2011 General Assembly Update - Virginia Association of Secondary ...

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students and their families. The regulation has gone through all review processes and beenapproved by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education. It awaits the Governor’sreview and signature. It does not become effective until signed by the Governor. Theregulation has been on the Governor’s desk for 219 days [as of the writing of this publication]awaiting his signature. If signed by the Governor, the regulation would require each schooldivision to have a clear fee policy in place, as well as a process to inform low-income familiesof how to get such costs waived or reduced. Among other requirements, school boards thatcharge fees must issue copies of their fee policies and schedules to parents annually andpost the documents on the school divisions’ websites. The rules also prohibit schools fromsuspending or expelling students or withholding their schedules, report cards, or diplomas forfailure to pay fees. The policy and fee schedule would be required to be consistent across theschool division, although there may be different fee schedules for elementary, middle, and highschools. No fees could be charged that have not been approved by the local school board.(Editor’s Note: When the regulation is implemented, principals will need to examine their feesand ensure that all have been approved by the local board and that they are consistent withother like schools in the school division. This will be an important regulation to monitor).Teacher EvaluationThe Virginia Board of Education approved a new model for teacher evaluation on April 28,2011. The changes are included in the revised guidance document, Guidelines for UniformPerformance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers, located on the DOE website.According to the Board of Education president, “It is designed to give school divisions a meansof evaluating teachers fairly while identifying the supports and professional development neededto improve quality and effectiveness.” The model is research-based and designed to identifyteachers who are exemplary, proficient, need improvement, or unacceptable. The model isa major initiative to focus on teacher quality. The model assesses professional knowledge,instructional planning, instructional delivery, assessment of and for student learning, learningenvironment, and professionalism. In addition, a major change in the model is that 40% of ateacher’s evaluation is to be based on student academic progress. It is up to school divisionsto define how they will measure such progress. The state will provide data for language artsand math teachers who teach SOL-assessed classes in grades 3-8 through the AcademicGrowth Model. Using a mathematical calculation, student progress will be measured from oneyear to the next to determine whether or not a student demonstrated one year of academicgrowth in one year. The new evaluation model becomes effective July 1, 2012. (Editor’sNote: School divisions have the option to use the state model or to develop their own; however,even if they develop their own, school divisions must implement a revised plan that includesevidence of student growth. This change is coupled with a new requirement from the UnitedStates Department of Education to publish aggregate teacher evaluation data for each school.Thus, for each school, data will be posted indicating the number and percentage of teachersin each school who were exemplary, proficient, need improvement, or unacceptable. Theobvious fallout from this will be community members and/or leaders who will link accreditationand AYP status to teacher evaluation data and ask questions like “how can all teachers meetor exceed evaluation standards when the school is not accredited or has not made AYP?” Itcreates the potential for some very challenging conversations. In addition, this change willstimulate further discussions about performance-pay plans. Earlier this summer, Governor BobMcDonnell announced that teachers in 25 schools across the Commonwealth will participatein performance-pay pilot programs during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years. Theparticipating schools must implement the performance standards and model teacher-evaluationsystem approved by the Board of Education).A PUBLICATION OF THE VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, INC.Copyright © 2011 by the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, Inc. All rights reserved.
Guidelines for the Prevention of Sexual Misconduct and AbuseThe Virginia Board of Education approved on March 24, 2011 the Guidelines for the Preventionof Sexual Misconduct and Abuse in Virginia Public Schools. The guidelines are designedto help school divisions create and implement policies and procedures that establish clearand reasonable boundaries for interactions among students and teachers, other schoolboard employees, and adult volunteers. The guidelines focus on school board responsibility;prevention; in-person communication and interactions; electronic communication; and reporting,training, and discipline. (Editor’s Note: Principals should be familiar with the state guidelineswhich can be accessed at: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/guidance/safety/prevent_sexual_misconductabuse.pdf. School boards developing policies in this area will use this documentfor guidance. Even in the absence of a specific school board policy, the guidance documentis a valuable reference. It is possible that this document is the first of what is on the horizon.According to the July 19, 2011 issue of the National School Boards’ Association (NSBA) LegalClips, Missouri has enacted legislation relating to teacher’s online contact with students. Thelegislation requires school districts to develop policies by 2012 for communication betweenteachers and students that includes text messages, social networking websites, and otherelectronic devices. Those policies are to restrict teachers from interacting with students onwebsites or in ways that are not also accessible to others, including school administratorsand parents. It is important for principals to emphasize to teachers and staff the importance ofcommunicating professionally with students in all venues).Sheriff Assistance in Truancy MeetingsATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONSThe Attorney General issued an opinion (Attorney General opinion 10-096) that a sheriff’s officeis permitted to assist a local school division with enforcing compulsory attendance laws byserving notice of an upcoming meeting to the parents or custodians of a truant student, providedthe local school board, division superintendent, or the administration of a particular school hasrequested such assistance from the sheriff. (Editor’s Note: This request for an opinion wasbased on a Hampton initiative to combat truancy. The initiative includes holding meetings withparents/guardians or truant students prior to filing criminal truancy charges or a child-in-needof-supervision(CHINS) petition. The Attorney General’s opinion, however, is very clear that thesheriff’s assistance is legal as long as it is requested by appropriate school division personnel).Fees for Advanced Placement CoursesThe Attorney General issued an opinion (Attorney General opinion 10-121) stating that a localschool board cannot impose a mandatory fee on students taking advanced placement (AP)courses for the required taking of the AP examination. (Editor’s Note: Fairfax County requiredstudents enrolled in advanced placement courses to take the advanced placement examinationas the end-of-course testing. According to the Attorney General’s opinion, Fairfax County wasnot within its rights to charge such fees since students enrolled in AP courses were requiredto take the AP examination as the end-of-course test. The opinion did not directly address theissue of payment of AP fees of students who are not required to take the AP exam in orderto receive credit for the course. Before deciding how to proceed with these students, schooldivision legal counsel should be consulted and school board policy should be addressed).A PUBLICATION OF THE VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, INC.Copyright © 2011 by the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, Inc. All rights reserved.
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