adjusted by the addition of a percentage that corrects for undercounting English language learner students as identified students and (2) such funding to be distributed as follows: 60 percent on a flat per-student rate and 40 percent on a variable rate set out in the general appropriation act based on the concentration of poverty in the school division. This bill was incorporated into SB 105.
