Charter; City of Virginia Beach. Expands the board of equalization in the City of Virginia Beach from three to four members. This bill is identical to SB 274.
Veteran-owned small businesses; waiving of fees. Directs the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, in conjunction with the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, to examine the waiving of fees associated with permits necessary to establish a small business for veteran-owned small businesses. This bill is identical to SB 572.
Virginia Literacy Act; early student literacy; evidence-based literacy instruction; science-based reading research. Makes several changes relating to early student literacy, including requiring (i) each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education or alternative certification program that provides training for any individual seeking initial licensure with an endorsement in a certain area, including as a reading specialist, to demonstrate mastery of science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction, as such terms are defined in the bill; (ii) the literacy assessment required of individuals seeking initial teacher licensure with endorsements in certain areas to include a rigorous test of science-based reading research and evidence-based literacy instruction; (iii) each local school board to establish a divisionwide literacy plan; (iv) each local school board to employ one reading specialist for each 550 students in kindergarten through grade three; and (v) each local school board to provide a program of literacy instruction whereby, among other things, (a) the program provides reading intervention services to students in kindergarten through grade three who demonstrate deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standards of Learning reading assessment or an early literacy screener provided or approved by the Department of Education; (b) a reading specialist, in collaboration with the teacher of any student who receives such reading intervention services, develops, oversees implementation of, and monitors student progress on a student reading plan; and (c) each student who receives such reading intervention services is assessed utilizing either the early literacy screener provided or approved by the Department or the grade-level reading Standards of Learning assessment again at the end of that school year. The provisions of the bill become effective beginning with the 2024–2025 school year. This bill is identical to SB 616.
Language development for children who are deaf or hard of hearing; assessment resources for parents and educators; advisory committee; report. Requires the Department of Education, in coordination with the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing and Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to (i) select, with input from an advisory committee that the bill establishes, language developmental milestones and include such milestones in a resource for use by parents of a child from birth to age five who is identified as deaf or hard of hearing to monitor and track their child's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy; (ii) disseminate such resource to such parents; (iii) select existing tools or assessments for educators for use in assessing the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing; (iv) disseminate such tools or assessments to local educational agencies and provide materials and training on their use; and (v) annually produce a report that compares the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing with the language and literacy development of their peers who are not deaf or hard of hearing and make such report available to the public on its website. The bill states that the advisory committee function shall terminate effective June 30, 2023. This bill is identical to HB 649.
Language development for children who are deaf or hard of hearing; assessment resources for parents and educators; advisory committee; report. Requires the Department of Education, in coordination with the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing and Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to (i) select, with input from an advisory committee that the bill establishes, language developmental milestones and include such milestones in a resource for use by parents of a child from birth to age five who is identified as deaf or hard of hearing to monitor and track their child's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy; (ii) disseminate such resource to such parents; (iii) select existing tools or assessments for educators for use in assessing the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing; (iv) disseminate such tools or assessments to local educational agencies and provide materials and training on their use; and (v) annually produce a report that compares the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing with the language and literacy development of their peers who are not deaf or hard of hearing and make such report available to the public on its website. The bill states that the advisory committee function shall terminate effective June 30, 2023. This bill is identical to SB 265.
Public schools; instruction concerning gambling. Requires instruction concerning gambling and the addictive potential thereof to be provided by the public schools as prescribed by the Board of Education. The bill requires the Board of Education to report to the Chairmen of House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health a description of such instruction.
Special license plates; United States Navy;Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Fund. Authorizes the issuanceof revenue-sharing special license plates with a design that incorporatesthe emblem of the United States Navy to active members and certainveterans of the United States Navy. The bill provides that unremarriedsurviving spouses of such service members may also be issued suchspecial license plates. The bill creates the Navy-Marine Corps ReliefSociety Fund to utilize funds from the license plate fees to supportthe Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society in Virginia.
Human trafficking training for law-enforcement personnel. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish training standards for law-enforcement personnel regarding the recognition, prevention, and reporting of human trafficking. This bill is identical to SB 467.
Military honor guards and veterans service organizations; paramilitary activities; exception. Exempts members of a lawfully recognized military color guard, honor guard, or similar organization, and members of a veterans service organization that is congressionally chartered or officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, when such member is participating in a training or educational exercise, funeral, or public ceremony on behalf of such military color guard, honor guard, or similar organization or veterans service organization, from the crime of unlawful paramilitary activity unless such member engages in such activity with malicious intent. This bill is identical to SB 618.
Juvenile records; identification of children receiving coordinated services. Provides that, for the purpose of disclosing records, information, and statistical registries of the Department of Social Services, local departments of social services, and all child-welfare agencies concerning social services, a person having a legitimate interest in child-protective services records includes the staff of (i) a court services unit, (ii) the Department of Juvenile Justice, (iii) a local community services board, or (iv) the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services who are providing treatment, services, or care for a child who is the subject of such records for a purpose relevant to the provision of the treatment, services, or care when the local agencies have entered into a formal agreement with the Department of Juvenile Justice to provide coordinated services to such children. The bill provides that such formal agreements may allow the local agencies and the Department of Juvenile Justice to immediately identify children who may be receiving or who have received treatment, services, or care from the local agencies and the Department of Juvenile Justice. The bill also provides that the Department of Juvenile Justice shall develop and biennially update a model memorandum of understanding setting forth the respective roles and responsibilities of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Department of Social Services, the court service units, the local departments of social services, and the community services boards or behavioral health authorities regarding the sharing of information derived from juvenile records for purposes of identifying juveniles who may be receiving or who have received treatment, services, or care from the local agencies, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The bill provides that the model memorandum of understanding developed by the Department of Juvenile Justice may satisfy the requirement for a formal agreement, but it shall be reviewed by the chief judge of the circuit court, or his designee, where such local agencies are located before such agreement takes effect. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Youth.
