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HOUSE BILL NO. 613
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the House Committee on Appropriations
on February 13, 2026)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Cohen)
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 6 of Title 22.1 a section numbered
22.1-70.4
, relating to Department of Education; division superintendents; Teacher Recruitment and Retention Mentorship Pilot Program established; administration; report.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 6 of Title 22.1 a section numbered
22.1-70.4
as follows:
§ 22.1-
70.4. Teacher Recruitment and Retention Mentorship Pilot Program established; administration
; report
.
A.
T
he Department
, in coordination with the Virginia Association of School Superintendents,
shall establish the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Mentorship Pilot Program (
the
Program) for the purpose of
supporting division superintendents of school divisions
with high teacher vacancy rates
in improving teacher recruitment and retention by coordinating
mentorships whereby a division superintendent of a
low
vacancy
rate
school division is
connected with
a division superintendent of a
high
vacancy
rate
school division
to
provide ment
orship
in developing and implementing plans, strategies, and best practices for improving teacher vacancy rates in the hig
h
vacancy
rate school division.
B
.
The
Program shall be administered by the
Department
in coordination with the Virginia Association of School Superintendents. In administering the Program, the Department
and
the Virginia Association of Sch
ool Superintendents
shall
establish and implement
policies and procedures for th
e
administration of the Program, including policies and procedures:
1. To coordinate the connection of division superintendents of low
vacancy
rate
school divisions
w
ith division superintendents of high
vacanc
y
rate
school divisions
;
2.
Designed to
support and
maxi
mize the
efficacy
and success of such mentorships under the program
, including
policies and procedures on the r
ecommended frequency
,
number of meetings or discussions
, and duration of mentorships
between the division superintendents
;
3. Designed to encourage and incentivize participation of division superintendents in the Program; and
4.
For
Program oversight
and
monitoring the activities and success of
each
division superintendent mentor
ship
under the Program
.
C. Each
d
ivision superintendent mentorsh
ip
coordinated through the Program shall
annually submit
to the Department a report on the
ir activities for the preceding school year that shall
include
(i)
a summary of the mentorship-related activities
between the
two
division superintendent
s
that year; (ii) the plans, strategies, and best practices for improving teacher recruitment and retention discussed
by the applicable division superintendents; (iii) a summary of the outcomes of the plans, strategies, and best practices impl
emented by the division superintendent of the high
vacancy
r
ate school division under the mentorship, including data on
any
change in teacher recruitment and retention rates in the school division during the preceding
school
year;
and (iv) any recommendations
for
improving the effectiveness of mentorships under the Program
and,
if applicable,
on
additional supports or resources needed to address
any
additional
barriers to improving teacher recruitment and retention rates in the high
vacancy
rate school division
.
D. The Department shall submit to the Governor
and the
C
hair
s
of
the
Hous
e Committee on Education
and the
Senat
e Committee on Education
and Health
by November 1 of each year a report on the activities of the Program for the preceding school year that shall include (i) data on the number of division superintendent
mentorships c
oordinated through the Program
; (ii) a summary of the information contained in the reports submitted by each division superintendent mentorship pursuant to subsection C; (iii
)
an analysis of the relative success and effectiveness of the mentorships coordinated through the P
rogram in addressing and improving teacher recruitment and retention rates in high
vacancy
rate school divisions, including data for each high
vacancy
rate school division the superintendent of which
participated in the mentorship program the preceding year on the change, if any, in teacher recruitment and retention rates for such school division; and (iv) any recommendations for the improvement and expansion of the Program
.
2. That the provisions of this act shall expire on July 1, 2029.