Russia; boycott of goods and services. Encouragingall residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia to boycott all goodsand services originating in Russia.
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; baccalaureate public institutions of higher education; productivity analysis. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to conduct and submit to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than December 1, 2022, a productivity analysis of each baccalaureate public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth that includes, among other metrics, an analysis of the (i) ten-year trend in the ratio of students to full-time equivalent faculty per academic program, (ii) published student to faculty ratio as a benchmark, (iii) completion rate per academic program, and (iv) plans to address both outlying low and outlying high student demand for academic programs.
Board of Education; high school graduation;alternative pathways to the advanced studies diploma; associateddiploma seals. Directs the Board of Education to establish pathwaysto the advanced studies high school diploma, and associated diplomaseals for students who successfully follow and demonstrate excellence on such pathways, that require advanced coursework in career and technical education in lieu of world language courses or any otherrequired course that the Board deems appropriate. The bill requiressuch pathways and diploma seals to become effective for the 2023-2024school year and to be available to any student, regardless of theschool year during which the student enters ninth grade.
Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts established.Permits the parents of qualified students, defined in the bill, to apply to the school division in which the qualified student residesfor a one-year, renewable Parental Choice Education Savings Accountthat consists of an amount that is equivalent to a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the residentschool division in which the qualified student resides, includingthe per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per pupil share of special education funding for which thequalified student is eligible. The bill permits the parent of thequalified student to use the moneys in such account for certain education-relatedexpenses of the qualified student, including tuition, deposits, fees,and required textbooks at a private elementary school or secondaryschool that is located in the Commonwealth. The bill also contains provisions relating to auditing, rescinding, and reviewing expensesmade from such accounts.
Commending Bob Sasser.
STEM+C; Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board. Adds science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computing (STEM+C), which includes real-world, interdisciplinary, and computational instruction and preparation of students in STEM+C, to the list of topics that shall be included in the Standards of Learning for the Commonwealth. The bill also directs the Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board to develop and submit to the Board of Education (i) a rubric that shall be used by the Board of Education in setting out what factors permit a school to be defined as a STEM school and (ii) recommendations for the Board to create a measurement for quality of STEM programming in general education instruction. The bill also directs the Virginia STEM Education Advisory Board to draft and report to the Department of Education proposed common language and terminology that better defines the basic literacies employed in STEM+C as methodological approaches to solving universal human challenges and, as essential, generalizable and transferable literacy toward the application of skills and content needed to solve those challenges. The bill also directs the Department of Education, based on such proposed language and terminology and no later than December 1, 2022, to recommend finalized language and terminology to the Board of Education. The bill clarifies that nothing in the foregoing provisions of the bill shall be construed to establish any new course or credit requirements for students.
World Polio Day. Designates October 24,in 2022 and in each succeeding year, as World Polio Day in Virginia.
Girl Scout Week. Designates the week ofMarch 12, in 2022 and in each succeeding year, as Girl Scout Weekin Virginia.
Income tax; standard deduction. Increasesthe standard deduction, starting with taxable year 2022, from $4,500to $9,000 for single filers and from $9,000 to $18,000 for married filers (one-half of such amount in the case of a married individualfiling a separate return). The increase would remain in effect fortaxable years 2026 and after, when, under current law, the standard deduction is scheduled to be reduced to $3,000 for single filersand to $6,000 for married filers.
Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act; minimum rights. Provides that the rights accorded to law-enforcement officers in the Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act are minimum rights and all law-enforcement agencies shall adopt grievance procedures that are consistent with such rights. The bill removes the current exception from the provisions of the Law-Enforcement Officers Procedural Guarantee Act for any law-enforcement officer or law-enforcement agency that serves under the authority of a locality that has established a law-enforcement civilian oversight body.
