Virginia Law

A. The kindergarten program in each school division shall include a program suitable for children who will reach their fifth birthday on or before September 30 of the school year. The school board's plan for such program shall be furnished to the Board of Education and shall include the following:

1. A statement of purpose and objectives of the kindergarten program that reflects consideration of the different readiness and maturity levels of children in the program;

2. A description of the organization, scheduling and staffing of the program that reflects a responsiveness to the needs of the children of the age span to be served in the program;

3. Evidence that the program plan was developed by a committee that included early childhood specialists, parents, teachers and administrators;

4. Scheduling and an agenda of in-service activities for kindergarten teachers to ensure adequate preparation for the program;

5. A plan for the interface of the kindergarten program with the primary program to allow for continuous progress.

B. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall disseminate to the school divisions information concerning the ages when children are required or eligible to attend school. Each school division shall disseminate such information to parents of such children of such ages upon or prior to enrollment of such children in the public schools of the division.

C. The age requirements set forth in subsection A of this section shall not affect the operation of any two-tiered, junior or other developmentally appropriate pre-kindergarten program or transitional first grade. In those school divisions implementing such programs, children whose fifth birthday occurs between October 1 and December 31 of the school year may be enrolled in kindergarten after an appropriate readiness evaluation has demonstrated that attendance in these programs will educationally benefit such children.

Code 1950, § 22-218.1:1; 1978, c. 518; 1980, cc. 559, 570; 1985, c. 407; 1990, c. 792; 1991, c. 138.

A. The General Assembly finds that Virginia educational research supports the conclusion that poor children are more at risk of educational failure than children from more affluent homes and that reduced pupil/teacher ratios and class sizes result in improved academic performance among young children; to this end, the General Assembly establishes a long-term goal of reducing pupil/teacher ratios and class sizes for grades K through three in those schools in the Commonwealth with high or moderate concentrations of at-risk students.

With such funds as are provided in the appropriation act for this purpose, there is hereby established the statewide voluntary pupil/teacher ratio and class size reduction program for the purpose of reaching the long-term goal of statewide voluntary pupil/teacher ratio and class size reductions for grades K through three in schools with high or moderate concentrations of at-risk students, consistent with the provisions provided in the appropriation act.

In order to facilitate these primary grade ratio and class size reductions, the Department shall calculate the state funding of these voluntary ratio and class size reductions based on the incremental cost of providing the lower class sizes according to the greater of the division average per-pupil cost of all divisions or the actual division per-pupil cost. Localities shall provide matching funds for these voluntary ratio and class size reductions based on the composite index of local ability to pay. School divisions shall notify the Department of their intention to implement the reduced ratios and class sizes in one or more of their qualifying schools by August 1 of each year. By March 31 of each year, school divisions shall forward data substantiating that each participating school has a complying pupil/teacher ratio.

In developing each proposed biennium budget for public education, the Board shall include funding for these ratios and class sizes. These ratios and class sizes shall be included in the annual budget for public education.

B. The General Assembly finds that educational technology is one of the most important components, along with highly skilled teachers, in ensuring the delivery of quality public school education throughout the Commonwealth. Therefore, the Board shall strive to incorporate technological studies within the teaching of all disciplines. Further, the General Assembly notes that educational technology can only be successful if teachers and administrators are provided adequate training and assistance. To this end, the following program is established.

With such funds as are appropriated for this purpose, the Board shall award to the several school divisions grants for expanded access to educational technology. Funding for educational technology training for instructional personnel shall be provided as set forth in the appropriation act.

Funds for improving the quality and capacity of educational technology shall also be provided as set forth in the appropriation act, including (i) funds for providing a technology resource assistant to serve every elementary school in this Commonwealth and (ii) funds to maintain the currency of career and technical education programs. Any local school board accepting funds to hire technology resource assistants or maintain currency of career and technical education programs shall commit to providing the required matching funds, based on the composite index of local ability to pay.

Each qualifying school board shall establish an individualized technology plan, which shall be approved by the Superintendent, for integrating technology into the classroom and into schoolwide instructional programs, including career and technical education programs. The first priority for funding shall be consistent with those components of the Board's revised six-year technology plan that focus on (i) retrofitting and upgrading existing school buildings to efficiently use educational technology; (ii) providing (a) one network-ready multimedia microcomputer for each classroom, (b) a five-to-one ratio of pupils to network-ready microcomputers, (c) graphing calculators and relevant scientific probes/sensors as required by the Standards of Learning, and (d) training and professional development on available technologies and software to all levels and positions, including professional development for personnel delivering career and technical education at all levels and positions; and (iii) assisting school divisions in developing integrated voice-, video-, and data-connectivity to local, national and international resources.

This funding may be used to implement a local school division's long-range technology plan, at the discretion of the relevant school board, if the local plan meets or exceeds the goals and standards of the Board's revised six-year technology plan and has been approved by the Superintendent.

The Department of Education, the Department of General Services, and the Virginia Information Technologies Agency shall coordinate master contracts for the purchase by local school boards of the aforementioned educational technologies and reference materials.

A technology replacement program shall be, with such funds as may be appropriated for this purpose, implemented to replace obsolete educational hardware and software. As provided in subsection D of § 22.1-129, school boards may donate obsolete educational technology hardware and software that are being replaced. Any such donations shall be offered to other school divisions and to preschool programs in the Commonwealth or to public school students as provided in guidelines to be promulgated by the Board. Such guidelines shall include criteria for determining student eligibility and need, a reporting system for the compilation of information concerning the number and socioeconomic characteristics of recipient students, and notification of parents of the availability of such donations of obsolete educational hardware and software.

C. The General Assembly finds that local autonomy in making decisions on local educational needs and priorities results in effective grassroots efforts to improve education in the Commonwealth's public schools only when coupled with sufficient state funding; to this end, the following block grant program is hereby established. With such funds as are provided in the appropriation act, the Department shall distribute block grants to localities to enable compliance with the Commonwealth's requirements for school divisions in effect on January 1, 1995. Therefore, for the purpose of such compliance, the block grant herein established shall consist of a sum equal to the amount appropriated in the appropriation act for the covered programs, including the at-risk add-on program; dropout prevention, specifically Project YES; Project Discovery; English as a second language programs, including programs for overage, nonschooled students; Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID); the Homework Assistance Program; programs initiated under the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program, except that such funds shall not be used to pay any expenses of participating students at institutions of higher education; and school/community health centers. Each school board may use any funds received through the block grant to implement the covered programs and other programs designed to save the Commonwealth's children from educational failure.

D. In order to reduce pupil/teacher ratios and class sizes in elementary schools, from such funds as may be appropriated for this purpose, each school board may employ additional classroom teachers, remedial teachers, and reading specialists for each of its elementary schools over the requirements of the Standards of Quality. State and local funding for such additional classroom teachers, remedial teachers, and reading specialists shall be apportioned as provided in the appropriation act.

E. Pursuant to a turnaround specialist program administered by the Department, local school boards may enter into agreements with individuals to be employed as turnaround specialists to address those conditions at the school that may impede educational progress and effectiveness and academic success. Local school boards may offer such turnaround specialists or other administrative personnel incentives such as increased compensation, improved retirement benefits in accordance with Chapter 6.2 (§ 51.1-617 et seq.) of Title 51.1, increased deferred compensation in accordance with § 51.1-603, relocation expenses, bonuses, and other incentives as may be determined by the board.

F. The General Assembly finds that certain schools have particular difficulty hiring teachers for certain subject areas and that the need for such teachers in these schools is particularly strong. Accordingly in an effort to attract and retain high quality teachers, local school boards may offer instructional personnel serving in such schools as a member of a middle school teacher corps administered by the Department incentives such as increased compensation, improved retirement benefits in accordance with Chapter 6.2 (§ 51.1-617 et seq.) of Title 51.1, increased deferred compensation in accordance with § 51.1-603, relocation expenses, bonuses, and other incentives as may be determined by the board.

For purposes of this subsection, "middle school teacher corps" means licensed instructional personnel who are assigned to a local school division to teach in a subject matter in grades six, seven, or eight where there is a critical need, as determined by the Department. The contract between such persons and the relevant local school board shall specify that the contract is for service in the middle school teacher corps.

1995, c. 852; 1996, c. 974; 1997, cc. 357, 394, 617, 686, 923; 1998, cc. 828, 901, 902; 1999, cc. 456, 680; 2000, cc. 93, 506; 2001, cc. 483, 484; 2004, c. 436; 2011, c. 216; 2020, cc. 860, 861; 2022, cc. 61, 355.

The Board of Education shall promulgate regulations for establishing standards for remediation programs that receive state funding, without regard to state funding designations, which shall be designed to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of such programs in increasing the scholastic achievement of students with academic deficiencies. Such standards shall require school divisions to evaluate remediation programs, annually, in terms of the pass rate on the Standards of Learning tests and the demographic and educational characteristics of students who have been identified for remediation pursuant to subsection C of § 22.1-253.13:1, or clause (ii) of subsection A of § 22.1-254, and § 22.1-254.01.

The Board shall also establish in regulations, a formula for determining the level of funding necessary to assist school divisions in providing transportation services to students required to attend remediation programs.

1997, c. 466; 1998, cc. 602, 627, 902; 1999, cc. 488, 537, 552; 2000, c. 716; 2003, c. 697; 2006, cc. 41, 834; 2010, c. 61.

Repealed by Acts 2004, c. 872, cl. 3, effective May 4, 2005.

A. From such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose and from such gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds as may be received on its behalf, there is hereby established the At-Risk Student Academic Achievement Program, to be administered by the Board of Education, and a special nonreverting fund within the Department of the Treasury known as the At-Risk Student Academic Achievement Fund, hereafter referred to as the "Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller, and any moneys remaining in such Fund at the end of the biennium shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Interest earned on such funds shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it.

The Department of the Treasury shall administer and manage the Fund, subject to the authority of the Board of Education to provide for its disbursement. The Fund shall be disbursed to award noncompetitive grants to public school divisions to implement research-based programs or programs identified as best practices that are designed to improve the academic achievement of at-risk public school students on the Standards of Learning assessments and decrease the rate of dropout among at-risk public school students.

B. The amount of grants and required local matching funds shall be determined as provided in the appropriation act.

Funds received through this Program shall be used to supplement, not supplant, any local funds currently provided for at-risk programs within the school division.

C. The Board may issue guidelines governing the Program as it deems necessary and appropriate.

2004, c. 456; 2016, cc. 720, 750.

A local school board may establish after school programs designed to prevent at-risk youth from engaging in illegal or gang-related activities for school aged children.

Local funds appropriated for K through 12 education may be used to support such after-school programs.

2008, c. 455.

Expired.

A. In order to remove nonacademic barriers to learning as a means to enhance student academic success in public elementary and secondary schools throughout the Commonwealth, the Department shall establish an interagency task force composed of state and local agencies and entities in the areas of early childhood development, health, social services, community engagement, family engagement, higher education, communities in schools, and workforce development for the purpose of (i) developing a program for the establishment of community schools whereby public elementary and secondary schools serve as centers for the provision of such community programs and services to students and their families as may be necessary on the basis of unique needs of the student population to be served and (ii) developing and providing to the Governor, the Secretary of Education, local school boards, and other interested state, local, and private entities policy recommendations relating to the coordinated delivery of community services to students and their families and the operation of community schools throughout the Commonwealth in accordance with the Virginia Community School Framework.

B. The community schools program established pursuant to subsection A shall include a process by which school boards and community partnerships consisting of school boards and other community and service providers may apply to the Department to designate an elementary or secondary school in the local school division as a community school. The application process shall include requirements for applicants to provide a plan for the sustainability of the community school and for the measurement of the success and effectiveness of the community school. The Department shall consult with the interagency task force established pursuant to subsection A in the selection of applications and the designation of community schools.

C. The Department shall establish the Office of Community Schools as an office within the Department for the purpose of supporting the development and growth of community schools throughout the Commonwealth in accordance with the Virginia Community School Framework by collaborating with the interagency task force established pursuant to subsection A; administering state funds provided to school divisions to develop and sustain community school models; assisting school leaders in the application for federal grant funds for their community school models; and providing technical assistance to school personnel and contracted coordinators regarding effective practices and models for community schools and capital considerations relating to community schools, including site acquisition and building construction, renovations, and additions.

2020, c. 872; 2024, cc. 797, 815.

A. In the elementary grades of every public school the following subjects shall be taught: Spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, health and physical education, drawing, civil government, history of the United States and history of Virginia.

B. Physical education shall include activities such as, but not limited to, cardiovascular, muscle building, or stretching exercises, as appropriate.

Code 1950, § 22-233; 1980, c. 559; 2005, c. 350.

Local school divisions shall provide students with alternatives to animal dissection techniques within the relevant public school curriculum or course. The Board of Education shall establish guidelines to be implemented by local school divisions regarding such alternative dissection techniques. Such guidelines shall address, but shall not be limited to, (i) the use of detailed models of animal anatomy and computer simulations as alternatives to dissection; (ii) notification of students and parents of the option to decline to participate in animal dissection; and (iii) such other issues as the Board deems appropriate.

2004, c. 918.

Repealed by Acts 2005, c. 741, cl. 2.

A. Instruction in the principles of the American economic system shall be required in the public middle and high schools of the Commonwealth to promote economics education and financial literacy of students and to further the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for responsible citizenship in a constitutional democracy.

B. The Board of Education shall develop and approve objectives for economics education and financial literacy at the middle and high school levels, that shall be required of all students, and shall provide for the systematic infusion of economic principles in the relevant Standards of Learning, and in career and technical education programs. The objectives shall include personal living and finances; personal and business money management skills; opening an account in a financial institution and judging the quality of a financial institution's services; balancing a checkbook; completing a loan application; the implications of and differences between various employment arrangements with regard to benefits, protections, and long-term financial sustainability; the implications of an inheritance; the basics of personal insurance policies; consumer rights and responsibilities; dealing with salesmen and merchants; debt management; managing retail and credit card debt; evaluating the economic value of postsecondary studies, including the net cost of attendance, potential student loan debt, and potential earnings; state and federal tax computation; local tax assessments; computation of interest rates by various mechanisms; understanding simple contracts; and learning how to contest an incorrect bill.

C. To facilitate the objectives of economics education and financial literacy through practical experiences, the Department shall confer with the State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Financial Institutions, and financial and relevant professional organizations in the development of guidelines for such literacy objectives. The guidelines shall include (i) rules and policies governing the establishment, operation, and dissolution of school banks and school credit unions; (ii) written agreements between partnering public schools and financial institutions, including the disposition of funds donated or other financial contributions provided by the partnering financial institution; and (iii) such other matters as the Department may deem appropriate.

D. The Board shall not be required to evaluate student achievement concerning economics education and financial literacy objectives in the Standards of Learning assessments required by § 22.1-253.13:3.

E. For the purposes of this section:

"At-risk and disadvantaged students" means students having socioeconomic or cultural risk factors that research indicates may negatively influence academic achievement or may hinder an individual in reaching his life goals.

"Employment arrangements" means full-time employment, part-time employment, independent contract work, gig work, piece work, contingent work, day labor work, freelance work, and 1099 work.

"Financial institution" means a bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union authorized to conduct business in the Commonwealth.

"High school" includes grades nine through 12.

"Middle school" includes grades six through eight.

2005, c. 741; 2017, c. 522; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 25.

In lieu of §§ 22.1-277, 22.1-277.07, and 22.1-277.08, a school board may establish optional age-appropriate education programs for young students in grades kindergarten through five who require guidance, supervision, and discipline in a structured learning environment and who need to be redirected toward appropriate classroom decorum and acceptable personal behavior. The programs shall provide instructional and support services that will enable students to maintain academic achievement, attain basic skills and academic proficiencies, and otherwise benefit from a public education during the time that they may be removed from the regular classroom. The programs shall also be designed to accommodate students within the school building to which they have been assigned, facilitate the efficient transition of students between the optional education program and their regular classroom, and provide for the continuity of instruction, a nurturing environment, necessary guidance and supervision, and the participation of the student's parents in correcting his behavior. Such programs shall be adequately staffed by licensed teachers or other persons with demonstrated qualifications to instruct and manage students with a range of academic gifts and deficiencies, disciplinary problems, and the need to develop and use appropriate social skills.

2001, c. 846.

A. Local school boards shall provide (i) a minimum of 680 hours of instructional time to students in elementary school, except for students in half-day kindergarten, in the four academic disciplines of English, mathematics, science, and history and social science and (ii) a minimum of 375 hours of instructional time to students in half-day kindergarten in the four academic disciplines of English, mathematics, science, and history and social science.

B. Local school boards may include and the Board of Education shall accept, for elementary school, unstructured recreational time that is intended to develop teamwork, social skills, and overall physical fitness in any calculation of total instructional time or teaching hours, provided that such unstructured recreational time does not exceed 15 percent of total instructional time or teaching hours.

2018, cc. 784, 785.

The Board shall provide local school boards maximum flexibility to waive existing instructional clock hour requirements by developing alternative instructional time models in accordance with regulations adopted by the Board and Board guidelines related to instructional time waivers.

2024, c. 421.

To increase knowledge of citizens' rights and responsibilities thereunder and to enhance the understanding of Virginia's unique role in the history of the United States, the Declaration of American Independence, the general principles of the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights, the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, the charters of the Virginia Company of April 10, 1606, May 23, 1609, and March 12, 1612, and the Virginia Declaration of Rights shall be thoroughly explained and taught by teachers to pupils in public elementary, middle, and high schools. Emphasis shall be given to the relationship between these documents and Virginia history and to citizenship responsibilities inherent in the rights included in these documents. Each teacher shall ensure that all supplementary written materials that he uses to teach these documents contain accurate restatements of the principles contained in such documents. Written examinations as to each of such documents shall be given.

The Department of Education shall develop guidelines for supplementary written materials that teachers use to teach the Declaration of American Independence, the general principles of the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights, the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, the charters of the Virginia Company of April 10, 1606, May 23, 1609, and March 12, 1612, and the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

Code 1950, § 22-234; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 69; 1980, c. 559; 1982, c. 354; 1991, c. 178; 1994, c. 693; 1999, c. 559; 2000, c. 504; 2014, c. 647.

A. Instruction in the history and principles of the flag of the United States and the flag of the Commonwealth shall be given in one or more grades in every school division. The instruction shall include the pledge of allegiance and the appropriate etiquette and conventions for respecting the dignity and appropriate display of such flags.

In recognition of the civic heritage of the United States of America, all students shall be required to learn the Pledge of Allegiance and to demonstrate such knowledge.

B. To promote compliance with constitutional restrictions as well as observance of constitutional rights, the Board of Education shall, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, develop guidelines on constitutional rights and restrictions relating to the recitation of the pledge of allegiance to the American flag in public schools.

The Board's guidelines shall include, but shall not be limited to, provisions which address the following: the initiative and involvement of local school boards, individual schools, administrators, teachers, and students; the propriety and constitutionality of any recitation or participation requirements; appropriate etiquette and conventions for respecting the dignity and appropriate display of the flag of the United States and the flag of the Commonwealth; and relevant state and federal constitutional concerns, such as freedom of speech and religion.

These guidelines shall not be subject to the requirements of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.). However, to provide appropriate opportunity for involvement by the general public, teachers, and local school boards, the Board of Education shall conduct public hearings prior to establishing such guidelines. Thirty days prior to conducting such hearings, the Board shall give written notice by mail of the date, time, and place of the hearings to all local school boards and any other persons requesting to be notified of the hearings and publish notice of its intention to hold such hearings in the Virginia Register of Regulations. Interested parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to be heard and present information prior to the adoption of such guidelines.

C. Each school board shall require the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in each classroom of the school division and shall ensure that the flag of the United States is in place in each such classroom. Each school board shall determine the appropriate time during the school day for the recitation of the Pledge. During such Pledge of Allegiance, students shall stand and recite the Pledge while facing the flag with their right hands over their hearts or in an appropriate salute if in uniform; however, no student shall be compelled to recite the Pledge if he, his parent or legal guardian objects on religious, philosophical or other grounds to his participating in this exercise. Students who are thus exempt from reciting the Pledge shall remain quietly standing or sitting at their desks while others recite the Pledge and shall make no display that disrupts or distracts others who are reciting the Pledge. School boards shall provide appropriate accommodations for students who are unable to comply with the procedures described herein due to disability.

The school board's code of conduct shall apply to disruptive behavior during the recitation of the Pledge in the same manner as provided for other circumstances of such behavior.

D. The Office of the Attorney General shall intervene on behalf of local school boards and shall provide legal defense of the provisions of this section.

Code 1950, § 22-165; 1980, c. 559; 1996, cc. 122, 124; 1998, c. 128; 2001, c. 666.

The Board of Education shall authorize local school boards to offer, as an elective in grades nine through 12 with appropriate credits toward graduation, a comparative religion class that focuses on the basic tenets, history, and religious observances and rites of world religions.

2004, cc. 939, 955; 2006, cc. 90, 161.

In order that the right of every pupil to the free exercise of religion be guaranteed within the schools and that the freedom of each individual pupil be subject to the least possible pressure from the Commonwealth either to engage in, or to refrain from, religious observation on school grounds, the school board of each school division shall establish the daily observance of one minute of silence in each classroom of the division.

