Title 22.1, Education

Any school board may establish career and technical education projects. A school board may establish any such project either directly with its own facilities and personnel or under contract with a corporation. A project may be conducted on school board property or other public or…

No school board shall contract with a corporation for establishment of a career and technical education project unless its articles of incorporation and bylaws have been approved by the Board of Education.

No school board shall establish or contract to establish a career and technical education project until such project has been reviewed and approved by the Board of Education. The Board's review shall be for the purpose of ensuring that (i) where a school board undertakes a projec…

A. Where a school board undertakes a career and technical education project by contract with a corporation, the school board may advance, contribute and loan funds to the corporation. The contract shall contain: 1. a system of accounting; 2. the terms upon which any profits from …

Nothing herein shall exempt career and technical education projects from compliance with state and local zoning laws and building codes, if applicable. Work done by students or other nonlicensed personnel shall be inspected by an appropriately licensed person to assure compliance…

A school board may expend funds for the purpose of acquiring the site for the construction of a career and technical education project. At the completion of a project constructed on private property, the project shall be sold within a reasonable time. The power of eminent domain …

A school board may provide transportation for students to career and technical education project sites. A school board or corporation may provide insurance protecting its students and agents from loss as a result of physical injury or liability resulting from their work on the pr…

Neither the members of a school board nor the officers or directors of a corporation shall be personally liable for the negligence of any student or agent in connection with a career and technical education project.

The Board of Education may regulate the awarding of academic credit for participation in career and technical education projects.

A. The Board of Education shall have the authority to approve textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials suitable for use in the public schools and shall have authority to approve instructional aids and materials for use in the public schools. The Board shall publis…

In approving basal textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials for reading in kindergarten and first grade, the Board shall report to local school boards those textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials with a minimum decodability standard based on word…

A. Local school boards shall either enter into written term contracts or issue purchase orders on an as-needed basis with publishers of textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials approved by the Board for use in the public schools. Such written contracts or purchase…

The Board shall adopt regulations governing (i) the purchase of textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials approved by it for use in the public schools directly from the publishers by school boards and (ii) the distribution of such textbooks and other high-quality i…

A. Each school board shall provide, free of charge, such textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials required for courses of instruction for each child attending public schools. However, a local school board may assess a reasonable fee or charge for damages or loss o…

A. If a local school board denies a public charter school application, or revokes or fails to renew a charter agreement, it shall provide to the applicant or grantee its reasons, in writing, for such decision, and it shall post such reasons on its website. A public charter school…

A. Local school boards may establish public charter schools within the school division. Priority shall be given to public charter school applications designed to increase the educational opportunities of at-risk students, and at least one-half of the public charter schools per di…

A. A charter may be approved or renewed for a period not to exceed five school years. A public charter school renewal application submitted to the local school board or, in the case of a regional public charter school, to the relevant school boards shall contain: 1. A report on t…

A. At the discretion of the local school board, charter school personnel may be employees of the local school board, or boards, granting the charter. Any personnel not employed by the local school board shall remain subject to the provisions of §§ 22.1-296.1, 22.1-296.2, and 22.1…

A. For the purposes of this article, students enrolled in a public charter school shall be included in the average daily membership of the relevant school division and shall be reported in fall membership for purposes of calculating the state and local shares required to fund the…

The Board shall report the number of public charter schools established in the Commonwealth, as well as the number of charters denied, in its annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly pursuant to § 22.1-18.

Public charter schools shall be immune from liability to the same extent as all other public schools in the Commonwealth, and the employees and volunteers in a public charter school are immune from liability to the same extent as the employees and volunteers in a public school.

