The 2009 General Assembly is now in session
Week 3 Update—January 30, 2009
The 2009 General Assembly session began Wednesday, January 14. The session runs 46 days and is scheduled to end on February 28. “Cross-over day,” the last day for each house to act on its own bills, is February 10. House and Senate amendments to the current two-year budget will be released on February 8.
The House Education Committee is scheduled to meet on Mondays at 9:00 a.m. in House Room C and Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. in the Appropriations Room. The Senate Education and Health Committee will meet on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. in Senate Room B. Sub-committees will meet periodically throughout the session. Click here for a schedule of weekly meetings (Meetings).
Budget Issues
Money committee members have been weighing reductions in public education funding as proposed in the governor’s budget against cuts in other service areas, as they work toward proposing their own ideas of how to close a $3 million budget gap over the next 18 months. This past week, the House Appropriations Committee heard presentations on the average teacher salary, an annual survey compiled by the Department of Education, and on how localities are complying with local funding effort requirements imposed by the state (localities typically fund their schools at levels far exceeding the state’s requirements).
Lawmakers could receive another revenue report this coming week, just prior to the deadline for the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees to release their version of changes to the current biennial budget. That deadline is Sunday, February 8.
Click here for additional information about Governor Kaine's proposed changes to the budget (State Budget).
Education Legislation
Just days after the Senate Education and Health Committee had narrowly approved a bill to reverses the so-called “Kings Dominion” law, the full Senate re-referred SB 1266 back to another committee, thus defeating it for the year The bill would have made local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening of the school year, eliminating the post-Labor Day opening requirement and "good cause" scenarios for which the Board of Education might grant waivers of this requirement. The Senate Committee did approve a bill this past week that will require local school boards to develop policies for managing students with life-threatening food allergies. SB 1367 also will require school boards to ensure that personnel having direct contact with students receive training in the causes and prevention of food allergies, related symptoms and responses.
Meanwhile, the House of Delegates is close to passing HB 2166, which delays for one year, the implementation of new requirements related to the accreditation of schools, passing rates and graduation. It will be up for a final vote the first of next week.
The House Education Committee last week reported a pair of bills related to special education. After lengthy debate and testimony, it unanimously reported HB 2304, which provides that any party aggrieved by a decision made in a due process hearing may appeal to a circuit court for a period of one year. A current proposal before the Board of Education would allow for a 90 day appeal window, in line with federal regulations. Also reported was HB 2537, which provides definitions of "parent" for the purposes of special education identification, evaluation, and placement, to include biological, adoptive and foster parents, as well as guardians, of a child. The panel also approved HB 1794, which provides that the sufficient cause necessary to suspend a student cannot rest solely on instances of truancy; and HB 2070, which requires local school board policies that allow a parent of siblings in the same grade to request that the children be placed in the same or in separate classrooms if they are at the same elementary school.
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