Virginia Disability Commission Legislation 2024 Updates

Virginia Disability Commission 2024 Legislation of Interest May 30, 2024

Medicaid/Waivers The Department of Medical Assistance Services has been directed to: Evaluate the possibility of allowing respite services under certain Medicaid Waivers;* Amend the financial eligibility standards for individuals receiving services under Developmental Disability waivers by disregarding any Social Security Disability Insurance income above the maximum monthly Supplemental Security Income; and** Convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to study and make recommendations to improve the federal Medicaid Works program.*** *HB 909 (Shin) and SB 488 (Aird) **HB 908 (Shin) and SB 676 (Ebbin) ***SB 59 (Favola)

Medicaid/Waivers The Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services have been directed to: Amend regulations to allow support coordinators to request and obtain approval of consecutive waiver slot-retention requests for a period of up to 365 days for individuals with a Developmental Disability waiver slot; and* Seek authority to modify the program rules for certain Medicaid Waivers to allow legally responsible individuals to: For those with more than one waiver-receiving child, receive reimbursement for 40 hours of work per week per child receiving a waiver; Receive reimbursement for personal care services, regardless of the availability of another person to provide such services; and Be the employer of record.** *HB 577 (Runion) and SB 610 (Suetterlein) **HB 909 (Shin) and SB 488 (Aird)

Education The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia has been directed to: Study each college/university in the Commonwealth's process for determining student eligibility for disability accommodations; Identify any barriers to students establishing such eligibility; and Make recommendations on reducing such barriers and on the development and establishment of a uniform accommodations eligibility determination.* The Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services has been directed to ensure that online resources are available and disseminated to all individuals of age to transition from school to post-school activities and their families.** *HB 509 (Cohen) and SB 21 (Salim) **SB 51 (Favola)

Education The Department of Education has been directed to: Develop and make available to each local school board an individualized education program (IEP) writing, facilitation, tracking, and transfer system that includes, at a minimum, an IEP template component and a data system component; and Develop and publish a data dashboard for public reporting of special education data.* Each local school board has been directed to: designate a faculty member to serve as a special education parent/family liaison for the referral, evaluation, reevaluation, eligibility, and IEP process.* The Parent Training and Information Center has been directed to: Establish special education family support centers throughout the Commonwealth; Coordinate with the special education parent/family liaisons and conduct outreach to parents of children with disabilities; and Track and report to the State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education data on questions and concerns raised by parents.* *HB 1089 (Coyner) and SB 220 (Favola)

Miscellaneous Changes to election laws The definition of "person with a disability" has been amended in Title 24.2 (Elections). Any qualified voter who is a person with a disability is eligible for assistance outside of the polling place. The training for election officers is required to include training on voting outside of a polling place, and the Department of Elections has been directed to include the processes for voting outside of the polling place into guidance documents.* For purposes of civil commitments and temporary detention orders, behaviors and symptoms that manifest from a neurocognitive disorder or neurodevelopmental disability are excluded from the definition of mental illness.** *HB 441 (Bennett-Parker) and SB 605 (Subramanyam) **HB 888 (Watts) and SB 176 (Favola)

Miscellaneous For the purpose of determining whether a quorum of a public body is assembled, a member of a public body who is a person with a disability or a caregiver and uses remote participation counts toward the quorum as if the individual was physically present.* The Department of Motor Vehicles has been directed to: Extend from six months to 12 months the duration for which a temporary removable windshield placard may be issued to a person with a disability limiting or impairing his ability to walk; and Eliminate the fee for the issuance of temporary and permanent disabled parking placards.** The Department of Criminal Justice Services has been directed to establish training standards for law-enforcement officers on communicating with individuals with an intellectual or developmental disability.*** *HB 1040 (Bennett-Parker) and SB 85 (Favola) **HB 1084 (Carr) ***HB 1246 (Willett) and SB 547 (Bagby)