With drug overdoses continuing to strain Virginia communities, a proposal requiring schools to notify parents of overdose cases is gaining momentum in the General Assembly. However, lawmakers remain divided on whether schools should report “suspected” overdoses or only “confirmed” cases, a key sticking point that could shape the bill’s final language.
Virginia recorded 21,881 drug overdose emergency department visits in 2023, a 2% decrease from 2022, according to recent data by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). Despite the slight decline, fentanyl overdoses remain a major concern, prompting legislative action.
Sen. Glen Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield, who sponsored Senate Bill 1240, supports a House amendment expanding the reporting requirement to include colleges and universities. His bill cleared the House Education Committee on Monday, but now faces further scrutiny in the full House. This comes after a similar proposal by Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William, failed in the Democratic-controlled House by 42-57 last session.
“We don’t want schools to wait until law enforcement confirms it, or the hospital does the toxicology or the blood work to confirm that it was, in fact, an overdose,” Sturtevant said. “We want them to sort of err on the side of providing more information sooner to parents because if we [wait] … it can take a week or longer for lab results to get back.”
A related measure, House Bill 2774, sponsored by Del. J.J. Singh, D-Loudoun, also advanced to the Senate floor. Singh’s proposal was merged with HB 2424 and HB 2287, carried by Dels. Geary Higgins, R-Loudoun, and Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield, showing strong bipartisan interest in addressing the crisis.
“I think we would do well to take the input from everybody, from the governor’s office, from the Senate and the House, and come up with [the right] approach,” Singh said, expressing confidence in the bill’s final passage.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration has made fentanyl prevention a priority, signing two executive orders related to overdose response during his tenure.
Executive Order 26 outlined a “comprehensive” strategy to combat fentanyl and opioid abuse, while Executive Order 28 directed the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to ensure school divisions notify parents of school-connected overdoses within 24 hours.
The urgency behind the second order came after nine opioid overdoses were documented in Loudoun County Public Schools in October 2023. The administration criticized the district for waiting more than 20 days to notify parents, despite evidence of multiple such cases.
However, Executive Order 28 did not specify a deadline for when VDOE should issue guidance, and lawmakers say a legislative mandate for VDOE and tVDH to set clear school protocols is long overdue.
Higgins said he doesn’t understand why schools hesitate to notify parents but hopes the bill will require school divisions to report where an overdose occurred and include “suspected” cases — not just confirmed ones.
“We’re not trying to point out anybody or anything,” Higgins said. “We’re trying to make sure parents know what’s going on and if you don’t know what’s going on, how do you fix it?”
With both bills now reaching each chamber, lawmakers have until Saturday’s session deadline to hammer out the final language — ensuring schools balance transparency with accuracy in overdose reporting.
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Groups of Virginia education leaders want answers about why Indigenous Peoples’ Day was removed from state standards dictating what students should learn about American history since the Board of Education adopted the revised standards two years ago.
While the holiday was omitted during the revision process, it was put back in before the final adoption of the standards in 2023. This week, some education leaders noticed that Indigenous Peoples Day was missing in the online versions of the standards for the state’s youngest schoolchildren.
“What else is in the standards (that) has been changed or removed?” asked Chris Jones, executive director for the Virginia Association for Teaching, Learning and Leading (VATLL), an education advocacy group. He said the holiday’s removal has led leaders to suspect changes could have also been made to the instructional guides meant to help teachers implement the history standards into their lessons, which could be the reason some of the guides have still not been released, after a two-year delay.
“But because we don’t know, and nothing is really being communicated publicly, we’re of course left to make assumptions,” Jones said.
Indigenous Peoples Day’s addition and subtraction
Some educators and advocates noticed the holiday was missing recently by comparing the history and social science standards approved by the Board of Education two years ago to the online versions for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd-grade history courses.
In each of the three grade levels, the standards state that students would be required to apply history and social science skills to explain how communities honor state and national traditions and recognize designated Virginia holidays, including, “Columbus Day (also known as Indigenous Peoples’ Day).”
However, the online versions excluded the mention of Indigenous Peoples Day, which was made a state holiday in 2019, to recognize the histories and cultures of Indigenous people. It’s also an alternative to Columbus Day, named after the 15th century explorer of the Americas who paved the way for the colonization and decimation of Indigenous communities.
The holiday was also removed from the standards during the process before the board placed it back in.
A VDOE spokesperson confirmed Thursday afternoon, after the agency was contacted about the holiday missing from the online versions of some standards, that the “oversight” has been corrected.
