In a most pleasing Monday morning development, the House
Finance Committee thwarted Delegate Massie’s attempt to expand Virginia's
tuition tax credit program to include pre-school, HB1019 on a 10-Y 12-N vote.
Yesterday, the House passed two bills that repeal the Labor
Day School Closing law. Delegate
Robinson’s HB71 passed on a 76-Y21-N vote, and Delegate Greason’s HB753 passed as well, 76-Y 22-N
In the Senate yesterday, SB191, a bill to hold a statewide referendum on the question of whether the General
Assembly should adopt a resolution to propose an amendment to the Constitution
of Virginia that would establish an independent redistricting commission to
create and propose redistricting plans for House of Delegates, Senate of Virginia,
and congressional districts, passed on a 31-Y 9-N vote.
Every year
we see bills seeking to add additional requirements for those “seeking initial
licensure or the renewal of a license.”
What this really means is that the prospective and current teachers will
have to pay for professional development that should be paid for by state and
local government.
Delegate
Kline’s HB842 is just such a bill. Kline
rightly asserts that teachers should “receive professional development in the
indicators of dyslexia and the scientific methods of teaching a student who is
dyslexic.”
The bill
was reported and re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee early this
morning by the House Subcommittee on Education Innovation.
In other
early morning action, the House Privileges and Elections Subcommittee tabled all of the redistricting bills (HB26, HB553, HB555 calling for non-political
district criteria, and HB247 creating an independent redistricting commission)
in a block on a voice vote. Disgraceful!
The Charter
School Charter School Constitutional Amendment, HJR1, was up for a final House
vote today, but it went by until Monday.
Could it be that they don’t have the votes?
VEA
initiated SB564 sponsored by Senator Norment, reported unanimously from the
Subcommitte #2 of the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology. This bill shields teacher licensure
applications from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.