A. In order to (i) stimulate the development of innovative programs within public education; (ii) provide opportunities for innovative instruction and assessment; (iii) provide parents and students with more options within their school divisions; (iv) provide teachers with a vehi…

There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Public Charter School Fund, hereafter referred to as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. Any gifts, grants, bequests, or donations from public or pr…

A. Enrollment in a public charter school shall be open to any child who is deemed to reside within the relevant school division or, in the case of a regional public charter school, within any of the relevant school divisions, as set forth in § 22.1-3, through a lottery process on…

A. Public charter schools are subject to all federal laws and authorities as set forth in this article and the charter contract with the local school board. B. Public charter schools are subject to the same civil rights, health, and safety requirements applicable to other public …

A. Within 90 days of approval of a charter application, the local school board and the management committee of the approved public charter school shall execute a charter contract that clearly sets forth (i) the academic and operational performance expectations and measures by whi…

A. Any person, group, or organization, including any institution of higher education, may submit an application for the formation of a public charter school. B. The public charter school application shall be a proposed agreement and shall include: 1. An executive summary. 2. A mi…

The Department of Education may establish an Innovation Technical Advisory Group, comprised of individuals with experience in the establishment and operation of charter schools, college partnership laboratory schools, and virtual school programs, or it may retain the services of …

A. Public charter school applications shall be received and reviewed by the Board of Education and local school boards or, in the case of a regional public charter school, by all of the relevant school boards, as provided in subsection C. However, no charter school application th…

As used in this article: "Multidivision online provider" means (i) a private or nonprofit organization that enters into a contract with a local school board to provide online courses or programs through that school board to students who reside in Virginia both within and outside …

A. The Superintendent shall develop, and the Board shall approve, (i) the criteria and application process for approving multidivision online providers; (ii) a process for monitoring approved multidivision online providers; (iii) a process for revocation of the approval of a prev…

A. The Department shall develop and maintain a website that provides objective information for students, parents, and educators regarding online courses and virtual programs offered through local school boards by multidivision online providers that have been approved in accordanc…

A. Teachers who deliver instruction to students through online courses or virtual school programs shall be licensed by the Board of Education and shall be subject to the requirements of §§ 22.1-296.1, 22.1-296.2, and 22.1-296.4 applicable to teachers employed by a local school bo…

A. Any student enrolled in any online course or virtual program offered by a local school division shall be enrolled in a public school in Virginia as provided in § 22.1-3.1. B. A student's parent or guardian shall give written permission prior to the enrollment of the student in…

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning: "School Division of Innovation" or "SDI" means a school division in which the local school board has developed and for which the Board has approved pursuant to regulations as set forth in this article a pla…

The Board shall promulgate regulations for the designation of School Divisions of Innovation in which the local school board in the local school division so designated shall, pursuant to a plan of innovation, be exempted from selected regulatory provisions and be permitted to ado…

Any local school board may apply to the Board for the local school division or any school therein to be designated as an SDI. Such application shall consist of a plan of innovation for the local school division. The Board shall include in regulations promulgated pursuant to § 22.…

The Board shall establish in regulations promulgated pursuant to § 22.1-212.29 expectations for the plan of innovation of an SDI applicant, including: 1. Establishing goals and performance targets that may include: a. Reducing achievement and opportunity gaps among groups of publ…

A. The initial designation of an SDI shall be for a five-year period. B. The initial designation of an SDI may be renewed for subsequent periods not to exceed five years each.

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education," "baccalaureate public institution of higher education," "comprehensive community college," "Council," "public institution of higher educat…

A. The Board and the State Board for Community Colleges shall establish the College and Career Ready Virginia Program. B. The purpose of the Program is to offer consistent, structured opportunities for all qualified high school students in the Commonwealth to enroll in postsecond…

A. The Program shall consist of the dual enrollment and participation of qualified high school students at the high school in college courses pursuant to the Passport Program and the Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program established in accordance with the requirements se…

The Department and the System shall administer the Program. In administering the Program, the Department and the System shall: 1. Establish an advisory committee composed of representatives from local school divisions from each of the eight Superintendent's regions, associate-deg…

A. In recognition of the fact that career and technical education is an essential element of workforce readiness in the Commonwealth, the Department and the System shall establish the Program career and technical education work group (the work group) for the purpose of developing…