HB1446: School buildings; assessment by local school board.

HOUSE BILL NO. 1446

Offered January 8, 2020
Prefiled January 8, 2020
A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-253.13:8 of the Code of Virginia, relating to certain school boards; school buildings; assessment; compliance.
Patron-- Aird

Committee Referral Pending

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 22.1-253.13:8 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 22.1-253.13:8. Compliance.

The Standards of Quality prescribed in this chapter shall be the only standards of quality required by Article VIII, Section 2 of the Constitution of Virginia.

Each local school board shall provide, as a minimum, the programs and services, as provided in the Standards of Quality prescribed above, with state and local funds as apportioned by the General Assembly in the appropriation act and to the extent funding is provided by the General Assembly.

Each local school board shall report its compliance with the Standards of Quality to the Board of Education annually. The report of compliance shall be submitted to the Board of Education by the chairman of the local school board and the division superintendent.

Any local school board in a local school division that (i) is under a division-level corrective action plan pursuant to § 22.1-253.13:3, (ii) contains any school that is under a corrective action plan pursuant to § 22.1-253.13:3, or (iii) receives at-risk add-on payments pursuant to the general appropriation act shall annually assess each school building in the local school division for compliance with the minimum standards established by the Board pursuant to § 22.1-138 and report the results to the Board. In any case of noncompliance with such standards, such report shall include an assessment of the extent to which local funds are available to remedy such noncompliance. When the Board determines, on the basis of any such report, that a local governing body has not provided the local school board sufficient funds to ensure compliance with the minimum standards for school buildings established pursuant to § 22.1-138, the Board may petition the relevant circuit court to compel the local governing body to provide such funds to the local school board.

Noncompliance with the Standards of Quality shall be included in the Board of Education's annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly as required by § 22.1-18.

As required by § 22.1-18, the Board of Education shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly a report on the condition and needs of public education in the Commonwealth and shall identify any school divisions and the specific schools therein that have failed to establish and maintain schools meeting the existing prescribed Standards of Quality.

The Board of Education shall have authority to seek school division compliance with the foregoing Standards of Quality. When the Board of Education determines that a school division has failed or refused, and continues to fail or refuse, to comply with any such Standard, the Board may petition the circuit court having jurisdiction in the school division to mandate or otherwise enforce compliance with such standard, including the development or implementation of any required corrective action plan that a local school board has failed or refused to develop or implement in a timely manner.