As a former student who nearly ended my life twice it’s nice to see this.

I would ask that you would stop passing bills without considering the time it will take away from school personnel by adding another task to their already full plate. It is also not helpful to burden taxpayers in local communities with all the unfunded mandates. Also, why would we allow any Virginia students replace Virginia history and civic requirements with International Baccalaureate coursework? If they are students in Virginia, they should know the history of their state and their civic duties as a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thank you for your consideration. Karen M Wirsing

We already have counselors, SRO’s and cameras in place. This is an unnecessary cost for us. Please provide the funds.

I would ask that you would stop passing bills without considering the time it will take away from school personnel by adding another task to their already full plate. It is also not helpful to burden taxpayers in local communities with all the unfunded mandates. Also, why would we allow any Virginia students replace Virginia history and civic requirements with International Baccalaureate coursework? If they are students in Virginia, they should know the history of their state and their civic duties as a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thank you for your consideration. Karen M Wirsing

The government decided to make all title one school lunches, free. Plenty of parents are able to pay. Go back to the pay as you go system and those on welfare can get school lunches for free.

No child should go hungry, but SB42 shifts responsibility for unpaid meal debt onto local school boards, creating a costly mandate that diverts limited education funds away from classrooms. School boards do not control family income, federal meal eligibility rules, or participation in assistance programs. Requiring divisions to absorb uncollectible debt effectively forces local taxpayers to cover costs that should be addressed through federal nutrition programs or targeted state support. This mandate could mean fewer resources for teachers, instructional materials, and student services, all to backfill a systemic funding gap. A better solution is to expand direct assistance to families and improve enrollment in free and reduced-price meal programs.

Please pass this important bill

I would ask that you would stop passing bills without considering the time it will take away from school personnel by adding another task to their already full plate. It is also not helpful to burden taxpayers in local communities with all the unfunded mandates. Also, why would we allow any Virginia students replace Virginia history and civic requirements with International Baccalaureate coursework? If they are students in Virginia, they should know the history of their state and their civic duties as a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thank you for your consideration. Karen M Wirsing

This course substitution for diploma requirements of international coursework should be safe for college or an elective. Not in the main framework of our K-12 educational system. Students need to understand our constitution and the government branches and how they helped our society developed from the beginning.

Opposition to SB63 — IB Substitutions for Virginia & U.S. History SB63 allows International Baccalaureate (IB) coursework to replace Virginia and U.S. history and government requirements for the Advanced Studies Diploma. This change undermines a core purpose of public education: ensuring every graduate understands the history, government, and civic foundations of the Commonwealth and the nation. Virginia’s history and civics standards are not interchangeable with global or comparative history courses. While IB programs offer academic value, they do not guarantee instruction in Virginia’s constitutional framework, state governance, or the rights and responsibilities of citizenship within the Commonwealth. Allowing substitutions creates unequal expectations across divisions and risks graduating students without essential civic knowledge. A Virginia diploma should certify that every graduate has learned Virginia and U.S. history, not a substitute. Civic literacy is not optional. Virginia’s history requirements should remain a cornerstone of the Advanced Studies Diploma.

Please pass this important bill

I would ask that you would stop passing bills without considering the time it will take away from school personnel by adding another task to their already full plate. It is also not helpful to burden taxpayers in local communities with all the unfunded mandates. Also, why would we allow any Virginia students replace Virginia history and civic requirements with International Baccalaureate coursework? If they are students in Virginia, they should know the history of their state and their civic duties as a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thank you for your consideration. Karen M Wirsing

On the fireman and prescription drug storage notices, we are an educational entity. Please remember that. This is something else added to our plate. That is a burden. Leave this to our School Board and SROs that work with us.

Opposition to SB109 While information about safe firearm and prescription drug storage is important, SB109 places an unfunded mandate on school divisions to deliver public safety messaging that falls outside their core educational mission. The bill requires annual notifications, legal summaries, translations, and multi-platform distribution which creates new administrative burdens, costs, and potential liability risks without providing funding or resources. Schools are already stretched thin and should not be tasked with responsibilities better handled by public health and law enforcement agencies. Student safety matters, but shifting unfunded public safety duties onto schools diverts time and resources away from education.

Please pass this important bill

Please pass this important bill

Madam Chair and Members of the Committee: My name is Amy Stevens. I am a wife and mother, a resident of York County, raised in Hampton Roads. Thank you to the Patron for his leadership on this issue. I would like to register my support for Senate Bill 245. In The Anxious Generation, Dr. Jonathan Haidt suggests four foundational reforms. The first two are: 1) No smartphones before high school 2) No social media before age 16 Schools, coaches, and volunteers unintentionally normalize social media when they rely on them for communication for activities. No child should feel compelled to have a smart phone or a social media app because their school or any school related extracurricular activity requires it. The financial cost to this bill to Virginians is low and the long term benefits for the youth of the commonwealth are high. Please support Senate Bill 245. Thank you.

Support for SB245 SB245 provides a simple but critical safeguard: social media cannot be the sole method of communication between school personnel and students in extracurricular activities. This promotes transparency, ensures parental awareness, and helps prevent inappropriate one-on-one contact. Virginia has seen multiple cases where coaches and school employees were arrested after using private messaging and social media to engage in inappropriate communications with students incuding right here in Fauquier County, These cases highlight the risks of unmonitored digital communication and the need for clear boundaries. Transparency protects students. SB245 sets the guardrails needed in today’s digital world.

Please pass this important bill

I would ask that you would stop passing bills without considering the time it will take away from school personnel by adding another task to their already full plate. It is also not helpful to burden taxpayers in local communities with all the unfunded mandates. Also, why would we allow any Virginia students replace Virginia history and civic requirements with International Baccalaureate coursework? If they are students in Virginia, they should know the history of their state and their civic duties as a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thank you for your consideration. Karen M Wirsing

Language access plans and reporting, if this is going to be a requirement then the state needs to fund it.

Opposition to SB685 While supporting meaningful communication with all families, SB685 imposes a costly and unnecessary mandate on school boards by requiring formal language access plans, annual reporting, and state compliance monitoring. Most divisions already provide translation and interpretation services as needed. This bill adds layers of bureaucracy such as website postings, detailed reports, and state oversight. All of this increases administrative burden without providing funding. In large divisions like Fairfax County Public Schools, where families speak 194 languages, compliance could require translating materials into an overwhelming number of languages, creating significant logistical and financial strain. Even smaller divisions would face costly requirements that divert resources away from classrooms. By turning a locally managed practice into a state-monitored mandate, SB685 reduces flexibility and imposes a one-size-fits-all approach on diverse communities. While supporting families is important, unfunded mandates and excessive reporting requirements do not improve communication; they only expand bureaucracy.

Please pass this important bill