Title 22.1, Title 22.1. Education

A local school board may establish after school programs designed to prevent at-risk youth from engaging in illegal or gang-related activities for school aged children. Local funds appropriated for K through 12 education may be used to support such after-school programs.

A. In order to remove nonacademic barriers to learning as a means to enhance student academic success in public elementary and secondary schools throughout the Commonwealth, the Department shall establish an interagency task force composed of state and local agencies and entities…

A. In the elementary grades of every public school the following subjects shall be taught: Spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, health and physical education, drawing, civil government, history of the United States and history of Virginia. B. Physical educa…

Local school divisions shall provide students with alternatives to animal dissection techniques within the relevant public school curriculum or course. The Board of Education shall establish guidelines to be implemented by local school divisions regarding such alternative dissect…

A. Instruction in the principles of the American economic system shall be required in the public middle and high schools of the Commonwealth to promote economics education and financial literacy of students and to further the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed…

In lieu of §§ 22.1-277, 22.1-277.07, and 22.1-277.08, a school board may establish optional age-appropriate education programs for young students in grades kindergarten through five who require guidance, supervision, and discipline in a structured learning environment and who nee…

A. Local school boards shall provide (i) a minimum of 680 hours of instructional time to students in elementary school, except for students in half-day kindergarten, in the four academic disciplines of English, mathematics, science, and history and social science and (ii) a minim…

The Board shall provide local school boards maximum flexibility to waive existing instructional clock hour requirements by developing alternative instructional time models in accordance with regulations adopted by the Board and Board guidelines related to instructional time waive…

To increase knowledge of citizens' rights and responsibilities thereunder and to enhance the understanding of Virginia's unique role in the history of the United States, the Declaration of American Independence, the general principles of the Constitution of the United States, inc…

A. Instruction in the history and principles of the flag of the United States and the flag of the Commonwealth shall be given in one or more grades in every school division. The instruction shall include the pledge of allegiance and the appropriate etiquette and conventions for r…

The Board of Education shall authorize local school boards to offer, as an elective in grades nine through 12 with appropriate credits toward graduation, a comparative religion class that focuses on the basic tenets, history, and religious observances and rites of world religions…

In order that the right of every pupil to the free exercise of religion be guaranteed within the schools and that the freedom of each individual pupil be subject to the least possible pressure from the Commonwealth either to engage in, or to refrain from, religious observation on…

In order that the right of every pupil to the free exercise of religion be guaranteed within the schools and that the freedom of each individual pupil not be subject to pressure from the Commonwealth either to engage in, or to refrain from, religious observation on school grounds…

To promote compliance with constitutional restrictions as well as observance of constitutional rights, the Board of Education shall, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, develop guidelines on constitutional rights and restrictions relating to prayer and other …

Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Home and classroom work shall be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and rel…

Each public high school shall provide to any enrolled student who is of voting age or is eligible to register to vote pursuant to § 24.2-403 (i) mail voter registration applications and voter registration information provided by the Department of Elections or (ii) access to the V…

In one or more of the elementary or secondary grades of every school division there shall be provided a course of study including elementary training in accident prevention, in proper conduct on streets and highways, in the operation of motor vehicles as required by the traffic l…

Local school boards may provide firearm safety education programs for students in the elementary school grades. To assist local school boards electing to provide firearm safety education programs, the Board of Education shall establish curriculum guidelines for a standardized pro…

A. Local school boards may provide after-school hunter safety education programs for students in the school division in grades seven through 12. Each student shall bear the cost of participating in such programs. Local school boards shall display information on its after-school h…

The Department, in collaboration with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, shall establish and administer the Virginia Student Training Employment Pipeline for U.S. Procurement (STEP UP) Program (the Program) for the purpose of facilitating opportunities for any st…

A. As used in this section: "Approved training program" means a program of instruction that meets the requirements of the Board of Nursing for certified nurse aide training programs and is offered to high school students in the Commonwealth by a public or nonpublic educational ce…

A. The Board of Education shall establish for the public school system a standardized program of driver education in the safe operation of motor vehicles. Such program shall consist of classroom training and behind-the-wheel driver training. However, any student who participates …

Each public high school shall require any student who applies to obtain a pass to park a vehicle on school property to provide evidence that the student possesses a valid driver's license or driver privilege card. The Department shall develop, and each public high school shall ut…

