Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra

Purchase, possession, sale, transfer, etc.,of assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices prohibited;penalty. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who imports,sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses, transports, or transfersan assault firearm, as that term is defined in the bill, and prohibitsa person who has been convicted of such violation from purchasing,possessing, or transporting a firearm for a period of three yearsfrom the date of conviction. The bill provides that an assault firearmdoes not include any firearm that is an antique firearm, has been rendered permanently inoperable, is manually operated by bolt, pump,lever, or slide action, or was manufactured before July 1, 2024.The bill also prohibits the sale of a large capacity ammunition feedingdevice, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill provides thatany person who willfully and intentionally (i) sells an assault firearmto another person or (ii) purchases an assault firearm from anotherperson is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and that any person whoimports, sells, barters, or transfers a large capacity ammunition feeding device is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill alsomakes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person younger than 21 yearsof age to import, sell, manufacture, purchase, possess, transport,or transfer an assault firearm regardless of the date of manufactureof such assault firearm.

Health insurance; coverage for contraceptivedrugs and devices. Requires health insurance carriers to providecoverage, under any health insurance contract, policy, or plan thatincludes coverage for prescription drugs on an outpatient basis,for contraceptive drugs and contraceptive devices, as defined inthe bill, approved for use as prescribed products or for over-the-counteruse. The bill prohibits a health insurance carrier from imposingupon any person receiving contraceptive benefits pursuant to theprovisions of the bill any copayment, coinsurance payment, or fee, except in certain circumstances. The provisions of the bill applyto health insurance contracts, policies, or plans delivered, issuedfor delivery, or renewed on and after January 1, 2025.

Equity in public school funding; student need; English language learner, special education, and 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. The bill is a recommendation of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.

Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees;temporary foreign workers. Eliminates the exemptions from Virginia'sminimum wage requirements for (i) persons employed as farm laborers or farm employees and (ii) certain temporary foreign workers. This bill incorporates HB 866.

Employment discrimination; employee notification of federal and state statute of limitations. Requires an employer that employs 10 or more employees and that receives an employee complaint alleging sexual assault, harassment, or any other form of discrimination for which the employee may seek enforcement by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Office of the Attorney General to notify such employee that a charge may be filed with the EEOC or the Office of the Attorney General within 300 days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred. The bill also requires an employer to provide this information as part of any new employee training provided at the commencement of employment or anti-discrimination training provided to an employee.

Public elementary and secondary schools; programs of instruction; mental health education; curriculum guidelines; instruction required. Requires each public elementary, middle, and high school to provide at each grade level, in addition to health instruction, an additional age-appropriate course of instruction on mental health. The bill directs the Board of Education to develop mental health curriculum guidelines for an age-appropriate, sequential mental health curriculum for each grade level and requires such curriculum guidelines to include instruction on (i) general themes of social and emotional learning, including self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, relationship skills, and social awareness; (ii) the signs and symptoms of common mental health challenges; (iii) mental health wellness and healthy strategies for coping with stress and negative feelings, including conflict resolution skills; (iv) the importance of and guidance on seeking assistance from an adult or mental health professional, including information on services offered within the school or the local school division; (v) the prevalence of mental health challenges and the importance of overcoming common stigmas surrounding such mental health challenges; (vi) the importance of mental health to a student's overall well-being, including physical health and academic success; and (vii) at such grade levels as the Board deems appropriate, the connection between mental health and substance use disorders and the safe use of and risks of abuse of prescription drugs. The bill permits the Board to consult with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and other mental health experts in developing such curriculum guidelines and requires the Board to submit such guidelines to the State Board of Health for approval. The bill requires the Board to review and update by the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year the health Standards of Learning for each grade level to include such instruction on the mental health curriculum guidelines.

Public education; community schools; Officeof Community Schools at Department of Education; Community SchoolDevelopment and Implementation Planning Grant; Community School CoordinatorProgram; state goal. Requires the Department of Education toestablish the Office of Community Schools as an office within theDepartment for the purpose of supporting the development and growthof community schools throughout the Commonwealth in accordance withthe Virginia Community School Framework and requires the Office toestablish and administer (i) the Community School Development andImplementation Planning Grant for the purpose of providing grantsto school boards that seek to designate any school within the local school division as a community school to assist with the planningand implementation of such designation and (ii) the Community SchoolCoordinator Program for the purpose of providing funding to school boards that previously completed a planning grant and now seek toemploy or hire through contracted services with a qualified nonprofitorganization a community school coordinator to oversee any communityschool designated in the local school division. The bill also establishesa state goal of prioritizing funding for such initiatives and grantprograms to enable their expansion to serve the top 33 percent ofpublic elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth for highestidentified student percentage, as defined in the bill, based on datafrom the immediately preceding school year.

Contract actions; medical debt. Provides that in any action, including those brought by the Commonwealth, upon any contract to collect medical debt, as defined in the bill, such an action is barred if not commenced within three years from the due date applicable to the first invoice for a health care service unless the contract with a hospital or health care provider is for a payment plan that allows for a longer period of time for the collection of debt by the hospital or health care provider. The bill specifies that such limitation shall not apply to medical debt arising from services provided by programs administered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services.

Kinship as Foster Care Prevention Program established. Establishes the Kinship as Foster Care Prevention Program to promoteand support placements of children with relatives by local boardsof social services in order to avoid foster care. The bill providesthat a child is eligible to participate in the Program if the localboard determines that (i) the child is at imminent risk of beingremoved from his home and a preliminary protective order is insufficientto address the child's immediate safety concerns and (ii) the child'sparent or guardian consents to the placement of the child with arelative pursuant to an agreement with the local board developedin accordance with the provisions of the bill.

Public institutions of higher education; Hunger-FreeCampus Grant Program established; report. Establishes the Hunger-FreeCampus Grant Program (the Program) to address student food insecurityat public institutions of higher education. The bill provides thatthe Program shall be managed by the State Council of Higher Educationfor Virginia and available for participation by public institutions of higher education; however, participation in the Program shallbe optional for such institutions. Under the bill, if a public institutionof higher education satisfies certain criteria set out in the bill,including creating initiatives on campus to address student foodinsecurity, it shall be designated as a "Hunger-Free Campus" andthe Council shall award a grant to such institution. A public institutionof higher education that receives a grant under the bill shall utilizethe funds to support on-campus efforts and initiatives to eliminatestudent food insecurity at such institution. The bill requires theCouncil to submit a report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committeeon Education and Health and the House Committee on Education no laterthan two years after the establishment of the Program.