Del. Shelly Simonds

Establishment of recovery high schools; authorizationin certain Superintendent's regions. Authorizes any school boardthat governs a school division located in Superintendent's Region2, 4, or 7 to establish a recovery high school in the relevant schooldivision as a year-round high school (i) for which enrollment isopen to any high school student who resides in the relevant Superintendent'sregion and is in the early stages of recovery from substance usedisorder or dependency and (ii) for the purpose of providing suchstudents with the academic, emotional, and social support necessaryto make progress toward earning a high school diploma and reintegratinginto a traditional high school setting.

Superintendent of Public Instruction; employmentof certified school library specialists. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ in the Department of Education atleast one certified school library specialist who serves in a politicallynonpartisan manner and who fulfills several duties enumerated inthe bill, including providing leadership and technical assistancewith the implementation and use of information literacy skills tosupport student achievement for local school divisions, Departmentstaff, and other stakeholders and directing the implementation ofstate and national school library standards and consulting with andproviding technical assistance to local school divisions relatingto such standards.

Study; joint committee of the House Committeeon Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health tostudy fair school funding reform; report. Establishes a jointcommittee consisting of five members of the House Committee on Educationand three members of the Senate Committee on Education and Healthto study fair school funding reform by, among other things, identifyingand commissioning an independent firm with certain qualificationsto produce an adequacy cost study on Virginia's K-12 public schoolsand utilizing the findings from such study, the recommendations from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission in its July 2023report, "Virginia's K-12 Funding Formula," and any stakeholder inputand feedback received by the joint committee to produce and submitto the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriationsand the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by November1, 2025, a set of recommendations on transitioning Virginia's K-12funding system to one that is student need-based.

Commending the Honorable Thomas K. Norment,Jr.

Celebrating the life of the Honorable GeorgeJames Kostel.

Commending Mark E. Smith.

Collective bargaining by firefighters and emergency medical services providers. Authorizes firefighters and emergency medical services providers employed by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth to engage in collective bargaining through labor organizations or other designated representatives. The bill provides for the appointment of a three-member board of arbitration regarding any dispute arising between an employer and firefighters or emergency medical services providers. Under the bill, determinations made by such board of arbitration are final on a disputed issue and are binding on the parties involved.

Commending Voodoo Brewing Company Virginia Beach.

Commending Peter A. Blake.

Celebrating the life of Michelle Antonette Leete.