"Comments on Selected Education Bills
*Important Reminder: As of 2010, each bill submitted costs
approximately $3000-$5000 to process.*
60 Bills were tracked.
22 passed.
Oppose – Failed but not ReallySB 1069 Virginia Longitudinal Data System; established, report. Charles Carrico
“Requires the Board
of Education to establish the Virginia Longitudinal Data System to track and
examine student progress from early childhood to postsecondary education to the
student entering the workforce. The bill also establishes the Virginia
Longitudinal Data System Advisory Council…”
A legislator explained that these bills failed in
Appropriations because there was no funding. However, an amendment was added to
and approved with the Budget Bill HB 1500:
“137 1c Va Longitudinal Data System - (This amendment
provides $120,000 the second year from the general fund for the Virginia
Longitudinal Data System to help offset the increased costs related to VITA
charges.)”
So it appears that despite these two bills “establishing” a
longitudinal data system being defeated, the system already exists and will be
funded.
Our children will be tracked from early childhood until they
enter the workforce. There is no limit
in the bill as to what data can be collected.
Oppose – Passed
“$150,000 the second
year from the general fund is provided to the Department of Education to
support implementation of the Opportunity Educational Institution.” http://leg2.state.va.us/WebData/13amend.nsf/ebea1c0863d2f61b8525689e00349981/bfaf9eac0df5d66c85257b1b004cb311?OpenDocument
The Institution will be administered by a Board:
That is a policy board in the executive branch of government
That has all the powers and duties of a local school board
That consists of 9 appointed members including two Delegates
and two Senators
An appointed policy Board that is part of the executive
branch of government and that has no accountability to parents is going to
educate their children. The school board will be required to annually provide parents with information on eating disorders for children in grades 5 -12.
There is also the option of developing a screening program.
The Department of Education and the Department of Health
will be responsible for providing the information.
This fiscal impact statement states that it cannot predict
the fiscal impact of this legislation but lists the significant staff time
necessary to provide information and update regulations and the cost of
annually providing the information to parents.
The report does not address the local fiscal impact if screening is
implemented.
If this information even gets into the parent’s hands it
will likely be tossed without being read.
If this information is provided on a website, it will likely not reach
the individuals who would need it. It is not the purpose of public education to
provide health screenings.HB 1344 Deaf and hard-of-hearing children; special education. Dickie Bell
Fiscal Impact Statement: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?131+oth+HB1344FER122+PDF
Is this bill really necessary?
“The enrolled bill permits, but does not require, school
divisions to ensure that IEP teams consider the specific communication needs of
hearing-impaired children and address those needs in the child’s IEP. However,
many of the provisions of this bill are already established in federal and
state special education laws and/or regulations…”
How much is it really going to cost?
“if any school divisions elect to implement the provisions
of this legislation, it could result in a local fiscal impact. There could also
be a state fiscal impact if any such school divisions incur additional expenses
related to the provisions of this bill and report those expenditures to the
Department of Education…”
I submit that even though it would feel good, it is not
possible for the public education system to meet every need of every child
without bankrupting Virginians.
HB 1871
Bullying; defines term and requires school boards to prohibit acts by students
and school employees. Jennifer McClellan
(SB 951
Bullying; defines term and requires school boards to prohibit acts by students
and school employees. Barbara Favola – failed)
“It is possible that the development of policies and
procedures related to the prohibition of bullying in schools, as required by
the legislation, could result in additional administrative costs for the
Department of Education and local school divisions; however, it is anticipated
that such costs could be absorbed within existing resources.”
We cannot legislate for every bad behavior. It is a waste of time and resources.
Bullying is not a new behavior and should be handled the
same way as any other unacceptable behavior.
SB 1175 Teach for America; creates two-year provisional license for participants. Frank Ruff
“According to their website, Teach for America seeks a
"diverse group of promising future leaders who have the leadership skills
to change the prospects of students...." Those recruited do not have to
have any prior teaching experience.”
Teach for America is a non-profit organization but is
associated with AmeriCorps which means it receives federal funding. How much is
this costing us?
I like the idea of bringing in non-educators to teach their
subject. For instance, I think it would
be great to bring in an accountant to teach accounting or a chemist to teach
chemistry but I think this could be done at a local level. I also think it would be preferable to have
someone with experience instead of fresh graduates.
Oppose – FailedHJ 598 Public education; recognizing need to tackle problem of hunger in classroom.
In the Budget Bill, HB 1500 http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?131+bud+21-134
“School Nutrition (18502) $
1,532,843 $ 1,532,843”
Under the category Direct Aid to Public Education these are
the figures listed for the School Breakfast Program http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?131+bud+21-139
“School Breakfast Program
$3,693,543
$3,837,586”
It is not the purpose of public education to feed the
children. It is the responsibility of
the parents to feed their children. Think
of the savings to the taxpayers if parents fed their own children!
HB 2286
Electronic textbooks; specifics for use in elementary and secondary schools,
report. Kaye Kory
“The bill finally requires the Board, in conjunction with
the Center for Innovative Technology, to annually report to the General
Assembly on the level of broadband connectivity of each local school division
as well as the level of computer ownership and access to broadband services for
each student and make the data available through the Commonwealth's broadband
connectivity map for the purpose of aiding each local school board in its
decision to purchase electronic textbooks.”
