Del. Kaye Kory

Declares it the goal of the Commonwealth that each child who is deaf or hard of hearing is (i) as linguistically ready for kindergarten as his peers who are not deaf or hard of hearing and (ii) receptively and expressively literate in English and literate in written English by the end of third grade. The bill requires each agency of the Commonwealth that is responsible for providing services to children who are deaf or hard of hearing to collaborate to provide unified and seamless services for each such child from the onset of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention process through the end of his elementary and secondary school career. The bill also establishes a 14-member Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children's Advisory Subcommittee within the Disability Commission to advise the Commission on the provision of services in the Commonwealth for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Requires health benefit plans to cover the costs of specified health care services, drugs, devices, products, and procedures related to reproductive health, including (i) well-woman preventive visits; (ii) counseling for sexually transmitted infections; (iii) screening for certain conditions; (iv) folic acid supplements; (v) breastfeeding support, counseling, and supplies; (vi) breast cancer chemoprevention counseling; (vii) contraceptive drugs, devices, or products; (viii) voluntary sterilization; and (ix) any additional preventive services for women that must be covered without cost sharing under federal law as of January 1, 2017. The mandated coverage does not include abortion services other than when performed when the life of the mother is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or when the pregnancy is the result of an alleged act of rape or incest. The measure provides an exemption for plans sold to religious employers. Carriers are prohibited from excluding a covered person from participating in, being denied the benefits of, or otherwise being subjected to discrimination in the coverage of or payment for reproductive health services, and a violation constitutes an unfair trade practice. The health benefit plan requirements become effective when a plan is delivered, issued for delivery, reissued, or extended in the Commonwealth on and after January 1, 2019, or at any time thereafter when any term of the health benefit plan is changed or any premium adjustment is made.

Declares eligible for in-state tuition any individual who (i) attended a public or private high school in the Commonwealth for at least three years; (ii) graduated from a public or private high school in the Commonwealth or passed a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education; (iii) registers as an entering student at or is enrolled in a public institution of higher education; (iv) provides an affidavit to the public institution of higher education at which he has registered as an entering student or is enrolled stating that he has filed an application to become a permanent resident of the United States and is actively pursuing such permanent residency or will do so as soon as he becomes eligible for such permanent residency; and (v) submits evidence to the institution at which he has registered as an entering student or is enrolled that he, or in the case of a dependent student, at least one parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis, has filed, unless exempted by state law, Virginia income tax returns for at least three years prior to the date of registration as an entering student or enrollment. The bill provides that any such individual shall remain eligible for in-state tuition for as long as he maintains continuous enrollment in the public institution of higher education and his application for permanent residency has not been denied. The bill also prohibits any student who became eligible for in-state tuition as a result of his lawful presence in the United States pursuant to approval under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or any other federal deferred action program from being deemed ineligible for in-state tuition by virtue of the elimination or modification of any such program.