During such one-minute period of silence, the teacher responsible for each classroom shall take care that all pupils remain seated and silent and make no distracting display to the end that each pupil may, in the exercise of his or her individual choice, meditate, pray, or engage in any other silent activity which does not interfere with, distract, or impede other pupils in the like exercise of individual choice.

The Office of the Attorney General shall intervene and shall provide legal defense of this law.

Code 1950, § 22-234.1; 1976, c. 103; 1980, c. 559; 2000, c. 1022.

In order that the right of every pupil to the free exercise of religion be guaranteed within the schools and that the freedom of each individual pupil not be subject to pressure from the Commonwealth either to engage in, or to refrain from, religious observation on school grounds, consistent with constitutional principles of freedom of religion and separation of church and state, students in the public schools may voluntarily engage in student-initiated prayer.

1994, c. 799.

To promote compliance with constitutional restrictions as well as observance of constitutional rights, the Board of Education shall, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, develop guidelines on constitutional rights and restrictions relating to prayer and other religious expression in the public schools. The Board's guidelines shall include, but shall not be limited to, provisions that address the following: the initiative and involvement of local school boards, individual schools, administrators, teachers, and students; the use of school facilities and equipment, including audio systems, and class time for prayer or other religious expression; and relevant state and federal constitutional concerns, such as freedom of religion and speech and separation of church and state. These guidelines shall not be subject to the requirements of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.). However, in order to provide appropriate opportunity for input from the general public, teachers, and local school boards, the Board of Education shall conduct public hearings prior to establishing such guidelines. Thirty days prior to conducting such hearings, the Board shall give written notice by mail of the date, time, and place of the hearings to all local school boards and any other persons requesting to be notified of the hearings and publish notice of its intention to hold such hearings in the Virginia Register of Regulations. Interested parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to be heard and present information prior to the adoption of such guidelines.

1994, c. 801, § 22.1-280.3; 2001, cc. 688, 820.

Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Home and classroom work shall be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school.

2008, c. 859.

Each public high school shall provide to any enrolled student who is of voting age or is eligible to register to vote pursuant to § 24.2-403 (i) mail voter registration applications and voter registration information provided by the Department of Elections or (ii) access to the Virginia online voter registration system on a school-owned computing device that is accessible to such student. Each student who is eligible to register to vote shall be provided the opportunity to complete an application form during the normal course of the school day.

2020, c. 612.

In one or more of the elementary or secondary grades of every school division there shall be provided a course of study including elementary training in accident prevention, in proper conduct on streets and highways, in the operation of motor vehicles as required by the traffic laws of this Commonwealth, and in ways and means of preventing loss of lives and damage to property through preventable fires. Such course shall be required of every pupil completing the course of study in any such grade.

Code 1950, § 22-235; 1962, c. 482; 1966, c. 208; 1968, c. 433; 1980, c. 559; 1991, c. 178.

Local school boards may provide firearm safety education programs for students in the elementary school grades. To assist local school boards electing to provide firearm safety education programs, the Board of Education shall establish curriculum guidelines for a standardized program of firearm safety education for the elementary school grades to promote the protection and safety of children enrolled in the public schools. The curriculum guidelines shall incorporate, among other principles of firearm safety, accident prevention and the rules upon which the Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program offered by the National Rifle Association is based. Local school boards electing to provide firearm safety education shall offer instruction pursuant to the Board's curriculum guidelines and shall integrate firearm safety education into appropriate subject areas, if feasible, to ensure that every elementary grade student completes the course of study in firearm safety education.

2010, c. 859.

A. Local school boards may provide after-school hunter safety education programs for students in the school division in grades seven through 12. Each student shall bear the cost of participating in such programs. Local school boards shall display information on its after-school hunter safety education programs in each school and distribute information to the parents of each student in the school division in grades seven through 12.

B. The Department of Wildlife Resources shall establish a uniform curriculum for such hunter safety education programs. Each such program shall be taught by a hunter safety instructor certified pursuant to § 29.1-300.2.

2014, c. 560; 2020, c. 958.

A. The Board of Education shall establish for the public school system a standardized program of driver education in the safe operation of motor vehicles. Such program shall consist of classroom training and behind-the-wheel driver training. However, any student who participates in such a program of driver education shall meet the academic requirements established by the Board, and no student in a course shall be permitted to operate a motor vehicle without a license or other document issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles under Chapter 3 (§ 46.2-300 et seq.) of Title 46.2, or the comparable law of another jurisdiction, authorizing the operation of a motor vehicle upon the highways.

1. The driver education program shall include (i) instruction concerning (a) alcohol and drug abuse; (b) aggressive driving; (c) the dangers of distracted driving and speeding; (d) motorcycle awareness; (e) organ and tissue donor awareness; (f) fuel-efficient driving practices; and (g) traffic stops, including law-enforcement procedures for traffic stops, appropriate actions to be taken by drivers during traffic stops, and appropriate interactions with law-enforcement officers who initiate traffic stops, and (ii) an additional minimum 90-minute parent/student driver education component as part of the classroom portion of the driver education curriculum. However, no student who is (1) at least 18 years of age, (2) an emancipated minor, or (3) an unaccompanied minor who is not in the physical custody of his parent or guardian shall be required to participate in the parent/student driver education component.

2. The parent/student driver education component shall be administered as part of the classroom portion of the driver education curriculum. In Planning District 8, the parent/student driver education component shall be administered in-person. Outside Planning District 8, the parent/student driver education component may be administered either in-person or online by a public school or a driver training school that is licensed as a computer-based driver education provider. The participation of the student's parent or guardian in the parent/student driver education component shall be required in Planning District 8 unless the student is otherwise exempted from participation in the parent/student driver education component pursuant to the provisions of subdivision 1. Outside Planning District 8, the participation of the student's parent or guardian in the parent/student driver education component shall be encouraged, but shall not be required. The program shall emphasize (i) parental responsibilities regarding juvenile driver behavior, (ii) juvenile driving restrictions pursuant to this Code, (iii) the dangers of driving while intoxicated and underage consumption of alcohol, and (iv) the dangers of distracted driving. Such instruction shall be developed by the Department in cooperation with the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program, the Department of Health, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, as appropriate. Nothing in this subdivision precludes any school division from including a program of parental involvement as part of a driver education program in addition to the minimum 90-minute parent/student driver education component.

3. Any driver education program shall require a minimum number of miles driven during the behind-the-wheel driver training.

B. The Board shall assist school divisions by preparation, publication and distribution of competent driver education instructional materials to ensure a more complete understanding of the responsibilities and duties of motor vehicle operators.

C. Each school board shall determine whether to offer the program of driver education in the safe operation of motor vehicles and, if offered, whether such program shall be an elective or a required course. In addition to the fee approved by the Board of Education pursuant to the appropriation act that allows local school boards to charge a per pupil fee for behind-the-wheel driver education, the Board of Education may authorize a local school board's request to assess a surcharge in order to further recover program costs that exceed state funds distributed through basic aid to school divisions offering driver education programs. Each school board may waive the fee or the surcharge in total or in part for those students it determines cannot pay the fee or surcharge. Only school divisions complying with the standardized program and regulations established by the Board of Education and the provisions of § 46.2-335 shall be entitled to participate in the distribution of state funds appropriated for driver education.

Each school board shall make the 90-minute parent/student driver education component available to all students and their parents or guardians who are in compliance with § 22.1-254.

D. The actual initial driving instruction shall be conducted, with motor vehicles equipped as may be required by regulation of the Board of Education, on private or public property removed from public highways if practicable; if impracticable, then, at the request of the school board, the Commissioner of Highways shall designate a suitable section of road near the school to be used for such instruction. Such section of road shall be marked with signs, which the Commissioner of Highways shall supply, giving notice of its use for driving instruction. Such signs shall be removed at the close of the instruction period. No vehicle other than those used for driver training shall be operated between such signs at a speed in excess of 25 miles per hour. Violation of this limit shall be a Class 4 misdemeanor.

E. The Board of Education may, in its discretion, promulgate regulations for the use and certification of paraprofessionals as teaching assistants in the driver education programs of school divisions.

F. The Board of Education shall approve correspondence courses for the classroom training component of driver education. These correspondence courses shall be consistent in quality with instructional programs developed by the Board for classroom training in the public schools. Students completing the correspondence courses for classroom training, who are eligible to take behind-the-wheel driver training, may receive behind-the-wheel driver training (i) from a public school, upon payment of the required fee, if the school division offers behind-the-wheel driver training and space is available, (ii) from a driver training school licensed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, or (iii) in the case of a home schooling parent or guardian instructing his own child who meets the requirements for home school instruction under § 22.1-254.1 or subdivision B 1 of § 22.1-254, from a behind-the-wheel training course approved by the Board. Nothing herein shall be construed to require any school division to provide behind-the-wheel driver training to nonpublic school students.

Code 1950, § 22-235.1; 1962, c. 482; 1966, c. 208; 1968, c. 433; 1974, c. 154; 1980, c. 559; 1988, c. 105; 1989, c. 392; 1998, c. 96; 1999, c. 928; 2000, cc. 82, 651; 2001, cc. 659, 665; 2002, cc. 177, 386; 2003, c. 951; 2007, c. 278; 2009, cc. 785, 813, 840; 2010, c. 663; 2011, c. 346; 2013, cc. 585, 646; 2017, c. 300; 2018, c. 521; 2020, cc. 1227, 1246; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 28, 74, 75; 2022, c. 708.

Each public high school shall require any student who applies to obtain a pass to park a vehicle on school property to provide evidence that the student possesses a valid driver's license or driver privilege card. The Department shall develop, and each public high school shall utilize, a standard application form for students to use to obtain a pass to park a vehicle on school property.

2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 74, 75.

A. Instruction concerning drugs and drug abuse shall be provided by the public schools as prescribed by the Board of Education.

B. Instruction concerning the public safety hazards and dangers of alcohol abuse, underage drinking, and drunk driving shall be provided in the public schools. The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority shall provide educational materials to the Department of Education. The Department of Education shall review and shall distribute such materials as are approved to the public schools.

The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth shall develop and the Department of Education shall distribute to each local school division educational materials concerning the health and safety risks of using retail tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking, as such terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2. Instruction concerning the health and safety risks of using tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking, as such terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2, shall be provided in each public elementary and secondary school in the Commonwealth, consistent with such educational materials.

C. Instruction concerning gambling and the addictive potential thereof shall be provided by the public schools as prescribed by the Board.

Code 1950, § 22-235.1; 1972, c. 248; 1980, c. 559; 2001, c. 452; 2015, cc. 38, 730; 2019, c. 577; 2022, c. 192; 2024, cc. 796, 821.

A. Each local school board shall develop a plan, in accordance with the guidelines and model curriculum developed by the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Education, in accordance with the protocols developed by the Board of Pharmacy in consultation with the Board of Medicine and the Department of Health, for providing at each public secondary school that includes grades nine through 12 a program of instruction on opioid overdose prevention and reversal. Such program of instruction shall include instruction in identifying the signs of a possible opioid overdose and training in the administration of an opioid antagonist for the reversal of a potentially life-threatening opioid overdose.

B. Each public secondary school that includes grades nine through 12 shall provide an opioid overdose prevention and reversal program of instruction at such grade level as the local school board deems appropriate. Each public secondary school shall adopt policies for the purpose of encouraging each student to complete such opioid overdose prevention and reversal program of instruction prior to graduating from high school.

2024, cc. 451, 519.

A. As used in this section, "informational one-sheet" means a single-page document detailing relevant information and key points on a single topic developed and disseminated for the purpose of providing information to a specific group of individuals.

B. The Department shall, in collaboration with the Department of Health, develop a fentanyl education and awareness informational one-sheet designed to promote awareness of the dangers associated with and the prevalence of fentanyl and provide essential information on fentanyl overdose prevention and preparedness among high school-age students. Such informational one-sheet shall include information on:

1. The dangers associated with fentanyl;

2. The prevalence of fentanyl and how to identify and avoid it;

3. Overdose prevention and preparedness, including the signs and symptoms of fentanyl overdose and how to report a fentanyl overdose;

4. Resources for students in the event that any student needs or knows someone who needs help with substance use disorder or is in danger of a fentanyl overdose; and

5. Statistics relating to fentanyl prevalence, fentanyl use, health risks associated with fentanyl use, and fentanyl overdoses, including overdoses that were successfully reversed and deaths associated with fentanyl overdoses, in the Commonwealth.

C. The Department shall make available to each school board and shall post in a publicly accessible location on its website such fentanyl educational and awareness informational one-sheet developed in accordance with subsection B. The Department, in collaboration with the Department of Health, shall annually review such informational one-sheet and update it as necessary to ensure its currency and accuracy.

D. Each public high school or secondary school that includes grades nine through 12 shall annually distribute such fentanyl education and awareness informational one-sheet to each student in grades nine through 12 within the first two weeks of the school year.

2024, c. 564.

The Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, shall develop instructional resources and materials to assist school boards and local and regional public libraries in establishing an education and awareness program to protect children from Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections. Such instructional resources and materials (i) shall be appropriate for individuals of school age; (ii) shall provide information on the identification of ticks, recommended procedures for safe tick removal, and best practices to provide protection from ticks; (iii) may include video productions, pamphlets, and demonstration programs to illustrate the sizes of various ticks, including sizes before and after each variety has become engorged, to assist with the identification of a tick and the reaction on the skin that may result from a tick bite; and (iv) shall be made available to school boards and local and regional public libraries upon request at no charge.

2022, c. 303.

A. As used in this section, "institution of higher education" means each public institution of higher education and each private institution of higher education, as those terms are defined in § 23.1-100.

B. The Department shall collect and distribute to school boards and publicly post on its website information that assists high school students in making more informed decisions about their futures after graduating from high school and in doing so ensure that such students are aware of the costs and benefits of different educational and certificate programs. The Department shall annually collect and compile such information in consultation with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (the Council) and any other entity that can assist the Department with collecting and compiling such information and shall update its distribution materials accordingly each year. The Department shall post and distribute the information to school boards, with any relevant updates, no later than October 1 each year, and shall provide an annual update to the General Assembly on how such information was distributed. Each school board shall ensure that the information is readily available to each high school student and distributed to each high school student who expresses an interest in attending an institution of higher education or completing another training program described in this section. Information to be collected shall include:

1. To the extent available from the Council or other entities or sources, the most in-demand occupations in the Commonwealth, including entry wages and common degree levels required or encouraged for entering such occupations, and lists of offerings at institutions of higher education that offer such programs.

2. The average cost of institutions of higher education, set out by type of institution.

3. The federal and state scholarship, merit, and need-based aid programs available to students for attending institutions of higher education.

4. To the extent available from the Council or other entities or sources, the average monthly student loan payment and the average total amount of student loans for individuals who attend institutions of higher education, with such information distinguished by type of institution, to the extent that the Department and the Council can determine such information.

5. To the extent available from the Council or other entities or sources, the average student loan default rate for students who attend institutions of higher education, to the extent that the Department and the Council can determine such information.

6. To the extent available from the Council or other entities or sources, information relating to the availability of paid internship and externship opportunities for students attending institutions of higher education with such information distinguished by major or area of study.

7. The average time that it takes to complete degrees offered by institutions of higher education.

8. Median annual wages for individuals who graduate from institutions of higher education, distinguished by degree level.

9. To the extent available from the Council or other entities or sources, the average starting salary for individuals who complete career and technical education programs in the Commonwealth.

10. The contact information for each institution of higher education.

11. To the extent available from the Council or other entities or sources, information regarding the degree to which any institutions of higher education that accept public funding align their curricula or programs with the state job market, including the degree to which they contribute to filling the most in-demand jobs in the Commonwealth. The information in this subdivision shall also be included in the annual report sent to the General Assembly described in this subsection.

12. Any other information that the Department or the Council deem appropriate to assist high school students in weighing the costs and benefits of post-high-school training and education.

2022, cc. 343, 344.

The Board shall, consistent with the provisions of Article 5.1 (§ 22.1-237.1 et seq.), develop guidelines and policies for prioritizing to the maximum extent practicable dual enrollment programs, including the Passport Program, the Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program, the New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program, and other such programs that allow high school students to receive credit toward the completion of an undergraduate course, degree, or credential offered in the Virginia Community College System. Such guidelines and policies shall include recommendations and strategies on how to ensure the prioritization of such programs to the maximum extent practicable, including ways to direct prioritization of funding to such programs.

2023, c. 479; 2024, cc. 647, 684.

A. Physical and health education shall be emphasized throughout the public school curriculum by lessons, drills, and physical exercises, and all pupils in the public elementary, middle, and high schools shall receive as part of the educational program such health instruction and physical training as shall be prescribed by the Board and approved by the State Board of Health. Such health instruction shall incorporate standards that recognize the multiple dimensions of health by including mental health and the relationship of physical and mental health so as to enhance student understanding, attitudes, and behavior that promote health, well-being, and human dignity. Such health instruction may include an age-appropriate program of instruction on the safe use of and risks of abuse of prescription drugs that is consistent with curriculum guidelines developed by the Board and approved by the State Board of Health. Such health instruction shall also include the following topics:

1. General themes of life skills, including self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, relationship skills, and social awareness;

2. Signs and symptoms of common mental health challenges;

3. Mental health wellness and healthy strategies for coping with stress and negative feelings, including conflict resolution skills;

4. The importance of and guidance on seeking assistance from an adult or mental health professional, including information on services offered within the school or the local school division;

5. The prevalence of mental health challenges and the importance of overcoming common stigmas surrounding such mental health challenges;

6. The connection between mental health and substance use disorders; and

7. The importance of mental health to the student's overall well-being, including physical health and academic success.

B. The Board shall develop Standards of Learning and curriculum guidelines for research-based hazing prevention instruction to be provided as a part of physical or health education instruction provided to students in grade nine or 10. Such Standards of Learning and curriculum guidelines for such research-based hazing prevention instruction shall include age-appropriate, extensive, and current education about hazing, including (i) examples of hazing; (ii) the dangers of hazing, including the consequences of alcohol intoxication; and (iii) school policies and laws relating to hazing, including criminal penalties and bystander intervention.

C. Each local school board shall provide as a part of physical or health education instruction provided to students in grade nine or 10 research-based hazing prevention instruction in accordance with the Standards of Learning and curriculum guidelines developed by the Board pursuant to subsection B. Such research-based hazing prevention instruction shall be offered in person, provided that each local school board shall provide options for virtual participation for any student who is enrolled in an online or virtual physical or health education program.

D. Each school board may provide, as a part of health instruction offered pursuant to subsection A, at such grade level in grades four through eight as the school board deems appropriate, a program of instruction on menstrual education.

Code 1950, §§ 22-237, 22-243; 1980, c. 559; 1991, c. 178; 2018, cc. 392, 393, 490; 2024, cc. 7, 144, 741, 812.

A. As used in this section, "abstinence education" means an educational or motivational component that has as its exclusive purpose teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by teenagers' abstaining from sexual activity before marriage.

B. The Board of Education shall develop Standards of Learning and curriculum guidelines for a comprehensive, sequential family life education curriculum in grades kindergarten through 12. Such curriculum guidelines shall include instruction as appropriate for the age of the student in family living and community relationships; the benefits, challenges, responsibilities, and value of marriage for men, women, children, and communities; the value of family relationships; abstinence education; the value of postponing sexual activity; the benefits of adoption as a positive choice in the event of an unwanted pregnancy; human sexuality; human reproduction; the prevention of human trafficking, including the human trafficking of children; dating violence, the characteristics of abusive relationships, steps to take to deter sexual assault, the availability of counseling and legal resources, and, in the event of such sexual assault, the importance of immediate medical attention and advice, as well as the requirements of the law; the etiology, prevention, and effects of sexually transmitted diseases; and mental health education and awareness.

C. All such instruction shall be designed to promote parental involvement, foster positive self-concepts, and provide mechanisms for coping with peer pressure and the stresses of modern living according to the students' developmental stages and abilities. The Board shall also establish requirements for appropriate training for teachers of family life education, which shall include training in instructional elements to support the various curriculum components.

D. Each school board shall conduct a review of its family life education curricula at least once every seven years, shall evaluate whether such curricula reflect contemporary community standards, and shall revise such curricula if necessary.

1987, c. 371; 1999, c. 422; 2002, c. 554; 2004, c. 1030; 2007, c. 32; 2008, c. 417; 2009, cc. 437, 583; 2017, c. 692; 2019, c. 595; 2020, c. 687; 2022, c. 459.

A. Any family life education curriculum offered by a local school division shall require the Standards of Learning objectives related to dating violence and the characteristics of abusive relationships to be taught at least once in middle school and at least twice in high school, as described in the Board's family life education guidelines.

B. Any high school family life education curriculum offered by a local school division shall incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on (i) the prevention of dating violence, domestic abuse, sexual harassment, including sexual harassment using electronic means, sexual violence, and human trafficking and (ii) the law and meaning of consent. Such age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the prevention of sexual violence may include instruction that increases student awareness of the fact that consent is required before sexual activity.

C. Any family life education curriculum offered in any elementary school, middle school, or high school shall incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the importance of the personal privacy and personal boundaries of other individuals and tools for a student to use to ensure that he respects the personal privacy and personal boundaries of other individuals.

