There is hereby established the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure (the Advisory Board), which shall consist of three legislative members to be appointed as follows: two members of the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, one member of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and 21 nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Board of Education. Ten nonlegislative citizen members of the Advisory Board shall be classroom teachers, with at least the following representation: three elementary school teachers, three middle school teachers, and three high school teachers. Three nonlegislative citizen members of the Advisory Board shall be school administrators, one of whom shall be a school principal, one of whom shall be a division superintendent, and one of whom shall be a school personnel administrator. Four nonlegislative citizen members of the Advisory Board shall be faculty members in teacher preparation programs in public or private institutions of higher education, who may represent the arts and sciences. One nonlegislative citizen member of the Advisory Board shall be a member of a school board. One nonlegislative citizen member of the Advisory Board shall be a member of a parent-teacher association. One nonlegislative citizen member of the Advisory Board shall be a representative of the business community, and one nonlegislative citizen member shall be a citizen at large. The Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System or his designee shall serve as an ex officio member of the Advisory Board. The Superintendent of Public Instruction or his designee and the Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia or his designee shall serve as nonvoting ex officio members of the Advisory Board.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall designate a staff liaison to coordinate the activities of the Advisory Board. The Advisory Board shall meet five times per year or upon the request of its chairman or the Board of Education. The Advisory Board shall annually elect a chairman from its membership. Nonlegislative citizen members are not entitled to compensation for their services. Legislative members of the Advisory Board shall be compensated as provided in § 30-19.12. All members shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the Advisory Board as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. The funding for the costs of compensation and expenses of the members shall be provided by the Department of Education.

The nonlegislative citizen members of the Advisory Board shall be appointed for three-year terms. Legislative members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. No person may be appointed to serve for more than two consecutive terms. Members shall hold office after expiration of their terms until their successors are duly appointed. Appointments to fill vacancies of members, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Such vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.

The Advisory Board shall advise the Board of Education and submit recommendations on policies applicable to the qualifications, examination, licensure, and regulation of school personnel, including (i) revocation, suspension, denial, cancellation, reinstatement, and renewals of licensure; (ii) fees for processing applications; (iii) standards for the approval of preparation programs; (iv) reciprocal approval of preparation programs; (v) strategies for helping school divisions more effectively recruit and retain licensed teachers; and (vi) other related matters as the Board of Education may request or the Advisory Board may deem necessary. The final authority for licensure of school personnel shall remain with the Board of Education.

1990, c. 970; 1992, c. 132; 2014, c. 334; 2017, c. 331; 2019, c. 767; 2023, c. 748.