Senator Boysko has been a grassroots education activist long before first being elected. She seeks to increase funding for public education and seek better outcomes for students. She is proud to have been awarded Virginia Education Association’s Legislator of the Year” for her voting history on education.
Increasing funding for Virginia public schools
During her time in office, Jennifer has supported the largest investments in our public schools in Virginia’s history, funding our K-12 schools, teachers, and support staff, as well as holding tuition down in our excellent public colleges and universities.
Fostering inclusion
Senator Boysko was the chief patron of the law to develop a more inclusive and informed history and social studies curriculum in Virginia schools. In 2021, she served as co-chair of the collaborative recommendation work group that incorporated input from dozens of educators, community leaders, parents, students, and subject matter experts with the intention that all students might recognize a part of their own history in the curriculum, as well as learn about one another to develop understanding, compassion, and depth of knowledge. Senator Boysko continues her work to engage students as the Co-Chair of the Virginia Civics Education Commission.
Senator Boysko proudly passed legislation that creates guidelines on how schools can follow federal Title IX to prevent discrimination against our most vulnerable LGBTQ students, as well as create a safe and inclusive environment for all students in school.
A longtime advocate of menstrual equity, Senator Boysko passed a law requiring schools to provide students with menstrual supplies in convenient locations at no cost.
Supporting educators
Senator Boysko received the “Legislator of the Year” award in 2020 for her work to pass legislation for our K-12 teachers and school staff so that they could engage in collective bargaining.
Creating educational opportunities for all Virginians
A champion for access to higher education, Senator Boysko helped to pass the DREAM Act to give in-state tuition to our qualifying, hard-working immigrant students. She also led the charge to allow these students to receive financial aid in Virginia. Additionally, she successfully fought to increase TAG grants for all students who attend independent not-for-profit colleges and universities.
During her tenure as Chair of the Broadband Advisory Council, Senator Boysko passed legislation that helped connect kids and families to affordable internet through their schools, ensuring that all of Virginia’s kids could get their homework done without having to leave their homes.
Stopping the school-to-prison pipeline
Senator Boysko cosponsored legislation to stop the school-to-prison pipeline for minorities by requiring alternatives to suspension and expulsion and unequal harsh consequences for minorities, eliminating disorderly conduct charges on school buses and school property, as well as transparency for incidents between School Resource Officers and students. Senator Boysko is working to stop the use of isolation and restraint as disciplinary tools, and supports the use of de-escalation techniques and trauma-informed training.
Improving educational resources for special needs children
Improving educational resources for special needs children is a priority for Senator Boysko. She worked with the deaf and hard of hearing community, including supporting legislation to ensure that language goals are identified and met, including raising awareness for late-onset childhood hearing loss. Senator Boysko is also working to expand services for the growing number of adults who are aging out of the school system with intellectual and developmental disabilities.