Public middle & high schools; establishing career & technical student organizations, etc.
HB1783 amends Virginia’s career and technical education law to expand how public middle and high schools can connect students with workforce-oriented learning. The bill directs the Board of Education to continue integrating core academic standards into career and technical education, encourages the use of industry certifications and state licensure exams in place of some Standards of Learning assessments where appropriate, and requires a plan to increase the number of students earning such credentials. It also preserves the existing requirement for an accepted national industry certification for certain automotive technology instructional personnel and programs.
The bill further requires the Board to develop guidelines for “High School to Work Partnerships” between public high schools and local businesses. These partnerships may include apprenticeships, internships, job shadowing, and business tours, and the guidelines must include a model liability waiver for schools and businesses. Local school boards may create these partnerships or delegate that authority, and they must inform students about the opportunities available through them. Students participating in approved partnership activities are not counted absent for average daily membership purposes, though school boards must set make-up work policies and may limit the number of days a student may participate.
In addition, HB1783 authorizes each public middle school and high school to establish career and technical education student organizations, even if the school does not already offer career and technical education courses. The bill excludes organizations that are federally chartered corporations under an act of Congress. Overall, the measure broadens the role of career and technical education in Virginia schools and creates a more formal structure for school-business collaboration and student workforce exposure.
HB1783 amends Code of Virginia § 22.1-227.1, expanding the statutory framework for career and technical education in public schools. It affects the Board of Education, local school boards, school divisions, students in middle and high school, and local businesses participating in apprenticeship, internship, and job-shadowing programs. The bill also changes attendance accounting by preventing students from being marked absent for time spent in approved partnership activities, while leaving local boards to manage make-up work and participation limits.
The bill appears to have been received very favorably. It moved through subcommittee, committee, and both chambers with unanimous votes at each recorded stage, including 8-0, 22-0, 15-0, 97-0, 99-0, 39-0, and 40-0. The lack of recorded opposition suggests broad bipartisan support for expanding career and technical education opportunities and school-to-work connections.
There is little visible contention in the available record, as no committee transcripts are provided and every recorded vote was unanimous. The only areas that could potentially raise implementation questions are the liability waiver requirements, local discretion over partnership limits and policies, and the exclusion of federally chartered student organizations, but no opposition is documented in the materials provided. The bill’s structure suggests support for workforce training while preserving local control over how programs are administered.