Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Board Administrative Actions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves regulatory changes, three school-construction loans and new endorsement programs
Summary
The board unanimously approved a package of regulatory and administrative items: alignment of private-school restraint/seclusion rules, release of three Literary Fund loans (Sussex, Hampton, Giles), procedural regulation updates (transportation preventive-maintenance guidance) and multiple new educator endorsement programs recommended by ABTEL.
At the meeting the Virginia Board of Education approved a series of regulatory and administrative actions moved as final or waived first review. The actions cover regulatory alignment, school-construction financing and educator-preparation program endorsements.
Regulatory and policy updates: The board approved an update aligning regulations governing private schools for students with disabilities to public-school requirements for restraint and seclusion, as directed by the budget item. The board also approved minor regulatory edits to pupil-transportation rules and added a preventive-maintenance manual as a guidance document on the department’s Town Hall site to improve public accessibility of that guidance.
Literary Fund loans: The board approved the release of Literary Fund loans for three divisions after staff verified required documentation and eligibility: Sussex County requested $7,500,000 (20-year loan, 3% interest) for Sussex Central High School roof replacement and modernization; Hampton City requested $20,000,000 (20-year loan, 2% interest) for an addition at Bethel High School to support STEM and academies; and Giles County requested $88,722,654 (30-year loan, 2% interest) for HVAC upgrades and roof replacement at Eastern Elementary (the loan amount was presented in the application materials as shown to the board). The board voted to waive first review and release the loans; the department said staff follow a multi-step verification process guided by board criteria.
New educator endorsement programs: The board accepted ABTEL (Advisory Board of Teacher Education and Licensure) recommendations to approve new endorsement programs at Virginia institutions of higher education. Notable additions included school psychology programs at George Mason University and University of Virginia (adding state capacity), new computer-science-related endorsements and early-childhood endorsements at institutions that applied. The board recorded recusals for members with conflicts on some approvals and approved the rest.
Votes and process: The meeting transcript records the department’s statement that staff reviewed applications and that the Literary Fund guidelines and application criteria have been reviewed previously by counsel. Board members asked about the process for vetting loan documentation and about ABTEL meeting commitments; staff confirmed the board’s statutory role to approve new endorsement programs by March 31.
What’s next: Loans will proceed under the Literary Fund program and regulatory edits will be filed as appropriate. Institutions and the department will proceed with implementation of approved endorsement programs and ABTEL follow-up.
