Del. Nicole Cole

Average teacher salary in the Commonwealth; national average. Requires the Governor's introduced budget bills for the 2027 and 2028 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 2027 or 2028 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 fiscal year 2029 and establishes a detailed timeline and process for satisfying such requirement.

Local governing bodies; school division budgets; funding levels. Requires the annual budget for educational purposes prepared and approved by each local governing body to meet or exceed the funding levels set out in the needs-based budget prepared and approved by the school board and submitted by the division superintendent in accordance with relevant law.

Department of Social Services; children in foster care; supplemental clothing allowance rate increase. Directs the Virginia Department of Social Services to increase the supplemental clothing allowance rate for children in foster care by 30 percent.

Division superintendents; evaluations. Requires each division superintendent performance evaluation to include a self-evaluation component in which the division superintendent describes the specific ways in which he supports student achievement and his goals and plans for improving student achievement. The bill requires each local school board to submit each annual division superintendent performance evaluation to the Department of Education no later than September 30 of the school year following such evaluation for a review of the consistency of the evaluation with the performance objectives set forth in Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers, Administrators, and Superintendents.

Department of Education; annual school division health insurance premium data collection and reporting; publication; requirements; regulations. Requires, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, (i) each school board to annually collect and submit to the Department of Education certain health insurance premium data for the employees of the school board for the preceding fiscal year in accordance with the provisions of the bill and (ii) the Department to annually (a) compile the health insurance premium data submitted by each school board; (b) include such data in the Annual School Report required pursuant to applicable law; and (c) publish the compilation of such data on its website in a format that allows comparison of the data across school divisions, plan types, and coverage levels. The bill directs the Board of Education to promulgate such regulations as necessary for the implementation and administration of the annual school division health insurance premium data collection and reporting in accordance with the provisions of the bill.

Commonwealth Savers Plan; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; Virginia College Access and Affordability Scholarship Fund established; work group; report. Directs the transfer of actuarial surplus defined benefit prepaid tuition contract funds from the Commonwealth Savers Plan (the Plan) Fund into a DB529 Fund established by the bill to be deposited into the Virginia College Access and Affordability Scholarship Fund (the Access Fund) established by the bill. Under the bill, the DB529 Fund and the Access Fund operate as subfunds of the Commonwealth Savers Plan Fund. The bill further provides that the Plan shall initially deposit $500 million from the DB529 Fund into the Access Fund to be invested and managed by the Plan. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall no less than biennially complete an independent evaluation and risk assessment of the Plan's risk assessment model, assumptions, and other measures employed by the Plan related to the DB529 Fund and the Access Fund. Funds in the Access Fund shall be used to establish a scholarship program that is managed and administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (the Council). The scholarship program provides scholarship awards to students enrolled in an eligible education program, defined in the bill, and a portion of the funds are to be devoted to college access resources or programs to assist low-income students, first generation college students, students from underrepresented communities, or other at-risk students with their introduction to the higher education system in Virginia, college applications, financial aid applications, and resources assisting with a successful transition from high school to college. The Council is required to report on the Access Fund and scholarship program no later than December 31 of each year. Finally, the bill (i) directs the Council to establish a work group of higher education stakeholders to make recommendations on allocations of funds available through the Access Fund and scholarship program and directs the work group to report to the House Committees on Education and Appropriations and Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations no later than November 1, 2026, and (ii) prohibits the Plan from implementing or taking part in any initiatives relating to the aforementioned college access programs on or after July 1, 2026, except for existing access programs related to a prepaid tuition contract entered into on or before June 30, 2026, and existing program offerings made available for SOAR Virginia and GEAR UP Virginia.

Court fines and fees; indigent defendant; waiver of fees. Provides that in any criminal or traffic case, the court may waive the assessment of certain fees specified in the bill, either wholly or in part, if the court determines the defendant to be indigent pursuant to the financial criteria set forth in relevant law and unable to pay such fee. The bill provides that the court may make such determination sua sponte or upon motion of the defendant at any time prior to the entry of an order for which such fee is assessed or the final order has been entered.

Extreme Weather Taxpayer Protection Program and Fund established. Establishes the Extreme Weather Taxpayer Protection Program and Fund, administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, for the purpose of holding parties responsible for covered greenhouse gas emissions between the covered period of January 1, 1995, and December 31, 2025, for the parties' share of the Commonwealth's costs due to climate change. The bill defines responsible parties as fossil fuel extractors or crude oil refiners causing emissions of one billion metric tons or more of covered greenhouse gases during the covered period. Under the bill, responsible parties are strictly liable for cost recovery payments to the Commonwealth. The bill requires the State Treasurer to conduct an assessment of the costs to the Commonwealth and its residents of the emissions of covered greenhouse gases during the covered period. The bill establishes the Extreme Weather Relief Fund into which the cost recovery payments from responsible entities are deposited and used to pay for extreme weather relief projects, as defined in the bill.

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Office of Small Farms and Virginia Small Farms Fund established; report. Creates, within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Office of Small Farms, headed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The bill authorizes the Office to facilitate the growth and development of small farms, as defined in the bill, in the Commonwealth and support and expand programs for such farms. The bill creates the Virginia Small Farms Fund to provide funding to administer the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Resources to submit a written report on the operation of the Office by December 1 of each year to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources.

Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program; small farms. Provides that no less than 30 percent of the funds distributed to the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program used for matching grants for agricultural best management practices shall be granted to small farms, as defined in the bill.