D. Any family life education curriculum offered by a local school division shall incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the harmful physical and emotional effects of female genital mutilation; associated criminal penalties; and the rights of the victim, including any civil action pursuant to § 8.01-42.5.

E. Any family life education curriculum offered by a local school division may incorporate age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs on the prevention, recognition, and awareness of child abduction, child abuse, child sexual exploitation, child sexual abuse, and, in any such curriculum offered in high school, human trafficking of children.

2011, c. 634; 2016, c. 434; 2017, cc. 299, 692; 2018, cc. 383, 519; 2019, cc. 372, 595, 596; 2022, c. 459.

Every parent, guardian or other person in the Commonwealth having control or charge of any child who is required by subsection A of § 22.1-254 to send such child to a public school shall have the right to review the complete family life curricula, including all supplemental materials used in any family life education program. A complete copy of all printed materials not subject to copyright protection and a description of all audio-visual materials shall be made available through any available parental portal and kept in the school library or office and made available for review to any parent or guardian during school office hours before and during the school year. The audio-visual materials shall be made available to parents for in-person review, upon request, on the same basis as printed materials are made available.

Each school board shall develop and distribute to the parents or guardians of a student participating in the family life education program and post for public viewing on the local school division's official website a summary designed to assist parents in understanding the program implemented in its school division as such program progresses and to encourage parental guidance and involvement in the instruction of the students. Such information shall reflect the curricula of the program as taught in the classroom. The school division shall include the following information on the summary:

"Parents and guardians have the right to review the family life education program offered by their school division, including written and audio-visual educational materials used in the program. Parents and guardians also have the right to excuse their child from all or part of family life education instruction."

1989, c. 515; 1991, cc. 139, 526; 2009, c. 451; 2020, c. 689.

Each school board shall develop and implement policies that ensure that parents have the right to review any audio-visual materials that contain graphic sexual or violent content used in any anti-bullying or suicide prevention program. Such policies shall require that prior to using any such material, the parent of the child participating in such a program shall be provided written notice of his right to review the material and his right to excuse his child from participating in the part of such program utilizing such material.

2019, c. 581.

A. Each local school board that collects information to determine eligibility for participation in the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shall establish and post prominently on its website a web-based application for student participation in such program and shall continue to provide a paper-based application.

B. Each public elementary or secondary school shall process each web-based or paper-based application for participation in the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture within six working days after the date of receipt of the completed application.

2019, c. 228; 2022, c. 424.

A. Upon the appropriation and authorization of federal funds for the reimbursement of school breakfast programs, each school board shall establish a school breakfast program in any public school in which 25 percent or more of enrolled school-age children were approved eligible to receive free or reduced price meals in the federally funded lunch program during the previous school year.

B. The Board shall promulgate regulations for the implementation of the program. Such regulations shall include, but not be limited to, criteria for eligibility and exemptions; a reporting system for the compilation and analysis of information concerning the number and socioeconomic characteristics of participating school-age children; standards for food services; program evaluation; the investigation of complaints; an appeals process; notification of parents and guardians of the availability of the school breakfast program; and provision to teachers, children, and their parents or guardians of nutrition information describing the relationship between good nutrition, learning, and health.

C. Each school board subject to the provisions of this section shall develop and implement a plan to ensure compliance with the provisions of subsection A and submit the plan to the Department no later than 30 days prior to the commencement of the program. Each school board shall annually report such information as required in subsection B to the Department on such forms and in the manner to be prescribed by the Board. In the event that federal funding for school breakfast programs is reduced or eliminated, a school board may support the program with such state or local funds as may be appropriated for such purposes.

1993, c. 698; 2022, c. 355.

A. As used in this section, "excess food" means any remaining unexpired, unopened, and unconsumed food intended to be served as part of a reimbursable meal that was unable to be utilized for a current or future meal provision after a school has served breakfast and lunch to students during a school day.

B. Each school board may distribute excess food to enrolled students eligible for the School Breakfast Program or National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture who the school board determines are eligible to receive excess food.

C. The method by which a school board distributes excess food shall be established by the school board in accordance with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements and guidelines for the distribution of excess food.

D. A school board may develop a policy describing the process for distributing excess food under this section, saving excess food for later consumption, or donating excess food.

2020, c. 574.

A. For purposes of this section, "competitive food" means any food, excluding beverages, sold to students on school grounds during regular school hours that is not part of the school breakfast or school lunch program.

B. The Board, in cooperation with the Department of Health, shall promulgate regulations setting nutritional guidelines for all competitive foods.

C. The Board, with assistance from the Department of Health, shall periodically review the nutritional guidelines for competitive foods to ensure that they remain current and science-based and shall also review the nutritional guidelines upon changes to federal law or regulations for competitive foods.

D. The regulations promulgated pursuant to this section shall include but not be limited to: calorie, fat, sugar, and sodium content.

E. The regulations promulgated pursuant to this section shall permit each public school to conduct on school grounds during regular school hours no more than 30 school-sponsored fundraisers per school year, during which food that does not meet the nutrition guidelines for competitive foods may be sold to students.

2010, c. 718; 2015, c. 568.

A. As used in this section:

"Identified student" means any student who is directly certified for free meals through means other than the use of an individual household application.

"Identified student" includes (i) any student who is directly certified for free meals based on the student's participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or based on Medicaid income data and (ii) any homeless, runaway, migrant, or Head Start student, or any foster child, who is approved as categorically eligible for free meals by means other than a meal application.

"Identified student percentage" means the fraction, expressed as a percentage, that results from dividing the number of identified students enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school by the total number of students enrolled in such school.

B. Each school board that governs a local school division that contains any public elementary or secondary school that has a minimum identified student percentage of 40 percent in the prior school year and is consequently eligible to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) shall apply to FNS to participate in CEP for each such school, pursuant to FNS guidelines, by submitting (i) identified student data to FNS by April 1, unless an extension is in effect and (ii) its completed application to FNS by June 30, unless an extension is in effect.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any school board from grouping elementary or secondary schools in the local school division and applying to FNS to participate in CEP for such group of schools.

D. The Superintendent for Public Instruction shall issue a waiver to the requirement set forth in subsection B in the sole circumstance that an evaluation of a school or group of schools that is eligible to participate in CEP determines that participation in CEP is not financially viable to such school or group of schools. The Department of Education shall develop a process and criteria for considering such waivers, including a process and criteria for conducting such CEP evaluations.

2020, Sp. Sess. I, c. 2.

A. As used in this section:

"At-risk afterschool care center" includes locations that offer educational or enrichment activities to children or teenagers, including schools, community centers, and libraries, approved by the Department to operate the Program.

"Program" means the Afterschool Meal Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

B. Each school board that governs a local school division that contains any public elementary or secondary school that has a student population that qualifies for free and reduced-price meals at a minimum percentage of 50 percent in the prior school year and simultaneously offers educational or enrichment activities and is consequently eligible to participate in the Program shall apply to the Department to participate in the Program for each such school to subsequently and simultaneously serve federally reimbursable meals and offer an afterschool education or enrichment program, pursuant to FNS guidelines and state health and safety standards. The Department shall administer the Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and shall conduct the processes for application to the Program, approval for participation in the Program, and monitoring of schools participating in the Program.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any school in the local school division from applying to the Department to participate in the Program if that school offers afterschool programs that:

1. Provide organized and regularly scheduled afterschool activities for children after school or on the weekends, holidays, or breaks during the regular school year;

2. Include educational or enrichment activities such as arts and crafts, computer lessons, or homework assistance; and

3. Are located in an area that meets eligibility requirements for participation in the Program, pursuant to FNS guidelines.

D. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any school in the local school division from partnering with agencies or organizations that participate in the Program, which partnership may include sponsoring at-risk afterschool care centers that operate at the school or at a location outside of the school and that already participate in the Program, to satisfy the requirements set forth in subsection B.

E. Any school may contact the Department for assistance in determining if a school or an afterschool program meets the requirements for eligibility to participate in the Program.

F. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall issue a waiver to the requirement set forth in subsection B in the sole circumstance that an evaluation of a school or group of schools that is eligible to participate in the Program determines that participation in the program is not financially viable to such school or group of schools. The Department shall develop a process and criteria for considering such waivers, including a process and criteria for conducting such Program evaluations.

2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 292.

A. As used in this section, "American Sign Language" means the natural language recognized globally that is used by members of the deaf community and that is linguistically complete with unique rules for language structure and use that include phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and discourse.

B. If a local school board offers one or more elective courses in American Sign Language, such school board shall (i) grant academic credit for successful completion of an American Sign Language course on the same basis as the successful completion of a foreign language course and (ii) count completion of an American Sign Language course toward the fulfillment of any foreign language requirement for graduation.

C. If a local school board does not offer any elective course in American Sign Language, such school board shall (i) grant academic credit for successful completion of an American Sign Language course offered by a comprehensive community college or a multidivision online provider approved by the Board on the same basis as the successful completion of a foreign language course and (ii) count completion of any such American Sign Language course toward the fulfillment of any foreign language requirement for graduation.

2011, c. 762; 2018, c. 481.

The Department of Education shall encourage school boards of school divisions that have a significant number of enrolled military-connected students to partner with the National Math and Science Initiative to provide such students with the tools and resources necessary to advance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning opportunities and career readiness. The Department shall provide technical assistance to any school board seeking to enter into such a partnership, upon request.

2019, c. 772.

A. No student who misses a partial or full day of school while participating in a 4-H educational program or activity shall be counted as absent for the purposes of calculating average daily membership and each such student shall receive course credit in the same manner as he would for a school field trip, provided that:

1. Each local school board shall develop policies and procedures for such students to make up missed work;

2. Each local school board may determine the maximum number of school days per academic year that a student may spend participating in 4-H educational programs or activities to not be counted absent; and

3. No school shall provide course credit to a student pursuant this section if the student's participation in a 4-H educational program or activity occurs during scheduled Standards of Learning assessments or during any period of time that the student is suspended or expelled from school.

B. Upon request from a school principal or an assistant principal, an agent or representative from 4-H shall provide documentation as proof of a student's participation in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H.

2022, cc. 58, 59.

The Board shall develop guidelines and policies for permitting any high school student in grades 11 and 12 to earn one-half standard unit of credit per semester for employment in certain fields or industries or participation in certain fine arts programs in which such student works or participates a certain minimum number of hours per week for each week of the semester, as determined by the Board. Such guidelines and policies shall include:

1. Standards and requirements for determining the eligibility of employment and fine arts programs for awarding academic credit, including eligibility criteria and approval procedures for specific employers and programs;

2. Standards for how the one-half unit of credit is to be awarded and policies for monitoring and evaluating student participation in and completion of approved employment or fine arts programs; and

3. Any other policies that the Board deems appropriate.

2023, c. 145.

The entire scheme of instruction in the public schools shall emphasize moral education through lessons given by teachers and imparted by appropriate reading selections.

Code 1950, § 22-238; 1980, c. 559.

A. Each school board shall establish, within its existing programs or as a separate program, a character education program in its schools, which may occur during the regular school year, during the summer in a youth development academy offered by the school division, or both. The Department of Education shall develop curricular guidelines for school divisions to use in establishing a character education program through a summer youth development academy. The purpose of the character education program shall be to instill in students civic virtues and personal character traits so as to improve the learning environment, promote student achievement, reduce disciplinary problems, and develop civic-minded students of high character. The components of each program shall be developed in cooperation with the students, their parents, and the community at large. The basic character traits taught may include (i) trustworthiness, including honesty, integrity, reliability, and loyalty; (ii) respect, including the precepts of the Golden Rule, tolerance, and courtesy; (iii) responsibility, including hard work, economic self-reliance, accountability, diligence, perseverance, and self-control; (iv) fairness, including justice, consequences of bad behavior, principles of nondiscrimination, and freedom from prejudice; (v) caring, including kindness, empathy, compassion, consideration, generosity, and charity; and (vi) citizenship, including patriotism, the Pledge of Allegiance, respect for the American flag, concern for the common good, respect for authority and the law, and community-mindedness.

Classroom instruction may be used to supplement a character education program; however, each program shall be interwoven into the school procedures and environment and structured to instruct primarily through example, illustration, and participation, in such a way as to complement the Standards of Learning. The program shall also address the inappropriateness of bullying, as defined in § 22.1-276.01.

This provision is intended to educate students regarding those core civic values and virtues that are efficacious to civilized society and are common to the diverse social, cultural, and religious groups of the Commonwealth. Consistent with this purpose, Virginia's civic values, which are the principles articulated in the Bill of Rights (Article I) of the Constitution of Virginia and the ideals reflected in the seal of the Commonwealth, as described in § 1-500, may be taught as representative of such civic values. Nothing herein shall be construed as requiring or authorizing the indoctrination in any particular religious or political belief.

B. The Board of Education shall establish criteria for character education programs consistent with the provisions of this section. The Department of Education shall assist school divisions in implementing character education programs and practices that are designed to promote the development of personal qualities as set forth in this section and the Standards of Quality and that will improve family and community involvement in the public schools. With such funds as are made available for this purpose, the Department of Education shall provide resources and technical assistance to school divisions regarding successful character education programs and shall (i) identify and analyze effective character education programs and practices and (ii) collect and disseminate among school divisions information regarding such programs and practices and potential funding and support sources. The Department of Education may also provide resources supporting professional development for administrators and teachers in the delivery of any character education programs.

C. The Department of Education shall award, with such funds as are appropriated for this purpose, grants to school boards for the implementation of innovative character education programs, including a summer youth development academy.

1998, c. 725; 1999, c. 944; 2003, c. 777; 2005, cc. 461, 484, 839; 2012, c. 703; 2013, c. 575.

A. The Department of Education, in consultation with the Commonwealth's Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, shall establish and appoint such members as deemed appropriate to the Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Education Practices Advisory Committee (the Advisory Committee) for the purpose of strengthening culturally relevant education practices and supporting anti-bias education and response in the Commonwealth. The Advisory Committee shall include but not be limited to a geographically, ethnically, and religiously diverse representation of teachers, curriculum specialists, principals, superintendents, advocates, higher education institutions, parents, legislators, and community-based organizations. The Advisory Committee shall report its recommendations to the Board of Education, the Governor, and the Chairpersons of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health no later than July 1, 2021. The Committee shall issue interim reports as it deems necessary.

B. The Advisory Committee shall provide standards recommendations to the Virginia Department of Education, and they shall be considered by the Board of Education, during the 2021-2022 review of the history and social science Standards of Learning. Such recommendations shall include:

1. The historical underpinnings of the Holocaust and other historical genocides in the context of how increased lower levels of hate, ridicule, and dehumanization led to larger acts of violence and state-sponsored discrimination and violence;

2. Slavery, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of historical dehumanizing injustice and discrimination;

3. The ignored and untold history of the indigenous people of Virginia and North America; and

4. The untold histories of other groups historically underrepresented in American and world history.

C. The Advisory Committee shall provide recommendations for the issuance of Board of Education guidelines for local school division staff, including teachers and school counselors, to offer age-appropriate anti-bias education to students. The recommendations for such guidelines shall include:

1. Recognition that anti-bias and anti-discrimination education is the work and responsibility of all staff within the local school division;

2. An emphasis on diversity and building a community of empathy, respect, understanding, and connection;

3. Examination of how lower levels of hate, ridicule, and dehumanization lead to larger acts of violence, discrimination and violence;

4. Acknowledgment of inequity on the individual level, such as biased speech and harassment, and injustice at the institutional or systemic level, such as discrimination, and the harmful impact of inequity and injustice on the community, historically and today;

5. School-based and classroom-based responses, which are student centered and proven effective, to various forms of racism, bigotry, and discrimination through empathy, respect, understanding, and connection; and

6. Updates to the Department of Education's teacher's manual, as required by action taken by the 2009 Session of the General Assembly, that emphasizes the causes and ramifications of the Holocaust and genocide.

D. The Advisory Committee shall provide recommendations on meaningful professional development with school personnel related to culturally relevant and inclusive education practices. In addition to the Board of Education, the Governor, and the Chairpersons of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health, these recommendations shall also be provided to the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure and the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia. This shall include but not be limited to considerations for:

1. The policies and regulations governing teacher preparation programs; and

2. The policies and regulations governing teacher licensure and professional development requirements for licensure renewal.

2020, cc. 572, 573.

Repealed by Acts 2011, c. 216, cl. 2.

Repealed by Acts 2004, c. 872, cl. 4, effective May 4, 2005.

Repealed by Acts 2011, c. 216, cl. 2.

Repealed by Acts 2005, c. 741, cl. 2.

A. Each school board shall make available to secondary students employment counseling and placement services to furnish information relating to the employment opportunities available to students graduating from or leaving the public schools in the school division. Such information shall include all types of employment opportunities, including, but not limited to, apprenticeships, the military, career education schools, and the teaching profession.

B. No fee, compensation or other consideration shall be charged to or received from any student utilizing such services.

C. In providing such services, the school board shall consult and cooperate with the Virginia Employment Commission, the Department of Labor and Industry, local business and labor organizations, and such career schools as may be approved by the Board.

D. The Board of Education may recommend methods for providing such services. The State Department of Education may provide assistance to school divisions in establishing and providing such services upon request.

Code 1950, § 22-40.1; 1975, c. 147; 1980, c. 559; 1990, c. 797; 1991, c. 295; 1999, c. 452.

Repealed by Acts 2011, c. 216, cl. 2.

A. With such funds as may be appropriated for this purpose, the Board of Education shall establish a program consisting of regional alternative education options for elementary, middle, and high school students in compliance with subdivision D 7 of § 22.1-253.13:1 who (i) have committed an offense in violation of school board policies relating to weapons, alcohol or drugs, or intentional injury to another person, or against whom a petition or warrant has been filed alleging such acts or school board charges alleging such policy violations are pending; (ii) have been expelled from school attendance or have received one suspension for an entire semester, or have received two or more long-term suspensions within one school year; or (iii) have been released from a juvenile correctional center and have been identified by the Superintendent of the Department of Juvenile Justice's Division of Education and the relevant division superintendent as requiring a regional alternative education program. Based on available space, a student may also be administratively assigned to a regional alternative education program either at the request of the parent and with the consent of the division superintendent or by the division superintendent after written notice to the student and his parent. Such notice of the opportunity for the student and/or his parent to participate in a hearing conducted by the division superintendent or his designee regarding such placement shall be issued and the assignment shall be final unless altered by the school board, upon timely written petition, in accordance with regulations of the school board, by the student or his parent, for a review of the record by the school board. However, no child shall be assigned to any regional alternative education program described in this section for more than one school year without an annual assessment of the placement to determine the appropriateness of transitioning the child into the school division's regular program.

B. Applications for grants shall include the following components:

1. An agreement executed by two or more school divisions and approval of their respective governing bodies to offer a regional alternative education option as provided in subsection A, and a plan for the apportionment of responsibilities for the administration, management, and support of the program, including, but not limited to, the facilities and location for the program, daily operation and oversight, staffing, instructional materials and resources, transportation, funding and in-kind services, and the program of instruction.

2. A procedure for obtaining the participation in or support for the program, as may be determined, of the parents, guardian or other person having charge or control of a child placed in the program.

3. An interagency agreement for cooperation executed by the local departments of health and social services or welfare; the juvenile and domestic relations district court; law-enforcement agencies; institutions of higher education and other postsecondary training programs; professional and community organizations; the business and religious communities; dropout prevention and substance abuse prevention programs; community services boards located in the applicants' respective jurisdictions; and the Department of Juvenile Justice.

4. A curriculum developed for intensive, accelerated instruction designed to establish high standards and academic achievement for participating students.

5. An emphasis on building self-esteem and the promotion of personal and social responsibility.

6. A low pupil/teacher ratio to promote a high level of interaction between the students and the teacher.

7. An extended day program, where appropriate, to facilitate remediation; tutoring; counseling; organized, age-appropriate, developmental education for elementary and middle school children; and opportunities that enhance acculturation and permit students to improve their social and interpersonal relationship skills.

8. Community outreach to build strong school, business, and community partnerships, and to promote parental involvement in the educational process of participating children.

9. Specific, measurable goals and objectives and an evaluation component to determine the program's effectiveness in reducing acts of crime and violence by students, the dropout rate, the number of youth committed to juvenile correctional centers, and recidivism; and in increasing the academic achievement levels and rehabilitative success of participating students, admission to institutions of higher education and other postsecondary education and training programs, and improving staff retention rates.

10. The number of children who may be assigned to the regional alternative education program during the school year.

11. A plan for transitioning the enrolled students into the relevant school division's regular program.

12. A current program of staff development and training.

C. Beginning with the first year of program implementation, the Department of Education shall be entitled to deduct annually from the locality's share for the education of its students a sum equal to the actual local expenditure per pupil for the support of those students placed by the relevant school division in any such program. The amount of the actual transfers shall be based on data accumulated during the prior school year.

D. A school board shall require written notification to the pupil's parent, guardian, or other person having charge or control, when a pupil commits an offense in violation of school board policies, which school officials determine was committed without the willful intent to violate such policies, or when the offense did not endanger the health and safety of the individual or other persons, of the nature of the offense no later than two school days following its occurrence. A school board shall require the principal of the school where the child is in attendance or other appropriate school personnel to develop appropriate measures, in conjunction with the pupil's parent or guardian, for correcting such behavior.

