Not all of the smaller counties and poorer counties can afford higher salaries like that.

In order to attract and retain Teachers, we must provide a competitive compensation package throughout the Commonwealth. This bill is a starting point for a long overdue goal to identify just what that compensation package should look like. Therefore, VPE strongly supports SB 1215.

Sb 1215 yes Sb 1260 yes Sb1300 yes Sb1325 yes Sb1448 yes

Public Testimony

National Teacher Certification is another tool to help the commonwealth identify and recognize 'the Best of the Best" among our Educators. VPE supports SB1260.

Sb 1215 yes Sb 1260 yes Sb1300 yes Sb1325 yes Sb1448 yes

Public Testimony

Good morning Chairman and members of the committee. My name is Elijah Lee and for the past 6 years, I have dedicated my life to the advancement and empowerment of young people. While my work consists of encouraging young people to become civically engaged, a majority of what I do surrounds the protection and safety of young people. From leading child abuse awareness marches to raising over $15,000 for trauma-informed care spaces in hospitals, ensuring that we are using best practices when dealing with childhood trauma has become the center of what I do. This is why I ask that you all will vote to support the passing of SB 1300. I have been honored to work with Senator Deeds on the drafting of this legislation, and while I used knowledge from the work that I have done in the past, the primary inspiration has been teachers and students. When talking to educators and peers about this legislation, all of them said the same thing, this legislation could save lives. It is no secret that our young people are experiencing traumatic events at record rates, and while we continue to address this problem, we must also ensure that our educators have the resources necessary to handle these problems in the classroom. This legislation will allow our educators to recognize when a young person is experiencing a traumatic event such as child abuse, and further ensure that the child receives the help they need. While this legislation will not make educators experts in the field of trauma-informed care or specialists in dealing with trauma, it will, however, better equip them with the knowledge they need to be successful and to keep our children safe. Too often young people fall through the cracks, not because their teachers didn’t care, but because they didn't know. I believe we owe not only to the educators of Virginia, but also to every young person in Virginia to do all we can to protect the future of our commonwealth, and it is without question that this training is the next step. When working to draft legislation, I wanted it to benefit not burden those who were affected, which is why we made the avenues of accessing the training outlined in the legislation accessible and easy to use. I will admit, I wish to one day live in a world where this legislation is unnecessary. I wish to live in a world where young people are not facing several types of abuse and neglect, a world without constant violence against our children. However, this is the world we live in, and as young people face these traumatic events, we cannot leave them, but instead, it is our job to stand by them and to provide the community with what they need to help our children. This legislation is what we need. This legislation is how we move forward as a Commonwealth in the protection of young people. I want to thank the committee for their time and consideration, and I hope you will all vote to support SB 1300.

support sb1300 support trauma informed care and training

I support SB 1300 because I’ve seen the added trauma students experience when teachers, staff or administrators don’t recognize the difference between intentional misbehavior and autonomic flight/fight behaviors, and when the adults don’t realize that access to the part of the brain responsible for thinking, planning, reasoning, and impulse control is off-line when the brain detects danger or life-threat. A consistent understanding of the impact of trauma and effective ways to support students impacted by trauma will shift the school culture and learning environment in a positive direction.

Sb 1215 yes Sb 1260 yes Sb1300 yes Sb1325 yes Sb1448 yes

Sb 1215 yes Sb 1260 yes Sb1300 yes Sb1325 yes Sb1448 yes

ChamberRVA strongly supports this bill as an important step in moving toward data-driven strategic planning for early childhood initiatives.

Sb 1215 yes Sb 1260 yes Sb1300 yes Sb1325 yes Sb1448 yes

Public Testimony