Senate Passes Bill to Optional Masking in Schools; House Moves Forward on Repeal of CBA Law
February 10, 2022
February 10, 2022
Today, the Senate passed SB 739 sponsored by Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant (R-Henrico) that included an amendment from Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) that would allow parents the option of whether or not their children wear a mask in school.
The original version of the bill requires, except in the case of the 10 unscheduled remote learning days otherwise permitted by law, each school board to offer in-person instruction, as defined in the bill, to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public elementary or secondary school for at least the minimum number of required annual instructional hours and to each student enrolled in the local school division in a public school-based early childhood care and education program for the entirety of the instructional time provided pursuant to such program.
Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) then amended the bill on second reading to include a provision that the parent of any child enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school or in any school-based early childhood care and education program may elect for such child to not wear a mask while on school
property.
Many Senators raised objection to SB739. Watch the debate on SB739 HERE. (the debate on SB739 starts at 48:30)
The bill passed in the Democratic-Senate on a 21-17 vote.
YEAS–Chase, Cosgrove, DeSteph, Dunnavant, Hackworth, Hanger, Kiggans, Lewis, McDougle, Morrissey, Newman, Norment, Peake, Petersen, Pillion, Reeves, Ruff, Stanley, Stuart, Suetterlein, Vogel–21.
NAYS–Barker, Bell, Boysko, Deeds, Ebbin, Edwards, Favola, Hashmi, Howell, Locke, Lucas, Marsden, Mason, McClellan, Saslaw, Spruill, Surovell–17.
NOT VOTING–McPike, Obenshain–2.
Katie Baker
katie@muckrakerbaker.com
RICHMOND, Va. – “Stronger Communities. A Better Bargain” – a coalition of labor unions collectively representing thousands of working families across Virginia – today condemned House Republicans for advancing a bill that would repeal a 2020 law that has resulted in a number of public service workers gaining the freedom to collectively bargain for a contract through their unions.
Since taking effect last year, Delegate Guzman’s HB 582 and Senator Dick Saslaw’s SB 939 have triggered a slew of collective bargaining ordinances. Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, and the Richmond School Board have all passed measures to opt-in to giving their workers a voice on the job. Prince William County has taken a step in that direction, while workers in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Richmond and Norfolk and teachers in Albemarle County and Prince William County are engaged in various stages of the process of securing collective bargaining rights. The Daily Press reported last week that Newport News public service workers are petitioning their City Council for collective bargaining rights.
“My coworkers and I need actual, concrete support: sick leave, childcare, flexible schedules, teleworking for the things we can do at home (like answer phone calls from our patrons), and PPE for things we can’t do at home (like empty the book drop and put the books back on the library shelves). And we need to have a voice at work to tell our managers what those needs are. Collective Bargaining and union rights give us that freedom,” said Charlotte Malerich, a Library Assistant for Arlington Public Library.
“Through collective bargaining we negotiate for more than just economic security. It’s about securing vital resources to help our communities bring in more public resources to improve education. Collective bargaining is good public policy,” said Charlotte Hayer, a high school teacher in Richmond and member of VEA.
“Collective bargaining is about working conditions, safety, benefits, training, equipment and so much more,” said Bill Boger, an active firefighter in Henrico County, president of the Henrico Professional Fire Fighters Association and a district vice president with the Virginia Professional Fire Fighters representing over 9,000 of the firefighters who protect the Commonwealth. “As frontline workers who have faced the Covid-19 pandemic daily, we are able to provide beneficial insight into what we need to keep our communities safe. And as firefighters and EMS providers, we know first hand what it takes to provide the best services possible. Collective bargaining is a means for workers to have a voice in their employment. Through collaboration, employers and the communities they serve will see the benefit of having important decisions shared. Collective bargaining makes for stronger communities, where employees are not seen as simply line items on a budget, but as assets to the communities in which they live, work and raise their families.”
“My co-workers and I have been on the front lines of the pandemic every day, keeping our community healthy, safe and moving forward. We passed collective bargaining in Fairfax County to ensure that we have a seat at the table for good jobs, quality public services, and safe workplaces,” said Tammie Wondong, a 30+ year Fairfax County employee and Fairfax President of SEIU Virginia 512. “United together, we will continue to mobilize and organize so that every public service worker in Virginia can come together and bargain for a better future.”
The legislation is being carried by Delegate Kathy Byron on behalf of the Youngkin administration. The committee also advanced other legislation intended to chip away at the freedom of public service workers to form a union and bargain collectively for a contract, including HB 336, HB 337 and HB 341, all sponsored by Delegate Freitas, as well as Delegate LaRock’s HB 790.
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Authorized by “Stronger Communities. A Better Bargain”, a coalition comprising Virginia AFL-CIO; The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); The American Federation of Teachers (AFT); The Communications Workers of America (CWA); Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Virginia Education Association (VEA); The Virginia Professional Fire Fighters (VPFF) and The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400.
Senate Committee on Education and Health
Chair: L. Louise Lucas
Clerk: Michael Jackson,Thomas Jackson
Staff: Julia Carlton, Anna Moir
Date of Meeting: February 10, 2022
Time and Place: 8 AM Senate Committee Room A / Pocahontas Building
https://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3
S.B. 2 – VEA OPPOSES.
Patron: Cosgrove; School principals; incident reports. Requires that school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense and report to the parents of any minor student who is the specific object of such act that the incident has been reported to law enforcement. Under current law, principals are required to make such reports only for such acts that may constitute a felony offense.
S.B. 36 – VEA OPPOSES.
Patron: Norment; School principals; incident reports. Requires that school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense and report to the parents of any minor student who is the specific object of such act that the incident has been reported to law enforcement. Under current law, principals are required to make such reports only for such acts that may constitute a felony offense.