E. For the purposes of this section, "regional alternative education program" means a program supported and implemented by two or more school divisions which are either geographically contiguous or have a community of interest.

F. For the purposes of this section, "one school year" means no more than 180 teaching days.

1993, cc. 819, 856; 1994, c. 762; 1995, c. 533; 1996, cc. 755, 914; 2000, c. 739; 2004, cc. 939, 955; 2009, cc. 792, 802; 2010, c. 61; 2012, cc. 803, 835.

A. With such funds as may be appropriated by the General Assembly for this purpose, local school boards may establish Advancement Via Individual Determination Programs in their respective school divisions to prepare at-risk students enrolled in the secondary grades in the public schools of the school division for postsecondary education eligibility.

B. Any school board adopting the Advancement Via Individual Determination Program shall establish policies and guidelines to ensure compliance with the provisions of this section. Programs established pursuant to subsection A shall include the following components:

1. A procedure for identifying at-risk students enrolled in the secondary grades in the public schools of the school division who demonstrate academic potential, a desire to attend college, and the willingness to pursue a rigorous academic program of study leading to eligibility for college admission;

2. A procedure for obtaining participation in or support for the program by the parent, guardian or other person having charge or control of a child engaged in the program;

3. An agreement executed with an associate-degree-granting institution of higher education or a baccalaureate institution of higher education located within or in the proximity of the school division to provide relevant support services including, but not limited to, access to advanced course work, student mentorships and tutorials, and cultural and enrichment experiences;

4. A curriculum developed for intensive, accelerated instruction designed to establish high standards and academic achievement for participating students;

5. An emphasis on college preparation and college awareness, access to advanced level college preparatory courses at the high school level, building self-esteem and the promotion of personal and social responsibility, the availability of support services for students enrolled in the AVID Program, and the development and fostering of a positive attitude toward learning and the advantages of higher education;

6. A low pupil-teacher ratio to promote a high level of interaction between the students and the teacher;

7. A current program of staff development and training in the organizational structure, instructional methods, strategies, and process used in and unique to the AVID Program for all teachers and administrators assigned to the program;

8. Community outreach to build strong school, business, and community partnerships, and to promote parental involvement in the educational process of participating children;

9. Specific, measurable goals and objectives and an evaluation component to determine the program's effectiveness in preparing students participating in the program for college, increasing academic achievement, and lessening the need for remediation of such students who attend college.

C. Upon completion of the initial school year of the Advancement Via Individual Determination Program and at least annually thereafter, each school board implementing such program shall require submission of interim evaluation reports of the program. If funded by an appropriation pursuant to subsection A, each school board having an Advancement Via Individual Determination Program shall report the status, effectiveness, and results of such program no later than November 30 of the year following the completion of the initial school year to the Board of Education, which shall transmit such reports to the Governor and the General Assembly.

1994, c. 864; 2005, c. 633; 2016, cc. 720, 750.

Repealed by Acts 2000, c. 1059, cl. 2, effective June 30, 2002.

Expired.

Repealed by Acts 2011, c. 216, cl. 2.

Repealed by Acts 2004, c. 872, cl. 5, effective May 4, 2005.

Expired.

Repealed by Acts 2004, c. 872, cl. 6, effective May 4, 2005.

Repealed by Acts 2004, c. 872, cl. 2.

The Board shall prepare and supervise the implementation in regional detention homes and local detention homes a program designed to educate and train the children detained in the homes. In addition, the Board shall supervise those programs of evaluation, education, and training provided to school-age children by the Department of Health, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the children's teaching hospital associated with the Eastern Virginia Health Sciences Center at Old Dominion University, the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority, the children's teaching hospital associated with the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority, and the University of Virginia Hospitals pursuant to the Board's standards and regulations as required by § 22.1-7.

The Board shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to conform these programs with the applicable federal and state laws and regulations including teacher/student ratios and special education requirements for children with disabilities. The education programs in the relevant detention homes and state agencies and institutions shall be approved by the Board, and the Board shall prepare a budget for these educational programs that shall be solely supported by such general funds as are appropriated by the General Assembly for this purpose. Teacher staffing ratios for regional or local detention homes shall be based on a ratio of one teacher for every 12 beds based on the capacity of the facility; however, if the previous year's average daily attendance exceeds this bed capacity, the ratio shall be based on the average daily attendance at the facility as calculated by the Department from the previous school year.

The Board shall enter into contracts with the relevant state agency or institution or detention facility or the local school divisions in which the state agencies or institutions or the regional detention homes and the relevant local detention homes are located for the hiring and supervision of teachers.

In any case in which the Board enters into a contract with the relevant state agency or institution, the Department of Human Resource Management shall establish salary schedules for the teachers that are competitive with those in effect for the school divisions in which the agency or institution is located.

1987, c. 414; 1992, cc. 209, 439; 1994, c. 854; 2000, cc. 66, 657, 865; 2002, cc. 87, 478; 2008, cc. 46, 151; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2022, c. 355; 2023, cc. 756, 778.

Any school board may, in its discretion, establish and conduct night schools to which may be admitted pupils, regardless of age.

Code 1950, § 22-222; 1980, c. 559.

Any school board or any two or more school boards acting in conjunction may establish and operate or cause to be established and operated, for the benefit of persons of school age, vacation schools or camps for the advancement of education, physical training, health, nutrition, the prevention of communicable diseases, or for any other purpose deemed by such board or boards to be beneficial to persons of school age requiring special training or attention or which will promote the efficiency of their respective school systems.

Such school board or boards may expend such sum or sums as may be reasonable and requisite for such purposes or may provide such sum or sums and permit the proper use of any school property, under reasonable safeguards, for the establishment and operation of a vacation school or camp conducted under the auspices and supervision of any other governmental agency approved by such school board or boards, for the benefit of persons of school age within the jurisdiction of such board or boards. Such activity shall have been included in the estimate of money deemed to be needed for public schools for the year in which such expenditure is made.

The establishment and operation of such school or camp shall also be approved, as to conditions affecting sanitation and safety, by the health authorities having jurisdiction of the area in which such vacation school or camp is located and conducted. Any vacation school or camp operated by such school board or boards or any other local agency, department or board shall be available to persons of school age within the applicable jurisdiction on a nondiscriminatory basis regardless of whether they attend public or private schools.

Code 1950, § 22-55; 1959, Ex. Sess., c. 79, § 1; 1973, c. 101; 1980, c. 559; 1989, c. 277; 1995, c. 244.

A. The Community Builders Pilot Program (the Program) is established for the purpose of reducing youth involvement in behaviors that lead to gun violence and increasing community engagement among public school students by providing students enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools opportunities during the school year after regular school hours and during the summer months for community engagement, workforce development, postsecondary education exploration, and social-emotional education and development.

B. The Program shall have after-school sessions, to be offered during the school year after regular school hours, and one summer session, to be offered during the summer months when school is not in session. The Program shall provide a group of up to 100 students each session, selected in accordance with subdivision C 1, community, workforce, and education building opportunities, including opportunities for:

1. Workforce development and professional readiness, including career and technical education exploration and opportunities for soft-skill development;

2. Exploring opportunities available in postsecondary education;

3. Social-emotional development and instruction on the role and importance of restorative justice in the community; and

4. Family engagement and empowerment.

C. The school boards of Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools shall be responsible for the administration of the Program. In administering the Program, the school boards may collaborate with such other entities as they deem appropriate. In administering the Program, the school boards shall:

1. Establish and administer an application and referral process by which students who are entering eighth grade can apply or be referred for participation in the Program, including students who may be referred by a teacher for compulsory participation;

2. Develop and administer an application and hiring process for Program staff, including a Program coordinator and professional staff;

3. Develop and implement a Program curriculum and itinerary for the after-school sessions of the Program to be offered during the school year after regular school hours and for the summer session of the Program to be offered during the summer months; and

4. Collect data and report to the Governor, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the House Committee on Education by November 1 each year on the progress of the Program, including: (i) the number of students participating in the Program as a whole and disaggregated by (a) the number of students participating during the after-school session of the Program and the summer session of the Program and (b) the number of participating students who are enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and the number of participating students enrolled in Petersburg City Public Schools; (ii) data relating to the progress of participating students, including a comparison of pre-participation and post-participation absenteeism rates, disciplinary incidents, and academic performance; and (iii) the number and rate of reported incidents of gun violence involving participants in the Program, in the City of Roanoke as a whole, and in the City of Petersburg as a whole in comparison to previous years.

2024, cc. 299, 357.

Repealed by Acts 2022, c. 355, cl. 2.

Pursuant to § 1-511, school boards shall have no obligation to teach the standard curriculum, except courses in foreign languages, in a language other than English. School boards shall endeavor to provide instruction in the English language which shall be designed to promote the education of students for whom English is a second language.

1981, c. 185; 1986, c. 466; 1996, c. 829; 2005, c. 839.

Consistent with constitutional principles, a school board may establish a single-sex school or class in the school division, if the school board makes available to pupils substantially equal coeducational schools or classes. Participation in such single-sex school or class shall not be required by the school division, and the school board shall ensure that participation by pupils in the single-sex school or class is voluntary. For the purposes of this section, participation by a pupil in a single-sex school or class is voluntary only if the school division also makes available to the pupil a substantially equal coeducational school or class.

1995, c. 582; 2009, c. 84.

A. To assist local school boards in the development and implementation of programs of instruction that comply with the provisions of subsection C of § 22.1-253.13:1, specifically relating to citizenship and environmental issues and geography necessary for responsible participation in American society and the international community, the Board of Education may cooperate with environmental groups, other relevant state agencies, such as, but not limited to, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health, and other stakeholders in the development of a green schools program for Virginia. Any such green schools program shall focus on waste reduction through recycling and other mechanisms and educating students to help schools contain costs and to reduce waste production through resource efficiency.

B. In the development and implementation of any such program, the Board shall examine other states' green schools programs and shall receive input from parents, teachers, school administrators, school boards, business and industry leaders, and local governments. The Board shall also strive to identify businesses and other organizations that may provide support in the form of resources or funding for appropriate awards for any green schools program that may be implemented in the Commonwealth.

C. Nothing herein shall be construed to require the Board or any school board in the Commonwealth to implement a green school program or to imply or otherwise indicate that state or local funding is required to develop or implement any green school program.

2004, c. 882.

From such funds as are appropriated, the Department of Education shall establish a statewide electronic classroom to be known as the Virtual Virginia Program. Virtual Virginia shall be made available to every public high school in Virginia.

The Department may utilize the services of the Commonwealth's educational television stations and other providers, as well as any other appropriate technology for the purposes of implementing Virtual Virginia.

The services of this program shall be limited to educational purposes. Educational purposes shall include, but not be limited to, instruction in subject areas that are not available in all schools and in-service training for instructional, administrative and support personnel.

The Department may contract with one or more local school boards that have created online courses to make one or more such courses available to other school divisions through the Virtual Virginia Program. The Department shall approve all courses offered through Virtual Virginia, including those made available by local school boards to other school divisions. A school board that makes one or more of its online courses available to other school divisions through Virtual Virginia (i) shall not be considered a multidivision online provider pursuant to § 22.1-212.23 and (ii) may charge a per-course or per-student fee to school divisions to defray the costs of developing the course and providing course instruction using teachers employed by the offering school board. The Department shall approve any such fee schedule before a school board offers any such online courses through Virtual Virginia.

The Department shall establish the Virtual Learning Advisory Committee, which shall consist of one superintendent or his designee from each of the eight superintendent's regions, the Superintendent of Public Instruction or his designee, and such other members as the Department deems appropriate, not to exceed three additional members. The contractor that manages Virtual Virginia shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio member. The Committee shall advise the Department on (i) online courses, in-service training, and digital instructional resources that school divisions need to meet the Commonwealth's graduation requirements and (ii) strategic planning to expand blended and online learning opportunities in Virginia's public schools, including cost-effective access to high-need and low-demand courses, training, content, and digital resources.

1988, c. 87; 1998, c. 106; 2011, c. 216; 2014, c. 436.

Repealed by Acts 2001, c. 660, cl. 2.

A. As used in this section:

"Educational technology" means any software, hardware, or other equipment or infrastructure or technical assistance or instruction in the use of such software, hardware or other equipment or infrastructure that may be required to implement a local school board's approved plan for educational technology or the Board of Education's comprehensive technology plan for Virginia described in § 22.1-253.13:6.

"Educational technology foundation" means a nonstock, nonprofit corporation, established for the express purpose of implementing a public/private partnership to expand access to and improve the quality of educational technology in a school division.

"Public school foundation" means a nonstock, nonprofit corporation, established for the express purpose of implementing a public/private partnership to implement public school improvement projects approved by the local school board.

"Public school improvement project" means any project designed to achieve an educational purpose that may be identified in Title 22.1.

B. Any school board may establish educational technology and public school foundations. Such foundations may be established directly by the school board or by the school board and other organizations or persons, on behalf of the school board by a third party, or through a contract with a corporation as defined in this section. Such foundations may be established as a cooperative regional effort by two or more school boards.

C. Upon establishing or contracting with such nonstock, nonprofit corporation, whether or not other organizations, school boards or persons are involved, a school board shall:

1. Review and approve the articles of incorporation and bylaws;

2. Establish a system of accounting to protect public funds;

3. Establish agreement that, upon dissolution of such corporation, any assets remaining after payment of just debts shall be transferred to and become the property of the school board or, if a regional effort, the procedure by which the property may be divided among the school boards;

4. Require, in any instance in which the school board advances, contributes or loans funds to the corporation, that such contract shall provide for the posting of a bond with surety by the officers of such corporation conditioned to protect the rights of the school board;

5. Establish terms for the allocation of any profits or revenues between the school board and the corporation; and

6. Take such other steps as may be necessary to comply with applicable law.

D. A school board may (i) advance, contribute or loan funds to such foundations and (ii) establish an escrow fund for the purpose of funding various educational technology projects, in the case of an educational technology foundation, or public school improvement projects approved by the local school board, in the case of a public school foundation.

E. A school board that makes purchases through its public school foundation or purchases educational technology through its educational technology foundation, either as may be established pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the provisions of the Virginia Public Procurement Act (§ 2.2-4300 et seq.), as provided in subdivision A 12 of § 2.2-4343, except, relative to such purchases, the school board shall comply with the provisions of § 2.2-4311 and §§ 2.2-4367 through 2.2-4377.

1997, c. 863; 1999, cc. 456, 735; 2005, cc. 331, 450; 2011, c. 216.

Repealed by Acts 2011, c. 216, cl. 2.

A. As used in this section:

"Athlete agent" means an individual who holds a valid certificate of registration as an athlete agent issued pursuant to Chapter 5.2 (§ 54.1-526 et seq.) of Title 54.1.

"Attorney" means an attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth.

"Compensation" means any type of remuneration or anything of value. "Compensation" does not include any (i) scholarship provided to a student-athlete that covers some or all of the cost of attendance at a high school at which the student-athlete is enrolled or (ii) benefit a student-athlete may receive in accordance with the rules of the relevant athletic association or conference.

"High school" means any public or private high school in the Commonwealth.

"Student-athlete" means an individual enrolled at a high school who participates in interscholastic athletics.

B. No high school or agent thereof, athletic association, athletic conference, or other organization with authority over interscholastic athletics shall:

1. Prohibit or prevent a student-athlete from earning compensation for the use of his name, image, or likeness, except as otherwise permitted in this section;

2. Prohibit or prevent a student-athlete from obtaining professional representation by an athlete agent or legal representation by an attorney in connection with issues related to name, image, or likeness; or

3. Declare a student-athlete ineligible for interscholastic athletic competition because he earns compensation for the use of his name, image, or likeness or obtains professional representation by an athlete agent or legal representation by an attorney in connection with issues related to name, image, or likeness.

C. No athletic association, athletic conference, or other organization with authority over interscholastic athletics shall prohibit or prevent a high school from becoming a member of the association, conference, or organization or participating in interscholastic athletics sponsored by such association, conference, or organization as a consequence of any student-athlete earning compensation for the use of his name, image, or likeness or obtaining representation by an athlete agent or attorney in connection with issues related to name, image, or likeness.

D. No student-athlete shall earn compensation for the use of his name, image, or likeness in connection with any of the following:

1. Alcohol and alcoholic beverages;

2. Adult entertainment;

3. Cannabis, cannabinoids, cannabidiol, or other derivatives, not including hemp or hemp products;

4. Controlled substances, as defined in § 54.1-3401;

5. Performance enhancing drugs or substances such as steroids or human growth hormone;

6. Drug paraphernalia, as defined in § 18.2-265.1;

7. Tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, nicotine vapor products, and similar products and devices;

8. Weapons, including firearms and ammunition for firearms; and

9. Casinos or gambling, including sports betting.

E. Any high school may prohibit a student-athlete from earning compensation for the use of his name, image, or likeness while the student-athlete is engaged in academic, official team, or athletic program activities, including class, tutoring, competition, practice, travel, academic services, community service, promotional activities, and other athletic program activities.

F. No student-athlete shall use a high school's facilities; apparel; equipment; uniforms; or intellectual property, including logos, indicia, registered and unregistered trademarks, and products protected by copyright, for any opportunity to earn compensation for the use of his name, image, or likeness, unless otherwise permitted by such high school.

G. Prior to executing an agreement concerning the use of his name, image, or likeness, a student-athlete shall disclose such agreement to the high school at which he is enrolled in a manner designated by the high school. If a student-athlete discloses a potential agreement that conflicts with an existing high school agreement, the high school shall disclose the relevant terms of the conflicting agreement to the student-athlete.

H. A high school may prohibit a student-athlete from using his name, image, or likeness to earn compensation if the proposed use conflicts with an existing high school agreement relating to interscholastic athletics.

I. No high school shall, except as otherwise permitted in this section, enter into, renew, or modify any agreement that prohibits a student-athlete from using his name, image, or likeness to earn compensation while the student-athlete is engaged in non-academic, unofficial team, or non-athletic program activities.

J. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impact the employment status of a student-athlete or qualify a student-athlete as an employee of a high school solely because the student-athlete engages in name, image, or likeness opportunities.

K. Any student-athlete who is aggrieved by any action of a high school or agent thereof, athletic association, athletic conference, or other organization with authority over interscholastic athletics in violation of any provision of this section may bring an action for injunctive relief.

L. The Department shall publish in a publicly accessibly format on its website information about laws that are applicable to any contract entered into by a student-athlete relating to compensation for the use of his name, image, or likeness.

2024, c. 694.

Repealed by Acts 1994, c. 789.

A. In order to (i) stimulate the development of innovative programs within public education; (ii) provide opportunities for innovative instruction and assessment; (iii) provide parents and students with more options within their school divisions; (iv) provide teachers with a vehicle for establishing schools with alternative innovative instruction and school scheduling, management and structure; (v) encourage the use of performance-based educational programs; (vi) establish high standards for both teachers and administrators; and (vii) develop models for replication in other public schools, public charter schools may be established in Virginia as provided in this article.

B. As used in this article:

"At-risk pupil" means a student having a physical, emotional, intellectual, socioeconomic, or cultural risk factor, as defined in Board of Education criteria, which research indicates may negatively influence educational success.

"Public charter school" means a public, nonreligious, or non-home-based alternative school located within a public school division. A public charter school may be created as a new public school or through the conversion of all or part of an existing public school; however, no public charter school shall be established through the conversion of a private school or a nonpublic home-based educational program. A charter school for at-risk pupils may be established as a residential school.

"Regional public charter school" means a public charter school operated by two or more school boards and chartered directly by the participating school boards.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 712, 1028; 2004, c. 530; 2005, c. 928.

There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Public Charter School Fund, hereafter referred to as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. Any gifts, grants, bequests, or donations from public or private sources shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to the Fund. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes of establishing or supporting public charter schools in the Commonwealth that stimulate the development of alternative public education programs. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Board of Education shall establish criteria for making distributions from the Fund to a public charter school requesting moneys from the Fund and may issue guidelines governing the Fund as it deems necessary and appropriate.

2007, c. 118.

A. Enrollment in a public charter school shall be open to any child who is deemed to reside within the relevant school division or, in the case of a regional public charter school, within any of the relevant school divisions, as set forth in § 22.1-3, through a lottery process on a space-available basis, except that in the case of the conversion of an existing public school, students who attend the school and the siblings of such students shall be given the opportunity to enroll in advance of the lottery process. A waiting list shall be established if adequate space is not available to accommodate all students whose parents have requested to be entered in the lottery process. Such waiting list shall also be prioritized through a lottery process and parents shall be informed of their student's position on the list.

B. A public charter school shall be administered and managed by a management committee, composed of parents of students enrolled in the school, teachers and administrators working in the school, and representatives of any community sponsors, in a manner agreed to by the public charter school applicant and the local school board. Pursuant to a charter contract, a public charter school may operate free from specified school division policies and state regulations, and, as public schools, shall be subject to the requirements of the Standards of Quality, including the Standards of Learning and the Standards of Accreditation.

