Official emblems and designations; state pollinator; European honey bee. Designates the honey bee (Apis mellifera) as the official state pollinator. The bill contains a technical amendment.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; Eviction Diversion Pilot Program; expiration. Extends the expiration of the Eviction Diversion Pilot Program to July 1, 2025. Currently, the Program is set to expire on July 1, 2024. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Housing Commission.

Insurance; Fire Programs Fund; purposes. Provides that the portion of the Fire Programs Fund allocated to localities may be used for the additional purposes of (i) constructing, improving, or expanding fire station facilities, (ii) providing mental health resources, or (iii) hiring additional fire personnel and funding recruitment and retention programs. The bill also prohibits such funds from being used, except as provided, for the purposes of investments, operating expenses, debt repayment, taxes, or fees.

Standards of Quality; Standards of Learning assessments; development and administration of assessments; assessments in languages other than English; requirements. Requires the Board of Education to develop all Standards of Learning assessments using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, as defined in the bill. The bill also requires the Board to develop and implement policies providing for the development and administration of all Standards of Learning assessments in languages other than English that are identified as being present to a significant extent in the participating student population. The bill requires such policies to provide that each local school board provide appropriate accommodations on such assessments for eligible students who are English language learners, including providing for administration of such assessments for any student who is an English language learner in grades three through eight who has been identified as having limited English proficiency and has participated in an English language proficiency program for no more than a total of three school years. The bill provides, however, that each local school board, on the recommendation of English language learner faculty that any such student has not yet reached sufficient English proficiency, may provide on an individual case-by-case basis for the administration of any such Standards of Learning assessment in one of such top three languages other than English for a period that does not exceed two additional consecutive years. The provisions of the bill are required to be implemented by the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year. Standards of Quality; Standards of Learning assessments; development and administration of assessments; assessments in languages other than English; requirements. Requires the Board of Education to develop all Standards of Learning assessments using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, as defined in the bill. The bill also requires the Board to develop and implement policies providing for the development and administration of all Standards of Learning assessments in languages other than English that are identified as being present to a significant extent in the participating student population. The bill requires such policies to provide that each local school board provide appropriate accommodations on such assessments for eligible students who are English language learners, including providing for administration of such assessments for any student who is an English language learner in grades three through eight who has been identified as having limited English proficiency and has participated in an English language proficiency program for no more than a total of three school years. The bill provides, however, that each local school board, on the recommendation of English language learner faculty that any such student has not yet reached sufficient English proficiency, may provide on an individual case-by-case basis for the administration of any such Standards of Learning assessment in one of such top three languages other than English for a period that does not exceed two additional consecutive years. The provisions of the bill are required to be implemented by the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year.

Northern Virginia Transportation Authority; preservation of public parklands, recreation areas, and wildlife or waterfowl refuges. Requires the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to prioritize the preservation of the natural beauty and the natural resources of the countryside and public park and recreation lands within the localities embraced by the Authority and prohibits the Authority from approving any program or project that requires the use of any publicly owned land from a (i) public park; (ii) recreation area; or (iii) wildlife or waterfowl refuge of national, statewide, or local significance as determined by the local governing body of any locality having jurisdiction over such wildlife or waterfowl refuge unless (a) there is no feasible and prudent alternative to the use of such land and (b) such program or project includes all possible planning to minimize harm to such park, recreation area, or wildlife or waterfowl refuge resulting from such use.

Public elementary and secondary schools; cardiac emergency response plans required; grant program established. Requires each public elementary or secondary school to develop a cardiac emergency response plan (CERP) that addresses the appropriate use of school personnel to respond to incidents involving an individual who is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency while on school grounds and, in the event that such school has an athletic department or organized athletic program, while attending or participating in an athletic practice or event. The bill requires each such CERP to integrate nationally recognized evidence-based core elements such as those recommended by the American Heart Association guidelines and to integrate certain provisions and guidelines, including those relating to establishing a cardiac emergency response team, activating such team in response to a sudden cardiac event, and integrating the CERP into the local community's emergency medical services response protocols. The bill also requires, with such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, the Department to establish and administer the CERP Grant Program for the purpose of awarding grants, on a competitive basis, to any public elementary or secondary school to assist such school in the development or implementation of its CERP or in the purchase or funding of activities or equipment that further promotes CERP preparedness, giving priority to certain high-need schools. Public elementary and secondary schools; cardiac emergency response plans required; grant program established. Requires each public elementary or secondary school to develop a cardiac emergency response plan (CERP) that addresses the appropriate use of school personnel to respond to incidents involving an individual who is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency while on school grounds and, in the event that such school has an athletic department or organized athletic program, while attending or participating in an athletic practice or event. The bill requires each such CERP to integrate nationally recognized evidence-based core elements such as those recommended by the American Heart Association guidelines and to integrate certain provisions and guidelines, including those relating to establishing a cardiac emergency response team, activating such team in response to a sudden cardiac event, and integrating the CERP into the local community's emergency medical services response protocols. The bill also requires, with such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, the Department to establish and administer the CERP Grant Program for the purpose of awarding grants, on a competitive basis, to any public elementary or secondary school to assist such school in the development or implementation of its CERP or in the purchase or funding of activities or equipment that further promotes CERP preparedness, giving priority to certain high-need schools.

