- Report: State test, ‘unclear’ requirements, and costs may be barriers in teacher pipeline (Virginia Mercury, 9/12/2023)
- As Virginia school divisions grapple with teacher shortages, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) identified potential barriers including unclear licensure requirements, the costs of teacher preparation, and an outdated licensure test. Teacher vacancies have been reported in various Virginia school divisions, with some recording rates as high as 40.4%. While JLARC has made recommendations to improve teacher preparation and licensure processes, it emphasizes that addressing broader issues like inadequate support, high workloads, ineffective school leadership, and low salaries is essential to significantly alleviate the teacher shortage in the state.
- Child care unaffordable for most Virginia families with young children, state report says (WTOP News, 10/21/2023)
- A report by Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission reveals that child care is prohibitively expensive for the majority of families in the state, with 85% of families with infants, 82% with toddlers, and 74% with preschoolers unable to afford it. The situation is even more dire for low-income families, with 98% of families with infants and toddlers, and 97% with preschoolers, finding child care unaffordable. The report highlights the pressing need for policy changes, including streamlining reimbursement processes for providers and limiting the duration of subsidy assistance for families searching for employment, to address the child care crisis affecting families, workers, and the economy.
- State auditor says conditions in Virginia’s youth psychiatric hospital “abhorrent” (Axios, 12/13/2023)
- Virginia’s only state-run psychiatric hospital for children, the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents in Staunton, is recommended for closure by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission due to its alarming conditions, which pose an “immediate threat to the health and safety of the patients.” Among Virginia’s nine state-run psychiatric hospitals, this facility stands out as the worst, with the highest rates of violence, patient self-harm, substantiated human rights complaints, and the highest use of physical restraints. Despite acknowledging the poor performance, Gov. Youngkin’s administration does not plan to act on the recommendation to shut down the facility, attributing the issues to the previous administration and emphasizing ongoing improvements.
- As data center boom continues, Va. legislators broach new regulations (Virginia Mercury, 1/14/2025)
- A bipartisan group of Virginia lawmakers introduced a series of bills aimed at increasing oversight of the state’s rapidly growing data center industry due to concerns about energy demands, environmental impacts, and potential cost burdens on non-data center customers. The legislative package responds to a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) report recommending measures such as requiring data centers to report energy and water use, imposing emissions standards, and ensuring utility costs are equitably distributed. Key proposals include bills to investigate potential energy cost subsidies, require site assessments for new data centers, and tie tax incentives to clean energy standards, with legislators emphasizing the need for responsible growth and protection of residents and resources.
