Del. Laura Jane Cohen

Average teacher salary in the Commonwealth; national average. Requires the Governor's introduced budget bills for the 2026 and 2027 Regular Sessions of the General Assembly to propose funding for, and state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act enacted during any regular or special session of the General Assembly during 2026 or 2027 to fund, the Commonwealth's share of compensation supplement incentives for Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions sufficient to increase the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth to at least the national average teacher salary by the end of the 2026-2028 biennium and establishes a detailed timeline and process for satisfying such requirement.

Virginia Preschool Initiative; Kindergarten Readiness Fund established. Establishes the Kindergarten Readiness Fund and provides that all balances of state general funds intended for the provision of services to families through the Virginia Preschool Initiative that are unspent at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Kindergarten Readiness Fund and thereafter used in the discretion of the Department of Education solely for the purpose of providing grants on a competitive basis to school divisions to utilize for other currently operated early childhood education programs.

Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education; kindergarten readiness funding proposal; report. Requires the Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education to develop a proposal to increase funding for kindergarten readiness programs with a focus on programs that are already under contract with local school divisions. The bill requires the Commission, in developing such proposal, to consider how such programs can receive Virginia Preschool Initiative grants. The bill requires the Commission to report its proposal and any associated findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than October 1, 2025.

Rights of persons with disabilities; definition of "place of public accommodation." Amends the definition of "place of public accommodation" as it relates to the rights of persons with disabilities to add that a place of public accommodation includes a website that a private entity owns, leases or leases to, or operates and whose operations affect commerce. Under current law, a "place of public accommodation" is defined as a facility that a private entity owns, leases or leases to, or operates and whose operations affect commerce.

Maddy summaryHB 1801 expands the maximum boundary for school crossing zones from 750 feet to 1,500 feet from school property limits. This change directly affects drivers approaching schools, requiring reduced speeds over a larger area surrounding school grounds. The bill modifies existing traffic safety rules to create a broader protected zone for students crossing streets near schools. The proposal is currently under review in the Transportation Committee after a subcommittee recommended removing it from the agenda.

Public school teachers; teacher compensation; Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program established. Establishes the Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program (the Program) for the purpose of addressing shortages of professionally licensed teachers and reducing reliance on provisionally licensed teachers in public schools in the Commonwealth by providing, with such funds as are appropriated for such purpose, an annual supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher, as that term is defined by the bill, employed in any high-vacancy public school in the Commonwealth, defined as any public school that, based on the most recent data in the positions and exits collection, has a teacher vacancy rate that places it in the top 10 percent of public schools with the highest teacher vacancy rates in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Department of Education to administer and oversee the Program and, in doing so, requires it to (i) identify and develop a list, every four years, of each high-vacancy public school in the Commonwealth; (ii) ensure that, each year, such funds are disbursed in a timely manner and in an amount sufficient to provide the supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school in each school division; and (iii) annually submit to the Governor and publish on its website a report detailing the effect of the Program on recruitment and retention of professionally licensed teachers and the overall success of the Program in addressing teacher vacancy rates.

Board of Education; Child Care Subsidy Program; maximum reimbursement rate; vendors providing care outside of normal business hours. Directs the Board of Education to amend its regulations relating to the Child Care Subsidy Program to permit payment over the maximum reimbursable rate for any vendor that provides child care outside of normal business hours, provided that such rate may not exceed twice the maximum reimbursable rate for child care provided within normal business hours.

School breakfasts; availability at no cost to students. Requires each school board to require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to make breakfast available to any student who requests such a meal at no cost to the student, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill requires the Department of Education to reimburse each public elementary and secondary school for each school breakfast served to a student, with a maximum of one breakfast per student per school day and provides the formula for determining the state reimbursement rate for such meals. Finally, the bill repeals a provision of law relating to the federal School Breakfast Program that is rendered obsolete by the provisions of the bill.

Trespass towing fees; State Corporation Commission to establish; report. Repeals the authority for localities to establish trespass towing fees, with exceptions, and requires the State Corporation Commission to establish such fees and adjust such fees annually based on the Transportation Consumer Price Index. The bill permits localities to, by ordinance, allow for and establish reasonable limits on storage fees, administration fees, and additional fees for towing vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds. The bill requires the Commission, beginning November 30, 2030, and every five years thereafter, to submit a report to the General Assembly reviewing the process for adjusting towing rates, provided that funds are appropriated for such review.

Motion picture production tax credit. Increases the aggregate cap on the motion picture production tax credit allocated in each fiscal year from $6.5 million to $8.5 million beginning in fiscal year 2025.