12 Education Bills to Watch at Virginia’s 2023 General Assembly

Virginia legislators have introduced dozens of education bills to be considered at the 2023 General Assembly, which begins Wednesday. Education has emerged as a major issue in Virginia politics since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and remains a major issue in the administration of Governor Glenn Youngkin.

These are 12 education bills that will have a major impact on Virginia schools.

• The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Robert Orrock, Sr., R-Caroline, asks the Virginia Department of Education to create a model policy for the school department to follow regarding rules for selection and removal of books in public school libraries. request. Book censorship in public schools was a flashpoint late in Virginia’s 2021 gubernatorial campaign and was a contentious issue last year as well.

• Rep. John McGuire, R-Goochland legislation removes legal requirements for parents who want to homeschool their children. Under current law, at least one of her four qualifications: a high school diploma, a teaching qualification, offering a program or curriculum to a child, or providing evidence that the child is capable of providing an adequate education. one is required.
• Another McGuire bill would open up local school boards to lawsuits from parents who believe a change in school board policy has compromised their basic parental rights to make decisions about their children’s education. bottom.
• The Glenn Davis, Virginia Beach Republican-sponsored School Choices Act, endorsed by the Youngkin administration, would provide a portion of per-student state funds for parents to spend on private school tuition and other approved educational expenses. It was to allocate part to a savings account.
• Rep. Marie March R-Floyd’s House joint resolution removed powers from state boards of education and empowered state superintendents of public education appointed by governors. The bill would fundamentally change the power structure of public education in Virginia, giving the administration of Governor Glenn Youngkin and subsequent administrations unilateral control over public education.
• Two similar bills introduced by Rep. March and Rep. Karen Greenhall of Virginia Beach would effectively ban K-12 and college-level transgender athletes from competing on teams that match their gender identity. Thing.
• Another bill affecting transgender students, introduced by Rep. Jason Ballard of R-Giles, requires a court order for K-12 schools to change a student’s name.
• Rep. Carey Coiner (R-Chesterfield)’s bill expands the provisions of the Virginia Literacy Act passed last year with strong bipartisan support. There is a need for reading intervention services for young students who have trouble reading, and the new provisions will broaden their reach.
• De. Vivian Watts Action, D-Fairfax Requests Department of Education to Develop Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Modules on Title IX Rights and Protections and Make Those Training Modules Available to High School Students .
• Senator Lionel Spruill, D-Chesapeake legislation will require all public K-12 schools to provide age-appropriate mental health instruction in each grade.
• Democratic Fairfax Senator Scott Slovell wants to tighten existing rules on procedures aimed at notifying school leaders when one of their employees is charged with certain felonies, including sex crimes. The proposal states that a sex offender held a job at a Fairfax County middle school for 20 months after being arrested in Chesterfield County on charges of soliciting prostitution from minors8. Following the discovery of the Moon’s Richmond Times Dispatch.