| New school rules: minute of silence, pay hike, background checks |
04.11.00
By Tracey Wainwright
Next school year in Virginia, students will start each day with a minute of silence, teachers will receive a small pay increase and schools will have to do criminal background checks on new employees.
Those were the major actions this year’s General Assembly took on public education.
Departing from recent years, the Legislature did not make a move regarding the new Standards of Learning – the tests that will determine if schools stay accredited and if students graduate.
The General Assembly decided to wait for the Virginia Board of Education to modify how the tests are administered and what weight they have on school accreditation and student graduation.
While legislators sat back in their desks regarding the SOLs, they passed laws on various other school-related issues. Here are the main ones from the legislative session that ended March 10.
If Gov. Jim Gilmore approves the Legislature's state budget, Virginia public-school teachers would receive a 2.4 percent salary increase in July.
That’s more than Gilmore had suggested: He allocated no funds for teacher pay raises in his proposed budget. But the 2.4 percent raise passed by the Legislature still isn't enough to remedy the state's teacher shortage, said Cheri James, president of the Virginia Education Association.
"It doesn't do anything to attract or either retain teachers in this state," she said.
The 2.4 percent raise in teachers' salaries will cost the state $89 million of its two-year $48 billion budget, said Delegate James H. Dillard, R-Fairfax.
"Localities have a role in funding teachers' salaries as well," said Dillard, co-chairman of the House Education Committee. "Those areas not attracting qualified teachers need to bite the bullet and increase their property taxes to raise salaries."
Since many localities do not have the money to raise teachers' pay, James said, the state should step in to help those areas bring salaries up to a competitive rate.
"It's hard to compete with bordering states who have higher teacher salaries," James said. "If a teacher lives in Northern Virginia, he or she can just hop over to Maryland."
According to the National Education Association, Virginia ranked 24th in the nation during 1998-99 with an average teacher salary of $37,475. The District of Columbia ranked sixth with $47,150, while Maryland ranked 14th with $42,526.
On the other hand, the NEA's data showed North Carolina at 29th with $36,098 and West Virginia at 39th with an average salary of $34,244.
If the governor signs on as expected, starting July 1 public schools statewide will begin each day with a minute of silence for reflection, prayer or other silent activity.
Having faced controversy during the 59-day session, the Senate agreed to the House-passed version of the bill, making mandatory a minute of silence for students to meditate, reflect or pray.
Wary that the legislation verges on the violation of the separation of church and state, James said members of her association remain divided on the issue.
"The VEA has no formal position on this bill because our members have mixed feelings," James said. "It's impossible for our members to get together on this issue."
Gilmore applauded the General Assembly for passing the legislation, sponsored by Sen. Warren E. Barry, R-Fairfax, chairman of the Senate Health and Education Committee.
"Through your efforts," Gilmore told lawmakers, "we will restore a sense of calm and civility in public schools by offering students a peaceful minute each day to reflect upon their studies, to collect their thoughts, or, if they so choose, to bow their heads and pray."
Many legislators were hesitant to support the minute-of-silence bill, Dillard said, because it seemed to impose on localities' preferences.
"I think that's a very difficult type of thing to force the local system to adopt," Dillard said. "Only a few have the minute of silence in their schools now, and most don't want to do it."
The attorney general’s office must provide legal counsel for the law.
If the governor approves, local school boards would have to make criminal background checks on new employees starting January 2001.
Currently, local school boards have the option to conduct the checks on new hires.
James said the Virginia Education Association supports the bill making criminal background checks mandatory.
"It is trying to protect the children against people who have been arrested and listed in a child-abuse registry," James said.
Making the background checks mandatory, Dillard said, benefits the students and school systems.
"It's about time everyone did it," Dillard said.
Under the law, the state police would review the FBI's criminal records when investigating a new employee of a public school system.
Many school systems statewide already perform extensive checks on their employees, James said.
"The background checks ensure individuals in the classroom don't have criminal records," James said, "especially if they've been convicted of child molestation."
Making the criminal background checks mandatory would cost money. Dillard said, however, that the state would pick up a share of the costs.
The governor generally has seven days after a bill is presented to him to sign or veto it or make recommendations on the legislation to the General Assembly for its reconvened session. If the governor chooses not to act on the legislation, it becomes law.