2025 SESSION

INTRODUCED

25102022D

HOUSE BILL NO. 1626

Offered January 8, 2025

Prefiled January 3, 2025

A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-298.8 of the Code of Virginia and to repeal § 22.1-298.7 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public elementary and secondary school teachers; certain training activities; requirements and limitations.

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Patron—Thomas

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Committee Referral Pending

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 22.1-298.8 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 22.1-298.8. Public elementary and secondary school teachers; certain training activities; requirements and limitations.

A. As used in this section, "non-academic training activity" means any training activity in which any public elementary or secondary school teacher is required to participate that is not related to the teacher's instructional, academic, or curricular duties.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of law:

1. No public elementary or secondary school teacher shall be required to participate more frequently than once within six months of employment with the applicable school board and once every five years thereafter in any non-academic training described in clause (iii) of subsection A of § 22.1-279.6 or activity, provided, however, that participation in additional training relating to secure mandatory test violations as set forth in §§ 22.1-19.1 and 22.1-292.1, unless may be required upon the determination of the school board or division superintendent determines that such additional training is necessary to comply with federal or state law or to remediate misconduct. Each teacher who completes any such training shall sign a written attestation that the teacher has been trained in and understands the relevant subject matter.

2. The total frequency and duration of non-academic training activities in which each public elementary or secondary school teacher is required to participate pursuant to (i) state law or regulation shall not exceed 15 hours every five years and (ii) policy or regulation of the applicable school board shall not exceed three and one-half hours every three years.

C. Every five years, the Department shall conduct a comprehensive survey of each school board to identify each non-academic training activity required of public elementary and secondary school teachers employed by the school board. Such survey shall require each school board to identify for each non-academic training activity (i) whether such training activity is required pursuant to (a) a policy or regulation of the applicable school board, (b) state law or regulation, or (c) a federal law or regulation and (ii) the required frequency and duration of such training activity, reported in terms of the number of hours of training each teacher is required to complete in a specific period of time.

D. The Department shall develop and post in an accessible location on its website a list of all non-academic training activities that each public elementary and secondary school teacher in the Commonwealth is required to complete pursuant to state or federal law or regulation, including the frequency and duration of each such training activity. The Department shall annually review and update such list as necessary to ensure that the information therein is accurate.

2. That § 22.1-298.7 of the Code of Virginia is repealed.

3. That the Department of Education shall develop and conduct the initial survey of each school board required pursuant to subsection C of § 22.1-298.8 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act, by August 1, 2025.

4. That the Department of Education shall, in coordination with representatives of school boards and such other stakeholders and entities as deemed necessary, develop and implement by July 1, 2027, a comprehensive, statewide database for all non-academic training activities, as that term is defined by § 22.1-298.8 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act, in which each public elementary and secondary school teacher in the Commonwealth is required to participate pursuant to state or federal law or regulation, designed to (i) provide each school board with access to all such non-academic training activities at no cost and (ii) permit each public elementary and secondary school teacher to track his progress in completing each such non-academic training activity in accordance with the applicable state or federal law or regulation.