Title 22.1, Education

As used in this article: 1. "Vehicle" means any vehicle owned or operated by, or owned or operated by any person under contract with, a county, city, town or school board in which any school pupils or personnel are transported at public expense to or from any public school. 2. "S…

No school division in which any school pupils or personnel are transported at public expense to or from any public school in any vehicle shall receive any state school funds unless it complies with all applicable requirements of this article and submits satisfactory evidence to t…

A. Every vehicle shall be covered in a policy of liability and property damage insurance issued by an insurance carrier authorized to transact business in this Commonwealth, in the amounts of at least $50,000 for injury, including death, to one person; $500,000 for injury, includ…

In every case in which a locality or its school board fails to obtain, or to require vehicles operated under contract with it to be covered by, the requisite insurance by the twentieth of July of any year or fails to notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the effectua…

Every policy of insurance issued in pursuance of the provisions of this article, in addition to compliance with other requirements of this article and with the requirements of other applicable laws, shall cover: 1. Injury, including death, to school pupils and personnel, except t…

In case any school pupil or personnel, except the driver when not a pupil, whether riding in a vehicle or not, or any other person suffers injury, including death, or property damage, including destruction, through the ownership, maintenance, use or operation of a vehicle, it sha…

In case the locality or the school board is the owner, or operator through medium of a driver, of, or otherwise is the insured under the policy upon, a vehicle involved in an accident, the locality or school board shall be subject to action up to, but not beyond, the limits of va…

In case a vehicle involved in an accident is not owned by the county, city, town or school board but is operated under contract with the locality or school board, recovery may be had as provided for in § 22.1-193.

If insurance is obtained but lapses while a vehicle is still being used or is proposed to be used to transport school pupils or personnel, no school funds remaining to be distributed to the school board so in default shall be distributed to it until the terms of this article in t…

When the Superintendent of Public Instruction effects insurance as required by this article, he shall nevertheless not make any distribution of state school aid funds to the school board so in default until he has been furnished with satisfactory assurances that all vehicles requ…

The provisions of this article apply to all vehicles whether or not the regulations of the Board of Education established pursuant to § 22.1-177 have been complied with and irrespective of whether or not any state aid for transporting school pupils and personnel in the particular…

A. The kindergarten program in each school division shall include a program suitable for children who will reach their fifth birthday on or before September 30 of the school year. The school board's plan for such program shall be furnished to the Board of Education and shall incl…

A. The General Assembly finds that Virginia educational research supports the conclusion that children from low income homes are more at risk of educational failure than children from more affluent homes and that reduced pupil/teacher ratios and class sizes result in improved aca…

The Board of Education shall promulgate regulations for establishing standards for remediation programs that receive state funding, without regard to state funding designations, which shall be designed to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of such programs in increasing the…

A. From such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose and from such gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds as may be received on its behalf, there is hereby established the At-Risk Student Academic Achievement Program, to be administered by the Board of Educatio…

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 …