Workers' compensation; presumption for certain cancers; sheriffs and deputy sheriffs. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include sheriffs or deputy sheriffs.
Workers' compensation; injuries caused by repetitive and sustained physical stressors. Provides that, for the purposes of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act, \"occupational disease\" includes injuries or diseases from conditions resulting from repetitive and sustained physical stressors, including repetitive and sustained motions, exertions, posture stresses, contact stresses, vibrations, or noises. The bill provides that such injuries or diseases are covered under the Act and that such coverage does not require that such repetitive or sustained physical stress occurred over a particular time period, provided that the time period over which such physical stress occurred can be reasonably identified.
Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers. Allows local governments to provide enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to full-time salaried 911 dispatchers. The bill provides that such enhanced retirement benefits apply only to service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher on or after July 1, 2026, but allows an employer, as that term is defined in relevant law, to provide such enhanced retirement benefits for service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher before July 1, 2026, in addition to service earned on or after that date. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
Public schools; Virginia School Improvement Grant Program established; report. Establishes the Virginia School Improvement Grant Program (the Program) for the purpose of providing additional support to public schools identified based on their school performance score as "off track" or "needs intensive support," as those terms are defined by the bill, by awarding three-year grants to eligible schools for the development and implementation of school improvement plans. The bill (i) provides that the Department of Education shall be responsible for the administration of the Program and that the Office of School Improvement shall be responsible for the implementation and oversight of the Program; (ii) provides that any public school identified as "off track" or "needs intensive support" is eligible to apply for such three-year grant disbursed in annual installments; and (iii) permits any participating school that is identified as "off track" or "needs intensive support" for the school year coinciding with or subsequent to such participating school's final year in the three-year grant period to reapply for another grant pursuant to the Program. The bill requires any eligible school, in order to receive any grant funds pursuant to the Program, to develop and submit a school improvement plan or, in the case of a participating school receiving a grant upon reapplication pursuant to clause (iii), a revised school improvement plan outlining specific strategies for improving academic outcomes and addressing identified performance gaps for such school.
Board of Education; Standards of Learning assessments and related student assessment methods; assessment development, implementation, and administration reform. Modifies provisions relating to assessment methods for determining the level of achievement of the Standards of Learning objectives by all students, including (i) requirements relating to assessment administration aimed at maximizing instructional time and optimizing time used for assessment administration; (ii) criteria and guidelines for the structure and content of Standards of Learning assessments and alternative assessments developed by local school boards, including criteria for the types of assessment items that shall be included; (iii) provisions relating to eligibility and timelines for students to retake assessments; and (iv) the scoring of Standards of Learning assessments and related assessments, including a requirement that all such assessments be scored on a 100-point scale. The bill requires the Board of Education to provide any teacher who participates in the scoring of Standards of Learning assessments professional development points toward renewal of his license for the time spent scoring such assessments. The bill also requires the Board of Education to develop and make available to each school board certain templates and guidelines relating to assessment content and structure and assessment scoring.
Board of Education; programs of instruction; Safety First Comprehensive Drug Education Pilot Program established. Establishes the Safety First Comprehensive Drug Education Pilot Program, to be administered by the Department of Education, for the purpose of providing public school students scientifically accurate, interactive, and compassionate instruction relating to drugs by providing for the implementation of the Safety First: Comprehensive Drug Education and Intervention Curriculum developed by the Halpern-Felsher REACH Lab in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford Medicine in each public secondary school located in Superintendent's Region 7. The bill requires the Department of Education to (i) coordinate with each school board that governs a school division located in Superintendent's Region 7 to implement such curriculum; (ii) develop guidelines to assist school boards, school administrators, and instructional personnel with the implementation of such curriculum in public secondary schools located in Superintendent's Region 7; and (iii) make available to each such school board any instructional materials, curriculum guidelines, or other resources developed by the Halpern-Felsher REACH Lab for the purpose of implementing and providing instruction based on such curriculum. Finally, the bill requires the Board of Education to amend its regulation relating to the provision of health education program instruction in drugs and drug abuse to require public schools to emphasize drug prevention, intervention, and harm reduction. The Program has a sunset date of July 1, 2027.
Nationally Certified School Psychologist Program established; incorporation into National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund. Establishes the Nationally Certified School Psychologist Program and incorporates such program into the existing National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program. The bill also renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program Fund as the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Nationally Certified School Psychologist Program Fund (the Fund) and expands the purpose for which disbursements may be made from the Fund to include the award of incentive grants to school psychologists obtaining national certification from the National Association of School Psychologists consisting of an initial state-funded award of $5,000 and a subsequent award of $2,500 each year for the life of the certificate.
Department of Education; Virginia Community College System; College and Career Ready Virginia Program. Makes the following changes to the College and Career Ready Virginia Program (the Program) and the duties of certain entities relating to the Program: (i) modifies the provisions requiring both the Virginia Community College System (the System) and the Online Virginia Network Authority to offer each school board access to certain courses, including virtual courses, at each high school by eliminating all references to the Online Virginia Network Authority, thereby requiring only the System to offer each school board such courses pursuant to the Program; (ii) provides that the provisions of the Program requiring the System to offer each school board access to certain programs at no cost to the school board do not apply to any advance college academy or early college academy; (iii) removes from the membership of the advisory committee that the Department of Education and the System are directed to establish pursuant to applicable law representatives of Richard Bland College and representatives of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond; and (iv) delays from course registration for the fall term of the 2025 academic year to course registration for the fall term of the 2026 academic year the effective date of provisions of applicable law requiring the System to offer each school board access to certain courses.
State Police Officers' Retirement System; membership for Department of Wildlife Resources conservation police officers. Provides membership in the State Police Officers' Retirement System (SPORS) to conservation police officers in the Department of Wildlife Resources for service earned on or after July 1, 2026. The bill directs the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) to assess the administrative and financial impacts of the bill and provide recommendations for implementing the bill to the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2025. Except for the assessment and recommendations to be made by VRS, the provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
State Police Officers' Retirement System; membership for Department of Wildlife Resources conservation police officers. Provides membership in the State Police Officers' Retirement System (SPORS) to conservation police officers in the Department of Wildlife Resources for service earned on or after July 1, 2026. The bill directs the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) to assess the administrative and financial impacts of the bill and provide recommendations for implementing the bill to the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2025. Except for the assessment and recommendations to be made by VRS, the provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
Retail sales and use tax; exemptions; gold, silver, or platinum bullion; sunset. Extends to June 30, 2032, the exemption from the retail sales and use tax for gold, silver, or platinum bullion and legal tender coins. The exemption is currently set to expire on June 30, 2025.
Income tax; deductions and earned income tax credit; sunset. Removes the current January 1, 2026 expiration date for the standard deduction in the amount of $8,500 for single individuals and $17,000 for married individuals. Current law provides that on and after January 1, 2026, the standard deduction shall revert back to the amounts that existed before taxable year 2019, which was $3,000 for individuals and $6,000 for married individuals.The bill also removes the current January 1, 2026 expiration date from the partially refundable credit that an individual or married individuals may claim against their Virginia income tax liability in an amount equal to 15 percent of the federal earned income tax credit claimed by an individual or married individuals for federal earned income tax purposes. This bill incorporates SB 845 and SB 951.
