We must acknowledge the peaceful transition of power that took
place today and that takes place every four years. We honor our nation’s
history and traditions. However, we must also acknowledge a divided country
that has healing to do. We must acknowledge the fear and uncertainty many of
our students are feeling. And we must acknowledge the very clear position of
the new administration on public education. We must work to make sure every
child in this country has the opportunity to attend a high quality, well-funded
public school. We will not allow this promise to fade. #strongpublicschools
As is generally the rule, the floor action in the House and
Senate wrapped up quickly. A VEA supported bill did pass the House and,
frankly, we need to celebrate any small victory. HB1451 that directs the
Department of Social Services to develop a survey to gather feedback from
children aging out of foster care passed the House without a single “no” vote.
Senator McClellan has filed the VEA initiated hearing
officer bill. This bill would require the Department of Education to develop
and make available training for hearing officers in teacher dismissal cases.
The DOE would then maintain a list of trained hearing officers. We will face a
fight on the “maintain a list” portion of this bill, but the Superintendents
and the School Boards will not fight the training. Click here to
follow our bill as it makes its way through the GA.
I look forward to seeing many of you at Lobby Day on Monday.
We have a briefing Sunday evening and Monday morning. You only need to attend
one. Please remember that the weather looks dreary. Please come prepared for the
weather.
Monday is a busy day. As you are planning your day, please
keep the following committee meetings in mind:
7:00 a.m. House Privileges and Elections -
Constitutional Subcommittee; House Room C, General Assembly Building- We will
testify on VEA’s support of Redistricting Reform in VA. It is also
Virginia2021’s Lobby Day, so that room should be packed. Click here
to see the full docket.
8:00 a.m. Senate Courts of Justice; Senate
Room B, General Assembly Building- No VEA bills on the docket, but all sorts of
bills to legalize marijuana if you are interested.
8:30 a.m. House Education; House Room D,
General Assembly Building- An obvious choice for our members. The docket is
long and bills on local control of calendar, school nurses, and teacher
licensure are all up. Click here
to see the full docket.
12:00 noon The House of Delegates and the Senate
go into session. You can watch the proceedings from the Galleries. You enter
the Capitol through the Visitor’s Entrance all the way down the hill on Bank
Street.
1:00-4:00pm Open House at VEA Headquarters! Please come by to visit.