A. Instruction concerning drugs and drug abuse shall be provided by the public schools as prescribed by the Board of Education. B. Instruction concerning the public safety hazards and dangers of alcohol abuse, underage drinking, underage marijuana use, and drunk driving shall be …

A. Each local school board shall develop a plan, in accordance with the guidelines and model curriculum developed by the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Education, in accordance with the protocols developed by the Board of Pharmacy in consultation wit…

A. As used in this section, "informational one-sheet" means a single-page document detailing relevant information and key points on a single topic developed and disseminated for the purpose of providing information to a specific group of individuals. B. The Department shall, in c…

The Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, shall develop instructional resources and materials to assist school boards and local and regional public libraries in establishing a…

A. As used in this section, "institution of higher education" means each public institution of higher education and each private institution of higher education, as those terms are defined in § 23.1-100. B. The Department shall collect and distribute to school boards and publicly…

The Board shall, consistent with the provisions of Article 5.1 (§ 22.1-237.1 et seq.), develop guidelines and policies for prioritizing to the maximum extent practicable dual enrollment programs, including the Passport Program, the Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program, …

A. As used in this section: "High school student" means any public high school student in the Commonwealth. "Student financial aid application" means the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. B. Each school board sha…

A. Physical and health education shall be emphasized throughout the public school curriculum by lessons, drills, and physical exercises, and all pupils in the public elementary, middle, and high schools shall receive as part of the educational program such health instruction and …

A. As used in this section, "abstinence education" means an educational or motivational component that has as its exclusive purpose teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by teenagers' abstaining from sexual activity before marriage. B. The Board of E…

A. Any family life education curriculum offered by a local school division shall require the Standards of Learning objectives related to dating violence and the characteristics of abusive relationships to be taught at least once in middle school and at least twice in high school,…

Every parent, guardian or other person in the Commonwealth having control or charge of any child who is required by subsection A of § 22.1-254 to send such child to a public school shall have the right to review the complete family life curricula, including all supplemental mater…

Each school board shall develop and implement policies that ensure that parents have the right to review any audio-visual materials that contain graphic sexual or violent content used in any anti-bullying or suicide prevention program. Such policies shall require that prior to us…

A. Each local school board that collects information to determine eligibility for participation in the School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shall establish and post prominently on its website a web-based …

A. Upon the appropriation and authorization of federal funds for the reimbursement of school breakfast programs, each school board shall establish a school breakfast program in any public school in which 25 percent or more of enrolled school-age children were approved eligible to…

A. As used in this section, "excess food" means any remaining unexpired, unopened, and unconsumed food intended to be served as part of a reimbursable meal that was unable to be utilized for a current or future meal provision after a school has served breakfast and lunch to stude…

A. For purposes of this section, "competitive food" means any food, excluding beverages, sold to students on school grounds during regular school hours that is not part of the school breakfast or school lunch program. B. The Board, in cooperation with the Department of Health, sh…

A. As used in this section: "Identified student" means any student who is directly certified for free meals through means other than the use of an individual household application. "Identified student" includes (i) any student who is directly certified for free meals based on the…

A. As used in this section: "At-risk afterschool care center" includes locations that offer educational or enrichment activities to children or teenagers, including schools, community centers, and libraries, approved by the Department to operate the Program. "Program" means the A…

A. As used in this section: "Color additive" means any material not exempted pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 321(t)(1) that is a dye, pigment, or other substance made by a process of synthesis or similar artifice, or extracted, isolated, or otherwise derived, with or without intermediate…

A. As used in this section, "American Sign Language" means the natural language recognized globally that is used by members of the deaf community and that is linguistically complete with unique rules for language structure and use that include phonology, morphology, syntax, seman…

The Department of Education shall encourage school boards of school divisions that have a significant number of enrolled military-connected students to partner with the National Math and Science Initiative to provide such students with the tools and resources necessary to advance…

A. No student who misses a partial or full day of school while participating in a 4-H educational program or activity shall be counted as absent for the purposes of calculating average daily membership and each such student shall receive course credit in the same manner as he wou…

The Board shall develop guidelines and policies for permitting any high school student in grades 11 and 12 to earn one-half standard unit of credit per semester for employment in certain fields or industries or participation in certain fine arts programs in which such student wor…