[Nfbv-announce] FW: Governor Bob McDonnell Proposes Budget Amendment to Provide State Support for Teachers, Aides and Staff for Blind or Visually Impaired Students

Thu Dec 13 03:41:02 UTC 2012

We have great news to share about funding for Teachers for the Blind in
Virginia's Schools. The Governor has agreed to include full funding of the
Virginia Standards of Quality  in his budget proposal to be sent to the
General Assembly. We are making excellent progress. We need your help.

We will need to do the following:

A)     Ask our members to thank the Governor for the support by calling the
Governor's office. I will obtain the contact information and distribute this
information tomorrow.

B)      Reach out to the Appropriations and Finance committee members
focusing on the Education sub-committees to keep this in the budget. We will
need a full court press to keep this in the budget. This will mean setting
up appointments  for next week in the districts of the Delegates and
Senators on the relevant committees. I will send out the fact sheet and
these details on Thursday as well.

We are truly pleased by Governor McDonnell's support and Delegate  Bob
Brink's advocacy on this issue.

Tracy Soforenko

Second Vice President, National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

 <mailto:Tracy.soforenko at verizon.net> Tracy.soforenko at verizon.net

703 635-2085

From: Hopkins, Raymond E. (DBVI) [mailto:Ray.Hopkins at dbvi.virginia.gov] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 1:31 PM
To: Fredric Schroeder; 'Melanie Brunson'; Michael Davis; Bob Dendy
Cc: doug.powell.oldjock at gmail.com; Linda Broady-Myers; Michael Kasey; Mark
W. Roane; Jim Taylor 
Subject: FW: Governor Bob McDonnell Proposes Budget Amendment to Provide
State Support for Teachers, Aides and Staff for Blind or Visually Impaired
Students

All,

I wanted to share with you this media release from Governor McDonnell. This
has been a major issue of concern for our community for several years. The
Virginia Board of Education and the Department for the Blind and Vision
Impaired have tried to address this funding inequity for many years. It is
certainly good news that the Governor is putting forth this proposal among
his budget recommendations. Congratulations to the advocates and
professionals who have contributed to education efforts surrounding this
topic. Although legislative action by the General Assembly is still required
for this proposal to take effect, it does represent a positive step.

Regards,

Ray

From: Governors Update Mailing List [mailto:govupdate at governor.virginia.gov]

Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 12:12 PM
To: GovernorsUpdate mailing list
Subject: Governor Bob McDonnell Proposes Budget Amendment to Provide State
Support for Teachers, Aides and Staff for Blind or Visually Impaired
Students

 <http://governor.virginia.gov/> 

Commonwealth of Virginia

Office of Governor Bob McDonnell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 12, 2012

Office of Governor Bob McDonnell

Contact: Jeff Caldwell

Phone: (804) 225-4260

Email:  <mailto:Jeff.Caldwell at Governor.Virginia.Gov>
Jeff.Caldwell at Governor.Virginia.Gov 

Governor Bob McDonnell Proposes Budget Amendment to Provide State Support
for Teachers, Aides and Staff for Blind or Visually Impaired Students

RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell's biennial budget amendments will include
an additional $4.9 million to support localities in covering the costs of
teachers, teacher's aides and staff for blind or visually impaired students
as recommended by the Virginia Board of Education.  The proposed amendment
lifts an unfunded mandate by providing financial relief to local school
districts across the Commonwealth that are tasked with providing specialized
staff for Virginia's more than 1,000 blind or visually impaired students.
Of the 17 special education disability designations recognized in Virginia,
blind or visually impaired is the only one that is not currently funded by
the Commonwealth.

Speaking about today's announcement, Governor McDonnell said, "Funding the
blind or visually impaired staffing standards is an important step to
continue ensuring that every child, regardless of their particular
situation, has access to a quality education.  Virginia is home to so many
exceptional teachers and administrators. By taking this step, we are
continuing to help ensure that blind and visually impaired students get the
world class educations they deserve.  Providing these state resources to
schools will continue to ensure educational opportunities for blind or
visually impaired children, lighten local budgets constraints, and
strengthen communities."

"Students across Virginia who are blind or visually impaired owe thanks to
Governor McDonnell for taking this long overdue step," said Delegate Bob
Brink (D-Arlington/McLean). "Providing state funding for special education
teachers who work with these students will help give them the tools they
need to become productive, fully participating members of the community."

The Virginia Board of Education has recommended funding standards for
staffing blind or visually impaired students; however, students indentified
as blind or visually impaired in the Special Education Child Count are
currently not included in the Standards of Quality (SOQ) funding model used
to determine special education funding.  The proposed budget amendment,
which will be partially offset by $0.5 million currently included in the
budget for the Department of Blind and Vision Impaired, will ensure that
localities receive the necessary funding. 

###

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