S.B. 287 – VEA OPPOSES.
Patron: DeSteph; School principals; incident reports. Requires that school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense and report to the parents of any minor student who is the specific object of such act that the incident has been reported to law enforcement. Under current law, principals are required to make such reports only for such acts that may constitute a felony offense.
S.B. 558 – VEA OPPOSES.
Patron: Suetterlein; Board of Education; evaluation of and recommendations for certain current and proposed policies and performance standards for public elementary and secondary schools. Requires the Board of Education to collaborate with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Secretary of Education to evaluate, to implement where possible, and to otherwise make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding the following goals: (i) promoting excellence in instruction and student achievement in mathematics, including elimination of the Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative and an evaluation of any other proposed changes to the Mathematics Standards of Learning, in advance of the next revision of such standards by the Board, to maintain and increase the rigor of mathematics instruction in public elementary and secondary schools and permit students demonstrating aptitude and high achievement in mathematics to accelerate their progress through core mathematics classes and concepts and take advanced mathematics courses before the eleventh grade; (ii) increasing the number of academic year Governor’s Schools in the Commonwealth and maintaining standards of excellence for students in all such schools; (iii) preserving the Advanced Studies Diploma as an option for students in public high schools in the Commonwealth while maintaining or increasing course and credit requirements for such diploma; (iv) increasing the transparency and honesty of performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth and ensuring that such measures do not obscure or conceal disparities in performance among student groups; (v) ensuring that performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools prioritize the attainment of grade-level proficiency in reading and mathematics for all students, especially in grades kindergarten through five; (vi) ensuring that the Commonwealth’s proficiency standards on Standards of Learning assessments in reading and mathematics are rigorous in comparison with assessments administered by other states and national assessments in reading and mathematics; and (vii) restoring a strong accreditation system that promotes meaningful accountability year-over-year. The bill requires the Secretary of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, no later than November 30, 2022, to report to the chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health the results of such evaluation and recommendations to achieve such goals.
S.B. 598 – VEA HAS NO POSITION
Patron: Pillion; College partnership laboratory schools; application and establishment. Permits any public institution of higher education, private institution of higher education, or private business to apply to the Board of Education (the Board) to establish a college partnership laboratory school as a new school or through the conversion of all or part of an existing school. Under current law, only public and private institutions of higher education that operate approved teacher education programs are permitted to apply to the Board to establish such a school and no explicit provision is made for the conversion of an existing school. The bill requires the Board, in reviewing such applications, to give substantial preference to any application from a historically black college or university and any application to establish a college partnership laboratory school in an underserved community, which the bill defines as a geographical area that is served by public schools in which a high percentage of students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunch, as determined by the Board.
S.B. 601 – VEA OPPOSES
Patron: Chase; COVID-19 immunization; prohibition on requirement; discrimination prohibited. Prohibits the State Health Commissioner and the Board of Health, the Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Department of Health Professions and any regulatory board therein, and the Department of Social Services from requiring any person, including any child, to undergo vaccination for COVID-19 and prohibits discrimination based on a person’s COVID-19 vaccination status (i) with regard to education, employment, or issuance of a driver’s license or other state identification or (ii) in numerous other contexts.
S.B. 608 – VEA STRONGLY OPPOSES
Patron: Suetterlein
Public charter schools; applications; review and approval. Permits the Board of Education (the Board) to receive, review, and rule upon applications for public charter schools and enter into agreements for the establishment of public charter schools. Under current law, the power to grant or deny a public charter school application and enter into an agreement for the establishment of a public charter school rests solely with local school boards. The bill also provides that the decision of the Board or a local school board to grant or deny a public charter school application or to revoke or fail to renew a public charter school agreement is final and is not subject to appeal. Current law contains an appeal process for such decisions.
S.B. 613 – VEA OPPOSES
Patron: Stanley; School principals; incident reports. Requires that school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense and report to the parents of any minor student who is the specific object of such act that the incident has been reported to law enforcement. Under current law, principals are required to make such reports only for such acts that may constitute a felony offense.
S.B. 635 – VEA STRONGLY OPPOSES
Patron: Chase
Public charter schools; applications; review and approval. Permits the Board of Education (the Board) to receive, review, and rule upon applications for public charter schools and enter into agreements for the establishment of public charter schools. Under current law, the power to grant or deny a public charter school application and enter into an agreement for the establishment of a public charter school rests solely with local school boards. The bill also provides that the decision of the Board or a local school board to grant or deny a public charter school application or to revoke or fail to renew a public charter school agreement is final and is not subject to appeal. Current law contains an appeal process for such decisions.
S.B. 738 – VEA SUPPORTS
Patron: Morrissey; Department of Education; State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; instruction concerning post-graduate opportunities for high school students. Requires the Department of Education to collect and distribute to public schools and publicly post on its website information that assists high school students in making more informed decisions about their futures after graduating from high school and in doing so ensure that such students are aware of the costs and benefits of different educational and certificate programs. The bill directs the Department to annually collect and compile such information in consultation with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and any other entity that can assist the Department with collecting and compiling such information and to update its distribution materials accordingly each year. The bill requires the Department to post and distribute the information to school boards, with any relevant updates, no later than October 1 each year and requires each school board to ensure that the information is readily available to each high school student and distributed to each high school student who expresses an interest in attending an institution of higher education or completing another training program as described in the bill.
S.B. 774 – VEA HAS NO POSITION
Patron: Dunnavant; School buses; commercial use. Permits the school board of any school division to enter into agreements with any third-party logistics company to allow for the use of the school buses of such school division by such third-party logistics company.
The average pay of Virginia public school teachers in 2023-24 was $65,830. That is $4,260 below the national average of $70,090.
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