C. Pursuant to a charter agreement, a public charter school shall be responsible for its own operations, including, but not limited to, such budget preparation, contracts for services, and personnel matters as are specified in the charter agreement. A public charter school may negotiate and contract with a school division, the governing body of a public institution of higher education, or any third party for the use of a school building and grounds, the operation and maintenance thereof, and the provision of any service, activity, or undertaking which the public charter school is required to perform in order to carry out the educational program described in its charter. Any services for which a public charter school contracts with a school division shall not exceed the division's costs to provide such services.

D. As negotiated by contract, the local school board or the relevant school boards, in the case of regional public charter schools, may allow a public charter school to use vacant or unused properties or real estate owned by the school board. In no event shall a public charter school be required to pay rent for space which is deemed available, as negotiated by contract, in school division facilities. All other costs for the operation and maintenance of the facilities used by the public charter school shall be subject to negotiation between the public charter school and the school division or, in the case of a regional public charter school, between the regional public charter school and the relevant school divisions.

E. A public charter school shall not charge tuition.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 1028; 2002, c. 851; 2004, c. 530; 2012, cc. 702, 720; 2014, cc. 645, 693; 2016, c. 770.

A. Public charter schools are subject to all federal laws and authorities as set forth in this article and the charter contract with the local school board.

B. Public charter schools are subject to the same civil rights, health, and safety requirements applicable to other public schools in the Commonwealth, except as otherwise provided in this article.

C. Public charter schools are subject to the student assessment and accountability requirements applicable to other public schools in the Commonwealth, but nothing in this article precludes a public charter school from establishing additional student assessment measures that go beyond state requirements if the school's authorizer approves such measures.

D. Management committees of public charter schools are subject to and shall comply with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).

E. No public charter school shall discriminate against any individual on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, ancestry, or need for special education services or any other unlawful basis, and each public charter school shall be subject to any court-ordered desegregation plan in effect for the school division.

F. No public charter school shall discriminate against any student on the basis of limited proficiency in English, and each public charter school shall provide students who have limited proficiency in English with appropriate services designed to teach such students English and the general curriculum, consistent with federal civil rights laws.

G. No public charter school shall engage in any sectarian practices in its educational program, admissions or employment policies, or operations.

2016, c. 770; 2020, c. 1137.

A. Within 90 days of approval of a charter application, the local school board and the management committee of the approved public charter school shall execute a charter contract that clearly sets forth (i) the academic and operational performance expectations and measures by which the public charter school will be judged and (ii) the administrative relationship between the local school board and public charter school, including each party's rights and duties. Such 90-day period may be extended by a period not to exceed 30 days by mutual agreement of the parties. Such performance expectations and measures shall include applicable federal and state accountability requirements and may be refined or amended by mutual agreement after the public charter school has collected baseline achievement data for its enrolled students.

B. The academic and operational performance expectations and measures in the charter contract shall be based on a performance framework that clearly sets forth the academic and operational performance indicators, measures, and metrics that will guide the local school board's evaluations of each public charter school. The performance framework shall include indicators, measures, and metrics for:

1. Student academic proficiency;

2. Student academic growth;

3. Achievement gaps in both proficiency and growth between the major student subgroups based on gender, race, poverty status, special education status, English language learner status, and gifted status;

4. Attendance;

5. Recurrent annual enrollment;

6. Postsecondary education readiness of high school students;

7. Financial performance and sustainability; and

8. The performance and stewardship of the management committee, including compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and terms of the charter contract.

C. The performance framework shall allow the inclusion of additional rigorous, valid, and reliable indicators proposed by a public charter school to augment external evaluations of its performance, provided that the local school board approves the quality and rigor of such indicators and such indicators are consistent with the purposes of this article.

D. The performance framework shall require the disaggregation of all student performance data by major student subgroups based on gender, race, poverty status, special education status, English language learner status, and gifted status.

E. Annual performance targets shall be set by each public charter school and the local school board and shall be designed to help each school meet applicable federal, state, and local school board expectations.

F. The charter contract shall be signed by the chairman of the local school board and the president or chairman of the public charter school's management committee. Within 10 days of executing a charter contract, the local school board shall submit to the Board written notification of the charter contract execution, including a copy of the executed charter contract and any attachments.

G. No public charter school shall commence operations without a charter contract executed in accordance with this section and approved in an open meeting of the local school board.

H. If the charter application proposes a program to increase the educational opportunities for at-risk students, including those proposals for residential charter schools for at-risk students, the local school board or relevant school boards, as the case may be, on behalf of the public charter school, shall also request that the Board approve an Individual School Accreditation Plan for the evaluation of the performance of the school as authorized by the Standards of Accreditation pursuant to 8VAC20-131-280 C of the Virginia Administrative Code.

I. Any material revision of the terms of the contract may be made only with the approval of the local school board or relevant school boards and the management committee of the public charter school.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 712, 1028; 2002, c. 851; 2012, cc. 702, 720; 2016, c. 770.

A. Any person, group, or organization, including any institution of higher education, may submit an application for the formation of a public charter school.

B. The public charter school application shall be a proposed agreement and shall include:

1. An executive summary.

2. A mission statement of the public charter school that is consistent with the principles of the Standards of Quality, including identification of the targeted academic program of study.

3. A plan for the displacement of pupils, teachers, and other employees who will not attend or be employed in the public charter school, in instances of the conversion of an existing public school to a public charter school, and for the placement of public charter school pupils, teachers, and employees upon termination or revocation of the charter.

4. The location or geographic area proposed for the public charter school.

5. The grades to be served each year for the full term of the charter contract.

6. Minimum, planned, and maximum enrollment per grade level per year for the term of the charter contract.

7. Evidence of need and community support for the proposed public charter school.

8. Background information on the proposed founding management committee members and, if identified, the proposed public charter school leadership and management team.

9. The public charter school's proposed calendar and a sample daily schedule.

10. A description of the academic program that is aligned with the Standards of Learning.

11. A description of the public charter school's instructional design, including the type of learning environment, such as classroom-based or independent study; class size and structure; curriculum overview; and teaching methods.

12. The public charter school's plans for identifying and successfully serving students with disabilities, students who are English language learners, students who lag behind academically, and gifted students, including compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

13. A description of cocurricular or extracurricular programs and how such programs will be funded and delivered.

14. Plans and timelines for student recruitment and enrollment, including lottery procedures.

15. The public charter school's student discipline policies, including discipline policies for special education students.

16. An organization chart that clearly presents the public charter school's organizational structure, including lines of authority and reporting between the management committee; staff; any related bodies, such as advisory bodies or parent and teacher councils; and any external organizations that will play a role in managing the public charter school.

17. A clear description of the roles and responsibilities for the management committee, the public charter school's leadership and management team, and any other entities shown in the organization chart.

18. A staffing chart for the public charter school's first year and a staffing plan for the term of the charter contract.

19. Plans for recruiting and developing the public charter school's leadership and staff.

20. The public charter school's leadership and teacher employment policies.

21. Proposed governing bylaws.

22. Explanations of any partnerships or contractual relationships central to the public charter school's operations or mission.

23. The public charter school's plans for providing transportation, food service, and all other significant operational and ancillary services.

24. A statement of opportunities and expectations for parent involvement.

25. A detailed public charter school start-up plan that identifies tasks, timelines, and responsible individuals.

26. A description of the public charter school's financial plan and policies, including financial controls and audit requirements.

27. A description of the insurance coverage that the public charter school will obtain.

28. Start-up and five-year budgets with clearly stated assumptions.

29. Start-up and first-year cash-flow projections with clearly stated assumptions.

30. Evidence of anticipated fundraising contributions, if claimed in the application.

31. A sound facilities plan, including backup or contingency plans, if appropriate.

32. Assurances that the public charter school (i) is nonreligious in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations and (ii) does not charge tuition.

33. Disclosure of any ownership or financial interest in the public charter school, by the charter applicant and the governing body, administrators, and other personnel of the proposed public charter school, and a requirement that the successful applicant and the governing body, administrators, and other personnel of the public charter school shall have a continuing duty to disclose such interests during the term of any charter.

C. The charter applicant shall include in the proposed agreement the results of any Board review of the public charter school application that may have been conducted as provided in subsection C of § 22.1-212.9.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 712, 1028; 2002, cc. 851, 874; 2004, c. 530; 2005, c. 928; 2009, c. 441; 2014, cc. 645, 693; 2016, c. 770.

The Department of Education may establish an Innovation Technical Advisory Group, comprised of individuals with experience in the establishment and operation of charter schools, college partnership laboratory schools, and virtual school programs, or it may retain the services of individuals with such experience to provide technical assistance and advice to the Board in carrying out its duties relating to charter schools, college partnership laboratory schools, and virtual school programs.

2012, c. 381.

A. Public charter school applications shall be received and reviewed by the Board of Education and local school boards or, in the case of a regional public charter school, by all of the relevant school boards, as provided in subsection C. However, no charter school application that is initiated by one or more local school boards shall be subject to the provisions of subsection C.

The Board of Education and each local school board shall establish procedures for receiving, reviewing, and, in the case of local school boards, ruling upon applications. The Board of Education and local school boards shall post their procedures on their websites and make a copy of the procedures available to all interested parties upon request. If any such board finds the public charter school application is incomplete, the board shall request the necessary information from the charter applicant.

B. To provide appropriate opportunity for input from parents, teachers, citizens, and other interested parties and to obtain information to assist local school boards in their decisions to grant or deny a public charter school application, local school boards shall establish a procedure for public notice and to receive comment on public charter school applications. A local school board shall give at least 14 days' notice of its intent to receive public comment on an application.

C. Prior to submission of an application to a local school board for review, the public charter school applicant shall submit its proposed charter application to the Board of Education for its review, comment, and a determination as to whether the application meets the approval criteria developed by the Board. The Board's review shall examine such applications for feasibility, curriculum, financial soundness, and other objective criteria as the Board may establish, consistent with existing state law. The Board's review and comment shall be for the purpose of ensuring that the application conforms with such criteria, and the Board shall make a determination as to whether the application meets the approval criteria developed by the Board. Nothing in this section shall prevent a local school division from working with a charter school applicant before the application is submitted to the Board of Education for review and recommendation.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 1028; 2001, cc. 438, 469; 2002, c. 851; 2004, c. 530; 2010, cc. 393, 650; 2013, cc. 52, 225.

A. If a local school board denies a public charter school application, or revokes or fails to renew a charter agreement, it shall provide to the applicant or grantee its reasons, in writing, for such decision, and it shall post such reasons on its website. A public charter school applicant whose application was denied, or a grantee whose charter was revoked or not renewed, shall be entitled to petition the local school board for reconsideration. The petition for reconsideration shall be filed no later than 60 days from the date the public charter school application is denied or the charter agreement is revoked or fails to be renewed. Such reconsideration shall be decided within 60 days of the filing of the petition.

B. Each local school board shall establish a process for reviewing petitions of reconsideration, which shall include an opportunity for public comment. The petition of reconsideration may include an amended application based on the reasons given by the local school board for such decision.

C. Prior to seeking reconsideration, an applicant or grantee may seek technical assistance from the Superintendent of Public Instruction to address the reasons for denial, revocation, or non-renewal.

D. Upon reconsideration, the decision of a local school board to grant or deny a public charter school application or to revoke or fail to renew a charter agreement shall be final and not subject to appeal. Following a local school board decision to deny a public charter school application or to revoke or fail to renew a charter agreement, the local school board shall submit documentation to the Board as to the rationale for the local school board's denial of the public charter school application or revocation of or failure to renew the charter agreement.

E. The Board has no authority to grant or deny a public charter school application or to revoke or fail to renew a charter agreement but may communicate any Board finding relating to the rationale for the local school board's denial of the public charter school application or revocation of or failure to renew the charter agreement based on the documentation submitted pursuant to subsection D in any school division in which at least half of the schools receive funding pursuant to Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, P.L. 89-10, as amended.

F. Nothing in this section shall prohibit an applicant whose application has been denied or a grantee whose charter has been revoked or not renewed from submitting a new application, pursuant to § 22.1-212.9.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 1028; 2010, cc. 393, 650; 2012, cc. 702, 720; 2017, c. 513.

A. Local school boards may establish public charter schools within the school division. Priority shall be given to public charter school applications designed to increase the educational opportunities of at-risk students, and at least one-half of the public charter schools per division shall be designed for at-risk students; however, the one-half requirement shall not apply in cases in which an existing public school is converted into a public charter school that serves the same community as the existing public school, nor shall such public charter school conversions be counted in the determination of school division compliance with the one-half requirement.

B. Local school boards shall report the grant or denial of public charter school applications to the Board and shall specify the maximum number of charters that may be authorized, if any; the number of charters granted or denied; and whether a public charter school is designed to increase the educational opportunities of at-risk students.

C. Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent a school that is the only school in the division from applying to become a public charter school.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 1028; 2002, cc. 851, 874; 2004, c. 530; 2009, c. 441; 2014, cc. 645, 693.

A. A charter may be approved or renewed for a period not to exceed five school years. A public charter school renewal application submitted to the local school board or, in the case of a regional public charter school, to the relevant school boards shall contain:

1. A report on the progress of the public charter school in achieving the goals, objectives, program and performance standards for students, and such other conditions and terms as the school board or boards may require upon granting initial approval of the charter application.

2. A financial statement, on forms prescribed by the Board, that discloses the costs of administration, instruction, and other spending categories for the public charter school and that has been concisely and clearly written to enable the school board or boards and the public to compare such costs to those of other schools or comparable organizations.

B. Local school boards may revoke a charter if the public charter school:

1. Violates the conditions, standards, or procedures established in the public charter school application;

2. Fails to meet or make reasonable progress toward achievement of the content standards or student performance standards identified in the charter application;

3. Fails to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management; or

4. Violates any provision of law from which the public charter school was not specifically exempted.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the authority of local school boards to decline to renew a charter agreement.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 1028; 2002, c. 851; 2004, c. 530; 2012, cc. 702, 720.

A. At the discretion of the local school board, charter school personnel may be employees of the local school board, or boards, granting the charter. Any personnel not employed by the local school board shall remain subject to the provisions of §§ 22.1-296.1, 22.1-296.2, and 22.1-296.4.

B. Professional, licensed education personnel may volunteer for assignment to a public charter school. Assignment in a public charter school shall be for one contract year. Upon request of the employee and the recommendation of the management committee of the public charter school, reassignment to the public charter school shall occur on an annual basis.

C. At the completion of each contract year, professional, licensed education personnel who request assignment to a public noncharter school in the relevant school division or who are not recommended for reassignment in the public charter school, other than for the grounds cited in § 22.1-307, shall be guaranteed an involuntary transfer to a public noncharter school in the school division according to the employment policies of the school division.

D. Professional, licensed personnel of a public charter school shall be granted the same employment benefits given to professional, licensed personnel in public noncharter schools in accordance with the policies of the relevant school board or boards.

E. School boards may employ such health, mental health, social services, and other related personnel to serve in residential charter schools for at-risk pupils as set forth in the charter agreement between such school board and the charter school; however, nothing herein shall require a school board to fund the residential or other services provided by a residential charter school.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 712, 1028; 2012, cc. 702, 720; 2016, c. 770.

A. For the purposes of this article, students enrolled in a public charter school shall be included in the average daily membership of the relevant school division and shall be reported in fall membership for purposes of calculating the state and local shares required to fund the Standards of Quality.

B. Insofar as constitutionally valid, a local school board or, in the case of a regional public charter school, the relevant school boards may establish by contract an agreement stating the conditions for funding the public charter school, including funding for the educational program to be provided by a residential charter school for at-risk students. In accordance with subsection D, the per pupil funding provided to the charter school by the local school board or, in the case of a regional public charter school, the relevant school boards, shall be negotiated in the charter agreement and shall be commensurate with the average school-based costs of educating the students in the existing schools in the division or divisions unless the cost of operating the charter school is less than that average school-based cost.

C. Services provided the public charter school by the local school board or the relevant school boards, in the case of regional public charter schools, may include food services; custodial and maintenance services; curriculum, media, and library services; warehousing and merchandising; and such other services not prohibited by the provisions of this article or state and federal laws.

D. Funding and service agreements between local school boards and public charter schools shall not provide a financial incentive or constitute a financial disincentive to the establishment of a public charter school, including any regional public charter school.

E. Any educational and related fees collected from students enrolled at a public charter school shall be credited to the account of such public charter school established by the relevant local school board.

F. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the proportionate share of state and federal resources allocated for students with disabilities and school personnel assigned to special education programs shall be directed to public charter schools enrolling such students. The proportionate share of moneys allocated under other federal or state categorical aid programs shall be directed to public charter schools serving students eligible for such aid.

G. The management committee of a public charter school is authorized to accept gifts, donations, or grants of any kind made to the public charter school and to spend such funds in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the donor. However, no gift, donation, or grant shall be accepted by the management committee of a public charter school if the conditions for such funds are contrary to law or the terms of the agreement between the local school board and the public charter school or, in the case of a regional public charter school, the relevant school boards and the regional public charter school.

H. The Department of Education shall provide technical assistance to local school boards relating to receipt, review, and ruling upon applications for public charter schools.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 712, 1028; 2002, c. 851; 2012, cc. 702, 720.

The Board shall report the number of public charter schools established in the Commonwealth, as well as the number of charters denied, in its annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly pursuant to § 22.1-18.

1998, cc. 748, 890; 2000, cc. 631, 1028; 2002, cc. 851, 874; 2010, c. 61.

Public charter schools shall be immune from liability to the same extent as all other public schools in the Commonwealth, and the employees and volunteers in a public charter school are immune from liability to the same extent as the employees and volunteers in a public school.

2002, c. 874.

Repealed by Acts 2009, c. 859, cl. 3, effective July 1, 2009.

As used in this article:

"Multidivision online provider" means (i) a private or nonprofit organization that enters into a contract with a local school board to provide online courses or programs through that school board to students who reside in Virginia both within and outside the geographical boundaries of that school division; (ii) a private or nonprofit organization that enters into contracts with multiple local school boards to provide online courses or programs to students in grades K through 12 through those school boards; or (iii) a local school board that provides online courses or programs to students who reside in Virginia but outside the geographical boundaries of that school division. However, "multidivision online provider" shall not include (a) a local school board's online learning program in which fewer than 10 percent of the students enrolled reside outside the geographical boundaries of that school division; (b) multiple local school boards that establish joint online courses or programs in which fewer than 10 percent of the students enrolled reside outside the geographical boundaries of those school divisions; (c) local school boards that provide online learning courses or programs for their students through an arrangement with a public or private institution of higher education; or (d) local school boards providing online courses or programs through a private or nonprofit organization that has been approved as a multidivision online provider.

"Online course" means a course or grade-level subject instruction that (i) is delivered by a multidivision online provider primarily electronically using the Internet or other computer-based methods and (ii) is taught by a teacher primarily from a remote location, with student access to the teacher given synchronously, asynchronously, or both.

"Virtual school program" means a series of online courses with instructional content that (i) is delivered by a multidivision online provider primarily electronically using the Internet or other computer-based methods; (ii) is taught by a teacher primarily from a remote location, with student access to the teacher given synchronously, asynchronously, or both; (iii) is delivered as a part-time or full-time program; and (iv) has an online component with online lessons and tools for student and data management.

An online course or virtual school program may be delivered to students at school as part of the regularly scheduled school day.

2010, cc. 537, 817.

A. The Superintendent shall develop, and the Board shall approve, (i) the criteria and application process for approving multidivision online providers; (ii) a process for monitoring approved multidivision online providers; (iii) a process for revocation of the approval of a previously approved multidivision online provider; and (iv) an appeals process for a multidivision online provider whose approval was revoked or whose application was denied. The process developed under this subsection shall require approvals and revocations to be determined by the Superintendent, and either the denial of an application or revocation of approval may be appealed to the Board for review. The approval of a multidivision online provider under this section shall be effective until the approval is revoked, for cause, pursuant to the terms of this section. Any notice of revocation of approval of a multidivision online provider or rejection of an application by a multidivision online provider shall state the grounds for such action with reasonable specificity and give reasonable notice to the multidivision online provider to appeal.

B. In developing the criteria for approval pursuant to subsection A, the Superintendent shall (i) require multidivision online providers to be accredited by a national, regional, or state accreditation program approved by the Board; (ii) require such courses or programs, pupil performance standards, and curriculum to meet or exceed any applicable Standards of Learning and Standards of Accreditation; (iii) require any educational objectives and assessments used to measure pupil progress toward achievement of the school's pupil performance standards to be in accordance with the Board's Standards of Accreditation and all applicable state and federal laws; (iv) require such courses or programs to maintain minimum staffing requirements appropriate for virtual school programs; and (v) publish the criteria for approval of multidivision online providers on its website, including any applicable deadlines, fees, and guidelines.

C. The Department may charge a multidivision online provider applicant or a local school board requesting to offer a course through Virtual Virginia a fee not to exceed the costs required to ensure proper evaluation and approval of such requests. The Department shall establish and publish a fee schedule for purposes of this subsection.

D. Local school boards may enter into contracts, consistent with the criteria approved by the Board pursuant to this section, with approved private or nonprofit organizations to provide multidivision online courses and virtual school programs. Such contracts shall be exempt from the Virginia Public Procurement Act (§ 2.2-4300 et seq.).

