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Our Views: Bill will notify teachers of protective orders — good ... why not teachers, too?

The reason: When a court issues such a protective order, it is only required to inform the school’s principal. The buck stops there. The principal is not required to tell any of the pertinent personnel who regularly deal with the affected students — for instance, their teachers.

The result: A bill, inspired by this case, has been introduced in the General Assembly by a Newport News lawmaker that would require all critical personnel to be apprised of a protective order affecting two students at the same school.
The legislation makes sense. As Francesca’s mother stated, the “notification is useless if it’s kept a secret from teachers.” They, to be sure, are, or should be, on a need-to-know basis. But there is where the buck should stop. Teachers should never allow this bit of information to become hot gossip around the school.

(Click for full OpEd)

House legislation has local roots

A bill filed in the House of Delegates by Del. Marcia “Cia” Price, D-Newport News, originated with the family of a former student at Handley High School.
If passed into law, House Bill 1997 would require school principals to inform all relevant personnel of a protective order issued in a case involving two students who attend the same school.
Currently, when a court issues such a protective order — one meant to protect one student from another — the court is then required to inform the school’s principal. But, Price said on Thursday, there is no requirement for the principal to then inform the teachers of those students.

“The information typically stops [at the principal],” Price said. “It’s important that it not stop there.”

Krizek co-patrons legislation to ban smoking in cars with minors

Today, I want to highlight three really good bills that I will be co-patroning.
The first is a bill from Delegate Marcia Price (95th district) that adjusts the protocol of the Department of Emergency Management. Currently, in the Virginia Code there is no language that instructs the Department of Emergency Management to have a concrete plan to help those with limited English proficiency.
Delegate Price’s bill states that the Department of Emergency Services shall develop an emergency response plan to address the needs of individuals with limited English proficiency in the event of a disaster. This includes interpretation services and the translation of documents.
I applaud Delegate Price for this critical piece of legislation which will no doubt save lives in the event of a natural disaster.

Some Lawmakers Want to Require Minimum Wage for Piecework Laborers in Virginia

The minimum wage does not apply to all workers, and Virginia law has several categories of workers who are exempt. Although, some lawmakers want to change that.

Newsboys. Shoe-shine boys. Ushers. Doormen. Concession attendants. Theater cashiers. Employers who hire people to fill these jobs are not required to pay the minimum wage.
Delegate Cia Price of Newport News says these exemptions have an unfortunate history.
“It was during the Jim Crow era, and so this is specifically historically racist language, part of our dark past that is still in the code of Virginia. And it’s really time to get rid of that Jim Crow era language.”
Those aren’t the only exemptions. Virginia law also exempts people who get paid on the basis of the amount of work done.

Senator Janet Howell of Reston is introducing a bill to get rid of that exemption in honor of her mother, who was a union organizer who help organize piecework laborers.
“My mother would be very proud to have Virginia join every other state in guaranteeing that pieceworkers got the minimum wage.”
Several lawmakers are introducing bills that would increase the minimum wage, although Republicans say those efforts have little chance of making it out of the GOP-controlled General Assembly.
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From 1619 to 2019: Virginia lawmakers back in session, 4 centuries after first meeting

Four hundred years after Virginia lawmakers first met in Jamestown, the state’s General Assembly gaveled in Wednesday, kicking off a time-pressed, 46-day session testing lawmakers’ abilities to agree on what to do with a $1.2 billion federal tax windfall.our hundred years after Virginia lawmakers first met in Jamestown, the state’s General Assembly gaveled in Wednesday, kicking off a time-pressed, 46-day session testing lawmakers’ abilities to agree on what to do with a $1.2 billion federal tax windfall.

(Click for more coverage and photos from the day)