2O21 LEGISLATIVE
Crucial Education Bills from the 2021 General Assembly session Reading VEA’s Report Card VEA’s key votes are listed across the top of each chart. A green check mark means the legislator voted with VEA on that bill; a red X means they voted against VEA’s position. NV means they didn’t cast a vote on the bill.
Not sure who your representatives are? Find out at veanea.org. Under “Take Action,” click “Legislation & Policy” and then scroll down to “Find Your Legislator.”
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HB1736 — School Nurse. Prohibits anyone officially providing nursing services in a public elementary or secondary school from using the title school nurse unless they’re a registered nurse. HB1904/SB1196 — Cultural Competency. Requires teacher, principal, and division superintendent evaluations to include an evaluation of cultural competency. HB2027 — Growth Assessment. Establishes a through-year growth assessment system for reading and mathematics assessments in grades three through eight, in lieu of a one-time, end-of-year assessment. HB2176 — Abusive Work Environment. Defines, for the purposes of mandatory school board policies relating to abusive work environments, the terms “abusive conduct,” “abusive work environment,” “physical harm,” and “psychological harm.” HB2305 — Governor’s Schools. Requires the Board of Education to issue guidance on the governance of academic year Governor’s Schools, including communication and outreach practices, admissions policies, and guidelines on diversity, equity, and inclusion training. SB1257 — Standards of Quality. Began as a much broader bill to fully fund the SOQ, but ended requiring each school board to provide at least three specialized student support positions, including school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students. SB1303 — In-Person Instruction. Would have shifted decision-making authority away from local school divisions to the state, while putting Virginia students, their families, and educators at greater risk of harm from the COVID pandemic.
SB1401 — Reduction in Testing. Reduces required Standards of Learning assessments to the minimum requirement of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
3/15/21 3:08 PM