House subcommittee advances math office substitute, approves attendance amendment; several education bills tabled

The House Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee of Appropriations voted on multiple K‑12 education measures, reporting substitutes or tabling bills during the session. Key actions included advancing a substitute to create an Office of Mathematics Improvement (HB 1829) and approving an amendment to remove a fiscal-impact provision from an attendance bill (HB 2601).

The committee took action on at least eight bills touching math instruction, language access to assessments, school meals, school safety reporting, child‑care subsidies, attendance reporting, student‑support agency registration, and history curriculum review. Some measures were reported out of committee with substitutes or amendments; others were “gently laid on the table” for further work.

HB 1829 — Office of Mathematics Improvement: Delegate Simons introduced the bill, citing the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results. "So yesterday, the National NAEP scores came out and Virginia is continuing to fall behind in 4th grade math. So we need this bill now more than ever," Delegate Simons said. The bill would establish an Office of Mathematics Improvement at the Department of Education to provide curriculum support, instructional best practices and advanced online math courses through a virtual Virginia program. Delegate Bolivar moved to report the substitute; the motion was made, properly seconded and the substitute was reported by a 5‑1 vote.

HB 1679 — Language access for SOL assessments: Delegate Cohen presented a substitute requiring the Board of Education to prioritize incorporating commonly spoken non‑English languages into Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments and into contracts with third parties that develop and maintain the statewide assessment system. The committee analyst summarized the substitute: "The substitute provides that the Board of Education shall prioritize, incorporating into SOL assessments commonly spoken languages other than English into its statewide student assessment system and in any contract that it enters into with a 3rd party for the development, establishment, and maintenance of such system." The committee reported the substitute by a 4‑2 vote.

HB 1958 — Universal free school breakfast: Delegate Bennett Parker described HB 1958 as a proposal to provide free breakfast to all Virginia public school students, calling it an investment in education and listing organizational supporters including Voices for Virginia's Children, No Kid Hungry, the American Heart Association, the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Virginia PTA and the Virginia NAACP. "School meals are a school supply just as important to our kids getting the education they need and deserve," Delegate Bennett Parker said. The committee, noting competing demands on K‑12 funding, voted 4‑2 to gently lay the bill on the table.

HB 2733 — School safety reporting app: Delegate Higgins described a bill to direct the Department of Education to develop a mobile application allowing students to report suspicious activity, including attaching photos, to school administrators or local law enforcement. Higgins referenced work with Max Schachter and experience in Florida and offered a fiscal estimate: "the cost estimate for this is a 149,000 for 1 employee to manage the program." The committee noted the fiscal impact and gently tabled the bill 4‑2.

HB 2451 — Child‑care subsidy stair‑down: Delegate Glass described a proposal to create a phased reduction in child‑care subsidy benefits to avoid sudden benefit losses as recipients receive small wage increases. The measure’s fiscal impact was noted at about $4,100,000 for the upcoming year. Committee members suggested the Commission on Early Childhood Education could further examine the issue. The committee gently tabled the bill 6‑0.

HB 2601 — Attendance reporting amendment: Delegate Glass proposed and the committee accepted an amendment to strike a fiscal‑impacting subsection (referred to in committee as section B, lines 17–21 of the substitute) so the bill would require attendance to be taken without creating a new statewide data system. After the amendment, the committee reported HB 2601 as amended by a 4‑2 vote.

HB 2017 — Student supports/agency registration: Delegate Anthony summarized substantive changes he and staff made to eliminate a statewide registration and state‑run compliance monitoring in favor of local registration and self‑certification; he noted the removal of a small grant program and insertion of state‑provided cybersecurity training options. With no substitute language before the committee at that time, members voted to gently lay HB 2017 on the table 6‑0 to allow stakeholders to continue work.

HB 2608 — History education advisory board: The analyst explained HB 2608 would create a 32‑member history education advisory board to review how African American, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Latino, Indigenous, women’s and LGBTQ history are described in current curriculum and SOL standards and to recommend course development strategies. The committee voted to pass the bill by for the day on a voice vote.

Votes at a glance: HB 1829 (substitute reported) 5‑1; HB 1679 (substitute reported) 4‑2; HB 1958 (gently laid on table) 4‑2; HB 2733 (gently laid on table) 4‑2; HB 2451 (gently laid on table) 6‑0; HB 2601 (reported with amendments) 4‑2; HB 2017 (gently laid on table) 6‑0; HB 2608 (passed by for the day; voice vote).

The subcommittee adjourned after completing its docket.