2010, cc. 537, 817; 2014, c. 436; 2022, c. 355.

A. The Department shall develop and maintain a website that provides objective information for students, parents, and educators regarding online courses and virtual programs offered through local school boards by multidivision online providers that have been approved in accordance with § 22.1-212.24 and courses offered through the Virtual Virginia Program. The website shall include information regarding the overall instructional programs, the specific content of individual online courses and online programs, a direct link to each multidivision online provider's website, how to register for online learning programs and courses, teacher qualifications, course completion rates, and other evaluative and comparative information. The website shall also provide information regarding the process and criteria for approving multidivision online providers. Multidivision online providers shall provide the Department the required information for the website as a condition of maintaining Board approval.

B. The Superintendent shall develop model policies and procedures regarding student access to online courses and online learning programs that may be used by local school divisions.

Nothing in this article shall be deemed to require a local school division to adopt model policies or procedures developed pursuant to this section.

C. The Board shall include in its annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly information regarding multidivision online learning during the previous school year. The information shall include but not be limited to student demographics, course enrollment data, parental satisfaction, aggregated student course completion and passing rates, and activities and outcomes of course and provider approval reviews.

D. Local school boards shall post on their websites information regarding online courses and programs that are available through the school division and Virtual Virginia. Such information shall include but not be limited to the types of online courses and programs available to students through the school division, when the school division will pay course fees and other costs for nonresident students, and the granting of high school credit.

2010, cc. 537, 817; 2014, c. 436; 2022, c. 355.

A. Teachers who deliver instruction to students through online courses or virtual school programs shall be licensed by the Board of Education and shall be subject to the requirements of §§ 22.1-296.1, 22.1-296.2, and 22.1-296.4 applicable to teachers employed by a local school board.

B. The administrator of a virtual school program shall hold an advanced degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education with educational and work experience in administering educational programs.

2010, cc. 537, 817; 2012, c. 170.

A. Any student enrolled in any online course or virtual program offered by a local school division shall be enrolled in a public school in Virginia as provided in § 22.1-3.1.

B. A student's parent or guardian shall give written permission prior to the enrollment of the student in any full-time virtual program offered by a local school division.

C. A student shall not be charged tuition for enrolling in any online course or virtual program offered by the school division in which he resides, pursuant to § 22.1-3. However, tuition may be charged to students who do not reside within the boundaries of the school division offering such course or program, pursuant to § 22.1-5.

2010, cc. 537, 817.

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"School Division of Innovation" or "SDI" means a school division in which the local school board has developed and for which the Board has approved pursuant to regulations as set forth in this article a plan of innovation to improve student learning; educational performance; and college, career, and citizenship readiness skills in each school in the local school division.

"Innovation" means a new or creative alternative to existing instructional or administrative practices or school structures that evidence-based practice suggests will be effective in improving student learning and educational performance.

2017, c. 760.

The Board shall promulgate regulations for the designation of School Divisions of Innovation in which the local school board in the local school division so designated shall, pursuant to a plan of innovation, be exempted from selected regulatory provisions and be permitted to adopt alternative policies for school administrators, teachers, and staff to meet the diverse needs of students.

2017, c. 760.

Any local school board may apply to the Board for the local school division or any school therein to be designated as an SDI. Such application shall consist of a plan of innovation for the local school division. The Board shall include in regulations promulgated pursuant to § 22.1-212.29:

1. The procedure and timeline for application, review, amendment, approval, renewal, and revocation of SDI designation;

2. The procedure for the ongoing evaluation of an SDI; and

3. Any other process or procedure that the Board deems appropriate.

2017, c. 760.

The Board shall establish in regulations promulgated pursuant to § 22.1-212.29 expectations for the plan of innovation of an SDI applicant, including:

1. Establishing goals and performance targets that may include:

a. Reducing achievement and opportunity gaps among groups of public school students by expanding the range of engaging and relevant learning experiences for students who are identified as academically low-achieving;

b. Increasing student learning through the implementation of high, rigorous standards for student performance and balanced assessments that measure both student growth and achievement;

c. Creating opportunities for students to demonstrate mastery of learning at different points in the learning process based on readiness;

d. Increasing student participation in opportunities that enhance students' preparation for college, career, and citizenship;

e. Increasing the number of students who are college, career, and citizenship ready;

f. Increasing opportunities for students to learn from content experts through integrated course opportunities; and

g. Motivating students at all levels by offering additional curricular choices, personalized learning opportunities, and relevant student learning experiences such as community service projects, internship opportunities, and job shadowing.

2. Identifying divisionwide and school-level policies that will lead students to be better prepared for success in work and life.

3. Describing the ways in which all schools will incorporate innovative practices.

4. Incorporating relevant professional development.

5. Providing evidence of collaboration, support, and shared leadership among teachers in the school division.

6. Providing evidence of the support and engagement of educators, parents, the local community, and the local business community in the development of the plan of innovation and of the capacity of such individuals and entities to support the implementation of innovation.

7. Providing the rationale for requests for waivers from regulatory and statutory provisions.

8. Identifying specific measures of student success that may include alternate assessments or approved substitute tests that will be used to determine if students have met graduation requirements, as applicable.

2017, c. 760.

A. The initial designation of an SDI shall be for a five-year period.

B. The initial designation of an SDI may be renewed for subsequent periods not to exceed five years each.

2017, c. 760.

As used in this article:

"Children with disabilities" means those persons (i) who are age two to 21, inclusive, having reached the age of two by the date specified in § 22.1-254; (ii) who have intellectual disability or serious emotional disturbance, are physically disabled, speech impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, visually impaired, or multiple disabled, are otherwise health impaired, including those who have autism spectrum disorder or a specific learning disability, or are otherwise disabled as defined by the Board of Education; and (iii) who because of such impairments need special education.

"Instructional practices to support specially designed instruction in inclusive settings" means structured instructional practices, including sequential, systematic, explicit, and cumulative teaching, that (i) are based on reliable, trustworthy, and valid evidence; (ii) provide access to grade-level content in core or general instruction, supplemental instruction, intervention services, and intensive intervention services; (iii) are developed based on reliable data collection and progress monitoring from both valid and reliable assessments and tracking of progress toward individual goals and objectives; (iv) are able to be differentiated in order to meet the individual needs of students; and (v) align with student need based on special education eligibility, present level of performance, and related goals and objectives.

"Related services" means transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, including speech pathology and audiology, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes. "Related services" also includes school health services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.

"Special education" means specially designed instruction at no cost to the parent to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including classroom instruction, home instruction, instruction provided in hospitals and institutions, instruction in physical education, and instruction in career and technical education.

"Specially designed instruction" means instruction for which the content, methodology, or delivery is adapted, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child, to (i) address the unique needs of the child that result from the child's disability and (ii) ensure that the child has access to the general curriculum so that the child can meet the educational standards that apply to all children within the jurisdiction of the local educational agency.

"Specific learning disability" means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. "Specific learning disability" does not include children who have learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, motor, or intellectual disability, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Code 1950, § 22-10.3; 1974, c. 480; 1978, c. 386; 1980, c. 559; 1983, c. 538; 1990, c. 444; 1994, c. 854; 2001, c. 483; 2012, cc. 476, 507; 2019, c. 288; 2023, cc. 148, 149; 2024, cc. 468, 502.

A. "Parent," for purposes of this article and regulations promulgated thereto, means:

1. A biological or adoptive parent of a child;

2. A foster parent, even if the biological or adoptive parent's rights have not been terminated, but subject to subsection B;

3. A guardian generally authorized to act as the child's parent, or authorized to make educational decisions for the child (but not the Commonwealth if the child is a ward of the Commonwealth);

4. An individual acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent (including grandparent, stepparent, or other relative) with whom the child lives, or an individual who is legally responsible for the child's welfare; or

5. If no party qualified under subdivisions 1 through 4 can be identified, or those parties are unwilling to act as parent, a surrogate parent who has been appointed in accordance with 8VAC20-81-220.

B. The biological or adoptive parent, when attempting to act as the parent pursuant to this section and when more than one party is qualified under subsection A to act as a parent, must be presumed to be the parent for purposes of this section unless the biological or adoptive parent has had their residual parental rights and responsibilities terminated pursuant to § 16.1-277.01, 16.1-277.02, or 16.1-283 or a comparable law in another state.

C. The local school division shall provide written notice to the biological or adoptive parents at their last known address that a foster parent is acting as the parent pursuant to this section, and the local school division is entitled to rely upon the actions of the foster parent pursuant to this section until such time that the biological or adoptive parent attempts to act as the parent.

D. If a judicial decree or order identifies a specific person or persons among subdivisions A 1 through A 5 to act as the "parent" of a child or to make educational decisions on behalf of a child, then such person or persons shall be determined to be the "parent" for purposes of the special education identification, evaluation, and placement of a child and the provision of a free appropriate public education to a child.

E. The Board of Education shall revise the regulations governing the provision of special education services in accordance with this section.

2009, c. 119.

A. The Board of Education shall prepare and supervise the implementation by each school division of a program of special education designed to educate and train children with disabilities between the ages defined in § 22.1-213 and may prepare and place in operation such program for such individuals of other ages. The program developed by the Board of Education shall be designed to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free and appropriate education, including specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of such children. The program shall require (i) that the hearing of each disabled child be tested prior to placement in a special education program and (ii) that a complete audiological assessment, including tests that will assess inner and middle ear functioning, be performed on each child who is deaf or hard of hearing or who fails the test required in clause (i). The school boards of the several school divisions, the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired, the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, the Department of Health, and other state and local agencies that can or may be able to assist in providing educational and related services shall assist and cooperate with the Board of Education in the development of such program.

B. The Board of Education shall prescribe procedures to afford due process to children with disabilities and their parents or guardians and to school divisions in resolving disputes as to program placements, individualized education programs, tuition eligibility and other matters as defined in state or federal statutes or regulations. These procedures shall encourage the use of mediation as an informal means of resolving such disputes. Mediation shall not, however, be used to deny or delay the due process rights of parents or guardians. The procedures shall require that all testimony be given under oath or affirmation administered by the hearing officer.

C. The Board of Education may provide for final decisions to be made by a hearing officer. The parents and the school division shall have the right to be represented by legal counsel or other representative before such hearing officer without being in violation of the provisions of § 54.1-3904.

D. Any party aggrieved by the findings and decision made pursuant to the procedures prescribed pursuant to subsections B and C may, within 180 days of such findings and decision, bring a civil action in the circuit court for the jurisdiction in which the school division is located. In any such action, the court shall receive the records of the administrative proceedings, shall hear additional evidence at the request of a party, and basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines appropriate.

D1. In any action brought pursuant to subsection D, the court, in its discretion, may award reasonable attorney fees as part of the costs (i) to a prevailing party who is the parent of a child with a disability; (ii) to a prevailing party who is the Board of Education or a local school division against the attorney of a parent who files a complaint or a subsequent cause of action that is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation, or against the attorney of a parent who continued to litigate after the litigation clearly became frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation; or (iii) to a prevailing party who is the Board of Education or a local school division against the attorney of a parent, or against the parent, if the parent's complaint or subsequent cause of action was presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, to cause unnecessary delay, or to needlessly increase the cause of litigation.

Attorney fees may not be awarded relating to any meeting of the individualized education program (IEP) team unless such meeting is convened as a result of an administrative proceeding or judicial action, or, at the discretion of the State, for a mediation described in subsection B.

E. Whenever the Board of Education, in its discretion, determines that a school division fails to establish and maintain programs of free and appropriate public education that comply with regulations established by the Board, the Board may withhold all special education moneys from the school division and may use the payments that would have been available to such school division to provide special education, directly or by contract, to eligible children with disabilities in such manner as the Board considers appropriate.

F. The Board of Education shall supervise educational programs for children with disabilities by other public agencies and shall ensure that the identification, evaluation, and placement of children with disabilities and youth in education programs by other public agencies, as appropriate, are consistent with the provisions of the Board of Education's special education regulations.

G. The Board of Education shall prescribe regulations to provide a range of assessment procedures for the evaluation of children with disabilities. These regulations shall include provision for parents to participate, if they so request, in the consideration of the assessment components to be used. However, such regulations shall not require any local school board to exceed the requirements of federal law or regulations for the identification and evaluation of children with disabilities.

Code 1950, § 22-10.4; 1974, c. 480; 1978, c. 386; 1980, cc. 559, 561; 1981, c. 7; 1982, c. 21; 1985, c. 207; 1990, c. 205; 1991, c. 518; 1994, c. 854; 1997, c. 54; 2007, cc. 33, 52; 2009, c. 468; 2010, c. 447; 2019, c. 288; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 451, 452.

Any hearing officer appointed pursuant to the procedures provided for in subsections B and C of § 22.1-214 shall have the power to issue subpoenas requiring testimony or the production of books, papers, and physical or other evidence. Any person so subpoenaed who objects may, if the hearing officer does not quash or modify the subpoena at a timely request as illegally or improvidently granted, immediately procure by a petition a decision on the validity thereof in the circuit court of the jurisdiction in which the hearing is to be held. In any case of refusal or neglect to comply with the hearing officer's subpoena, the hearing officer may procure an order of enforcement from such court.

Code 1950, § 22-10.4:1; 1980, c. 561.

For the purposes of subsection F of § 22.1-214 as related to the educational programs provided for or by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, "supervise" shall mean providing active support in (i) designing mechanisms for maintaining constant direct contact and the sharing of ideas, approaches and innovations between the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the facility staff responsible for providing educational services; (ii) providing consistent oversight, with particular attention to the mental health programs, to ensure that the availability of educational resources and the distribution of funds clearly reflect the needs of the different student populations residing in the various facilities; (iii) developing guidelines, in cooperation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services for the evaluation of the performance of the education directors or other education supervisors employed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; (iv) developing and implementing, in cooperation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, programs to ensure that the educational and treatment needs of dually diagnosed children in state facilities are met; and (v) ensuring that the expertise of the Department of Education is utilized by providing technical assistance to the education programs provided for or by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in the areas of selection and acquisition of educational materials, curriculum development including career and technical education, when appropriate, and applications for federal grants.

1985, c. 207; 2001, c. 483; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2012, cc. 476, 507.

The Department of Education shall develop curricula for the school-age individuals in state training centers and curriculum guidelines for the school-age individuals in state hospitals operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in cooperation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and representatives of the teachers employed to provide instruction to the children. Prior to implementation, the Board of Education shall approve these curricula and curriculum guidelines.

These curricula and curriculum guidelines shall be designed to provide a range of programs and suggested program sequences for different functioning levels and disabilities and shall be reviewed and revised at least every three years. In addition to academic programming, the curriculum guidelines for the school-age individuals in state hospitals operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall include affective education and physical education as well as independent living and career and technical education, with particular emphasis on the needs of older adolescents and young adults.

1985, c. 350; 2001, c. 483; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2012, cc. 476, 507; 2023, cc. 148, 149.

The Department shall:

1. Provide training and guidance documents to local school divisions on the development of individualized education programs (IEPs) for children with disabilities that incorporate specific examples of high-quality present level of performance descriptions, annual goals, and postsecondary transition sections.

2. Develop a required training module for each individual who participates in an IEP meeting that comprehensively addresses and explains in detail (i) each IEP team member's respective role in the IEP meeting, (ii) the IEP development process, and (iii) components of effective IEPs. The training module shall be required for all IEP participants, with the exception of parents, prior to participating in an IEP meeting and at regular intervals thereafter.

3. Annually conduct structured reviews of a sample of IEPs from a sufficiently large sample of local school divisions to verify that the IEPs are in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations governing IEP content, and provide a summary report of the findings of such reviews and recommendations regarding any necessary corrective actions to the reviewed divisions' superintendents, special education directors, school board chairs and vice-chairs, and local special education advisory committees. In reviewing local school divisions' IEPs, the Department shall determine whether the special education and related services, supplementary aids and services, and program modifications that will be provided to enable students with disabilities to participate in nonacademic and extracurricular activities are sufficient, and include its findings and corrective actions in the summary reports it provides to the reviewed local school divisions' superintendents, special education directors, and school board members. Nothing in this section shall be construed to (i) direct the Department to make determinations regarding whether a particular IEP provides a free appropriate public education to any individual student or (ii) authorize the Department to override a parent's consent to proposed revisions to an individual student's IEP. In determining corrective actions, the Department shall make recommendations to the relevant school division regarding, among other things, those individual IEPs for which the IEP team should convene to consider revisions necessary to incorporate content required by special education regulations. For those individual IEPs for which the Department recommends that the IEP team should convene to consider such revisions, the relevant school division shall notify the relevant parents or caregivers of the recommendations issued in the summary report of the structured review conducted pursuant to this subdivision.

4. Develop and maintain a statewide plan for improving (i) its ongoing oversight of local practices related to transition planning and services for children with disabilities and (ii) technical assistance and guidance provided for postsecondary transition planning and services for children with disabilities. At a minimum, such plan shall articulate how the Department will reliably and comprehensively assess the compliance and quality of transition plans for children with disabilities on an ongoing basis and communicate findings to local school division staff and local school boards. The Department shall, no later than December 1 of each year, update the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education on its progress in implementing such plan.

5. Develop and maintain a statewide strategic plan for recruiting and retaining special education teachers. At a minimum, such plan shall (i) use data analyses to determine the specific staffing needs of each local school division on an ongoing basis; (ii) evaluate the potential effectiveness of strategies for addressing recruitment and retention challenges, including tuition assistance, differentiated pay for special education teachers, and the expansion of special education teacher mentorships; and (iii) estimate the costs of implementing each such strategy, including the extent to which federal funds could be used to support implementation. The Department shall, no later than November 1 of each year, update the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education on its progress in implementing such plan.

6. In order to (i) address variation in rates of determinations of student eligibility for special education and related services both across local school divisions in the Commonwealth and based on specific student disabilities, (ii) promote consistency in such eligibility determinations, and (iii) ensure equal access to special education and related services across local school divisions, (a) review and update all forms and worksheets relating to referral, evaluation, reevaluation, and eligibility, including clarifying any ambiguity or vagueness in the standard for providing an initial evaluation or in eligibility criteria; (b) review and update guidance on the implementation of such referral, evaluation, reevaluation, and eligibility forms and worksheets and the legal obligations of local school boards to conduct initial evaluations and make eligibility determinations for special education and related services; and (c) develop high-quality professional development to support the implementation of such referral, evaluation, reevaluation, and eligibility guidance, forms, and worksheets.

7. (i) Develop criteria for what constitutes "exceptional circumstances" that warrant extension of the 60-calendar day regulatory timeline for complaint investigations and include the criteria in its publicly available complaint resolution procedures, (ii) consistently track the Department's receipt of each sufficient complaint and its issuance of the respective letter of findings, and (iii) require staff to report at least quarterly to the Superintendent on the specific reasons for granting an extension due to "exceptional circumstances" and the amount of time it took to complete each investigation beyond the 60-calendar day regulatory timeline.

8. Develop policies and procedures for considering and addressing credible allegations of local education agency (LEA) noncompliance with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (P.L. 101-476) that do not meet the current regulatory standard for state complaints. Such policies and procedures shall include expectations and mechanisms for collaboration between the Office of Dispute Resolution and Administrative Services and the Office of Special Education Program Improvement in the Division of Special Education and Student Services at the Department to investigate and resolve such credible allegations of noncompliance that do not qualify for state complaint investigations.

9. Elevate the position of State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education. The State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education shall (i) report to the Superintendent; (ii) systematically track and report to the Department questions and concerns raised by parents to the State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education and special education family support centers established pursuant to § 22.1-214.5; (iii) coordinate with the Parent Training and Information Center on the activities of the special education family support centers established pursuant to § 22.1-214.5; and (iv) develop a one-page comprehensive summary of the roles and responsibilities of the State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education and such special education family support centers, the specific supports the State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education and such special education family support centers can provide to parents, and how to contact the State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education and such special education family support centers. The Department shall make the summary available in multiple languages on its website and as part of the Virginia IEP established pursuant to subdivision 11.

10. Develop and implement a process for systematically auditing and verifying school divisions' self-determinations of compliance with all Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (P.L. 101-476) performance indicators. The verification process shall include a random sample of school divisions each year and ensure that all school divisions' self-determinations are reviewed and verified no less frequently than once every five years.

11. (Effective July 1, 2027) Develop, establish, review and update as necessary at least once every five years, and make available to each local school board an IEP writing, facilitation, tracking, and transfer system to be referred to as the Virginia IEP that includes, at a minimum, an IEP template component and a data system component. The Department shall ensure that such data system component allows for secure transfer of data from division student information systems to the Department. The Department shall also develop and make available to each local school board guidance on the utilization of the Virginia IEP and high-quality professional development to support (i) the effective utilization of the Virginia IEP and (ii) the implementation of instructional practices to support the provision of specially designed instruction in inclusive settings.

12. Develop and publish a data dashboard for the annual public reporting, on a date to be determined by the Superintendent, of state-level, division-level, and school-level special education data, disaggregated by disability type and by subgroups of students with disabilities, including by race, ethnicity, economic disadvantage, English learner status, foster care status, and unhoused status, except when such disaggregation would result in the disclosure of any student's personally identifiable information in violation of relevant federal and state law. Such data dashboard shall include disaggregated (i) results on the early literacy screener provided by the Department, the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program, and Standards of Learning assessments and (ii) college and career readiness and learning climate measures.

