INFORMATIONAL

  This memorandum provides information about legislation
  passed by the 1998 session of the Virginia General Assembly
  that is of interest to superintendents and school divisions. 
  Information on follow-up activities related to studies,
  guidelines, and staffing is included.

  Legislative Information -  Each piece of legislation that is
  of interest to superintendents and school divisions is
  described and indexed by category for easy reference and is
  included as Attachment 1. 

  Final Legislative Tracking Report  - The  Final Legislative
  Tracking Report reflects action on education-related
  legislation and is included as Attachment 2.

  Necessary Follow-up  - Each year following the close of the
  legislative session, the Department of Education identifies
  the necessary follow-up related to studies, guidelines or
  regulations, and staffing.  Attachment 3 lists the
  responsibilities of the Secretary of Education, the Board of
  Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the
  Department of Education to respond to the provisions of
  bills or resolutions.  We thought the enclosed material
  would be useful and informative. 

  Within the next few weeks, the Department of Education will
  distribute a publication containing the texts of bills
  passed by the 1998 General Assembly which are included in
  the legislative tracking report.  The indexing of that
  should correspond to organizational indexing of the
  "legislative information" attachment of this memo.  I hope
  you find this helpful and will not hesitate to call for
  additional information if it is needed.  Mrs. Diane T.
  Atkinson, Acting Assistant Superintendent, Division of
  Policy and Public Affairs, will be pleased to assist you,
  and she can be reached at (804) 225-2403.

  PDS/pfm

  Attachments: A hard copy of this memo and its attachments
               will be sent to the superintendent's office