SB 822: Public elementary & secondary school teachers; certain training activities, requirements, etc. - Virginia

Conference Substitute → Chaptered · 1 edit

MINOR

This bill converts a Senate substitute version of SB 822 into its final chaptered form, making it official law. The substantive content of the bill regarding teacher training requirements remains unchanged, with no policy modifications to the training frequency limits, hour caps, or exemptions. The changes are purely formatting and procedural, reflecting the bill's progression through the legislative process from draft to enacted statute.

TECHNICAL

Converted the document from a Senate substitute draft to the final chaptered version, adding official act headers, chapter numbering, and approval date while preserving all substantive text.

Education Substitute → Conference Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The Senate Conference Substitute modifies the House version of SB 822 by adjusting non-academic training limits for public school teachers, adding new exemptions, and clarifying definitions. The most significant change increases the maximum allowable non-academic training hours from 20 hours every two years to 25 hours every five years, while also adding a new subsection exempting federally required training from these limits.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains the same regarding which teachers are covered, but the applicability of training limits has been expanded with new exemptions for federal requirements and voluntary training.

REQUIREMENT

Increased the maximum non-academic training hours from 20 hours every two years to 25 hours every five years, reducing the frequency of required training while slightly increasing the total allowable hours.

Added new subsection C exempting non-academic training required by federal law or regulation from the training limits.

Added new subsection D stating that voluntarily participated non-academic training does not count toward the maximum required training hours.

DEFINITION

Added a clarification that 'non-academic training activity' does not include any requirement relating to licensure.

TECHNICAL

Fixed a grammatical error in the original text where 'unless may be required' was changed to proper phrasing about when additional training may be required.

Finance and Appropriations Substitute → Education Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from a Senate Finance and Appropriations Substitute to an Education Substitute, changing the committee responsible for proposing the amendment and adding specific statutory language. The Education Substitute version includes detailed requirements limiting non-academic training for teachers to 20 hours every two years, with specific frequency limits and exceptions for mandatory test violation training. This change shifts the bill from a general survey request to a law that directly regulates teacher training requirements.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from a directive to conduct a survey to an amendment of existing Code of Virginia section 22.1-298.8 that establishes specific limits on non-academic training activities for public school teachers.

TECHNICAL

Changed the proposing committee from Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations to House Committee on Education, and updated the patron designation from Senator VanValkenburg to Senator VanValkenburg.

REQUIREMENT

Added specific limits requiring non-academic training to not exceed 20 hours every two years for public elementary and secondary school teachers.

Added frequency limits requiring non-academic training no more than once within six months of employment and once every five years thereafter.

Added requirement for teachers to sign written attestation after completing certain training related to secure mandatory test violations.

DEFINITION

Added definition of 'non-academic training activity' to exclude training related to licensure requirements.

TIMELINE

Removed the requirement for the Department of Education to report survey results by November 1, 2025, as the bill now directly establishes the training limits instead of conducting a survey.

Education and Health Substitute → Finance and Appropriations Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transferred from the Senate Committee on Education and Health to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, changing its primary focus from regulating non-academic teacher training limits to directing a survey of school boards to identify such training activities. The original version established specific frequency limits and a 20-hour annual cap on non-academic training, while the new version removes those limits and instead requires the Department of Education to survey school boards and report findings by November 1, 2025.

Scope change

The bill shifted from a regulatory framework limiting non-academic training requirements to an investigative approach requiring a survey of school boards to identify existing training activities.

REQUIREMENT

Removed specific frequency limits requiring non-academic training no more than once every six months initially and once every five years thereafter.

Removed the 20-hour annual cap on total non-academic training activities for teachers.

Removed the requirement for teachers to sign written attestations confirming completion and understanding of non-academic training.

Added requirement for the Department of Education to conduct a comprehensive survey of all school boards to identify non-academic training activities.

TIMELINE

Changed reporting deadline from November 1, 2026 to November 1, 2025 for submitting survey results and recommendations.

COMMITTEE

Changed bill sponsorship from Senate Committee on Education and Health to Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.

Enrolled → Education and Health Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was reformatted from an enrolled version to a Senate substitute version, with one substantive policy change: the maximum allowed non-academic training hours for teachers was reduced from 25 hours to 20 hours every five years. A new requirement was added mandating the Board of Education to review and streamline non-academic training activities by November 1, 2026.

REQUIREMENT

Reduced the maximum non-academic training hours for teachers from 25 hours to 20 hours every five years.

Added a new provision requiring the Board of Education to review all non-academic training activities and submit a plan to reduce and streamline them by November 1, 2026.

TECHNICAL

The document was reformatted from an enrolled version to a Senate substitute version, including changes to headers, page numbers, and line numbering.

Introduced → Enrolled · 7 edits · Mar 24, 2025

MODERATE

This bill was enacted into law, changing the maximum non-academic training hours for public school teachers from 15 to 25 hours every five years. The bill also added clarifying language about licensure requirements and expanded the scope of what counts toward the training limit to include both state and school board requirements. The original survey and database implementation deadlines were retained.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on limiting non-academic training requirements for public elementary and secondary school teachers, but the specific hour limits were increased.

REQUIREMENT

Increased the maximum non-academic training hours from 15 to 25 hours every five years for state and school board requirements

Added provision stating federal law requirements are exempt from the training hour limits

Removed the three-and-a-half-hour every-three-years limit for school board policies, consolidating all limits to the 25-hour five-year maximum

DEFINITION

Added clarification that non-academic training activities do not include licensure requirements

ADDED

Added provision that voluntary participation in training does not count toward the maximum hour limit

ENFORCEMENT

Added requirement that teachers must sign written attestation after completing mandatory training

TECHNICAL

Bill status changed from introduced to enrolled, indicating it has been signed into law

Public elementary & secondary school teachers; certain training activities, requirements, etc.

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