HB711: Educational Parity, Commission on; established, report.
HOUSE BILL NO. 711
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 Educational Parity; purpose.
The Commission on Educational Parity (the Commission) is established in the legislative branch of state government. The purpose of the Commission is to ensure that the General Assembly and the Board of Education collaborate in the fulfillment of their duty to provide a system of high quality public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth as set forth in Article VIII, Sections 1 and 2 of the Constitution of Virginia.
§ 30-377. Membership; terms; vacancies; chairman and vice-chairman.
The Commission shall consist of 19 members that include 10 legislative members, five nonlegislative citizen members, and four ex officio members. Members shall be appointed as follows: six 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; four members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; three nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, consisting of at least one member of a parent-teacher association; two nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, consisting of at least one teacher; and four members of the Board of Education to 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. Determine legislative priorities for achieving parity in educational outcomes for each public elementary and secondary school student in the Commonwealth;
2. Review the extent to which effective public elementary and secondary school teachers and principals are equitably distributed throughout the Commonwealth and make recommendations regarding how to more equitably distribute such effective personnel throughout the Commonwealth; and
3. Review the standards for public school buildings and maintenance and make recommendations regarding how to more equitably ensure the physical quality of the learning environment in each public elementary and secondary school.
§ 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, including specific policy recommendations adopted by the Commission, no later than October 1 of each year. 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.