Investigation prior to release; input from the attorney for the Commonwealth. Provides that when the Parole Board is conducting the required investigation to determine if a prisoner will be released on parole, the Board must notify the attorney for the Commonwealth in each jurisdiction in which an offense occurred for which the prisoner is incarcerated, and the attorney for the Commonwealth may submit his input to the Board regarding the impact that the release of the prisoner will have on public safety.

High school graduation requirements; satisfaction of certain course credits with workforce credentials; development and maintenance of list of accepted credentials. Requires the Board of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System, Career and Technical Education directors, and industry partners, to develop and maintain a current, comprehensive, and uniform list of industry-recognized workforce credentials that students may take as a substitute for certain units of credit required for graduation, including such credentials that are accepted as substitutes for electives credits and credentials completed outside of regular school hours. The bill requires each school board to accept as a substitute for a required credit any credential listed as an accepted substitute for such required credit. The bill also requires any College and Career Access Pathways Partnership entered into between a school board and a comprehensive community college to specify, consistent with the list, industry-recognized credentials that are accepted as substitutes for certain credits required for high school graduation. Finally, the bill requires the Board, in establishing graduation requirements, to permit any student to substitute elective credits for completion of any industry-approved workforce credential that is included on the list as an accepted substitute for such credits.

Charter; City of Virginia Beach. Amends the charter for the City of Virginia Beach to reflect the City's transition to a city council consisting solely of single-member districts and the mayor.

Careers in Law Enforcement Incentive Grant Program established. Requires the Department of Education, with such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, to establish and administer the Careers in Law Enforcement Incentive Grant Program whereby any school board may apply for a grant in an amount up to $250,000, to be awarded on a competitive basis, with which to offer courses relating to criminal justice or law enforcement in at least one public high school in the local school division.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); Governor's term of office. Permits a Governor elected in 2029 and thereafter to succeed himself in office. The amendment allows two four-year terms (either in succession or not in succession) but prohibits election to a third term. Service for more than two years of a partial term counts as service for one term.

Adult day care centers; name change. Renames "adult day care centers" as "adult day centers" throughout the Code of Virginia.

Juveniles; confidentiality of Department records; law-enforcement access; victim notification. Provides access to confidential Department of Juvenile Justice records to (i) any full-time or part-time employee of the Department of State Police or of a police department or sheriff's office that is a part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof and who is responsible for the enforcement of the penal, traffic, or motor vehicle laws of the Commonwealth having a need for juvenile offense history or identifying information of a juvenile and his family members, including juvenile names, parent or guardian names, addresses, dates of birth, photographs, and phone numbers, and (ii) with the exception of medical, psychiatric, and psychological records and reports, any victim, as defined in existing law, when release of the confidential information is only to notify such victim of a juvenile's release from the custody of a local or regional juvenile detention center, community group home, residential care facility, mental health facility, secure alternative placement, or commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice for any offense such juvenile committed against such victim. This bill contains technical amendments.

Public schools; classified instructional support staff; competitive compensation; biennial review. Declares that it is a goal of the Commonwealth that its classified instructional support staff, defined in the bill as any individual who works more than 90 days total in a 200-day school year as a substitute for a licensed teacher, be compensated at a rate that is competitive in order to provide a quality education in the absence of a licensed teacher. The bill requires the Department of Education to conduct a biennial review of the compensation for classified instructional support staff and to consider the Commonwealth's compensation for classified instructional support staff relative to the national average teacher salary and report the results of such review to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Board of Education by June 1 of each odd-numbered year.

Board of Education; procedure for adjusting grievances; definition of "classified instructional support staff." Requires the Board of Education, for the purpose of its regulations that establish the procedure for adjusting grievances, to define "classified instructional support staff" to mean any nonlicensed teacher, both nonexempt and exempt, who is employed in a local school division and involved in classroom instruction and any other full-time or part-time employee who works more than 90 days total in a 200-day school year and to include teaching assistants, long-term substitutes, site-based substitutes, temporary teachers, and other nonlicensed instructors who substitute in the place of licensed teachers.