2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 173, 451, 452; 2024, cc. 468, 502.

The Parent Training and Information Center in the Commonwealth designated pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1471(e) shall establish special education family support centers in eight distinct regions of the Commonwealth that shall each (i) be staffed by a regional special education family liaison employed by such center, (ii) coordinate with special education parent/family liaisons required to be designated pursuant to subsection R of § 22.1-253.13:2, (iii) develop and implement outreach and support to parents of children with disabilities in its region, and (iv) track and report to the State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education data on questions and concerns raised by parents.

2024, cc. 468, 502.

Each school division shall provide free and appropriate education, including special education, for (i) the children with disabilities residing within its jurisdiction and (ii) the children with disabilities who do not reside within its jurisdiction but reside in the Commonwealth and are enrolled in a full-time virtual school program provided by the school division, in accordance with regulations of the Board of Education. A school division that is required to provide a free and appropriate education, including special education, for a nonresident student who is enrolled in its full-time virtual school program pursuant to this section shall be entitled to any federal and state funds applicable to the education of such student. In the case of a student who is a resident of the Commonwealth but does not reside in the school division in which he is enrolled in a full-time virtual school program, the school division in which the student resides shall be released from the obligation to provide a free and appropriate education, including special education, for such student.

For the purposes of this section, "children with disabilities, residing within its jurisdiction" shall include: (a) those individuals of school age identified as appropriate to be placed in public school programs who are residing in a state facility operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services located within the school division, or (b) those individuals of school age who are Virginia residents and are placed and living in a foster care home or child-caring institution or group home located within the school division and licensed under the provisions of Chapter 17 (§ 63.2-1700 et seq.) of Title 63.2 as a result of being in the custody of a local department of social services or welfare or being privately placed, not solely for school purposes.

The Board of Education shall promulgate regulations to identify those children placed within facilities operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services who are eligible to be appropriately placed in public school programs.

The cost of the education provided to children residing in state facilities who are appropriate to place within the public schools shall remain the responsibility of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The cost of the education provided to children who are not residents of the Commonwealth and are placed and living in a foster care home or child-caring institution or group home located within the school division and licensed under the provisions of Chapter 17 (§ 63.2-1700 et seq.) of Title 63.2 shall be billed to the sending agency or person by the school division as provided in subsection C of § 22.1-5. No school division shall refuse to educate any such child or charge tuition to any such child.

Each school division shall submit to the Board of Education in accordance with the schedule and by the date specified by the Board, a plan acceptable to the Board for such education for the period following and a report indicating the extent to which the plan required by law for the preceding period has been implemented. However, the schedule specified by the Board shall not require plans to be submitted more often than annually unless changes to the plan are required by federal or state law or regulation.

Each local school division shall complete a self-assessment and action planning instrument addressing inclusion practices, as developed by the Department, once every three years and report the results of the assessment and plans for improvement to the Department, the division's superintendent, the division's special education director, and the chairs of the local school board and local special education advisory committee.

Code 1950, § 22-10.5; 1974, c. 480; 1978, c. 386; 1980, c. 559; 1985, c. 158; 1988, c. 101; 1994, c. 854; 1996, cc. 583, 594; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2012, cc. 476, 507; 2014, c. 433; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 451, 452.

The Board shall publicize and disseminate to parents of students who are enrolled in special education programs or for whom a special education placement has been recommended information regarding current federal law and regulation addressing procedures and rights related to the placement and withdrawal of children in special education.

2001, c. 439; 2022, c. 355.

Each local school board shall enact a policy to require that timely written notification is provided to the parents of any student who:

1. Undergoes literacy and Response to Intervention screening and services; or

2. Does not meet the benchmark on any assessment used to determine at-risk learners in preschool through grade 12, which notification shall include all such assessment scores and subscores and any intervention plan that results from such assessment scores or subscores.

2020, c. 336.

A school board may provide special education for children with disabilities either directly with its own facilities and personnel or under contract with another school division or divisions or any other public or private nonsectarian school, agency or institution licensed or certified by the Board of Education or by a licensing authority in the state where the facility is located. Special education for children below the compulsory school attendance age may be provided in nonsectarian child-day programs licensed in accordance with state law.

Code 1950, § 22-10.6; 1974, c. 480; 1980, c. 559; 1994, cc. 376, 854; 1996, c. 133.

A. Special education for visually impaired children provided by a school division shall be established, maintained and operated jointly by the school board and the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired subject to the regulations of the Board of Education. Braille instruction shall be included in the student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP), whenever appropriate. When developing the IEP for students with visual impairment, the presumption shall be that proficiency in literacy is essential for such student to achieve satisfactory educational progress. However, use of Braille shall not be required if other special education services are more appropriate to the student's educational needs, and the provision of other appropriate services shall not preclude Braille instruction.

B. The Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired shall prepare and deliver a program of special education services in addition to the special education provided in the public school system designed to meet the educational needs of visually impaired children between the ages of birth and twenty-one and may prepare and deliver such programs for such individuals of other ages. In the development of such a program, the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired shall cooperate with the Board of Education and the school boards of the several school divisions. The Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired shall assist the Board of Education and the school boards of the several school divisions with in-service training in Braille for currently employed teachers of students who are blind and visually impaired.

C. As used in this section:

"Braille" means the system of reading and writing through touch and is commonly known as standard English Braille Grade 2.

"Program" means a modified program which provides special materials or services and may include the employment of itinerant teachers or resource room teachers for the visually impaired.

"Visually impaired" shall be defined by the Board of Education and the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired.

Code 1950, § 22-10.7; 1974, c. 480; 1978, c. 386; 1980, c. 559; 1990, c. 803; 1992, c. 755; 1995, c. 750; 1998, c. 852.

The Department of Education shall annually prepare and distribute to local school boards packets of information describing the educational and other services available through the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, and the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired to students who are identified as deaf or hard of hearing or visually impaired. Local school boards shall annually post this information on the school division's website and inform the parents of those students who are identified as deaf or hard of hearing or visually impaired of its availability. School boards shall ensure that packets of such information are available in an accessible format for review by parents who do not have Internet access.

1998, c. 351; 2000, c. 285; 2011, c. 216; 2015, c. 55; 2019, c. 288.

A. In developing an individualized education program (IEP) for a child identified as deaf or hard-of-hearing, in addition to any other requirements established by the Board of Education, each local school division may ensure that IEP teams consider the child's specific communication needs and address those needs as appropriate in the child's IEP. In considering the child's needs, the IEP team may expressly consider the following:

1. The child's individual communication mode or language;

2. The availability to the child of a sufficient number of age, cognitive, academic, and language peers of similar abilities if the parents so desire;

3. The availability to the child of deaf or hard-of-hearing adult models of the child's communication mode or language;

4. The provision of direct and ongoing language access to teachers of the deaf and hard-of-hearing, interpreters, psychologists, educational audiologists, speech-language pathologists, administrators, and other special education personnel who are knowledgeable due to specific training and who are proficient in the child's primary communication mode or language;

5. The provision of communication-accessible academic instruction, school services, and direct access to all components of the educational process, including recess, lunch, extracurricular social and athletic activities, and the equal opportunity to participate in advanced coursework, technical vocational coursework, and academic classes as identified by the IEP team;

6. Equipping children identified as deaf or hard-of-hearing with appropriate assistive technology across a full spectrum; and

7. That the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind may be the least restrictive environment for the child.

B. No child identified as deaf or hard-of-hearing may be denied the opportunity for instruction in a particular communication mode or language solely because another communication mode or language was originally chosen for the child.

C. A child may receive instruction in more than one communication mode or language.

D. For the purposes of this section, "communication mode or language mode" means one or more of the following systems or methods of communication applicable to children identified as deaf or hard-of-hearing: (i) American Sign Language; (ii) English-based manual or sign systems; (iii) oral, aural, speech-based training; (iv) spoken and written English, including speech reading, lip reading, or cued speech; and (v) communication with assistive technology devices to facilitate language and learning.

2013, cc. 704, 786.

A. The Department of Education shall establish, make available to each school board, and post on its website guidelines for individualized education program (IEP) teams to utilize when developing IEPs for children with disabilities to ensure that IEP teams consider the need for age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate instruction related to sexual health, self-restraint, self-protection, respect for personal privacy, and personal boundaries of others.

B. In developing IEPs for children with disabilities, in addition to any other requirements established by the Board, each local school board shall ensure that IEP teams consider the guidelines established by the Department of Education pursuant to subsection A.

2020, cc. 51, 170; 2024, c. 493.

A. For the purposes of this section, "language developmental milestones" means milestones of development aligned to the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law.

B. 1. The Department, in coordination with the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, shall establish an advisory committee for the purpose of soliciting input from members on the selection of language developmental milestones for inclusion in a resource for use by parents of a child from birth to age five who is identified as deaf or hard of hearing to monitor and track the child's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy. The advisory committee shall consist of 16 nonlegislative citizen members, nine of which shall be voting members as described in subdivision 2 and seven of which shall be nonvoting members as described in subdivision 3. The majority of members shall be deaf or hard of hearing, and all of the members shall have experience in the field of education of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The advisory committee shall have a balance of members who personally, professionally, or parentally use the dual languages of American Sign Language and English and members who personally, professionally, or parentally use only spoken English.

2. The nine voting members of the committee shall be as follows:

a. One parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who has chosen American Sign Language as the primary language for his child;

b. One parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who has chosen spoken language as the communication mode for his child;

c. One parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who has chosen cued speech as the communication mode for his child;

d. One teacher for the deaf or hard of hearing or developmental specialist who possesses the highest skill level in the development of American Sign Language competence with experience in early intervention;

e. One teacher for the deaf or hard of hearing or developmental specialist who possesses the highest skill level in the development of spoken language competence for children with hearing loss with experience in early intervention;

f. One teacher for the deaf or hard of hearing or early intervention specialist who possesses the highest skill level in the development of cued speech or language competence with experience in early intervention;

g. One speech-language pathologist who possesses the highest skill level in the development of American Sign Language with experience in early intervention;

h. One speech-language pathologist who possesses the highest skill level in the development of spoken language for children with hearing loss with experience in early intervention; and

i. One service coordinator from early intervention with experience in providing families with unbiased information regarding communication methodologies available to families.

3. The seven nonvoting members of the committee shall be representatives of each of the following agencies or committees, as determined by the agency head or committee chair:

a. The Virginia Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program Advisory Committee;

b. The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind;

c. The Infant and Toddler Connection of Virginia;

d. The Virginia Department of Education;

e. The Center for Family Involvement at the Virginia Commonwealth University Partnership for People with Disabilities;

f. The Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing; and

g. The Virginia Association of the Deaf.

C. No later than January 1, 2023, the Department, in coordination with the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, shall provide the advisory committee established pursuant to subsection B with a list of all existing language developmental milestones from standardized norms and any relevant information regarding such language developmental milestones for possible inclusion in the parent resource set forth in subsection D. No later than June 1, 2023, the advisory committee shall recommend language developmental milestones for inclusion in the parent resource and may make recommendations for tools or assessments to be included in an educator resource set forth in subsection E for use in assessing the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing. No later than June 30, 2023, the Department, in consultation with the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, shall select language developmental milestones for inclusion in the parent resource and inform the advisory committee of its selections.

D. The Department, in consultation with the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, shall, after considering the recommendations submitted by the advisory committee, select language developmental milestones for inclusion in a resource, and develop such resource, for use by parents of a child from birth to age five who is identified as deaf or hard of hearing to monitor and track the child's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy. Such parent resource shall:

1. Be appropriate for use, in both content and administration, with children who use American Sign Language, English, or both;

2. Present the language developmental milestones selected pursuant to subsection C in terms of typical development of all children in a particular age range;

3. Be written for clarity and ease of use by parents;

4. Be aligned to the Department's existing infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines; the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law; and state standards in English language arts;

5. Make clear that parents have the right to select American Sign Language, English, or both for their child's language acquisition and developmental milestones;

6. Make clear that the parent resource is not a formal assessment of language and literacy development and that parents' observations of their child may differ from formal assessment data presented at an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting;

7. Explain that parents may bring the parent resource to an IFSP or IEP meeting for purposes of sharing their observations about their child's development; and

8. Include fair, balanced, and comprehensive information about American Sign Language and English and respective communication modes as well as available services and programs.

The Department, the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall jointly disseminate the resource to parents of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing.

E. The Department, in coordination with the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, shall, after considering any recommendations submitted by the advisory committee, select existing tools or assessments for early intervention specialists and educators for use in assessing the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing. Such tools or assessments shall:

1. Be in a format that shows stages of language and literacy development;

2. Be selected for use by educators to track the expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing; and

3. Be appropriate, in both content and administration, for use with children who are deaf or hard of hearing and who use American Sign Language, English, or both.

The Department, the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall jointly disseminate the tools or assessments selected pursuant to this subsection to local educational agencies and provide materials and training on their use. Such tools or assessments may be used by a child's IFSP or IEP team, as applicable, to track the expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy of such child or to establish or modify IFSP or IEP plans.

F. In addition to the powers and duties set forth above, the advisory committee may:

1. Advise the Department, the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services or its contractor on the content and administration of the existing instrument used to assess the development of children who are deaf or hard of hearing in order to ensure the appropriate use of such instrument for the assessment of the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing; and

2. Make recommendations regarding future research to improve the measurement of the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing.

G. If a child from birth to age five who is deaf or hard of hearing does not demonstrate progress in expressive and receptive language skills as measured by one of the educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to subsection E or by the existing instrument used to assess the development of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, such child's IFSP or IEP team, as applicable, shall explain in detail the reasons why the child is not meeting or progressing toward the language developmental milestones and shall recommend specific strategies, services, and programs that shall be provided to assist the child's progress toward English literacy.

H. No later than August 1, 2024, and no later than August 1 of each year thereafter, the Department, in coordination with the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, shall produce a report, using existing data reported in compliance with the federally required state performance plan on students with disabilities, that compares the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing with the language and literacy development of their peers who are not deaf or hard of hearing and shall make such report available to the public on its website.

I. The Department, the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall comply with the provisions of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g) in carrying out the provisions of this section.

J. The advisory committee function shall terminate effective June 30, 2023.

2022, cc. 238, 240.

For the purpose of improving the quality of the education and training provided to the school-age children in state hospitals and training centers operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, there is hereby established a program of grants from such funds as are appropriated by the General Assembly to promote the research and development of innovative methods of teaching children with mental illness, intellectual disability, or serious emotional disturbance in residential settings. This program shall be available to the education directors and instructional staffs of the state hospitals and training centers operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The Board of Education shall award these grants on the basis of the recommendations of an advisory committee composed of the Director of the Virginia Treatment Center for Children, two representatives of the Department of Education and two representatives of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The advisory committee shall establish objectives for these grants, develop requests for proposals and set criteria for evaluating the applications for funds.

1985, c. 332; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2012, cc. 476, 507.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall make available special education transition materials for students and parents to be used during a student's annual Individualized Education Program meeting as required by the State Board of Education Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia (8VAC20-81-118 and 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.) and direct local school divisions to use the material to the fullest extent possible. Such materials shall be prepared and updated as necessary by the Department of Education and shall include information describing services that can be provided in the least restrictive environment possible and the purpose and use of temporary guardianship, limited guardianship, and guardianship, as those terms are defined in § 64.2-2000.

2020, c. 855.

Each public high school in the Commonwealth shall publicly identify on its official website the faculty member responsible for special education transition planning and coordination at such high school.

2023, cc. 280, 281.

A. If a child's individualized education program calls for placement in a private nonreligious school, agency, or institution, payment for reasonable tuition cost and other reasonable charges shall be made from the state pool of funds pursuant to § 2.2-5211.

B. Where a school board enters into an agreement with the Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center or a special education regional program established pursuant to regulations of the Board of Education, the Board of Education is authorized to reimburse the school board from such funds as are appropriated for this purpose.

C. The Board of Education is further authorized to reimburse each school board operating a preschool special education program for children with disabilities aged two through four, through the Standards of Quality Special Education account.

Code 1950, § 22-10.8; 1974, c. 480; 1978, c. 386; 1980, c. 559; 1988, c. 96; 1989, c. 106; 1990, c. 277; 1993, cc. 110, 191; 1996, c. 133; 2005, c. 928; 2015, c. 542.

In order to protect the interests of the Commonwealth and local governments and provide for the safety and welfare of children with disabilities, all placements of children with disabilities facilitated by a school division in an out-of-state special education facility shall be processed through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children as provided in Chapters 10 (§ 63.2-1000 et seq.) and 11 (§ 63.2-1100 et seq.) of Title 63.2.

1983, c. 376; 1994, c. 854.

Nothing in this article shall be construed to restrict or prohibit the use of any federal, state or local funds made available under any federal, state or local appropriation or grant.

Code 1950, § 22-10.9; 1974, c. 480; 1980, c. 559.

The governing body of any county, city or town is hereby authorized and empowered to appropriate and expend funds of the county, city or town in furtherance of the education of children with disabilities residing in such county, city or town who attend Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center or public or private nonsectarian schools, or public or private nonsectarian child-day programs for children below the compulsory school attendance age, whether within or without the county, city or town and whether within or without the Commonwealth.

Code 1950, § 22-10.10; 1974, c. 480; 1980, c. 559; 1989, c. 106; 1994, cc. 376, 854; 2015, c. 542.

A. Each disabled child enrolled in and attending a special education program provided by the school division pursuant to any of the provisions of § 22.1-216 or § 22.1-218 shall be entitled to transportation to and from such school or class at no cost if such transportation is necessary to enable such child to obtain the benefit of educational programs and opportunities.

B. A school board may, in lieu of providing transportation on an approved school bus, allot funds to pay the reasonable cost of special arrangement transportation. The Board of Education shall reimburse the school board sixty percent of such cost if funds therefor are available.

C. Costs for operating approved school buses which are equipped or used primarily for transporting children with disabilities shall be reimbursed according to the regulations promulgated by the Board of Education from such state funds as are appropriated for this purpose.

Code 1950, § 22-10.11; 1974, c. 480; 1975, cc. 464, 513; 1978, c. 386; 1980, c. 559; 1983, c. 521; 1994, c. 854; 1996, cc. 123, 247.

Repealed by Acts 1985, c. 421.

As used in this article:

"Adult basic education" means education for individuals over the age of compulsory school attendance specified in § 22.1-254 that enables them to express themselves orally and in writing, read, access information and resources, make decisions, act independently and interact with others, and continue lifelong learning to cope with and compete successfully in a global economy.

"Adult education program" means an instructional program below the college credit level provided by public schools for individuals who are not enrolled in the regular public school program, including adult basic education, credit programs, cultural adult education, external diploma programs, general adult education, and high school equivalency programs.

"Credit program" means a program of academic courses that are available to individuals over the age of compulsory school attendance specified in § 22.1-254 to enable them to complete the regular requirements for a high school diploma.

"Cultural adult education" means English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), the preparation of foreign-born adults for participation in American life or for becoming American citizens, and other educational services for foreign-born individuals over the age of compulsory school attendance specified in § 22.1-254.

"External diploma program" means a program in which individuals over the age of compulsory school attendance specified in § 22.1-254 who did not complete high school may earn a high school diploma by demonstrating with 100 percent mastery the 65 competencies established and validated by the American Council on Education.

"General adult education" means academic, cultural, and avocational instruction for individuals over the age of compulsory school attendance specified in § 22.1-254 that may be obtained through programs other than credit programs, high school equivalency programs, or external diploma programs.

"High school equivalency program" means a program of preparation and instruction to take a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education for individuals over the age of compulsory school attendance specified in § 22.1-254 who did not complete high school, individuals who have been granted permission by the superintendent of the school division in which they are or were last enrolled to take a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education, individuals who are at least 16 years of age, and individuals who have been ordered by a court to participate in the program.

Code 1950, § 22-360; 1978, c. 522; 1980, c. 559; 1999, c. 564; 2006, c. 335; 2014, c. 84; 2018, c. 717.

The Board of Education shall:

1. Require the development of adult education programs in every school division;

2. Encourage coordination in the development and provision of adult education programs between school boards and other state, federal, and local public and private agencies;

3. Promulgate appropriate standards and guidelines for adult education programs;

4. Accept and administer grants, gifts, services, and funds from available sources for use in adult education programs; and

5. Assist school divisions with all diligence in meeting the educational needs of individuals participating in adult education programs to master the requirements for and earn a high school diploma or to pass a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education.

Code 1950, § 22-361; 1978, c. 522; 1980, c. 559; 1999, c. 564; 2014, c. 84; 2018, c. 717.

A. Local school boards shall provide adult education programs, in compliance with subdivision D 8 of § 22.1-253.13:1, for residents of the school division and, in their discretion, may charge appropriate fees to persons admitted to such programs.

B. With such funds as may be appropriated for the purposes of this article, school boards shall seek to ensure that every individual participating in such program has an opportunity to earn a high school diploma or pass a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education.

