Board of Education; development of alternative graduation pathways to earn a Standard Diploma; report. Directs the Board of Education to develop alternative graduation pathways to earn a Standard Diploma that are designed to expand opportunities for students to complete the verified credit requirements for the Standard Diploma that do not require achieving a passing score on applicable Standards of Learning assessments. In developing such alternative graduation pathways, the bill directs the Board to (i) consult with and integrate the perspectives of a broad range of relevant stakeholders; (ii) consider alignment with the competencies articulated in the Profile of a Virginia Graduate; (iii) consider certain elements for incorporation into such alternative pathways, including nonassessment demonstrations of competence, alternative assessments that could be used in lieu of or alongside Standards of Learning assessments, and pathway structures or elements designed to encourage hands-on learning and civic engagement; (iv) ensure that any such alternative graduation pathways do not impact or replace the current requirements for earning a Standard Diploma or an Advanced Studies Diploma; (v) ensure at least one alternative pathway is developed that includes a nonassessment demonstration of competence; and (vi) consider next steps for approval and implementation of such alternative graduation pathways. Finally, the bill directs the Board to submit to the Governor and Chairs of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by January 1, 2027, a report detailing the Board's progress in developing alternative graduation pathways to earn a Standard Diploma, in accordance with the provisions of the bill.
Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling
Sponsored bills
Equity in public school funding and staffing; special education students; at-risk students; annual report. Establishes in Standard of Quality 2 the At-Risk Program and a state-supported add-on for special education students and requires corresponding formulas for the funding of such initiatives to be established in the general appropriation act. The bill also requires the Department of Education to report annually to the House Committees on Education and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and on Education and Health the total and per pupil annual operating expenditures from local, state, and federal sources in each school division and the change in expenditures from each such source over the immediately preceding two-year, three-year, and five-year timeframes, expressed in both dollar amounts and percentages.
Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for any individual diagnosed with such a condition on or after July 1, 2027.
Civilian deaths in custody; failure to comply with annual report; funding for local and regional adult correctional facilities. Requires the State Board of Local and Regional Jails to notify the Office of the Governor if any local or regional correctional facility fails to send reports with information required by law regarding civilian deaths in custody within 10 days. If such facility fails to comply within 10 days, the bill allows the Governor discretion to direct the Comptroller to withhold all further payment to such facility of all funds, or of any part of them, appropriated and payable by the Commonwealth to such facility, for any and all purposes, until such correctional facility complies.
State correctional facilities; participation of prisoners in employment and educational programs; reentry planning. Expands the program assignments in which the Director of the Department of Corrections may place a prisoner while such prisoner is confined in a state correctional facility. The bill requires the Director to place a prisoner in an appropriate program assignment within (i) 90 days of the arrival of a prisoner sentenced to a new term of confinement to a state correctional facility or (ii) 60 days of a prisoner already in custody being transferred to a new state correctional facility and provides that participation in such program assignments shall be for an average of 30 hours per week, calculated individually across the calendar year. Finally, the bill expands upon the requirements for a prisoner's reentry plan, including requiring an assessment, if necessary, of a prisoner's readiness to take a high school equivalency test and any modifications needed for the prisoner to take or improve upon such test, and making available peer and group educational programs developed and led by qualified prisoners.
Statewide housing targets for localities. Requires localities to increase their total housing stock by at least 7.5 percent over the five-year period beginning January 1, 2028. The bill provides that in order to meet such 7.5 percent growth target, a locality shall develop a housing growth plan that best meets the needs of the locality while meeting the growth target rates. The bill provides that such plan may include any strategy deemed appropriate by the locality; however, for purposes of demonstrating a good faith effort to meet growth targets, a locality shall include modeling that demonstrates that the plan will result in the permitting of the required number of units and either (i) a zoning ordinance that includes provisions allowing for the by-right development and construction of multifamily residential uses on at least 75 percent of all land contained in commercial or business zoning district classifications, including any land contained in commercial or business zoning district classifications that allow for the by-right development and construction of single-family residential uses or (ii) at least three of the housing growth strategies enumerated in the bill. The bill further provides that after January 1, 2033, an applicant that seeks local government approval for a residential development site plan or rezoning that will have the effect of increasing the supply of housing in a locality and has that application rejected may, in addition to other remedies, appeal such decision to the board of zoning appeals.
Elections; election offenses; intimidation and threats toward election officials; penalty. Removes the requirement that a person willfully hinder or prevent an election official from administering elections in order to be found guilty of intimidation and threats toward such official, which is a Class 5 felony under current law.
Voter registration; regular periodic review of registration records. Requires the Department of Elections to complete, not later than 90 days prior to the date of a primary or general election, any program the purpose of which is to systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the voter registration system based on evidence of ineligibility, including evidence of lack of eligible residence or evidence of noncitizenship. This restriction is not to be construed to preclude (i) the removal of names from the voter registration system at the request of the registrant or as provided by existing law by reason of criminal conviction or mental incapacity or the death of the registrant if the triggering conviction, incapacity order, or death occurred within 120 days of the election or (ii) the correction of details, such as name and address, in a voter's registration record that does not result in the removal of a voter from the voter registration system. Under current law, such restriction only applies to federal primaries and federal general elections. The bill also provides a process for confirming a voter's citizenship status prior to cancellation based on a report of non-citizen status and extends (a) the period of time registrars have to cancel registrations from 30 days to 60 days after notification of the need to cancel by the Department of Elections and (b) the period of time a registered voter has to respond to a notice of cancellation related to citizenship status from 14 days to 28 days.
Department of Housing and Community Development; Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity. Creates the Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity to study the misvaluation and undervaluation of real property owned by minority individuals to combat bias in real property appraisal and valuation. The bill requires the Task Force to meet at least annually and to report to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1 of each year regarding its activities and any recommendations. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2029.
Public institutions of higher education; tuition and mandatory fees charged to Virginia students. Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of the general appropriation act, law, regulation, or policy to the contrary, (i) for the purpose of state support for Virginia students at public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth, all fees associated with essential student services, including fees for student health services, student immigration services, and student technology services, shall be considered part of the tuition and mandatory education and general fees charged to such students and (ii) no public institution of higher education shall annually increase the total of all mandatory non-education and general fees charged to Virginia students by more than three percent of the total of such fees charged to Virginia students for the immediately preceding academic year.