House committee approves legislation mandating in-person instruction Virginia Capitol. (Source: Capital News Service) By Joe Dashiell | WDBJ | February 22, 2021 at 10:10 PM EST - Updated February 22 at 10:10 PM
RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - A House of Delegates committee has approved legislation that calls for a return to in-person learning before the start of the next school year.
Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant (R-Henrico) and Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Henrico) have been working to craft a compromise and build bipartisan support for the measure, which would take effect on July first.
Senate Bill 1303 requires in-person instruction but includes exceptions if a school is experiencing a COVID outbreak. Parents can also opt-out.
By SARAH RANKINFebruary 22, 2021 GMT
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Virginia lawmakers advanced a new version of bipartisan school-reopening legislation Monday, moving to tighten the requirements for in-person instruction that districts must offer in the next school year.
The lawmakers negotiating the bill said the latest version aims to require school districts grappling with the pandemic to offer a full-time, in-person option for students, with limited exceptions. If a school has high levels of coronavirus transmission, it could temporarily revert to virtual learning under the measure, said the lawmakers, a Democrat who is a teacher and a Republican who is a doctor.
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Lawmakers pass bill to keep schools from suing over student meal debt By Noah Fleischman Capital News Service | February 22, 2021 at 7:38 PM EST - Updated February 22 at 10:21 PM
RICHMOND, Va. - Adelle Settle learned in 2017 that school lunches were being taken out of children’s hands when they couldn’t pay for the meal. Instead, children were given a cheese sandwich or a snack.
Settle was inspired to start Settle the Debt, a nonprofit organization that pays off school meal debt at Prince William County schools. The organization has raised almost $200,000 in almost four years, Settle said.
“It leaves the kid hungry, you’re not giving the child an adequate meal at that point and people see it,” Settle said. “It makes them feel terrible about themselves, so I just wanted to make sure that we were not stigmatizing children in a place where they go to feel safe.”
Lawmakers pass bill to keep schools from suing over student meal debt wtkr.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wtkr.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Jahd Khalil has this report from Richmond.
The bill was originally composed of one line proposed by a Senator, Siobhan Dunnavant (R-Henrico), that simply required schools to offer in person learning immediately, due to an emergency clause.
After a number of Senate Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill without the emergency clause, House Democrats have been shaping the bill in that chamber’s education committee.
Credit AP Photo / Keith Srakocic, File
The bill would require school districts to offer in-person learning for students, if the children’s parents opt for it. It requires teachers and staff to be offered a vaccine before it goes into effect. And it guarantees teachers will teach virtually if they have COVID-19 or were exposed to the Coronavirus.