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HB1375 - Early childhood care and education; publicly funded providers.
Debra D. Gardner, Bonita Grace Anthony, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
Last updated 10 months ago
15 Co-Sponsors
Early childhood care and education; publicly funded providers. Provides that any locality wishing to participate in the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) must submit a proposal by May 15 of each year identifying a lead VPI agency responsible for developing a local plan for the delivery of preschool services to at-risk children. A local match based on the composite index of local ability to pay is required to fund such a proposal. The proposal must include the number of at-risk four-year-olds and three-year-olds to be served and eligibility criteria for participation. Upon acceptance, the Department will disburse state VPI funds to the lead VPI agency in such localities, which may be used with local matching funds to provide preschool education, health services, social services, parental involvement services, and transportation. The Department must establish academic standards for VPI programs that prepare students to successfully enter kindergarten. Full day VPI programs must operate for a minimum of five and a half instructional hours per day, while half day VPI programs operate for a minimum of three instructional hours per day. The bill requires the Department of Education to collect information from VPI and the Mixed Delivery Grant Program to compile a comprehensive report on the use of state funds, including the number of slots and funding allocated to each local program or provider and the number of slots that have been filled. Early childhood care and education; publicly funded providers. Provides that any locality wishing to participate in the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) must submit a proposal by May 15 of each year identifying a lead VPI agency responsible for developing a local plan for the delivery of preschool services to at-risk children. A local match based on the composite index of local ability to pay is required to fund such a proposal. The proposal must include the number of at-risk four-year-olds and three-year-olds to be served and eligibility criteria for participation. Upon acceptance, the Department will disburse state VPI funds to the lead VPI agency in such localities, which may be used with local matching funds to provide preschool education, health services, social services, parental involvement services, and transportation. The Department must establish academic standards for VPI programs that prepare students to successfully enter kindergarten. Full day VPI programs must operate for a minimum of five and a half instructional hours per day, while half day VPI programs operate for a minimum of three instructional hours per day. The bill requires the Department of Education to collect information from VPI and the Mixed Delivery Grant Program to compile a comprehensive report on the use of state funds, including the number of slots and funding allocated to each local program or provider and the number of slots that have been filled. The bill codifies the Child Care Subsidy Program, which is currently established pursuant to regulations of the Board of Education, for the purpose of assisting families who meet certain eligibility criteria with the cost of child care provided by approved vendors. The bill requires the Child Care Subsidy Program to be overseen by the Department of Education and permits the Department to contract with state and local agencies to administer the Program. The bill requires the Department and Board of Education, as applicable, to establish rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and standards for the Program. The bill also codifies the Mixed Delivery Grant Program, which is currently established pursuant to the general appropriation act, for the purpose of awarding grants on a competitive basis to local public entities that enter into partnerships with local private early childhood care and education entities and other community organizations, as applicable, to provide, under the direction and leadership of a lead agency identified in the grant proposal, high-quality care and education, either part time or full time, for at-risk infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children who reside in the locality. The bill requires the Mixed Delivery Grant Program to be administered by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation in partnership with the Department of Education and, consistent with any provisions relating to the Program in the general appropriation act, requires the Foundation and the Department to establish policies, procedures, and standards for the Program.
STATUS
Engrossed
HB68 - Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by dispatchers.
David L. Bulova, Dan I. Helmer, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
Last updated 11 months ago
4 Co-Sponsors
Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by dispatchers. Allows dispatchers, as defined in the bill, to claim workers' compensation benefits relating to post-traumatic stress disorder under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. Currently, only law-enforcement officers and firefighters may claim such benefits.
STATUS
Introduced
HB564 - Public schools; classified instructional support staff, competitive compensation, biennial review.
Alex Q. Askew, Dan I. Helmer, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
Last updated 11 months ago
3 Co-Sponsors
Public schools; classified instructional support staff; competitive compensation; biennial review. Declares that it is a goal of the Commonwealth that its classified instructional support staff, defined in the bill as any individual who works more than 90 days total in a 200-day school year as a substitute for a licensed teacher, be compensated at a rate that is competitive in order to provide a quality education in the absence of a licensed teacher. The bill requires the Department of Education to conduct a biennial review of the compensation for classified instructional support staff and to consider the Commonwealth's compensation for classified instructional support staff relative to the national average teacher salary and report the results of such review to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Board of Education by June 1 of each odd-numbered year.
