Authority: Title 2.1, Chapter 5.4, and § 2.1-51.10:1, Code of Virginia.

A. By October 1 of each year each public institution of higher education and the Community College System shall submit to the Secretary of Education and the State Council of Higher Education a report on progress toward implementing its strategic plan. Such plans should continue to pursue the principles of restructuring, accountability, and efficiency and include an assessment of the effectiveness of academic programs. The progress reports shall be prepared according to a format approved by the Secretary of Education and the State Council of Higher Education. A presentation on the progress of institutions in implementing their plans shall be made by the Secretary and the State Council of Higher Education to the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees at their regularly scheduled meetings in November of each year.

B. The Secretary of Education is hereby authorized to make allocations to qualified zone academies of the portion of the national zone academy bond limitation amount to be allocated annually to the Commonwealth of Virginia pursuant to Section 1397E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and to provide for carryovers of any unused limitation amount. In making such allocations, the Secretary of Education is directed to give priority to allocation requests for qualified zone academies having at least 50 percent free lunch participation and either (i) located in federal enterprise communities or (ii) located in cities and counties within which federal enterprise communities are located.

C. This appropriation includes $200,000 the first year from the general fund to plan innovative or alternative schools.

D. The Secretary of Education shall assist the Department of Education in developing a plan that affords school divisions the flexibility in hiring nontraditional classroom teachers as described in Item 129, paragraph Q, of this act.