Sen. John Bell

Requires the Board of Education (the Board) to consider for inclusion in the student outcome measures included in the Standards of Accreditation the number of industry certification credentials, as defined by the Board, obtained by high school students. The bill requires the Board to report its conclusion to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2017. The bill prohibits the Board from including the number of such credentials in the student outcome measures included in the Standards of Accreditation prior to the 2018 Session of the General Assembly.

Provides that prescriptions for products containing buprenorphine without naloxone shall be issued only (i) for patients who are pregnant, (ii) when converting a patient from methadone to buprenorphine containing naloxone for a period not to exceed seven days, or (iii) as permitted by regulations of the Board of Medicine or the Board of Nursing. The bill contains an emergency clause and has an expiration date of July 1, 2022. This bill is identical to

Provides that the real property tax exemption for the principal residence of the surviving spouse of a disabled military veteran applies without any restriction on the spouse's moving to a different principal place of residence.

Requires the Department of Health to make information about and resources on palliative care available to the public, health care providers, and health care facilities on its website. This bill is identical to

Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to develop a model addiction recovery program that may be administered by sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, jail officers, administrators, or superintendents in any local or regional jail. The bill provides that such programs shall be based on existing addiction recovery programs being administered by any local or regional jails in the Commonwealth and requires that participation in such program be voluntary and that such program address multiple aspects of the recovery process, including medical and clinical recovery, peer-to-peer support, availability of mental health resources, family dynamics, and aftercare aspects of the recovery process.

Requires one reading specialist employed by each local school board that employs a reading specialist to have training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder and to have an understanding of the definition of dyslexia and a working knowledge of several topics relating to dyslexia. This bill is identical to

Expands the types of crimes victims of which are eligible to apply for the address confidentiality program to include sexual violence. The bill provides that such programs may also include specialized services for victims of human trafficking. Current law permits victims of domestic violence and stalking to apply to this program. The bill requires that sexual or domestic violence programs be accredited by the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Program Professional Standards Committee to accept applications and authorizes crime victim and witness assistance programs to accept applications. The bill increases program participants' certification period from one to three years. The bill contains technical amendments.

Requires each school board to annually report to the public the actual pupil/teacher ratios in middle school and high school by school for the current school year.