Bill Text: VA SB738 | 2018 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Public Elementary and Secondary Education, Commission on the Future of; established, report.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-03-06 - Left in Appropriations [SB738 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2018-SB738-Engrossed.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Title 30 a chapter numbered 60, consisting of sections numbered 30-376 through 30-383, as follows:
§30-376. Commission on the Future of Public Elementary and Secondary Education; purpose.
The Commission on the Future of Public Elementary and Secondary Education (the Commission) is established in the legislative branch of state government. The purpose of the Commission is to ensure a deliberate, thoughtful, coordinated, and year-round approach to legislative education reform in the Commonwealth.
§30-377. Membership; terms; vacancies; chairman and vice-chairman.
The Commission shall consist of [ 20 21
] members that include [ 13 14
] legislative members, five nonlegislative citizen members, and two ex
officio members. Members shall be appointed as follows: seven members of the
House Committee on Education to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation
contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; [ six seven
] members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on
Rules; three nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Speaker of
the House of Delegates; two nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by
the Senate Committee on Rules; and the Superintendent of Public Instruction or
his designee and the Secretary of Education or his designee, who shall serve ex
officio with voting privileges. Nonlegislative citizen members of the
Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Unless otherwise
approved in writing by the chairman of the Commission and the respective Clerk,
nonlegislative citizen members shall only be reimbursed for travel originating
and ending within the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of attending
meetings.
Legislative members and ex officio members of the Commission shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of two years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Legislative members and nonlegislative citizen members may be reappointed. However, no nonlegislative citizen member shall serve more than four consecutive two-year terms. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a term in determining the member's eligibility for reappointment. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership, who shall be members of the General Assembly.
§30-378. Quorum; meetings; voting on recommendations.
A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The meetings of the Commission shall be held at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.
No recommendation of the Commission shall be adopted if a majority of the House members or a majority of the Senate members appointed to the Commission (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Commission.
§30-379. Compensation; expenses.
Legislative members of the Commission shall receive such compensation as provided in §30-19.12, and nonlegislative citizen members shall receive such compensation for the performance of their duties as provided in §2.2-2813. All members shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Compensation to members of the General Assembly for attendance at official meetings of the Commission shall be paid by the offices of the Clerk of the House of Delegates or Clerk of the Senate, as applicable. All other compensation and expenses shall be paid from existing appropriations to the Commission or, if unfunded, shall be approved by the Joint Rules Committee.
§30-380. Powers and duties of the Commission.
The Commission shall:
1. Collaborate with the Board of Education, the Department of Education, the Standards of Learning Innovation Committee, and other interested stakeholders to study (i) the need for revisions to or reorganization of the Standards of Quality with a particular emphasis on the effective use of educational technology, (ii) emerging education issues in the Commonwealth, and (iii) the future of public elementary and secondary education in the Commonwealth; and
2. Establish and appoint members to subcommittees in distinct subject matter areas. Members of such work groups shall include representatives of the Department of Education, the Standards of Learning Innovation Committee, the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals, the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, the Virginia Education Association, the Virginia Municipal League, the Virginia School Boards Association, and such other interested stakeholders as the Commission deems appropriate.
§30-381. Staffing.
Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates or the Office of the Clerk of the Senate as may be appropriate for the house in which the chairman of the Commission serves. The Division of Legislative Services shall provide legal, research, policy analysis, and other services as requested by the Commission.
§30-382. Chairman's executive summary of activity and work of the Commission.
The chairman shall submit to the General Assembly and the Governor an annual executive summary of the interim activity and work of the Commission no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.
§30-383. Sunset.
This chapter shall expire on July 1, 2021.
2. That, for its first year of existence, if the Commission is not funded by a separate appropriation in the appropriation act, the Commission may be funded from the operating budgets of the Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate upon the approval of the Joint Rules Committee. If the Commission is not funded by a separate appropriation in the appropriation act for any year thereafter, this chapter shall expire on July 1 of the fiscal year in which the Commission fails to receive such funding.
[ 3. That the provisions of this act shall not become effective unless an appropriation effectuating the purposes of this act is included in a general appropriation act passed in 2018 by the General Assembly that becomes law. ]
