CHAPTER 446
An Act to amend and reenact § 2.2-208.1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend and reenact the second and eleventh enactments of Chapter 860 and the second and eleventh enactments of Chapter 861 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, relating to early childhood education; quality rating and improvement system participation; School Readiness Committee.
[H 2105]
Approved March 30, 2021
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 2.2-208.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 2.2-208.1. School Readiness Committee; Secretary to establish.
A. In recognition of the fact that early care and education of young children is linked to academic success and workforce readiness, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, and upon receiving recommendations for appointments from the Virginia Education Association, the Virginia School Boards Association, the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals, the Virginia Council for Private Education, the Virginia Child Care Association, the Virginia Association for Early Childhood Education, the Virginia Head Start Association, the Virginia Alliance for Family Child Care Associations, and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, shall establish and appoint members to the School Readiness Committee (the Committee).
B. The Committee shall have a total membership of no fewer
than 27 members that shall consist of seven legislative members, no fewer than
16 nonlegislative citizen members, and four ex officio members. Members shall
be appointed as follows: four members of the House of Delegates to be appointed
by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of
proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates;
three members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules on
the recommendation of the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and
Health; and no fewer than 16 nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by
the Secretary of Education. Nonlegislative citizen members shall include at
least three representatives of the office of the Secretary of Education, one
representative of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, one
representative of a baccalaureate public institution of higher education in the
Commonwealth with a teacher education program, one representative of an
associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education in the
Commonwealth with a teacher education program, one representative of the
Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, one representative of the Virginia
Association of School Superintendents, four representatives of the private business
sector, one early childhood education teacher from a public early childhood
education program, one early childhood education teacher from a private early
childhood education program, one administrator from a public early childhood
education program, and one administrator from a private early childhood
education program, one administrator from a Head Start program, one
administrator from a family child care program, and one parent or guardian of a
child who is participating in early childhood care and education in the
Commonwealth. The Commissioner of Social Services or his designee, the
Secretary of Education or his designee, the Secretary of Health and Human
Resources or his designee, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction or his
designee shall serve ex officio with voting privileges.
C. In recognition of the fact that one of the most important
factors in learning outcomes for young children is the capabilities of the
adults who support their growth and learning, the first goal of the Committee is
to address the development and alignment of an effective professional
development and credentialing system for the early childhood education
workforce in the Commonwealth, including the (i) development of a
competency-based professional development pathway for practitioners who teach
children from birth to age five in both public and private early childhood
education programs; (ii) consideration of articulation agreements between
associate and baccalaureate degree programs; (iii) review of teacher licensure
and education programs, including programs offered at comprehensive community
colleges in the Commonwealth, to address competencies specific to early
childhood development; (iv) alignment of existing professional development
funding streams; and (v) development of innovative approaches to increasing
accessibility, availability, affordability, and accountability of the
Commonwealth's workforce development system for early childhood education
teachers and providers., supports, and compensation of the educators who
support their growth and learning, the primary goal of the Committee is to
provide recommendations for and track progress on the financing of a
comprehensive birth-to-five early childhood care and education system in the
Commonwealth that addresses both affordability for families and adequate
compensation for educators. As part of this effort, the Committee should
consider best practices and innovations in the private and public sector from
across the Commonwealth and the country. The Committee should consider
different sources of revenue and establish long-term goals and targets for
affordable access to quality care and education for all birth-to-five children
in the Commonwealth. Based on disparities in school readiness outcomes, the
Committee should ensure that all recommendations address societal inequities
and address the needs of the Commonwealth's more vulnerable children, families,
and early childhood educators. The Committee shall periodically review the
goals set forth in this subsection and other priorities within the early
childhood care and education systems and make recommendations to the Board of
Education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the Department
of Social Services, and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Education, the
Senate Committee on Education and Health, the House Committee on Health,
Welfare and Institutions, and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social
Services. An affirmative vote by a majority of the legislative members in
attendance and a majority of nonlegislative members in attendance shall be
required for the Committee to adopt any recommendations. The Board of
Education shall review the recommendations of the Committee and submit to the
Chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on
Education and Health, in advance of the next regular session of the General
Assembly, any comments on such recommendations that the Board of Education
deems appropriate.
D. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All legislative members and nonlegislative citizen members may be reappointed.
E. After the initial staggering of terms, legislative members and nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for terms of three years.
F. No legislative member or nonlegislative citizen member shall serve more than two consecutive three-year terms. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a term in determining the member's eligibility for reappointment.
G. The Committee shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The meetings of the Committee shall be held at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.
H. The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation shall provide for the facilitation of the work of the Committee under the direction of the Secretary of Education or his designee and with the guidance of a steering subcommittee that includes the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, one legislative member, one representative of the private business sector, one representative of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, and one early childhood education teacher or administrator from a private early childhood education program.
I. The chairman may request and access the expertise of additional representatives and organizations relating to the Committee's goals and priorities. In order to meet the federally mandated requirements for early childhood advisory councils, the chairman may establish and appoint additional members to advisory subcommittees to address areas of special concern and priority.
J. The Department of Education and the Department of Social Services shall provide staff support to the Committee. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Committee, upon request.
2. That the second and eleventh enactments of Chapter 860 and the second and eleventh enactments of Chapter 861 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020 are amended and reenacted as follows:
2. That §§ 2.2-208.1, 63.2-1701.1, 63.2-1704,
63.2-1704.1, 63.2-1716, 63.2-1717, 63.2-1720.1, 63.2-1721.1, 63.2-1724,
63.2-1725, 63.2-1727, 63.2-1738, 63.2-1809 through 63.2-1813, and 63.2-1815 of
the Code of Virginia are repealed.
11. That, notwithstanding the provisions of the third
enactment of this act, the establishment and implementation of the quality rating
and improvement system described in § 22.1-289.05 of the Code of Virginia, as
created by this act, shall occur as follows: (i) the Board of Education shall
establish such quality rating and improvement system no later than July 1,
2021, (ii) publicly funded providers may participate in the quality rating
and improvement system beginning in the 2021–2022 school year and shall
participate in the quality rating and improvement system beginning in the
2022–2023 school year, and (ii) (iii) the initial quality
ratings shall be published in the fall of 2023 2024.