The 2012 General Assembly session will likely be highly eventful for K12 education compared to recent years. We reported on potential legislation that may reshape continuing contract law and we expect to see more movement around Republican Governor Bob McDonnell’s original “Opportunity to Learn” choice trifecta: charter schools, virtual schools, and college lab schools. We also anticipate a private school tuition tax credit bill to make its way to the Governor’s desk.
Adding a dramatic layer this year is the 20/20 split between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. The divide gives Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling (R) the *tie-breaking vote, effectively handing Republicans control of both chambers. Back in early December, remarking on the inevitable budget-induced education debates, outgoing Sen. Edd Houck (D-Spotsylvania) predicted, “I suspect that this may be a year where [education groups will be] playing an awful lot of defense.”
The session begins in just nine days and, given this is a budget session, will run for eight weeks instead of six.
Noteworthy among the pre-filed bills, HB 15 (Habeeb, R-Salem) and HB 86 (Greason, R-Potomac Falls) aim to repeal the “Kings Dominion Law” and leave it up to local school boards to set school calendars. HB 76 (Habeeb) pushes back the deadline by which teachers without continuing contract status must be informed of non-renewal from April 15th to June 15th (likely related to new teacher evaluation guidelines where academic progress counts 40% of the evaluation). Del. Habeeb has also filed HB 78 requiring school divisions to report instructional spending. Although HB 78 does not specify an optimal instructional amount, 65% is expected to be added in later.
VER will be tracking and reporting on education-related legislation throughout the session, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here are the pre-filed bills:
- HB 4 Child abuse or neglect; athletic coach or director of public school, etc. required to report to DSS.
- HB 15 School calendar; local school boards responsible for setting and determining opening of school year.
- HB 43 School calendar; local school boards responsible for setting and determining opening of school year.
- HB 76 Teachers; date changes for contract renewal for those without continuing contract status.
- HB 78 Instructional spending; local school board to report expenditures annually.
- HB 86 School calendar; local school boards responsible for setting and determining opening of school year.
- HB 93 Pupil transportation; insurance requirements.
- HB 94 School boards, local; meeting procedures.
- HB 96 Accreditation of schools; delayed implementation of certain statutes and regulations.
- HB 110 Student driver education; instruction on organ donation.
*Update: Bolling issued a memo outlining his voting power. Short version: he can’t vote on budget, taxes, and amendments to the state constitution.
David Brundage says on: January 3, 2012 at 3:24 pm
Since when were “new teacher evaluation guidelines where academic success counts 40%” a reality in any district in Virginia? Certainly not in Fairfax. Please provide source for this statement.
vaedreport says on: January 3, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Hi David. Thanks for the comment. Information regarding the revised guidelines can be found here. We’ll also add a link in the post.
Heather says on: January 4, 2012 at 7:06 am
If a bill is pre-filed does that mean it will be voted on during this session?
David B says on: January 4, 2012 at 8:23 am
The key here is “guidelines”. The State Board can suggest but no locality has to accept it. Many are now in the process of establishing local committees of teachers and others to come up with their own criteria and percentage of weight.
It is more than unfortunate that the State Board has swallowed the federal Dept. of Education’s pushing of the use of student test scores in the evaluation of teacher performance and pay. Any reading of the discussions of this topic in the Washington Post’s Education blog columns shows the complete idiocy of this concept. There is no evidence anywhere that this kind of teacher evaluation has any positive effect on teaching or learning. Using test scores in teacher evaluations will further condemn teachers to even greater abuse and drive people away from the profession. Let us hope enough reason and sanity will circulate among the legislators this session to ameliorate the Board’s position. Why does ignorance and non-fact based policy seem to rule?