Monday is VEA Lobby Day.
It looks like the weather will be good – partly cloudy with a high of
48. Plus it will be the first day in the
Senate for the newly elected Jennifer Wexton of the 33rd Senate
District, and the recount for the 6th Senate District should be
completed. We will know by day’s end
whether the Republicans hold their majority, or the Democrats become the new
majority party in the Senate. Quite a
day!
For those of you who are coming in for Lobby Day, you may
wish to see in advance the message we will be asking you to take to the General
Assembly as you meet with your legislators:
Lobby Day – Orders for the Day
1. Urge Support for the Salary Amendments
1. Urge Support for the Salary Amendments
House Del.
Chafin 136 11h Salary Supplement for Instructional and Support
Positions
Year 1 -
$241,300,000 Year 2 - $242,300,000
Senate
Sen.
Puckett 136 24s Teacher Compensation – 6% Increase
Year 1 -
$241,336,885 Year 2 - $242,332,445
All Members
2. Medicaid Expansion
2. Medicaid Expansion
Medicaid
Expansion will free up $1.3 billion dollars in General Fund dollars over the
next 7 years, some of which can be used for funding our schools
·
33,000 additional Virginia jobs
·
Cover 191,000 uninsured Virginians
·
End the hidden tax – higher insurance premiums
to pay for the uninsured
All
Members
3. Statewide Health Insurance
3. Statewide Health Insurance
House
Delegate Yost – HB 463 State health
plan; participation by employees of local school divisions.
Moving
to a statewide insurance option for local school divisions could save
millions of dollars in the years ahead. These savings could be used to provide
needed school funding. The Commonwealth would have much greater leverage in
rate negotiations with insurance providers than any one of the 132 individual
school divisions. JLARC estimates
savings of $44 to $66 million annually.
All Members of the House
4. CPS Investigation Timeline (floor amendment required)
4. CPS Investigation Timeline (floor amendment required)
House Del.
Gilbert – HB 709 Child abuse and neglect investigations; time for
determination
Amend the Child Protective Services section of the Code of Virginia to
make the 45-day reporting deadline mandatory.
Non-compliance to the 45-day
limit causes several problems:
·
Teachers are
out of the classroom too long.
·
Local school
divisions are paying both the teacher and the substitute.
·
Students are
empowered to “take the teacher out.”
All Members of the House
5. Lactation Support
5. Lactation Support
House
Del. McClellan – HB 720 School board
policy, local; lactation support
In
recognition of the well-documented health advantages of breastfeeding for
infants and mothers, this bill requires local school divisions to provide a
supportive environment to enable lactating employees "reasonable break
times" and private, non-restroom locations to express their milk during
the work day for the first year of the child's life.
All Members of the House
6. Increase from 5 days to 10 days to request a dismissal hearing
All Members of the House
6. Increase from 5 days to 10 days to request a dismissal hearing
House Del. Rust – HB 977 Teachers; extends deadline to request hearing
after receiving notice of dismissal
Senate Sen. Favola – SB 43 Teachers; extends deadline to request hearing
after receiving notice of dismissal
In passing revisions to the teacher dismissal policies, the General
Assembly overreached by allowing only 5 days to file a dismissal
grievance. This brief window has the
unintended consequence of causing teachers to file before having the
opportunity for thoughtful reflection.
Previously, 15 days had been allowed.
VEA sees 10 days as a reasonable compromise.
All
Members of the House Thank
Senate – SB 43 passed 38-0
Have a great
weekend, and I hope to see you Monday.