Summary: National Teacher Certification Incentive RewardProgram and Fund; name; eligibility; incentive grant awards.Renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Programand Fund as the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Programand Fund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from suchFund pursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtainednational certification from the National Board for Professional TeachingStandards to (i) all public school staff who are candidates for initialnational certification or maintenance of national certification tocover certain costs of obtaining or maintaining such certificationand (ii) all public school staff who have successfully obtained ormaintained such certification. The bill also declares eligible foran annual incentive grant award in the amount of $7,500 all publicschool staff who have obtained or maintained such certification.Current law declares eligible for an annual incentive grant awardof $5,000 in the first year and $2,500 in each subsequent year allteachers who have obtained or maintained such certification.

Summary: Public school funds; state share for basic aid;basic aid and supplemental basic aid payment limit. Removes thelimitation on any school division qualifying for adjustment of stateshare of aid that capped the sum of the basic aid payment and anysupplemental basic aid payment to the basic aid payment appropriatedto such locality by the 2007 Session of the General Assembly.

Summary: Student literacy measures; scope; students in grades fourthrough eight. Expands several provisions of the Virginia Literacy Act,enacted during the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly, effective withthe 2024–2025 school year, and currently applicable to students in kindergartenthrough grade three, to students in grades four through eight, including (i)requiring each local school board to provide a program of literacy instructionto such students that is aligned with science-based reading research andprovides evidenced-based literacy instruction; (ii) requiring each local schoolboard to provide reading intervention services to such students who demonstratesubstantial deficiencies based on their individual performance on the Standardsof Learning reading assessment or a literacy screener provided or approved bythe Department of Education; (iii) permitting the reading plan required forcertain students in grades six through eight to include a literacy course, in additionto the course required by the Standards of Learning in English, that providesthe specific evidence-based literacy instruction identified in such plan; (iv)requiring the Department to develop a list of core literacy curricula,supplemental instruction practices and programs, and intervention programs thatconsist of evidence-based literacy instruction aligned with science-basedreading research for such students; (v) requiring each local school board toemploy one reading specialist for each 550 students in kindergarten throughgrade eight; (vi) requiring the Board of Education to provide guidance on andeach local school board to provide high-quality professional development andtraining in science-based reading research and evidence-based literacyinstruction for certain middle school personnel; and (vii) requiring eachdivisionwide comprehensive plan to include a divisionwide literacy plan forsuch students.

Summary: Employment of K-9 Detection Teams in publicschools. Permits any local law-enforcement agency to employ inany public elementary or secondary school in the local school division, pursuant to an agreement with the local school board, a full-timeor part-time K-9 Detection Team, defined in the bill as a law-enforcementteam that consists of a local law-enforcement officer and a caninewhose duty is to detect explosives, firearms, and narcotics. Thebill requires each such school board and local law-enforcement agencyto enter into a memorandum of understanding that sets forth the powersand duties of such teams. The bill requires the Department of CriminalJustice Services to establish compulsory training standards for suchteams, requires certain data collection relating to the activitiesof such teams, and sets up a K-9 Detection Team Grant Programand Fund to provide matching grants on a competitive basis to supportthe employment of such teams.

Summary: Board of Education; College and Career Readinessfor English Language Learners Grant Program and Fund; established.Establishes the College and Career Readiness for English LanguageLearners Grant Program and Fund to support English language learner students in preparing for postsecondary opportunities by providing reimbursement grants to eligible school divisions for providing andexpanding access to certain career, technical, apprenticeship, andcollege readiness and preparation programs and courses for high schoolstudents identified as having limited English proficiency. The billprovides that the total value of reimbursement grants awarded toany school division annually shall not exceed an amount equal to$500 times the number of English language learner students in gradesnine through 12 enrolled in such school division. The bill directsthe Board to establish such guidelines as it deems necessary forthe administration of the Program and to establish procedures fordetermining amounts and prioritizing the award of such reimbursementgrants in the event that the moneys in the Fund are not sufficientto provide each school division the full grant amount for which they are qualified. Finally, the bill provides that reimbursement grantsshall be awarded to eligible school divisions beginning with the2023 - 2024 school year.

Summary: Employment of teachers; English as a SecondLanguage Incentive Reward Program and Fund; established. Providesthat each local school board shall adopt employment policies andpractices designed to promote the employment of highly qualifiedteachers to effectively serve the educational needs of students whoare English language learners, including providing financial supportfor teachers seeking and obtaining an endorsement in English as asecond language pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The bill alsoestablishes the English as a Second Language Incentive Reward Programand Fund for the purpose of awarding incentive grants to public school teachers in the Commonwealth who obtain an endorsement in Englishas a second language pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The billprovides that the Board of Education shall award to any teacher whoobtains such endorsement an initial incentive grant of $5,000 and a subsequent incentive grant of $2,500 each year for the life ofthe endorsement, with such incentive grants to resume upon renewalof the endorsement. Finally, the bill directs the Board to establishsuch guidelines as it deems necessary for the administration of theProgram and to establish procedures for the award of such incentivegrants in the event that the moneys in the Fund are not sufficientto award each eligible teacher the appropriate award amount.

Summary: Public school buildings and facilities; constructionand renovation; renewable energy generation facilities; report. Directs the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, in consultationwith the Department of Energy, to develop and make recommendationson strategies to assist interested school divisions with incorporatingrenewable energy generation facilities in the construction or renovationof school buildings. The bill requires the Commission to report therecommendations to the House Committee on Appropriations and theSenate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than November1, 2023.

Summary: School boards; school libraries; contents; onlineportal for parents. Requires each school board to develop andadopt policies that include a requirement for the school board to(i) develop and maintain an online portal that is accessible by theparent of each student enrolled in the local school division wherebythe parent may access a detailed description of the content of andother relevant information about each book contained in the libraryof the school that his child attends and (ii) email to the parentof a student enrolled in the local school division whenever suchstudent checks a book out of the school library (a) the name of thebook and (b) a link to such online portal.