This
morning, Delegate Hugo's HB1744, the bill to give local school boards the
option of employing a three person panel rather than a hearing officer for
teacher dismissals, was heard in the House Committee on Counties, Cities, and
Towns. They re-referred the bill to House Education on a voice vote. The problem is that House Education will not
meet again before crossover - OUCH! We
requested another meeting of House Education to no avail. That’s one way they kill bills – no fingerprints. Every vote on this bill was procedural in nature. This bill is dead, but no one can be held accountable for its death by the voters. Welcome to the Virginia General Assembly.
It
is very good news that the House Appropriations Committee on Elementary and
Secondary Education tabled Delegate Cline's HB2374, a bill to require dyslexia
training for initial licensure and license renewal. VEA's message that training for teachers
should be provided by our employers - not required of the teacher for
licensure, often at the teacher's expense.
Delegates Cox, Landes and Greason offered very helpful remarks.
This same committee reported Delegate LaRock's HB2238, which creates Parental
Choice Education Savings Accounts, transferring public dollars to private
schools and home schoolers at a time when insufficient funds are provided to
our public schools.
The
House and Senate will report their budget bills on Sunday, so please check this
blog on Sunday evening for VEA's first take.
Carol Donohue will offer an in-depth analysis during next week.
