OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/11/20262/26/2026 + + + + + + + + HOUSE BILL NO.

92 + + AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE + + (Proposed by the HouseSenate Committee on Education and Health + on ________________)February 26, 2026) + + + (Patron Prior to Substitute—Delegate Rasoul) + A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-97, 22.1-199.1, 22.1-253.13:2, as it shall become effective, and 51.1-617 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public schools;

certain calculations;

state-fundedstate- funded special education add-on.

That §§ 22.1-97, 22.1-199.1, 22.1-253.13:2, as it shall become effective, and 51.1-617 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 22.1-97.

Calculation and reporting of required local expenditures;

procedure if locality fails to appropriate sufficient educational funds.

A.

The Department of Education shall collect annually the data necessary to make calculations and reports required by this subsection.

At the beginning of each school year, the Department shall make calculations to ensure that each school division has appropriated sufficient funds to support its estimated required local expenditure for providing an educational program meeting the prescribed Standards of Quality, required by Article VIII of the Constitution of Virginia and Chapter 13.2 (§ 22.1-253.13:1 et seq.) of this title.

At the conclusion of the school year, the Department shall make calculations to verify whether the locality has provided the required expenditure, based on average daily membership as of March 31 of the relevant school year.

The Department shall report annually to the House Committees on Education and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and on Education and Health (i) the results of such calculations and, (ii) the degree to which each school division has met, failed to meet, or surpassed its required expenditure, and (iii) the total and per pupil annual operating expenditures from local, state, and federal sources in each school division and the change in expenditures from each such source over the immediately preceding two-year, three-year, and five-year timeframes, expressed in both dollar amounts and percentages.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall report annually to the House Committees on Education and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and on Education and Health the state expenditure provided each locality for an educational program meeting the Standards of DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/11/2026 Quality.

The Department and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall coordinate to ensure that their respective reports are based upon comparable data and are delivered together, or as closely following one another as practicable, to the appropriate standing committees.

B.

Whenever such calculations indicate that the governing body of a county, city or town fails or refuses to appropriate funds sufficient to provide that portion of the cost apportioned to such county, city or town by law for maintaining an educational program meeting the Standards of Quality, the Board of Education shall notify the Attorney General of such failure or refusal in writing signed by the president of the Board.

Upon receipt of such notification, it shall be the duty of the Attorney General to file in the circuit court for the county, city or town a petition for a writ of mandamus directing and requiring such governing body to make forthwith such appropriation as is required by law.

The petition shall be in the name of the Board of Education, and the governing body shall be made a party defendant thereto.

The court may, in its discretion, cause such other officers or persons to be made parties defendant as it may deem proper.

The court may make such order as may be appropriate respecting the employment and compensation of an attorney or attorneys for any party defendant not otherwise represented by counsel.

The petition shall be given first priority on the docket of such court and shall be heard expeditiously in accordance with the procedures prescribed in Article 2 (§ 8.01-644 et seq.) of Chapter 25 of Title 8.01 and the writ of mandamus shall be awarded or denied according to the law and facts of the case and with or without costs, as the court may determine.

The order of the court shall be final upon entry.

Any appeal therefrom shall be heard and disposed of promptly by the Court of Appeals.

With such funds as are provided in the appropriation act for this purpose, there is hereby established the statewide voluntary pupil/teacher ratio and class size reduction program for the purpose of reaching the long- term goal of statewide voluntary pupil/teacher ratio and class size reductions for grades K through three in DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/11/2026 schools with high or moderate concentrations of at-risk students, consistent with the provisions provided in the appropriation act.

By March 31 of each year, school divisions shall forward data substantiating that each DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/26/2026 participating school has a complying pupil/teacher ratio.

Each qualifying school board shall establish an individualized technology plan, which shall be approved DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/11/2026 by the Superintendent, for integrating technology into the classroom and into schoolwide instructional programs, including career and technical education programs.

and (iii) assisting school divisions in developing integrated voice-, DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/26/2026 video-, and data-connectivity to local, national and international resources.

With such funds as are provided in the appropriation act, the Department shall distribute block grants to localities to enable compliance with the Commonwealth's requirements for school divisions in effect DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/11/2026 on January 1, 1995.

In order to reduce pupil/teacher ratios and class sizes in elementary schools, from such funds as may be DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/26/2026 appropriated for this purpose, each school board may employ additional classroom teachers, remedial teachers, and reading specialists for each of its elementary schools over the requirements of the Standards of Quality.

The contract between such persons and the relevant local DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/11/2026 school board shall specify that the contract is for service in the middle school teacher corps.

Each school board shall assign licensed instructional personnel in a manner that produces divisionwide ratios of students in average daily membership to full-time equivalent teaching positions, excluding special education teachers, principals, assistant principals, school counselors or certain other licensed individuals as DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/26/2026 set forth in subdivision H 4, and librarians, that are not greater than the following ratios:

DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/11/2026 E.

DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/26/2026 School divisions using the Standards of Learning Algebra Readiness Initiative funding in this manner shall only employ instructional personnel licensed by the Board.

In addition, each such reading specialist shall have training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder and shall serve as DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/11/2026 an advisor on dyslexia and related disorders.

School divisions using the Early Reading Intervention Initiative funds in this manner shall employ only instructional personnel licensed by the DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/26/2026 Board.

and DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/11/2026 4.

However, in order to meet the staffing requirements set forth in this subdivision, any local school board (i) may employ, under a provisional license issued by the Department for three school years with an allowance for an additional two-year extension with the approval of the division superintendent, any professional counselor licensed by the Board of Counseling, clinical social worker licensed by the Board of Social Work, psychologist licensed by the Board of Psychology, or other licensed counseling professional with appropriate experience and training, provided that any such individual makes progress toward completing the requirements for full licensure as a school counselor during such period of employment or (ii) in the event DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/26/2026 that the school board does not receive any application from a licensed school counselor, professional counselor, clinical social worker, or psychologist or another licensed counseling professional with appropriate experience and training to fill a school counselor vacancy in the school division, may enter into an annual contract with another entity for the provision of school counseling services by a licensed professional counselor, clinical social worker, or psychologist or another licensed counseling professional with appropriate experience and training.

School divisions using these funds in this manner shall employ only DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/11/2026 instructional personnel licensed by the Board.

The Board may grant waivers from these staffing levels upon request from local school boards seeking to implement experimental or innovative programs that are not consistent with these DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/26/2026 staffing levels.