HB 1286 (LaRock) creates “Parental Choice Education Savings Accounts,” one-year accounts consisting of an amount equivalent to a certain percentage of all applicable annual Standards of Quality per pupil state funds appropriated for public school purposes and apportioned to the resident school division in which the student resides. This includes the per pupil share of state sales tax funding in basic aid and any state per pupil share of special education funding for which the student is eligible. In turn, the bill allows parents to use such funding to pay for education-related expenses, including tuition, fees and textbooks for private schools.
HB 1286 was heard by the House Education Committee’s Subcommittee #1 on February 5. As it has historically done, VACo spoke in opposition to this measure, as did representatives from numerous school organizations, including the Virginia School Board Association (VSBA), the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS), the Virginia Education Association (VEA), as well as numerous other localities and school board representatives. A motion to pass the bill by indefinitely failed, and the Subcommittee ultimately failed to recommend reporting the bill by a 4-4 vote.
VACo Contact: Chris McDonald, Esq.