Requires any comprehensive financial aid award notification provided to a student by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education to meet the requirements and best practices established by the Council in its Financial Aid Award Letters Policies and Guidance.
Establishes procedures and requirements for travel protection plans and travel administrators. The measure establishes travel insurance as an inland marine line of insurance sold by property and casualty insurance agents. The measure (i) prohibits any person from acting as a limited lines travel insurance agent unless properly licensed, (ii) prohibits any person from acting as a travel retailer unless properly registered, and (iii) authorizes the State Corporation Commission to take enforcement actions, including suspending, revoking, or terminating a license. The measure establishes a premium tax on travel insurance premiums paid by residents of the Commonwealth and establishes acceptable practices for the sale and advertising of travel insurance. The measure applies to travel insurance policies purchased on or after July 1, 2019.
Revises the definition of "small employer" for purposes of group health insurance policies to provide that an individual who performs any service for remuneration under a contract of hire for (i) a corporation in which he is a shareholder or an immediate family member of a shareholder, or (ii) a limited liability company in which he is a member, regardless of the number of members of the limited liability company, shall be deemed to be an employee of the corporation or the limited liability company. The measure provides that a health insurance issuer shall not be required to issue more than one group health plan for each employer identification number issued by the Internal Revenue Service for a business entity, without regard to the number of shareholders or members of such business entity.
Requires health carriers to establish a comparable health care service incentive program under which savings are shared with a covered person who elects to receive a covered health care service from a lower-cost provider. Incentive payments are not required for savings of $25 or less. Programs are required to be approved by the Commissioner of Insurance.
Authorizes licensed physician assistants and licensed nurse practitioners to issue a written certification for use of cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil. The bill requires the Board to promulgate regulations establishing dosage limitations, which shall require that each dispensed dose of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil not exceed 10 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol. The bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry to convene a work group to review and recommend an appropriate structure for an oversight organization for the medical marijuana program in Virginia and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and Education and Health and the House Committees on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Health, Welfare and Institutions by November 1, 2019.
Requires that the Virtual Virginia program, be made available to all public schools. Currently, the program is available only to high schools. The bill requires the Department to utilize a learning management system for the purposes of implementing Virtual Virginia. The bill also authorizes the Department to charge a per-student fee to school divisions for each student enrolled in a Virtual Virginia course beyond an initial allotment of 15 such students per school division and prohibits the Department from limiting the total number of such students by school division. The bill requires the Department to annually report on the Virtual Virginia program that includes student outcomes to the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Education and the Senate Committees on Finance and Education and Health. The Department is required to make such report by November 1 of each year for the previous school year.
Establishes the Innovative Internship Fund and Innovative Internship Pilot Program, to be administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, for the purpose of awarding grants for paid or credit-bearing internships for students enrolled at state institutions that accomplish one or more enumerated goals related to the workforce. The bill also permits any public institution of higher education to propose in conjunction with the six-year plan process, and the General Assembly to adopt by reference in the general appropriation act, a performance pilot that advances the objectives of the Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011 by aligning the strategies, activities, and investments of the institution, the Commonwealth, and any identified partners concerning (i) college access, affordability, cost predictability, and employment pathways for undergraduate Virginia students and (ii) strategic talent development and other high-priority economic initiatives of the Commonwealth.
Requires the Department of Education to establish guidelines for individualized education program (IEP) teams to utilize when developing IEPs for children with disabilities to ensure that IEP teams consider the need for age-appropriate and developmentally-appropriate instruction related to sexual health, self-restraint, self-protection, respect for personal privacy, and personal boundaries of others. The bill requires each local school board, in developing IEPs for children with disabilities, in addition to any other requirements established by the Board, to ensure that IEP teams consider such guidelines.
