Rep Laura Jane Cohen (HD-015)
Virginia Housesince 10 months
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SPONSORED LEGISLATION
HB500 - Standards of Learning; Board of Education to develop all assessments using UDL principles.
Laura Jane Cohen
Last updated 11 months ago
1 Co-Sponsor
Standards of Quality; Standards of Learning assessments; development and administration of assessments; assessments in languages other than English; requirements. Requires the Board of Education to develop all Standards of Learning assessments using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, as defined in the bill. The bill also requires the Board to develop and implement policies providing for the development and administration of all Standards of Learning assessments in languages other than English that are identified as being present to a significant extent in the participating student population. The bill requires such policies to provide that each local school board provide appropriate accommodations on such assessments for eligible students who are English language learners, including providing for administration of such assessments for any student who is an English language learner in grades three through eight who has been identified as having limited English proficiency and has participated in an English language proficiency program for no more than a total of three school years. The bill provides, however, that each local school board, on the recommendation of English language learner faculty that any such student has not yet reached sufficient English proficiency, may provide on an individual case-by-case basis for the administration of any such Standards of Learning assessment in one of such top three languages other than English for a period that does not exceed two additional consecutive years. The provisions of the bill are required to be implemented by the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year. Standards of Quality; Standards of Learning assessments; development and administration of assessments; assessments in languages other than English; requirements. Requires the Board of Education to develop all Standards of Learning assessments using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, as defined in the bill. The bill also requires the Board to develop and implement policies providing for the development and administration of all Standards of Learning assessments in languages other than English that are identified as being present to a significant extent in the participating student population. The bill requires such policies to provide that each local school board provide appropriate accommodations on such assessments for eligible students who are English language learners, including providing for administration of such assessments for any student who is an English language learner in grades three through eight who has been identified as having limited English proficiency and has participated in an English language proficiency program for no more than a total of three school years. The bill provides, however, that each local school board, on the recommendation of English language learner faculty that any such student has not yet reached sufficient English proficiency, may provide on an individual case-by-case basis for the administration of any such Standards of Learning assessment in one of such top three languages other than English for a period that does not exceed two additional consecutive years. The provisions of the bill are required to be implemented by the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year.
STATUS
Introduced
HB512 - Conservatorship; Judicial Council of Virginia to convene work group to study.
Laura Jane Cohen
Last updated 11 months ago
1 Co-Sponsor
Judicial Council of Virginia; work group to study conservatorship; report. Directs the Judicial Council of Virginia to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to study issues relating to conservatorship in the Commonwealth and to develop recommendations for a best practices model. The bill requires the work group to submit its findings and recommendations by November 1, 2024, to the Chairmen of the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
STATUS
Introduced
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
HB1284 - Firefighters and emergency medical services; collective bargaining by providers, definitions.
Alex Q. Askew, Bonita Grace Anthony, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker
Last updated 10 months ago
41 Co-Sponsors
Collective bargaining by firefighters and emergency medical services providers. Authorizes firefighters and emergency medical services providers employed by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth to engage in collective bargaining through labor organizations or other designated representatives. The bill provides for the appointment of a three-member board of arbitration regarding any dispute arising between an employer and firefighters or emergency medical services providers. Under the bill, determinations made by such board of arbitration are final on a disputed issue and are binding on the parties involved. Collective bargaining by firefighters and emergency medical services providers. Authorizes firefighters and emergency medical services providers employed by a political subdivision of the Commonwealth to engage in collective bargaining through labor organizations or other designated representatives. The bill provides for the appointment of a three-member board of arbitration regarding any dispute arising between an employer and firefighters or emergency medical services providers. Under the bill, determinations made by such board of arbitration are final on a disputed issue and are binding on the parties involved.
STATUS
Engrossed
HB510 - Surplus line broker; any person required to be licensed as one shall not be subject to certain tax.
Laura Jane Cohen, Rozia A. Henson
Last updated 10 months ago
2 Co-Sponsors
Surplus line broker taxes. Provides that any surplus lines broker or any person required to be licensed as one shall not be subject to the annual taxes, license taxes, or penalties under current law for any policy of insurance procured during the preceding calendar year on behalf of a commuter rail system jointly operated by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation District.
STATUS
Engrossed
HB20 - Photo speed monitoring devices; location.
Michael J. Jones, Laura Jane Cohen, Rozia A. Henson
Last updated 12 months ago
4 Co-Sponsors
Photo speed monitoring devices; location. Authorizes the governing body of any county, city, or town to provide by ordinance for the placement and operation of photo speed monitoring devices in any location deemed necessary by the locality for the purposes of recording violations resulting from the operation of a vehicle in excess of the speed limit. The bill provides the same requirements for such devices, information collected from such devices, and any enforcement actions resulting from information collected from such devices as current law applies to the use of such devices in school crossing zones and highway work zones. The bill requires that two signs, rather than one, be placed warning of such device if the device is placed somewhere other than a school crossing zone or highway work zone.
STATUS
Introduced
HB33 - Public drinking water; Commissioner of Health's work group to study occurrence of microplastics.
Nadarius E. Clark, Bonita Grace Anthony, Alex Q. Askew
Last updated 11 months ago
25 Co-Sponsors
Commissioner of Health; work group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water; report. Directs the Commissioner of Health to convene a work group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water and develop recommendations for the reduction of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and Education and Health by December 1, 2024.
STATUS
Introduced
HB502 - Nonbinary sex or gender; all forms or applications to offer any applicant the option to designate.
Laura Jane Cohen, Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Rozia A. Henson
Last updated 11 months ago
3 Co-Sponsors
Nonbinary sex or gender designation option. Requires all forms or applications to offer any applicant the option of "male," "female," or "nonbinary" when designating the applicant's sex or gender. The bill contains technical amendments.
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
HJR2 - Constitutional amendment; qualifications of voters, right to vote, persons not entitled to vote.
Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Bonita Grace Anthony, Alex Q. Askew
Last updated about 1 year ago
40 Co-Sponsors
Constitutional amendment (first reference); qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution of Virginia shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution of Virginia provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished.
STATUS
Introduced
BIOGRAPHY
INCUMBENT
Representative from Virginia district HD-015
COMMITTEES
Virginia House
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Virginia House from Virginia
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