VACo expressed its concerns over HB 2319 (Bell, Richard) at a January 28 meeting of the House Education Committee’s Subcommittee #1. The bill would prohibit local school boards from collecting fees or charges for any currently approved extracurricular activities or services such as drivers’ education, or to help replace lost or damaged school property such as textbooks. Representatives of various education associations testified that the impact of such legislation would result in an unfunded mandate where the costs of existing services are passed onto local taxpayers or services are scaled back due to lack of funding. The bill did not garner a motion and as a result was left in Subcommittee.
VACo Contact: Jeremy Bennett