An Act to amend and reenact § 22.1-290.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to teacher, other instructional personnel, and support staff position exits; data collection; disaggregation by race.
HB1437 amends Virginia law governing education workforce data reporting. It requires each school board to report annually to the Department of Education the number and type of exits from teacher, other instructional personnel, and support staff positions, with those exits disaggregated by the race of the individual who left. The report must also include the reason for each exit, including whether it was voluntary or involuntary, and must separately report vacancies in the school division.
The bill also requires each approved educator preparation program to report annually the number of individuals who completed the program by endorsement area. The Department of Education must set reporting deadlines and formats and then aggregate and publish the data on its website each year. In effect, the measure expands statewide transparency around educator turnover, staffing shortages, and pipeline output.
HB1437 updates § 22.1-290.2 of the Code of Virginia by adding a race-based disaggregation requirement for exits from education positions and by continuing/clarifying annual reporting on vacancies and preparation-program completions. It affects local school boards, approved education preparation programs, and the Department of Education, which must collect, standardize, aggregate, and publicly post the data. The practical impact is to create a more detailed statewide dataset that can be used to monitor workforce retention, staffing needs, and potential disparities in educator exits.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the provided materials. The bill’s enactment as Chapter 849 suggests it ultimately received sufficient support to pass and be signed into law. Based on the text alone, the measure appears administrative and data-focused rather than policy-controversial, which is consistent with a generally neutral or favorable legislative reception.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. If concerns were raised, they would most likely have centered on the burden of additional reporting for school divisions and preparation programs, the privacy or interpretation issues associated with race-disaggregated workforce data, or how the Department of Education would use and present the information. However, none of those concerns are reflected in the available transcripts or votes.