The Latest from VEA

Thanks to VEA members from across the state who came to Lobby Day last week! What a sight it was to see the offices, corridors, and elevators brimming with educators who all brought every ounce of their passion and energy to advocate for public education. It’s quite impactful for legislators to hear first-hand accounts from school staff about what’s going on in their schools and how meaningful investments in public education can be. Click here to see VEA members being recognized by both the House and Senate.

In case you missed it, the House and Senate budgets were released just two days later and both proposed fully lifting the support cap as well as additional funding for special education in the form of a new add-on. Read about those initiatives and more here.

This week marked ‘crossover’ in the 2025 General Assembly session, the half-way point where all bills that passed their chamber of origin have crossed over and will now be voted upon by the opposite chamber. Sixteen of the 30 VEA-initiated bills are still viable. Here’s a summary:

These bills have passed their chamber of origin and have crossed over:

HB1829 (Simonds) – As introduced, comprehensive mathematics support funds additional teacher resources, advanced mathematics courses, and enrichment programs for math education. This bill has since been amended and now requires VDOE to take regulatory actions relating to add-on endorsements for mathematics teachers.

HB1830 (Simonds) – Requires each school board to approve unpaid educational leave for union officers and permit purchase of VRS service credit for the leave.

HB1915 (Reaser) and SB1032 (Pekarsky) – Technical amendment to clarify that continuing contract means continuing contract, specifically that a teacher who has completed the probationary period has earned a continuing contract (assuming good behavior and competent service) unless/until the teacher provides notice of their intent to resign.

HB1954 (Rasoul) – As introduced, omnibus bill implementing several near-term JLARC recommendations for improving the SOQ funding formula including lifting the support cap, more fairly calculating salary costs, creating flexible add-on funding for students with disabilities, and other technical changes. This bill has since been amended to remove language around the support cap. Note that both the House and Senate did include fully lifting the support cap in their respective budget proposals released on Sunday.

HB1983 (Askew) and SB968 (Carroll Foy) – Requires the VDOE to annually collect and publish average salaries of school support personnel, by career category, in a format similar to the reporting of average teacher salaries. This bill was inspired by an NBI at the 2024 convention.

HB1988 (Askew) – Expands the statutory authority of Virginia school boards to confirm their authority to sign collective bargaining agreements that allow binding arbitration to enforce them.

HB2098 (Maldonado) – Technical amendment to ensure wage protection for school board employees.

HB2237 (Cousins) – Clarifies that no school board employee can be suspended without notice and an opportunity to be heard, and that if suspended, regardless of the length of the suspension, the employee will continue to receive their salary unless/until the school board determines otherwise after a hearing.

HB2244 (Cousins) – Adds a proportionality measure to the state’s new school accountability system. This new metric is intended to mitigate the likely negative impacts of the accountability system on school segregation.

HB2471 (Rasoul) – Requires VDOE to provide a no-cost platform to assist school divisions with Medicaid billing for reimbursable services rendered at school sites. Includes survey and reporting components.

HB2618 (Helmer) and SB1413 (Surovell) – As introduced, establishes requirements for school boards to ensure indoor air quality in every school building, and requires each school board to receive and respond to employee complaints relating to indoor air quality in school buildings. The House version has since been amended to simply require school boards to ensure air quality in each public school building, including inspection and evaluation programs and an industry-recognized uniform inspection and evaluation at least every five years.

HB2764 (Tran) and SB917 (Surovell) – Repeals the prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees, creates public employee relations board, and requires public employers to negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment with exclusive bargaining representatives.