It is nobody’s business if the student has a computer or
broadband. I also do not wish to have my
taxes raised to pay for students to have a computer and broadband.
HJ 619 Study;
state-supported preschool programs; report. Chris Jones
Taxpayers should not have to pay for preschool.
HB 2171
School safety audits; school crisis, emergency management, and medical
emergency response plans. Delores
McQuinn
Bimonthly audits and reviews are a waste of time and money.
HB 2337
Public schools; school crisis, emergency management, and medical emergency
response plans.
Kaye Kory
“Directs each local school board to hold and require the
parents of each student in the local school division to attend an informational
session no later than August 31 of each year at which the school board shall
distribute and present an overview of the school crisis, emergency management,
and medical emergency response plan. The bill requires each parent to sign a
form to certify that he attended the informational session and received a copy
of the plan.”
I oppose the state requiring me to attend any meeting. This
information can be posted on the school website and at the school office if
parents are interested.
HB 1469
Higher educational institutions; State Inspector General to conduct a
comprehensive financial audit.
Dickie BellThe cost is too great:
“The OSIG estimates that to perform comprehensive financial
and performance audits on the state’s 14 institutions of higher education would
require 25 FTEs and approximately $4,000,000.”
HB 2287 Local
school boards; mental health first aid training plan. Rob Krupicka
“…each teacher in the local school division would be
required to participate in a 12-hour interactive course initially provided by
community services board staff members on the risk factors, warning signs,
symptoms, and treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, psychotic
disorders, eating disorders, and substance use disorders.”
Teachers are not nurses, doctors, psychiatrists, or parents.
This will be another education expense that has nothing to
do with education.
SB 1153
Public schools; kindergarten instructional time. George Barker
Very expensive and unnecessary:
“The estimated state fiscal impact is $2.0 million per year
to fund full-day kindergarten in Loudoun County. It is estimated that the
required local effort for Loudoun County approximately $2.6 million each
year...Moreover, Loudoun County could incur additional local operational and
capital costs …”Education is not a right.
Early childhood education should come from the parents not the
government.
HJ 684
Constitutional amendment (first resolution); charter schools. Scott
Lingamfelter“Grants the Board of Education authority to establish charter schools within the school divisions of the Commonwealth.”
The first issue is that this should not be an amendment to the Constitution.
Second, charter schools are not the answer to our education
issues because they are still public schools subject to the same state mandated
Standards of Learning and Standards of Quality.
Third, charter schools will lead to higher taxes because
money will be pulled from the regular public school system to help fund the
Charter schools.
HJ 693
Constitutional amendment (first resolution); statewide school division for
schools. Greg Habeeb
SJ 327
Constitutional amendment (first resolution); statewide school division; schools
denied accreditation. Ryan McDougle
Not worthy of an amendment and a waste of money.
The answer to improving our schools lies in returning
control to the local level. Local Fiscal Impact: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?131+oth+HB1730F165+PDF
“The estimates ranged from $55,271 per year in Prince Edward
County to $7,000,000 per year in the City of Virginia Beach.”
State Fiscal Impact: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?131+oth+HB1730F122+PD
If the state shares costs with localities: “the state share
of SRO costs would be $73.6 million the first year and $39.7 million in
subsequent years”
If the assumption is that the state will cover the cost of
all SROs, the cost for the existing 935 officers would also need to be added to
the costs cited above for the new positions. This cost is estimated at an
additional $64.5 million each year with the state share being $35.5 million
Adding resource officers will not make our schools safer and
it is too costly.
Support – Passed“Allows a public elementary school that had an adjusted pass rate of less than 75 percent on the third grade Standards of Learning reading assessment… to apply …for a two-year waiver from the science or history and social science Standards of Learning assessment requirement, or both, for third grade students….”
The only problem with this bill is that it expires in 2015
and does not apply to all grade levels. The most important subjects in school
are still reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Science and history can wait.
Support with Reservations– FailedSB 812 Public school interscholastic programs; participation of students receiving home instruction.
Tom Garrett
I support these bills with reservations because I do not
think the taxpayer should fund school sports programs at all. I realize that is heretical thinking but extracurricular
sports are not a necessary part of education.
However, as long as sports are included in public education,
all children should have access to them.
This was just an interesting item I found in the amended
items of the Budget Bill HB 1500:138 2c Va Teaching Scholarship Loan Program - $708,000
Top 10% Students to the Teaching Profession (This amendment
restores funding in the second year to continue and better target the program
in order to help attract top students into the teaching profession. The amount
of the award is updated from $3,720 to $10,000.This appropriation includes
$708,000 the second year from the general fund for the Virginia Teaching
Scholarship Loan Program. These scholarships shall be for undergraduate
students at or beyond the sophomore year in college with a cumulative grade
point average of at least 2.7 who were in the top 10 percent of their high
school class…)
What value is being in the top 10% of your high school class
when you only have a 2.7 in college? A 2.7 equates to a top student for the
teaching profession?
The above are just my opinions. My opinions are based on the
belief that education is not a right. I have formed these opinions from my
experience of having 5 children in the public school system and a brief
experience with home schooling. I have
experience with preschool, special needs, academically gifted, dual enrollment,
community college, and university education.
I have been a volunteer in the classroom, treasurer of the PTA, and
worked in the school cafeteria. I have reviewed and reported on SOLs and
textbooks. However, I am still learning.
Thanks,
Sandy"
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