VASCD Policy Update: General Assembly and a Standards Update

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Our goal is to keep you informed about issues and actions in state

and federal education policy that relate to VASCD's mission.

Thank you to our Partners:

Policy Priorities

The Policy Team of VASCD is committed to elevating teaching and deepening learning through advocacy work as well as strong relationships with legislators and policymakers.

Our three policy priorities are:

Outstanding Educators for Virginia's Students: We must elevate the profession and and champion "autonomy with integrity" from policy to the practitioner.
Modernizing Virginia's Assessment System: Virginia's student assessment system must support and align with today's student learning goals.
Personalized Learning Opportunities for Educators: Educators must have relevant, competency-based professional learning opportunities.

Please access our Policy Priorities Brochure.

You can also access our 2023 General Assembly Priorities.

VASCD's Advocacy Work

VASCD collaborated with five other organizations (VSSLC, AHA, NCSS, VCSS, and NGA) to review the History and Social Science standards that were released on January 6, 2023. Read our response by clicking the button below.

RESPONSE to JANUARY STANDARDS

General Assembly Update

Make sure you bookmark our Advocacy Website. It is a one-stop shop with resources for advocacy as well as our Bill Tracker and Archived Policy Updates.

Here is a quick-stop of links you can use during General Assembly:

Find your legislator: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/
Track bills in the Legislative Information System: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=231&typ=lnk&val=02
Find meeting times: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=231&typ=lnk&val=05

Below is a list of bills our Policy Team supports and those we oppose. Other bills we are either watching or have decided not to track. You can see our full bill tracker HERE, which contains more information including each bill's current status.

Bills we Support

HB 1526 Student literacy measures; scope; students in grades four through eight. (1/18 - Recommend report and refer to Appropriations)
HB 1566 Compensation of public school teachers and other Standards of Quality-funded positions; competitive rate. (1/6 - Referred to Committee)
HB 1717 Public elementary and secondary school teachers; certain training activities; frequency; report. (1/18 - Passed by for the day)
HB 1728 Length of employment for certain temporarily employed teachers; short-term extension permitted. (1/18 - Passed by for the day)
HB 1762 School boards; Teacher Reengagement Program established. (1/10 - Referred to Committee)
HB 1823 Board of Education; College and Career Readiness for English Language Learners Grant Program and Fund; established. (1/18 - Recommended report and refer to Appropriations)
HB 1824 Employment of teachers; English as a Second Language Incentive Reward Program and Fund; established. (1/18 - Recommend report and refer to Appropriations)
HB 1850 Virginia Retirement System; return to work. (1/17 - Assigned to Compensation and Retirement)
HB 1851 Board of Education; Standards of Learning; revision; consultation. (1/10 - Referred to Committee)
HB 1884 Board of Education; students with disabilities; assessment frequency. (1/10 - Referred to Committee)
HB 2124 School psychologists; staffing flexibility. (1/18 - Recommended report with amendments)
SB 156 Public schools; English language learners.
SB 157 Competitive compensation for certain positions in public elementary and secondary schools.
SB 890 Veterans' Teaching Licensure Support Fund and Program; established. (1/17 - Assigned to Subcommittee)
SB 1109 Board of Education; College and Career Readiness for English Language Learners Grant Program and Fund; established. (1/10 - Referred to Committee)
SB 1175 Student literacy measures; scope; students in grades four through eight. (1/19 - Reported and Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations)
SB 1215 Compensation of public school teachers and other Standards of Quality-funded positions; competitive rate. (1/19 - Reported and Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations)

Bills we Oppose

HB 1124 Board of Education; school boards; codes of student conduct; contents.
HB 1371 Education Savings Account Program established; Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits. (9/9 - Referred to Committee)
HB 1396 Education Savings Account Program established; Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits. (11/30 - Referred to Committee)
HB 1454 Home instruction; parents; criteria. (12/21 - Referred to Committee)
HB 1461 Department of Education; uniform system of discipline for disruptive student behavior. (1/16 - Referred to Subcommittee)
HB 1508 Virginia Education Success Account Program; establishment. (1/17 - Referred to Appropriations with Amendment)
HB 1909 Public elementary and secondary schools; establishment of opportunity classrooms. (1/10 - Referred to Committee)
HB 2269 Certain federal pandemic relief funds for public education; certain conditions; emergency. (1/17 - Referred to Subcommittee)
HJ 474 Constitutional amendment (first reference); Board of Education; repeal; transfer powers and duties to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. (1/2 - Committee Referral Pending)
SB 430 Department of Education; assessing individual student growth.
SB 823 Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts. (1/17 - Referred to Subcommittee)
SB 893 Education improvement scholarships tax credits; transferability. (Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations)
SB1290 School Choice Education Savings Accounts. (1/17 - Referred to Subcommittee)

If there are bills we may have missed or bills you have a question about, please reach out to our Executive Director, Chris Jones at vaeducatorcmj@gmail.com.

If you know someone who might like to be added to our Policy Priorities mailing list, forward this message and ask that they sign up HERE.

Virginia ASCD is a non-partisan, non-political organization.

Like you, we are interested in policy decisions that affect teaching and learning in Virginia.