                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

BOARD OF VISITORS OF THE VIRGINIA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND THE BLIND ESTABLISHED
(§ 22.1-346.2)

A. As used in this section:
			&#8220;Deaf&#8221; means having a hearing impairment so severe as to impair
the individual from processing linguistic information through hearing, with or
without amplification, that adversely affects such individual&#8217;s
educational performance.
			&#8220;Hard of hearing&#8221; means having an impairment in hearing in one or
both ears, with or without amplification, whether permanent or fluctuating, that
adversely affects an individual&#8217;s educational performance. &#8220;Hard of
hearing&#8221; does not include &#8220;deaf.&#8221;
			&#8220;Vision impaired&#8221; means having an impairment in vision that, even
with correction, adversely affects an individual&#8217;s educational
performance. &#8220;Vision impaired&#8221; includes both having partial sight
and blindness.

B. There is hereby established the Board of Visitors of the Virginia School for
the Deaf and the Blind (Board of Visitors), as a policy agency in the executive
branch of state government under the name of the &#8220;Virginia School for the
Deaf and the Blind,&#8221; for the purpose of governing the educational programs
and services to deaf, blind, and multi-disabled students enrolled at the
Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind.

C. The Board of Visitors shall have a total membership of 15 members that shall
consist of four legislative members and 11 nonlegislative citizen members.
Members shall be appointed as follows: two members of the House of Delegates, to
be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the
principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of
Delegates; two members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on
Rules; and 11 nonlegislative citizen members, of whom two shall be parents of
current students at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, of whom (i)
one shall be the parent of a student who is deaf or hard of hearing and one
shall be the parent of a student who is vision impaired and (ii) one shall
represent the Eastern region of the Commonwealth and one shall represent the
Western region of the Commonwealth, two shall be representatives of the Virginia
School for the Deaf and the Blind Alumni Association who are deaf or hard of
hearing, and two shall be representatives of the Virginia School for the Deaf
and the Blind Alumni Association who are vision impaired, to be appointed by the
Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. Nonlegislative
citizen members of the Board of Visitors shall be citizens of the Commonwealth.
Legislative members of the Board of Visitors shall serve terms coincident with
their terms of office. After the initial staggering of terms, nonlegislative
members appointed shall serve for four-year terms. Appointments to fill
vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms.
Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All
members may be reappointed. However, no House member shall serve more than four
consecutive two-year terms, no Senate member shall serve more than two
consecutive four-year terms, and no nonlegislative member appointed by the
Governor shall serve more than two consecutive four-year terms. The remainder of
any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a
term in determining the member&#8217;s eligibility for reappointment.
			The Board of Visitors shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its
membership. The Board of Visitors shall elect a secretary, who shall keep an
accurate record of the proceedings of the Board of Visitors and of the executive
committee if one is created by the Board of Visitors, and such other officers as
the Board deems appropriate. A majority of the members shall constitute a
quorum. The Board of Visitors shall meet no less than four times each year. The
meetings of the Board of Visitors shall be held at the call of the chairman or
whenever the majority of the members so request. Notice of all meetings shall be
made in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information
Act (&#xA7; 2.2-3700 et seq.). Notice of meetings to the public shall, pursuant
to subsection G of &#xA7; 2.2-3707, state whether public comment will be
received at the meeting and, if so, the approximate point during the meeting
when public comment will be received. At any meeting at which public comment
will be received, each speaker shall be allotted three minutes to speak. To
ensure that all interested parties are given reasonable opportunity to be heard,
the time allotted for each speaker to give public comment shall not be limited
extemporaneously or without adequate notice prior to the date on which such
meeting is scheduled.

D. Legislative members of the Board of Visitors shall receive such compensation
as provided in &#xA7; 30-19.12, and nonlegislative citizen members shall receive
such compensation for the performance of their duties as provided in &#xA7;
2.2-2813. All members shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in &#xA7;&#xA7;
2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Funding for the costs of expenses of the members shall be
provided from such funds as may be appropriated to the Board of Visitors, in
accordance with the appropriations act.

E. The Superintendent shall designate a member of the staff of the Department to
serve as a consultant to the Board of Visitors on matters pertaining to
instruction, federal and state special education requirements, and school
accreditation, and to provide technical assistance to assist the Board of
Visitors in meeting specific instructional and school accreditation needs.

F. The Board of Visitors shall have the following powers and duties:

   1. Establish such rules, policies, and regulations for the governance of the
   Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind.

   2. Prescribe the criteria and procedures governing admissions to the school,
   and the review of student placement, to ensure the appropriateness of the
   placement and instructional program of each student admitted to the school,
   pursuant to &#xA7; 22.1-348 and in accordance with federal and state special
   education laws and regulations.

   3. Establish a policy governing the transportation of students at the school
   to permit frequent home visits by students, and to provide to each student
   transportation to and from the school and the place of residence of such
   student&#8217;s parent or guardian whenever the school is officially closed.

   4. Prescribe and approve the education programs of the Virginia School for the
   Deaf and the Blind, in consultation with the Department, the Department for
   the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, and the Department for the Blind and Vision
   Impaired.

   5. Appoint and supervise the superintendent, other officers, and the faculty
   of the school. The superintendent shall be appointed every two years and the
   other officers and faculty annually. However, the superintendent, with the
   approval of the chairman of the Board of Visitors, shall be authorized to fill
   vacancies in positions appointed by the Board of Visitors occurring between
   meetings of the Board of Visitors. The Board of Visitors may remove at any
   time the superintendent, other officers, faculty, and employees for cause,
   subject to the provisions of Chapter 29 (&#xA7; 2.2-2900 et seq.) of Title
   2.2.

   6. Establish the qualifications, duties, and compensation of the
   superintendent, other officers, faculty, and employees of the school.

   7. Prepare and submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual
   report detailing the curricula and other educational programs and services of
   the school, including receipts and disbursements pertaining to the operation
   of the school for each fiscal year ending on June 30.

G. The Board of Visitors is hereby authorized to establish and maintain a campus
security department and to employ campus security personnel therein.

HISTORY: 2009, c. 210; 2011, cc. 691, 714; 2022, c. 355; 2023, c. 428; 2024, c.
351.