Halftime at the Virginia Statehouse: Priority Education Bill Update

February 13th, Crossover Day, is the “halftime” of the General Assembly. This is the deadline for bills to be passed in each chamber so they can “cross over” to the other chamber for consideration. That is, bills that passed in the House of Delegates go to the Senate, and bills that pass in the Senate go to the House.

Monday and Tuesday this week were long days on the floor of the House of Delegates and the Senate as the last bills came to a vote. Bills that did not pass in the original chamber are done for the year, but they could be “continued,” meaning that their consideration is intentionally delayed to next year. Other bills may be defeated–“laid on the table”–meaning they are passed over for this session, or are “left in committee” because time has run out for them to be considered.  

Priority Education Bill Updates

Not all the priority education bills survived their first trip through a chamber. Check the status of our priority bills below.

Endorsed priority education bills that passed in their originating chamber: 

• HB 187 Teachers and support staff; compensation at or above national average salary. 

• HB 398 Public elementary and secondary schools; student discipline, etc.

• HB 624 Public school funding; places several parameters on SOQ funding calculations performed by DOE.

• HB 625 Office of Community Schools; established within the Department of Education, etc.

• SB 14 Sales and use tax, local; additional tax authorized in all counties & cities to support schools.

• SB 104 Teachers; required to be compensated at or above national average.

• SB 272 Public schools; staffing ratios of teachers for English language learner students.

Endorsed priority education bills that passed their originating chamber but are incorporated (bundled) into other bills: 

• SB 127 School counselors; public school staffing ratios, increases specialized student support positions. (Incorporated into SB105)

• SB 128 Public schools; Standards of Quality funding calculations. (Incorporated into SB105)

• SB 227 Public school funding; places several parameters on SOQ funding calculations performed by DOE. (Incorporated into SB105)

• SB 228 Public schools; funding for English language learner students and children with disabilities. (Incorporated into SB105)

Endorsed priority education bills that did not advance in their original chamber:

• HB 145 Virginia Teacher Residency Training Corps; established.

• HB 458 Sales and use tax, local; additional tax authorized in all counties & cities to support schools.

Opposed priority education bills that were defeated in committee

• SJ 9 Teacher retention, etc.; JLARC to study the effect of salaries, employment benefits, etc.

• SB 37 Sage's Law; minor students experiencing gender incongruence, parental notification.

Endorsed priority education bills that were continued (consideration delayed until the 2025 General Assembly). 

• HB 181 School counselors; decreases public school staffing ratios.

• HB 386 Public schools; increase staffing ratios for specialized student support positions.

• HB 624 Public school funding; places several parameters on SOQ funding calculations performed by DOE.

• HB 865 Income tax, state; establishes a new tax bracket beginning on and after January 1, 2024.

As the surviving House bills begin to be heard in Senate committees, and Senate bills begin to be heard in the House, those who support public education will be asked to address new calls to action to advocate for education bills.

You can access the most current calls to action at this link.