| 2021 General Assembly UpdateFebruary 18, 2021 The 2021 Session began January 13th and it has been a BUSY 5 weeks! Keep reading to learn about what The Arc of Virginia team has been doing to advcocate for people with developmental disabilities and to see where things stand with key legislation and funding for people with disabilities. Inside this Update:· The Arc of Virginia’s Legislative & Funding Priorities· Details of our advocacy mobilization efforts· Status of Legislation· Status of Funding · Next Steps |
| | How Have We Mobilized Advocates? Preparing Advocates Hosted two Mobilizing Events ~ 10/29/20 & 12/10/20 Provided Resources and Guidance ~ DD Advocacy Toolkit & Budget Hearing Guide Created Video Content ~ Virginia’s Budget Hearings and How to participate Advocacy ~ Legislative Outreach and Education Budget Hearings ~ Supported advocates to write and present testimony 2021 Session Kick Off Rally ~ 150+ Attendees and a dozen Legislators attended for a full review of the Legislative & Funding Priorities DD Advocacy Constituent Meetings ~ Hosted 42 Constituent Advocacy Meetings with Legislators and 120+ of their constituents to talk about the needs of the DD Community. | |
| | What is the Status of Legislation? In addition to working to pass specific legislation on our agenda, The Arc of Virginia team also follows, testifies and monitors other legislation that has an impact of the lives of people with developmental disabilities. Starting with our legislative priorities, below is the current status of key bills and budget items: Children’s Services Act There were multiple bills proposed this session resulting from two Reports released by Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) in late 2020. The first report was a review of the Children’s Services Act (CSA) funding and how it impacts students with disabilities in the school system. The second report was an assessment of Special Education in Virginia. CSA Funding for Special Education: Currently CSA funds may only be used on the most restirctive end of the placement continuum (private day schools). The Arc of VA advocates for funding Equity and Choice. Equity can be achieved by allowing funds to support students in whatever setting is determined by their IEP team as that student’s Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Because the recommendations of the JLARC report included plans for making CSA funding available to support students across the placement continuum, there were several proposed bills for related to CSA funding plans. The Arc of Virginia’s Position on CSA Bills: The Arc of VA supported bills that were equitable in funding and opposed those bills that created new inequities in our sytem. Specifically, SB 1313 & HB 2117 stated that CSA funds could be used to pay for services for a student to transition from private day school back to their local public school. However after a 12 month transition period, CSA funding could no longer be used for that student’s services in the public school. While the bill seems to assume that the local school division would pay for the needed services for that student following the transtion period — one can only also assume that if the local school division had funding for those services needed by that student, then the child would not have been referred to private day placement in the first place. There was a great deal of debate and discussion about CSA issues and The Arc of VA, along with other advocates, stood firm in the assertion that state funds expended on special education for students with more complex needs, must be equitably available regardless of what setting a student receives their education. Noting that the cost of services after a 12 month transition period for a student from a private day school to a public school, would NOT cost the state any additional funds than if the student had remained in private day, The Arc could not support legislation that continued to reinforce systemic inquities for students with disabilities in Virginia. We did however, work with the patrons of those bills we opposed and had the issue of the continuation of funding for post-transition services added to the items to be addressed by a workgroup that will be formed as a result of the bills that are moving forward. To learn more about the position on CSA for The Arc, Disability Law Center, CA Human Services, and NAMI Virginia, read this Position FACT SHEET SB 1313 – Passed Senate > Passed Sub-Committee in House· HB 2117 – Passed House > Passed Full Committee in Senate Virtual Supports Our world has changed and we must be sure that people with developmental disabilities have the tools to access virtual supports. The idea for this bill grew from the grassroots work of the A Life Like Yours Self-Advocacy Alliance, where multiple members have experienced barriers to technology and virtual supports first hand. The ALLY Alliance and The Arc of VA worked with Delegate Runion and Senator Suetterlein to put forth legislation for a workgroup charged with identifying and solving barriers to things like assistive technology and environmental modificaitons that help people to connect in the virtual world for services, supports and social connections. HB 2197 – Passed House > Passed Senate SB 1472 – Passed Senate > Passed House Criminal Justice Reform The Arc of Virginia partners with the family group Legal Reform for the Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled (LRIDD) to advance legislation for Criminal Justice Reform. This year working closely with Senator McClellan, we are advocating for SB 1315 and HB 2047. These bills seek to allow a person’s disability to be considered during the criminal justice process. Recognizing a person’s Intellectual and Developmental Disability OR Mental Health Condition are both critically important during criminal justice proceedings. Too often, people with Intellectual and developmental disabilities & Mental Health Conditions — particularly black, indigenous, and other individuals of color — become trapped in the system due to guidelines that do not recognize how Intellectual and developmental disabilities or MH conditions can affect so many aspects of that person’s interaction with the justice system. Within the General Assembly there seems to be broad agreement that IDD should be considered during criminal proceedings, however, the debate remains around how broad the bill may apply to mental health conditions. The Arc of VA supports the inclusion of both IDD and mental health. At this point, these bills are still being debated but have passed their respective chambers with some differences. The hope is to conform and match both bills to cover IDD and MH. SB 1315 – Passed Senate covering both IDD and MH > Currently being debated in House HB 2047 – Passed House covering only IDD > Currently in holding pattern awaiting resolution of SB 1315. Other Key Legislative Items: As noted, during session we support, testify, follow and monitor dozens of bills. Here are a few of the bills we have been actively working to support: HB 2162 (Delegate Tran) – Ensures people with disabilities can have access to their designated support person while in the hospital or medical facility. During COVID in particular because of visitation restrictions, people have been denied access to reasonable accommodations for having support persons with them. Passed House > Passed Senate Committee SB 1306 (Senator Morrissey) – Eliminates mandatory minimums for assault on an officer. Currently any action towards an officer carries mandatory minimum sentencing, putting people with disabilites who may be experiencing disregulation or may not have full control of their body at times, at risk for receiving harsh treatment in the criminal justice system. Passed Senate with slim margin > Awaiting hearing in House HB 2230 (Delegate Bell) – Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Department) to develop and implement a program to educate individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and others regarding the availability of supported decision-making agreement. This legislation came out of a workgroup formed last year. The Arc of VA and The Arc of Northern Virginia were active members, with The Arc of NOVA being a strong leader in this work for many years working with Delegate Kory. Passed House > Awaiting hearing in Senate (anticipated ease in passing) HB 2238 (Delegate Kory) – Requires private day schools for students with disabilities to be licensed in order to receive state funding. Passed House (large margin) > Awaiting hearing in Senate (anticipate passage) HB 2140 (Delegate Guzman) – Championed by the Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE), this bill creates an alternate application process for state of Virginia to encourage hiring of people with disabilities by the Commonwealth. Passed House > Awaiting hearing Senate (anticipate ease in passage) HB 2277 (Delegate Bell) – Allows students with disabilities who were scheduled to graduate Spring of 2021, to remain extra year to make up for losses during COVID. Failed to pass House |
