It was a
very busy day at the Capitol. First,
thanks to the hundreds of VEA members who ignored the weatherman and made their
way to Richmond for VEA Lobby Day.
Senator
Howell’s SB 905 passed the full Senate on its third and final reading
today. This is the first VEA initiated
bill to pass in its chamber of origin this year. The
tuition tax credit provisions in the Code of Virginia prescribe insufficient
accountability requirements for the “eligible schools,” and don’t provide
adequate information to facilitate an accurate comparison of these schools for
interested parents. Requiring these schools to compile the results of
“any national norm referenced test” seems wholly inadequate if parents are to
make informed choices of schools. SB 905
fixes this problem.
YEAS--Alexander, Barker, Colgan, Dance, Deeds, Ebbin,
Edwards, Favola, Hanger, Howell, Lewis, Locke, Marsden, McEachin, Miller,
Norment, Petersen, Puller, Ruff, Saslaw, Stosch, Wagner, Watkins, Wexton--24.
NAYS--Black, Carrico, Chafin, Cosgrove, Garrett, Martin,
McDougle, McWaters, Newman, Obenshain, Reeves, Smith, Stanley, Stuart,
Vogel--15.
Once again
the “Tebow Bill,” HB 1626, has been reported by the House Education
Committee. This is the bill to allow
home schooled students to participate in interscholastic activities including
sports. The vote was 13 to 9, and it did
not fall down party lines as two Republicans voted NO - see below.
YEAS--Landes, Lingamfelter, Cole, Pogge, Massie, Greason,
Bell, Richard P., LeMunyon, Robinson, Yancey, Farrell, Davis, Leftwich--13.
NAYS--Rust, Yost, McClellan, Tyler, Bulova, Keam, Hester,
Preston, Lindsey--9.
You may remember that this bill passed the house last
year, but was defeated in the Senate.
Things have changed a bit in the Senate, so time will tell.
In the Public Education Subcommittee of the Senate
Committee on Education and Health of number of significant bills advanced. Senator John Miller’s SB 1020 reported to
full committee on a 3-2 vote. This bill
will reduce the number of SOL tests given in our public school to the minimum required
by the federal government.
Senator Mamie Locke’s SB 1320 reported unanimously. This bill calls on the Board of Education to establish
“accreditation ratings that recognize the progress of schools that do not meet
the accreditation benchmarks but have significantly improved their pass rates,
are within specified ranges of benchmarks, or have demonstrated significant growth
for the majority of their students.”
Finally, a very significant bill from Senator Garrett,
SB982, was reported to full committee.
This bill “Requires the Board of Education, in its course and credit
requirements for earning a high school diploma, to provide that no verified
unit of credit shall require a minimum number of clock hours of instruction.” This could fundamentally change the manner in
which we organize our high schools. The
bill has great promise, but will present substantial implementation challenges.
