Public school staffing and funding; National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund; eligibility; at-risk program.Renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund as the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from such Fund pursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtained national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to (i) all public school staff who are candidates for initial national certification or maintenance of national certification to cover certain costs of obtaining or maintaining such certification and (ii) all public school staff who have successfully obtained or maintained such certification. The bill also declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award in the amount of $7,500 all public school staff who have obtained or maintained such certification. Current law declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award of $5,000 in the first year and $2,500 in each subsequent year all teachers who have obtained or maintained such certification. The bill also establishes the At-Risk Program for the purpose of supporting programs and services for students who are educationally at risk, including prevention, intervention, or remediation activities required pursuant to relevant law, teacher recruitment programs and initiatives, programs for English language learners, the hiring of additional school counselors and other support staff, and other programs relating to increasing the success of disadvantaged students in completing a high school degree and providing opportunities to encourage further education and training. The bill also contains provisions relating to certain funding requirements for the At-Risk Program. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education to (a) develop and implement a data collection process related to English language learner expenditures and student English proficiency levels to begin to address the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission's 2023 review of Virginia's K-12 Funding Formula and (b) develop, in coordination with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services or any other relevant stakeholders, a plan for revised special education staffing requirements that addresses the staffing needs of each special education program in each school division. The bill provides for the inclusion of the provisions of the first enactment in the general appropriation act beginning July 1, 2026. This bill incorporates SB 127, SB 128, SB 187, SB 227, SB 228, and SB 609.
Sponsored bills
Teacher compensation; at or above national average.Requires that public school teachers be compensated at a rate thatis at or above the national average. Under current law, compensationat such rate is aspirational. The bill requires state funding tobe provided pursuant to the general appropriation act in a sum sufficientto fund a three percent increase for Standards of Quality-fundedinstructional and support positions, effective for the 2025-2026 schoolyear and to fund an additional seven percent increase, effectivefor the 2026-2027 school year, for each school division, AcademicYear Governor's School, and Regional Alternative Education Program.The bill contains provisions relating to eligibility to receive aprorated share of such state funding for any school division that fails to provide the required increases. The bill has a delayed effectivedate of July 1, 2025.
Casino gaming; eligible host cities. Amends the list of cities eligible to host a casino in the Commonwealth by replacing Richmond with Petersburg. The bill also provides that the governing body of any eligible host city that holds a local referendum on the question of whether casino gaming should be permitted in such city that subsequently fails shall be prohibited from holding another local referendum on the same question for a period of three years from the date of the last referendum. The provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the General Assembly at a subsequent regular or special session.
Annual retail sales and use tax holiday. Establishes an annual retail sales and use tax holiday that takes place on the first full weekend in August beginning on July 1, 2025, through July 1, 2030. During such weekend, state retail sales and use tax will not apply to certain (i) school supplies, (ii) clothing and footwear, (iii) qualified products designated as Energy Star or WaterSense, (iv) portable generators, or (v) hurricane preparedness equipment. This bill is identical to HB 25.
Department of Education and Virginia CommunityCollege System; College and Career Ready Virginia Program and Fundestablished. Establishes the College and Career Ready VirginiaFund and requires the Department of Education and the Virginia CommunityCollege System to establish the College and Career Ready VirginiaProgram whereby each school board is required to offer each qualifiedhigh school student in the local school division access at the highschool to the dual enrollment courses that are sufficient to completethe Passport Program and the former Uniform Certificate of GeneralStudies Program, renamed in the bill as the Passport Plus Program,at a public institution of higher education at no cost to such students.The bill establishes several enumerated duties for the Departmentand the System in the administration of the College and Career ReadyVirginia Program, including the establishment of a work group to make recommendations no later than November 1, 2024, on the incorporationof a career and technical education program of coursework into theCollege and Career Ready Virginia Program.
Bonds for public institutions of higher learning; emergency. Authorizes issuance of bonds in an amount up to $124,285,000 for revenue-producing capital projects at James Madison University, Virginia State University, and The College of William and Mary in Virginia. The bill contains an emergency clause and is identical to HB 711.
Charter; City of Portsmouth; emergency. Amends the charter for the City of Portsmouth by aligning dates for nomination of candidates and the filling of city council vacancies with state law. The bill also updates a Code of Virginia reference and contains an emergency clause. This bill is identical to HB 1208.
Six-Year Capital Outlay Plan and funding.Provides that the Six-Year Capital Outlay Plan Advisory Committeeshall submit and annually amend a Six-Year Capital Outlay Plan thatshall include new capital outlay projects (and previously plannedor authorized capital outlay projects) that are to be funded entirelyor partially from general fund-supported resources for the six fiscal years beginning July 1, 2024. The Plan shall be amended annuallythrough the submission of a report to the Governor and the GeneralAssembly by the Advisory Committee which reflects (i) its recommendations1516 and (ii) any capital outlay projects authorized by the GeneralAssembly in an appropriation act. The bill also removes the requirementfor the Governor to submit in each legislative session a prefiledbill with amendments to the current Plan to be enacted into law.
Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. This bill is identical to HB 1381.
Revenue reserves and budgetary amendments. Provides that if the Governor in the Budget Bill recommends a transfer of funds in the Revenue Reserve Fund in excess of the statutory 15 percent combined balance limit, then the corresponding purpose and proposed use of such transferred funds shall be included within the corresponding budget items. The bill also directs that if the Revenue Stabilization Fund and Revenue Reserve Fund are in excess of the statutory 15 percent combined balance limit, the State Comptroller shall transfer such excess amounts to the general fund and present such amounts as an assigned fund balance for nonrecurring expenditures on the Comptroller's preliminary annual report and if such a transfer is required, but the Revenue Stabilization Fund is not in excess of its Constitutional 15 percent balance limit, the amounts required to be transferred shall first be deposited into the Revenue Stabilization Fund instead of the general fund.