Special education and related services; definitions; records retention; duties of Department of Education; parent engagement specialists; professional development; education preparation program coursework. Makes several changes relating to special education and related services for children with disabilities in public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth, including requiring (i) the Department of Education to (a) review and update all forms and worksheets relating to referral, evaluation, reevaluation, and eligibility, and to review and update guidance on the implementation of all such forms and worksheets; (b) develop guidance for students and parents on and processes relating to the alternative path to earning a standard diploma through credit accommodations, including special permission credit accommodations for locally awarded verified credits; and (c) review and consider updating its regulations to include parent and student input as required content in an individualized education program (IEP), define "short-term objectives" for the purpose of IEP content, and include, as appropriate, short-term objectives derived from measurable goals as content in an IEP; (ii) each public elementary or secondary school, after a child with a disability graduates from, ages out of, or otherwise leaves any such school, to retain the special education records of such child for at least seven years; (iii) each education preparation program offered by a public or private institution of higher education or alternative certification program that provides training for any student seeking initial licensure by the Board of Education with certain endorsements as specified in the bill to (a) include a program of coursework and require all such students to demonstrate mastery in instructional practices to support specially designed instruction, as that term is defined in the bill, in inclusive settings and (b) ensure that coursework and, as available, field practice opportunities that build knowledge of instructional practices to support specially designed instruction in inclusive settings are a focus of the education preparation program; and (iv) each school board to notify the parent of any student with disabilities who has an IEP and who fails to meet the graduation requirements of such student's right to a free and appropriate education to age 21, as provided in relevant law.The bill requires the Department of Education to submit to the Chairs of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by November 1, 2024 an initial report on its progress toward improving services to students with disabilities, including estimated costs, requirements, and the timeline to implement a Virginia Individualized Education Program data system and template and plans, estimated costs, and timelines for the implementation of other provisions of the bill relating to the development and provision of high quality professional development and instructional practices to support the provision of specially designed instruction in inclusive settings. The bill also requires each school board to adopt by January 1, 2028 policies relating to the utilization of the components of the Virginia Individualized Education Program data system and template or a local alternative. Finally, the bill directs the Virginia Commission on Youth to study and make recommendations to the General Assembly by November 1, 2025 on Virginia's special education dispute resolution system.
Sponsored bills
Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin and prohibits such discrimination. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin. This bill incorporates SB 120 and is identical to HB 18.
Consumer protection; creation of Unfair Real Estate Service Agreement Act. Creates the Unfair Real Estate Service Agreement Act and adds any violations of the Act to the list of prohibited violations of relevant consumer protection laws in the Commonwealth. The bill prohibits any real estate service agreement, defined in the bill, that is effective and binding for more than one year from its effective date from (i) purporting to run with the land or bind future owners of interests in the residential real property identified in the service agreement; (ii) allowing the service provider to assign or transfer the right to provide services under the service agreement without notice to and written agreement of all parties to the service agreement; or (iii) purporting to create a lien, encumbrance, or other real property security interest on the residential real property identified in the service agreement. This bill is identical to HB 1243.
Department of Forestry; Forestland and Urban Tree Canopy Conservation Plan required. Requires the Department of Forestry, in coordination with a Technical Advisory Committee composed of stakeholders, to develop a Forestland and Urban Tree Canopy Conservation Plan no later than November 1, 2026, and update such plan at least once every five years thereafter. The bill requires the Department to post and maintain on its website the most recent version of the Plan and to submit the Plan to the Governor and Chairmen of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources no later than November 30, 2026, and following any update to such plan. This bill is identical to HB 309.
Early childhood care and education; publiclyfunded providers; exemption from licensure for certain child day programs. Excepts military child care fee assistance or any childcare subsidy paid by a branch of the Armed Forces of the United Statesfrom the federal funds that would otherwise render a child day programas a "publicly funded provider," as that term is defined and usedin relevant law relating to early childhood care and education. Thebill also exempts from licensure by the Superintendent of PublicInstruction any child day program that (i) serves only dependentchildren of military personnel and (ii) (a) is located on a militarybase or federal property or (b) is certified as a family child careprovider by a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States and provides that any branch of the Armed Forces of the United Statesor its agent, including an installation commander of a military baseon which a child day program is located, may assume responsibilityfor approving or determining which children may be served by theprogram that is so exempted from licensure.
Manufacture, importation, sale, etc., of auto sears; prohibition; penalty. Prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale or offer to sell, possession, transfer, or transportation of an auto sear, defined in the bill as a device, other than a trigger activator, for use in converting a semi-automatic firearm to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. A violation is punishable as a Class 6 felony. The bill also provides for the forfeiture of any auto sear concealed, possessed, transported, or carried in violation of the prohibition. This bill is identical to HB 22.
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.
Commending Buta Biberaj.
Purchase of firearms; demonstrated competencewith a firearm or completion of a firearms safety or training course;penalty. Requires that a prospective purchaser of a firearm presentproof that such prospective purchaser has demonstrated competencewith a firearm or completed a firearms safety or training course,as specified in the bill, within the past five years.
Virginia Consumer Protection Act; prohibited practices; mandatory fees disclosure. Prohibits a supplier in connection with a consumer transaction from advertising, displaying, or offering any pricing information for goods or services without prominently displaying the total price, which shall include all mandatory fees or charges other than taxes imposed. The bill defines "mandatory fees or charges" as any fee or surcharge that must be paid in order to purchase the advertised good or service, that is not reasonably avoidable, and that a reasonable consumer would expect to be included. The bill clarifies that such term does not include shipping fees or taxes or fees imposed by a government or government-approved entity.