STATUS
Introduced
HB865 - Income tax, state; establishes a new tax bracket beginning on and after January 1, 2024.
Phil M. Hernandez, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
Last updated 11 months ago
2 Co-Sponsors
Imposition of income tax. Establishes a new income tax bracket beginning on and after January 1, 2024, that taxes income in excess of $1 million at a rate of 10 percent. The bill provides that 50 percent of revenues generated by the new tax bracket will be dedicated to providing additional basic aid funding for public schools, 30 percent of such revenues will be dedicated to the Child Care Subsidy Program, and 20 percent of such revenues will be dedicated to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund.
STATUS
Introduced
HB627 - Early childhood care; Child Care Subsidy Program expansion, provision of free child care.
Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Fernando J. Martinez, Irene Shin
Last updated 11 months ago
3 Co-Sponsors
Early childhood care; Child Care Subsidy Program expansion; provision of free child care to certain child care provider employees. Requires the Child Care Subsidy Program, established pursuant to applicable regulations, to be expanded to assist employees of any licensed child care provider in the Commonwealth with the costs of child care by providing any such employee who meets the eligibility criteria set forth in the bill child care at no cost to and with no copayment required of such employee. The bill directs the Board of Education to adopt any regulations and the Department of Education to implement any policies and procedures necessary for the implementation and administration of the provisions of the bill.
STATUS
Introduced
HB1492 - Trauma-informed training and education; work group to study.
Rae C. Cousins, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Nadarius E. Clark
Last updated 10 months ago
5 Co-Sponsors
Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia; work group to study trauma-informed training and education; report. Directs the Office of the Executive Secretary to convene a work group to make recommendations on the development, adoption, and implementation of trauma-informed training and education for judges, magistrates, and court personnel. The bill requires the work group to submit its recommendations by December 1, 2024, to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice.
STATUS
Introduced
HB158 - Firearm locking device; required for sale or transfer of firearm.
Adele Y. McClure, Michael J. Jones, Alfonso H. Lopez
Last updated 10 months ago
24 Co-Sponsors
Firearm locking device required for sale or transfer of firearm; warning against accessibility to children; penalty. Makes it a Class 3 misdemeanor for any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer any firearm to any person other than a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer unless the transferee is provided with a locking device for that firearm and the firearm is accompanied by a warning, in conspicuous and legible type in capital letters printed on a separate sheet of paper included within the packaging enclosing the firearm, that firearms should be locked and kept away from children and that there may be civil and criminal liability for failing to do so. The bill provides exceptions for law-enforcement and governmental agencies.
STATUS
Engrossed
HB386 - Public schools; increase staffing ratios for specialized student support positions.
Phil M. Hernandez, Bonita Grace Anthony, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
Last updated 11 months ago
19 Co-Sponsors
Public school staffing ratios; specialized student support positions. Increases the number of specialized student support positions required to be employed by each local school board from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000 students in the local school division. Such specialized student support positions include school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions.
STATUS
Introduced
HB1124 - Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth Act; construction of affordable housing.
Betsy B. Carr, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Nadarius E. Clark
Last updated 11 months ago
3 Co-Sponsors
Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth Act. Permits a religious organization, defined in the bill, to construct affordable housing on real estate owned by such religious organization (i) on or before January 1, 2024, or for a period of not less than five years, and (ii) for which the religious organization retains a majority ownership interest.
STATUS
Introduced
HB565 - Voter registration; registration of Department of Motor Vehicles customers, automatic update.
Alex Q. Askew, Dan I. Helmer, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
Last updated 11 months ago
3 Co-Sponsors
Voter registration; registration of Department of Motor Vehicles customers; automatic update. Provides that the information gathered by the Department of Motor Vehicles for a person who indicates that he is already registered to vote is to be automatically transmitted to the Department of Elections for the purpose of updating an existing voter registration record. Under current law, a person must be presented with the option to decline to have his information transmitted to the Department of Elections before such information may be transmitted.
STATUS
Introduced
BIOGRAPHY
INCUMBENT
Representative from Virginia district HD-045
COMMITTEES
Virginia House
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Virginia House from Virginia
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