Legislative Update - 2024 Virginia General Assembly

Jan 15

Forward Albemarle

Public education here in Albemarle County is deeply affected by what occurs in Richmond. The General Assembly allocates a substantial amount of state revenue to K-12 public education (though not nearly enough), and it also enacts legislation that directly affects local school division policy and operations. As a result, Forward Albemarle is tracking education-related legislation in the 2024 General Assembly, which convened last Wednesday, January 10.

As background, Virginia has a part-time legislature that meets starting in January for a 60-day legislative session in even-numbered years (like 2024), and 30 days in odd-numbered years. Legislators may introduce (prefile) legislation prior to the start of the session; these bills usually indicate each member’s legislative priorities. Each bill is then referred to one of the standing Committees in the House and Senate for consideration. After consideration in a hearing, which may involve amendments, the bill is then either reported to the floor (approved) or passed by indefinitely, effectively killing it. Reported bills are then considered on the “floor” (the full chamber), where they receive three readings on separate days. On the second reading, a bill can be amended by a majority vote in the chamber. After the third reading, the entire chamber (House or Senate) will take a recorded vote on the bill. Bills that are passed then go to the other chamber for consideration on the “crossover” day, which occurs halfway through the session, where the process repeats itself in the other chamber. Bills that are approved in both the House and Senate by the end of the session are then printed as an enrolled bill and sent to the Governor. The Governor can then sign the bill into law; recommend amendments to the bill and return it to the General Assembly, usually for another vote in a follow-up session later in the spring; veto the bill, which can overridden by a 2/3rds supermajority in both chambers; or take no action and the bill becomes law without the Governor’s signature.

Since all this action happens in a very compressed timeframe, it’s important to keep a close eye on bills as they progress (or not) through the legislative process and to timely communicate with elected representatives. Here are some of the key bills that Forward Albemarle is tracking this session, listed in numerical order:

SB14 / HB458: This bill will authorize all counties and cities in the Commonwealth to impose an additional sales and use tax, up to a maximum of 1%, with the proceeds to be used only for school construction projects (both constructing new schools and renovating existing ones). Under current law, only a handful of counties are allowed to do so; some of these previous bills were enacted with bipartisan support. A similar bill was approved in the Senate last year with bipartisan support, but died in the GOP-controlled House. With Democrats winning full control of the legislature last fall, and many key legislators listed as co-sponsors (including local representatives Senator Creigh Deeds and Delegate Katrina Callsen), the prospects for it to pass look much better this year. However, Governor Youngkin has been silent so far. Forward Albemarle supports this legislation, as it is critically important to find additional revenue to support school construction projects, as Albemarle County Public Schools face a $10 million shortfall in state funding for next fiscal year due to changes in the school funding formula, as well as increased construction costs for a new elementary school in the Southern Feeder Pattern and High School Center II. We also hope that this tax can be implemented in a way to make it less regressive, such as exempting groceries and essential hygiene products, so that it reduces the impact on lower-income families.

SB 37 / HB 670: These bills, introduced by right-wing legislators Senator John McGuire (who is currently running for Congress) and Delegate Nick Freitas, would involuntarily “out” transgender and non-binary students, increasing the risk of abuse and self-harm for these children. Forward Albemarle opposes this legislation, which fortunately looks to be dead-on-arrival in both chambers.

SB 64 / HB 25 / HB138: These bills, introduced by both Democrats and Republicans, would make permanent an annual sales tax holiday in August that includes school supplies and clothing and footwear. Forward Albemarle supports this legislation, as it helps make it a bit easier to afford back-to-school essentials for our kids.

SB 68: This bill would prohibit transgender students from participating in school sports aligned with their gender identity if they did not physically transition prior to puberty. Forward Albemarle opposes this legislation, which is yet another example of anti-transgender bigotry that would deprive an already vulnerable group from the benefits of playing sports.

SB 104 / HB 187: These bills, introduced by Senator Locke and Delegate Clark, would require that public school teachers be compensated at a rate that is at or above the national average teacher salary and would increase state funding to achieve this objective. Forward Albemarle supports this legislation, as Virginia teachers historically have had one of the biggest pay gaps in the country and currently are paid more than $5000 below the national average. This disparity for our hard-working and talented teachers is unacceptable, especially when Virginia ranks in the top quarter of per capita income. Fortunately, there is already movement on this bill; SB 104 unanimously (15-0) passed the Education Committee on Jan. 11 and is currently before the Finance and Appropriations Committee.

SB 127: This bill, introduced by Senator VanValkenburg (who is a teacher at a public high school), would require school divisions to provide more school counselor and specialized student support positions for students, including school social workers, psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions. Two companion bills in the House of Delegates, HB 181 and HB 386, combined would achieve the same objectives. Forward Albemarle supports this legislation, as we believe that student health and well-being must be a priority.

SB 128 / HB 359: These bills, introduced by Senator VanValkenburg and Delegate Simonds, would require the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to account for certain staff costs, including transportation workers, when determining Standards of Quality (SOQ) funding calculations and prohibiting VDOE from capping inflation-rate adjustments to non-personal costs when determining state aid to public education. Forward Albemarle supports this legislation, which will help increase state support for public education in an equitable way.

SB 187 / SB 220 / HB 1089: These are all bills that intend to improve special education and related services for children with disabilities in public schools, including additional state funding to cover the actual average division cost to educate children with disabilities (SB 228) and requirements for school divisions to provide high-quality professional development in instructional practices in inclusive settings and increased support services to parents of a child with disabilities (SB 187 and HB 1089). Forward Albemarle supports this legislation, as we believe it furthers our goal of meeting the needs of all ACPS students, including students with disabilities.

SB 283: This bill, by Senator Roem, would require that each school board require all public schools participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and federal School Breakfast program and to make lunch and breakfast available to any student who wants it at no cost. The state would reimburse each school for the cost of this program. Forward Albemarle supports this legislation, as no child should go hungry while at school. There are numerous benefits to universal free school meals, including increased student attendance rates, improved student health, and better test scores.

Other education-related bills can be accessed and tracked through Virginia’s Legislative Information Services website, as well as the Virginia Department of Education’s website. We encourage our members to contact their elected representatives, who are listed below, as well as the members of the Senate Education and Health Committee and House Education Education Committee, to express their views on these bills.

Albemarle County Representatives:

Senator Creigh Deeds: senatordeeds@senate.virginia.gov

Delegate Katrina Callsen (54th District): DelKCallsen@house.virginia.gov

Delegate Amy Laufer (55th District): DelALaufer@house.virginia.gov