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Virginia Supreme Court ruling in autistic boy’s case makes clear: School boards immune from most lawsuits
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the Newport News School Board maintains broad immunity from personal injury lawsuits — a ruling expected to have implications on litigation against school boards across the state. In a unanimous decision May 8, the court said the School Board is immune from a $15 million lawsuit brought by the family of a 9-year-old autistic student who alleges he was assaulted and mistreated on a school bus in September 2022. That case will proceed against two other named defendants — a school bus driver and bus monitor — and the School Board will still be on the hook for paying their lawyer fees and any resulting judgments.
George Floyd’s death prompted calls for police reform. What changed in Virginia?
Five years have passed since the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Floyd’s death was the latest in a string of high-profile killings of Black men by law enforcement. Video filmed by a bystander went viral and catalyzed the Black Lives Matter movement into months of nationwide protests. Richmond — with its attention-grabbing Confederate monuments — became the eye of the storm in Virginia. The pressure revived criticisms of the Richmond Police Department from 2018, after the death of Marcus-David Peters, and drew fresh criticisms after the same department deployed tear gas on protesters.
From VPAP New Episode: The Virginia Press Room Podcast
In the latest episode of the podcast from VaNews and VPM, Michael Pope is joined by Karen Graham of the Loudoun Times-Mirror, Bill Atkinson of the Progress-Index, and VPM's Ben Paviour. They discuss the week's top headlines: coal magnates giving campaign funds for casinos, recall petitions in Purcellville, and Hopewell's city manager firing. Tune in for insights and analysis on Virginia politics. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.
New nursing home oversight laws will give Virginia power to hold ‘bad actors’ accountable
Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed bills into law aimed at improving care in Virginia's nursing homes by strengthening the state's abilities to oversee facilities and crack down on poor performers. In a statement to CBS 6, the Commonwealth's Secretary of Health and Human Resources Janet Kelly said because of the legislation, the Virginia Department of Health "finally has better tools to hold bad actors accountable" and indicated facilities that don't provide high-quality care should be "sanctioned or shut down."
What happens to Medicaid in Virginia if massive federal bill to slash billions becomes law?
[Last] week, Republicans in the U.S. House of Delegates advanced a mega bundle of bills designed to shave billions from the federal budget, which Democrats and advocates have said will take resources from the nation’s most vulnerable citizens and hinder social safety nets. Virginia’s congressional delegation was split along partisan lines on the measure, which cleared the House by one vote and is now up for consideration in the U.S. Senate. The 1,116-page package contains 11 total bills and is championed by President Donald Trump, and supported by Virginia’s Republican federal lawmakers including U.S. Reps. Rob Wittman, Jen Kiggans, John McGuire, Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith.
Virginia’s anti-DEI governor sees the light. Do we?
When governors speak, give them the benefit of the doubt. Just this once. Seven of Virginia’s former chief executives (four Republicans, three Democrats) were sending a clear message on May 17 during a Brown v. Board of Education commemoration at Virginia Commonwealth University, an event marking the 71st anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling. They were all in agreement that school segregation — the “separate but equal” doctrine overturned in 1954 — was wrong then as it is now.
Chaplick: Youngkin refuses to fight for disabled children like mine
In 2021, Glenn Youngkin seized a rare political opportunity in Virginia to persuade a bipartisan majority of Virginians to sweep him into office under the promise of education reform and parental rights. The watershed moment when everything changed occurred in his debate with former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who infamously said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” Youngkin wasted no time skewering McAuliffe with his own words and exploiting that gaffe to win over swing voters. Youngkin’s express promise was to fight for parents to achieve education reform for Virginia.
Jamestown loses federal grant for protection against rising waters
The Trump administration has canceled a $300,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant awarded to the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation last year. The grant, from NEH’s Climate Smart Humanities Organizations program, was intended to support mitigation strategies at Historic Jamestowne, which continues to be under threat from rising sea levels. Since 2022, when Jamestown was listed as one of the 11 most endangered historic sites by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Save Jamestown campaign has been raising money to protect the site from climate change.