Code 1950, § 22-362; 1978, c. 522; 1980, c. 559; 1999, c. 564; 2004, cc. 939, 955; 2009, c. 802; 2014, c. 84; 2018, c. 717.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Department shall authorize a Virginia-based nonprofit organization with demonstrated evidence of positive student outcomes to provide schools for adults to earn (i) (a) an industry-recognized credential awarded through a partnership with a Virginia-based community college or an approved training provider or (b) dual college credit awarded through a partnership with a Virginia-based community college and (ii) a high school diploma on one or more diploma pathways set forth in subdivision 3 of 8VAC20-30-20 in which enrollment is open, on a space-available basis, to adults who reside throughout the Commonwealth.

2023, cc. 453, 454.

Repealed by Acts 2010, c. 61, cl. 2.

Expired.

The Board of Education is designated as the State Board of Career and Technical Education to carry out the provisions of the federal Vocational Education Act of 1963, as amended, and as such shall promote and administer the provision of agriculture, business, marketing, home economics, health, technology education, trade and industrial education in the public middle and high schools, regional schools established pursuant to § 22.1-26, institutions of higher education, and other eligible institutions for youth and adults.

For the purposes of this section, "promote" shall not be construed to mandate the implementation of any additional career and technical education programs that are not currently offered.

Code 1950, § 22-319; 1980, c. 559; 1992, cc. 673, 897; 2001, c. 483.

As used in this article, "career and technical education" means an organized education program offering a sequence of courses that (i) may incorporate field, laboratory, and classroom instruction; (ii) emphasize career and technical occupational experiences; (iii) are designed to prepare individuals for further education and gainful employment; and (iv) are aligned with state or national program certification and accreditation standards, if such standards exist for the sequence of courses. However, clause (iv) shall not apply to any program offered by industry in cooperation with a local school board.

1996, c. 400; 2001, c. 483; 2015, c. 588.

A. The Board shall incorporate into career and technical education the Standards of Learning for mathematics, science, English, and social studies, including history, and other subject areas as may be appropriate. The Board may also authorize, in its regulations for accrediting public schools in Virginia, the substitution of industry certification and state licensure examinations for Standards of Learning assessments for the purpose of awarding credit for career and technical education courses, where appropriate.

B. The Board shall also develop a plan for increasing the number of students receiving industry certification and state licensure as part of their career and technical education. The plan shall include an annual goal for school divisions. Where there is an accepted national industry certification for career and technical education instructional personnel and programs for automotive technology, such certification shall be mandatory.

C. With such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose, there shall be established, within the Department, a unit of specialists in career and technical education. The unit shall (i) assist in developing and revising local career and technical curriculum to integrate the Standards of Learning, (ii) provide professional development for career and technical instructional personnel to improve the quality of career and technical education, (iii) conduct site visits to the schools providing career and technical education, and (iv) seek the input of business and industry representatives regarding the content and direction of career and technical education programs in the public schools of the Commonwealth.

D. The Board shall develop guidelines for the establishment of High School to Work Partnerships, hereafter referred to as "Partnerships," between public high schools and local businesses to create opportunities for high school students to (i) participate in an apprenticeship, internship, or job shadow program in a variety of trades and skilled labor positions or (ii) tour local businesses and meet with owners and employees. These guidelines shall include a model waiver form to be used by high schools and local businesses in connection with Partnership programs to protect both the students and the businesses from liability.

Each local school board may establish Partnerships or delegate the authority to establish Partnerships to the local school division's career and technical education administrator or his designee, in collaboration with the school counselor office of each public high school in the school division, and shall educate high school students about opportunities available through such Partnerships.

Students who miss a partial or full day of school while participating in Partnership programs shall not be counted as absent for the purposes of calculating average daily membership, but each local school board shall develop policies and procedures for students to make up missed work and may determine the maximum number of school days per academic year that a student may spend participating in a Partnership program.

E. Each public middle school and high school, regardless of whether such school offers career and technical education courses, may establish career and technical education student organizations.

1999, cc. 435, 442; 2001, c. 483; 2002, c. 167; 2008, c. 150; 2011, c. 388; 2013, cc. 56, 500; 2016, cc. 720, 750; 2018, cc. 142, 388; 2019, cc. 139, 796; 2024, c. 776.

As used in this article:

1. "Career and technical education project" or "project" means a project that supplements the regular career and technical education program in a school division and that is designed to provide effective practical training to students in the secondary schools of the school division and in which participation is optional and voluntary.

2. "Corporation" means a nonstock, nonprofit corporation or foundation established for the express purpose of promoting career and technical education in a school division within the meaning of § 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

Code 1950, § 22-330.37; 1974, c. 336; 1975, c. 139; 1980, c. 559; 2001, c. 483.

Any school board may establish career and technical education projects. A school board may establish any such project either directly with its own facilities and personnel or under contract with a corporation. A project may be conducted on school board property or other public or private property. A school board may acquire sites for projects.

Code 1950, §§ 22-330.36, 22-330.37, 22-330.38; 1974, c. 336; 1975, c. 139; 1980, c. 559; 2001, c. 483.

No school board shall contract with a corporation for establishment of a career and technical education project unless its articles of incorporation and bylaws have been approved by the Board of Education.

Code 1950, § 22-330.39; 1974, c. 336; 1980, c. 559; 2001, c. 483.

No school board shall establish or contract to establish a career and technical education project until such project has been reviewed and approved by the Board of Education. The Board's review shall be for the purpose of ensuring that (i) where a school board undertakes a project by contract with a corporation, such contract meets the requirements of this article, (ii) in undertaking a project, the school board complies with all other requirements of law and (iii) public funds will be protected. If the Board fails to act on a project submitted for approval within sixty days, the project shall be deemed to be approved.

Code 1950, § 22-330.40; 1974, c. 336; 1980, c. 559; 2001, c. 483.

A. Where a school board undertakes a career and technical education project by contract with a corporation, the school board may advance, contribute and loan funds to the corporation. The contract shall contain:

1. a system of accounting;

2. the terms upon which any profits from the sale of the project will be allocated between the school board and the corporation;

3. conditions for the return with interest of any funds advanced by the school board;

4. a provision that upon the dissolution of the corporation, any assets remaining after payment of just debts shall be transferred to and become the property of the school board;

5. a provision that, upon the completion of any project, the school board may determine not to participate in further projects;

6. a provision that the school board may at any time require the return of funds to which it is entitled.

B. Where the school board contributes or loans funds to the corporation, such contract shall provide for the posting of a bond with surety by the officers of the corporation conditioned to protect the rights of the school board.

C. Such contract may provide for the establishment of an escrow fund for the purpose of funding future projects.

Code 1950, §§ 22-330.41, 22-330.42; 1974, c. 336; 1980, c. 559; 2001, c. 483.

Nothing herein shall exempt career and technical education projects from compliance with state and local zoning laws and building codes, if applicable. Work done by students or other nonlicensed personnel shall be inspected by an appropriately licensed person to assure compliance with prescribed standards. No school board shall make any warranty, express or implied, as to the construction or as to the compliance of a project with zoning laws and building codes.

Code 1950, § 22-330.43; 1974, c. 336; 1975, c. 139; 1980, c. 559; 2001, c. 483.

A school board may expend funds for the purpose of acquiring the site for the construction of a career and technical education project. At the completion of a project constructed on private property, the project shall be sold within a reasonable time. The power of eminent domain may not be used to acquire land as a site for a project. In addition, the school board may sell a completed project and any associated land owned by the school board, regardless of whether the property was previously purchased or specifically acquired for the project. The school board shall make reasonable and good faith efforts to ensure that the fair market value is received upon the sale of any building constructed as a project and the associated land, if any.

Code 1950, § 22-330.44; 1974, c. 336; 1980, c. 559; 1991, c. 298; 2001, c. 483.

A school board may provide transportation for students to career and technical education project sites.

A school board or corporation may provide insurance protecting its students and agents from loss as a result of physical injury or liability resulting from their work on the project.

Code 1950, § 22-330.45; 1974, c. 336; 1980, c. 559; 2001, c. 483.

Neither the members of a school board nor the officers or directors of a corporation shall be personally liable for the negligence of any student or agent in connection with a career and technical education project.

Code 1950, § 22-330.46; 1974, c. 336; 1980, c. 559; 2001, c. 483.

The Board of Education may regulate the awarding of academic credit for participation in career and technical education projects.

Code 1950, § 22-330.47; 1974, c. 336; 1980, c. 559; 2001, c. 483.

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education," "baccalaureate public institution of higher education," "comprehensive community college," "Council," "public institution of higher education," and "System" have the same meanings as provided in § 23.1-100.

"Career and technical education" has the same meaning as provided in § 23.1-2900.

"Fund" means the College and Career Ready Virginia Fund.

"Program" means the College and Career Ready Virginia Program.

"Qualified high school student" means a student who is eligible to participate in the Program in accordance with subdivision 3 of § 22.1-237.4.

2024, cc. 647, 684.

A. The Board and the State Board for Community Colleges shall establish the College and Career Ready Virginia Program.

B. The purpose of the Program is to offer consistent, structured opportunities for all qualified high school students in the Commonwealth to enroll in postsecondary coursework offered by a comprehensive community college that is creditable toward high school completion and a certificate or degree from a public institution of higher education. Academic credits earned through the Program shall enable students to complete a postsecondary credential in less time and at lower cost.

C. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the College and Career Ready Virginia Fund. The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All funds appropriated for such purpose and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds received on its behalf shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purpose of administering the Program. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the Chancellor of the System and the Superintendent.

D. Comprehensive community colleges, the Online Virginia Network Authority, and local school boards shall not charge qualified high school students tuition or fees for enrolling and participating in Program courses.

2024, cc. 647, 684.

A. The Program shall consist of the dual enrollment and participation of qualified high school students at the high school in college courses pursuant to the Passport Program and the Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program established in accordance with the requirements set forth in subsection B of § 23.1-907.

B. (Effective beginning with course registration for the fall term of the 2025 academic year) Each school board shall, pursuant to the Program, offer each qualified high school student in the local school division access to courses at each high school that are sufficient to complete the Passport Program and the Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program at a public institution of higher education at no cost to such student.

C. (Effective beginning with course registration for the fall term of the 2025 academic year) The System and the Online Virginia Network Authority shall, pursuant to the Program, offer each local school board access to courses at each high school, including virtual courses, that are sufficient for each local school board's qualified high school students to complete the Passport Program and the Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program at a public institution of higher education, at no cost to such local school board.

D. (Effective beginning with course registration for the fall term of the 2025 academic year) Any credit earned through successful completion of Passport Program and Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program courses through the Program shall transfer to each public institution of higher education pursuant to §§ 23.1-905.1 and 23.1-907.

E. The Program shall include appropriate counseling by high school and comprehensive community college staff to ensure that all high school students and parents of high school students receive thorough information about the availability of and process for enrolling in Program courses and the opportunity to earn Passport Program and Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program credits that will transfer to public institutions of higher education.

F. The Program shall be data-driven and continually updated to (i) reduce socioeconomic, academic, and other barriers impeding students' access to Program courses; (ii) improve student academic and career outcomes; and (iii) align with the changing workforce needs of the Commonwealth.

G. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall annually audit the receipt and expenditure of any funds associated with the Program by any local school board, any comprehensive community college, the Department, or the System to ensure that such funds are expended exclusively in furtherance of the purposes of this article.

2024, cc. 647, 684.

The Department and the System shall administer the Program. In administering the Program, the Department and the System shall:

1. Establish an advisory committee composed of representatives from local school divisions from each of the eight Superintendent's regions, associate-degree-granting public institutions of higher education from each of the eight Superintendent's regions, baccalaureate public institutions of higher education, Richard Bland College, the Office of the Secretary of Education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, the Virginia Office of Education Economics, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as well as parents of public school students from each of the eight Superintendent's regions, a parent of a student who receives home instruction, and a representative from the Department with expertise in state and federal requirements for meeting the needs of students with disabilities. Such advisory committee shall provide guidance to the Department and the System to ensure that the Program fulfills the purpose of the Program described in subsection B of § 22.1-237.2 and meets the requirements set forth in § 22.1-237.3.

2. Coordinate with the Council in its performance of its responsibilities under §§ 23.1-905.1, 23.1-907, and 23.1-908.

3. Review existing regulations, including 8VAC20-131-140, and policies, including policy 6.6.3 in the VCCS Policy Manual, on dual enrollment student eligibility and admission requirements and develop consistent student eligibility and admission requirements for the Program that balance improving student access to and ensuring student preparedness for Program courses.

4. Develop and implement initiatives to improve participation in the Program by qualified high school students from groups of students that are underrepresented in baccalaureate public institutions of higher education.

5. Develop guidelines for school boards and comprehensive community colleges to provide notice of and counseling relating to the Program to high school students and their parents.

6. Develop guidelines for local school boards and comprehensive community colleges to provide students enrolled in the Program with appropriate support, including academic support services and activities, access and user privileges to adequate library collections and services, accommodations for students with disabilities, transportation, and any other learning information or resources.

7. Establish and implement initiatives to increase the number of high school teachers across the Commonwealth that meet the applicable dual enrollment faculty credential requirements.

8. In local school divisions in which in-person instruction by qualified high school faculty is not available, ensure that comprehensive community colleges and the Online Virginia Network Authority provide access to Program courses transmitted virtually.

9. Consider the unique needs of local school divisions related to their location, size, and proximity to a comprehensive community college when developing recommendations and implementing the Program.

10. Consider how to incorporate all associate-degree-granting public institutions of higher education in the Program, consistent with the establishment of the Program pursuant to § 22.1-237.2.

11. Make distributions from the Fund as set forth in subsection C of § 22.1-237.2.

12. Develop and implement a plan for the annual collection and public reporting of state-level and division-level Program data, including high school and postsecondary student outcomes.

13. Develop and implement a plan for the annual collection from local school divisions and comprehensive community colleges of data on their receipts and expenditures related to the Program.

14. Establish a Program webpage that provides information necessary for students and parents to understand and access the Program.

15. Complete an annual, comprehensive review of the effectiveness of the Program, including its cost, student outcomes, and the quality and rigor of Program courses, and prepare a plan for continuous Program improvement.

16. Annually report to the General Assembly the results of the review and the plan for continuous Program improvement in subdivision 15.

2024, cc. 647, 684.

A. In recognition of the fact that career and technical education is an essential element of workforce readiness in the Commonwealth, the Department and the System shall establish the Program career and technical education work group (the work group) for the purpose of developing and recommending a career and technical education program of coursework that is available to all qualified high school students as part of the Program.

B. The work group shall be composed of representatives from local school divisions from each of the eight Superintendent's regions, associate-degree-granting public institutions of higher education from each of the eight Superintendent's regions, Richard Bland College, the Office of the Secretary of Education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, the Virginia Office of Education Economics, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as well as parents of public school students from each of the eight Superintendent's regions, a parent of a student who receives home instruction, and a representative from the Department with expertise in state and federal requirements for meeting the needs of students with disabilities.

C. The work group shall:

1. Review existing statutory requirements related to career and technical education, including § 23.1-2906.1, and assess their relevance to qualified dual enrollment students;

2. Gather data sufficient to understand (i) what career and technical education courses and pathways are currently offered through dual enrollment to students; (ii) how the current dual enrollment course offerings differ across local school divisions; (iii) whether existing state funding programs that support career and technical education, including the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Program established pursuant to § 23.1-2911.2, the New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program established pursuant to Article 4.1 (§ 23.1-627.1 et seq.) of Chapter 6 of Title 23.1, and the FastForward Program established by the System, are available to dual enrollment students; (iv) the current availability of instructors who are qualified to teach dual enrollment career and technical education courses across local school divisions; (v) the current costs of dual enrollment in career and technical education courses for students across local school divisions; (vi) the current cost to comprehensive community colleges to provide career and technical education through dual enrollment; and (vii) the extent to which current dual enrollment career and technical education coursework meets industry needs across the Commonwealth; and

3. Develop recommendations for the Department and the System to incorporate career and technical education coursework into the Program. Such recommendations shall address (i) what career and technical education coursework shall be available through dual enrollment to qualified high school students through the Program; (ii) how to ensure that all qualified dual enrolled students can access career and technical courses available through the Program; (iii) how to ensure that such courses meet the industry needs of the Commonwealth; (iv) how to ensure that such courses are affordable for qualified high school students across the Commonwealth; (v) how to ensure that qualified instructors are available to teach career and technical education coursework through the Program; (vi) how to make career and technical education coursework offered through the Program available to qualified high school students through the Online Virginia Network; (vii) what measurable objectives and quantifiable goals the Department and the System should use to understand the cost, assess outcomes, and develop plans for continuous improvement of dual enrollment career and technical education coursework through the Program; and (viii) what legislative action is necessary to incorporate career and technical education coursework into the Program.

2024, cc. 647, 684.

A. The Board of Education shall have the authority to approve textbooks suitable for use in the public schools and shall have authority to approve instructional aids and materials for use in the public schools. The Board shall publish a list of all approved textbooks on its website and shall list the publisher and the current lowest wholesale price of such textbooks.

B. Any school board may use textbooks not approved by the Board provided the school board selects such books in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Board.

C. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "textbooks" means print or electronic media for student use that serve as the primary curriculum basis for a grade-level subject or course.

1980, c. 559; 2002, c. 421; 2008, cc. 430, 615, 663.

In approving basal textbooks for reading in kindergarten and first grade, the Board shall report to local school boards those textbooks with a minimum decodability standard based on words that students can correctly read by properly attaching speech sounds to each letter to formulate the word at 70 percent or above for such textbooks.

Code 1950, § 22-297; 1980, c. 559; 1981, c. 190; 2008, cc. 430, 615, 663.

Repealed by Acts 2008, cc. 430, 615 and 663, cl. 2.

A. Local school boards shall either enter into written term contracts or issue purchase orders on an as-needed basis with publishers of textbooks approved by the Board for use in the public schools. Such written contracts or purchase orders for textbooks approved by the Board shall be exempt from the Virginia Public Procurement Act (§ 2.2-4300 et seq.).

The contract price shall not exceed the lowest wholesale price at which the textbook or textbooks involved in the contract are currently bid under contract anywhere in the United States.

If, subsequent to the date of any contract entered into by a local school board, the prices of textbooks named in the contract are reduced or the terms of the contract are made more favorable to purchase anywhere in the United States or a special or other edition of any book named in the contract is sold outside of Virginia at a lower price than contracted in the Commonwealth, the publisher shall grant the same reduction or terms to the local school board and give the local school board the option of using such special or other edition adapted for use in Virginia and at the lowest price at which such special edition is sold elsewhere and the contract shall so state.

B. Contracts and purchase orders with publishers of textbooks approved by the Board shall require the publisher to furnish an electronic file of the textbook in the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS) format that will then be deposited in the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) from which accessible versions of the particular textbook may be produced for students with print disabilities, as defined in 20 U.S.C. § 1474. Publishers shall deliver the NIMAS file of the textbook on or before the date of delivery of the regular text version.

Contracts and purchase orders with publishers of textbooks approved by the Board for use in grades 6-12 shall allow for the purchase of printed textbooks, printed textbooks with electronic files, or electronic textbooks separate and apart from printed versions of the same textbook. Each school board shall have the authority to purchase an assortment of textbooks in any of the three forms listed above.

C. Every school board shall order directly from the respective publishers the textbooks needed to supply the public schools in the school division. The publishers shall ship the textbooks to the school board. The purchase price of such textbooks shall be paid directly to the publishers by the school board.

D. With the approval of the local school board and the publisher, any private school within the school division that so requests may purchase from the local school board's contract with the publisher. Such private school shall be fully responsible for ordering, purchasing, and receiving shipments of books to be provided from the publisher pursuant to this section. The local school board shall be immune from any civil liability as a result of a private school purchasing from the local school board's contract.

Code 1950, §§ 22-299, 22-300, 22-301, 22-303; 1977, c. 85; 1980, c. 559; 1995, c. 750; 2008, cc. 430, 615, 663; 2010, c. 97.

The Board shall adopt regulations governing (i) the purchase of textbooks approved by it for use in the public schools directly from the publishers by school boards and (ii) the distribution of such textbooks for the use by children attending public schools in Virginia.

Code 1950, § 22-304; 1980, c. 559; 2008, cc. 430, 615, 663.

A. Each school board shall provide, free of charge, such textbooks required for courses of instruction for each child attending public schools. However, a local school board may assess a reasonable fee or charge for damages or loss of school property when such property has been provided to students without charge.

B. Consumable materials such as workbooks, writing books, and drawing books may be purchased by school boards and either provided to students at no cost or sold to students at a retail price not to exceed seven percent added to the publisher's price. If sold, the local school board shall develop a policy ensuring that workbooks, writing books, and drawing books are furnished to students who are unable to afford them at a reduced price or free of charge.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize a school board to charge fees to students for instructional materials, textbooks, or other materials used by a school board employee that are not directly used by a public school student.

Code 1950, § 22-305; 1980, c. 559; 2008, cc. 430, 615, 663; 2009, c. 81; 2010, c. 85.

Repealed by Acts 2008, cc. 430, 615 and 663, cl. 2.

Repealed by Acts 1993, c. 654, effective July 1, 1994.

Repealed by Acts 2008, cc. 430, 615 and 663, cl. 2.