“[The department] has reviewed the footage of the Board of Education work session discussion on April 19, 2023 and Board approval of Item G on April 20, 2023 and it seems to have been an oversight by the Department to not include “Indigenous People’s Day” as a parenthetical notation next to Columbus Day,” the spokesperson wrote to the Mercury. “To align with board action, we have made the correction which is now reflected online throughout the 2023 history SOL documents.”
Still, some education advocates view the change as a “violation” of the public input process to revise the state’s history and social science standards, which set student learning expectations and are assessed through Standards of Learning tests. State law requires the standards be reviewed every seven years.
The initial omission of the Indigenous Peoples Day perplexed some educators.
“It’s interesting because all of us felt like we remembered seeing, ‘also known as Indigenous Peoples’ Day’ in there, and it being a significant part of the discussion, and so when they came out, there was a little bit of confusion,” said Danyael Graham, president of the Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium.
Long-delayed instructional guides prompt more concerns
Graham said the organization, made up of history educators, is also concerned about the lack of direction for implementing the standards, especially for smaller districts going through textbook adoptions, and the delay of providing instructional guides for teachers.
Instructional guides, according to the education department, provide educators guidance on implementing the recently adopted 2023 History and Social Science Standards of Learning and transition away from the 2015 history standards, the most recent version before the 2023 update.
Jones wrote a letter on Feb. 13 to the Board of Education on behalf of VATLL’s policy team requesting the release of the instructional guides.
He wrote that if schools do not perform adequately on the SOL test next year, the department’s “dereliction of duty, and not the work of Virginia’s teachers, will be the key source of underperformance.”
In response, Lisa Coons, then-superintendent of public instruction, notified Jones that several guides have already been published: Grade 5 United States History to 1865, Grade 6 United States History: 1865 to the present, Grade 7 Civics and Economics and Grade 12 Virginia and United States Government.
Coons wrote that the remaining history instructional guides have been undergoing “copy edits” and were planned to be released the week of February 24.
However, as of Wednesday afternoon, the agency had not published all of the remaining guidelines.
Coons also resigned on March 19, with questions remaining about her decision. Emily Anne Gullickson, former chief deputy secretary of education, replaced Coons as the acting state superintendent.
Jones said Coons’ resignation “absolutely” elevated the concern that the guidelines will be even further delayed.
“Right now, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that the people should know,” Jones said. “We’ve started pulling at the thread with the instructional guides, but this idea of removing something from the standards, I think that’s ‘wow.’”
On Friday, more than a dozen educational organizations — including the Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium, Virginia Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators and VATLL — plan to submit a letter to the Virginia Board of Education requesting an implementation delay of the 2023 revised History and Social Science Standards of Learning for one year.
A VDOE spokesperson said producing high-quality history instructional guides for teachers is a “top priority” and agency staff will be providing an update to the Board of Education at its work session on March 26, which will include a release timeline.
The spokesperson added that the department has been reviewing the instructional guides and all corresponding linked resources to ensure compliance with recent federal executive actions.
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www.youtube.com – NBC4 Washington – 2025-03-20 22:43:57
SUMMARY: A federal judge has blocked the deportation of Badar Khan Siri, a Georgetown University researcher detained by Homeland Security agents for allegedly spreading Hamas propaganda. Siri, an Indian citizen on a student visa, was arrested outside his home in Arlington. Supporters argue that the accusations are false and an infringement on free speech, drawing parallels to oppressive regimes. While a judge ruled against his deportation, Siri remains in detention at an ICE facility in Louisiana. His attorney has indicated that legal action will continue, with the ACLU of Virginia also filing a lawsuit on his behalf.
A federal judge ordered immigration officials not to deport a Georgetown scholar detained by the Trump administration and accused of spreading Hamas propaganda in the latest battle over speech on U.S. college campuses. Northern Virginia Bureau Reporter Drew Wilder is following the story.
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www.thecentersquare.com – By Sarah Roderick-Fitch | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-20 10:07:00
(The Center Square) – Legislation has been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives to ensure Coast Guard members receive the same 20-year retirement benefits as other branches of the military.
Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, introduced the Coast Guard Separation Parity Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at establishing “equal protections” for members of the Coast Guard by creating parity with the other armed forces.
The legislation would ensure that enlisted Coast Guard members who have served a minimum of 18 years would not be forced to depart the service two years shy of reaching a 20-year retirement. The proposal would provide them with the same protection and benefits as members of other armed forces.
Currently, Coast Guardsmen are not entitled to the same protections, which leaves them vulnerable to separation before the 20-year mark.
The Coast Guard is unique from other branches as it operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime and is the only branch of the armed forces with both civilian and military responsibilities. It has a workforce of over 57,000, including active duty, reserve and civilian personnel.
The lawmakers argue that the legislation would ensure “experienced personnel can complete their 20 years of service strengthens retention, morale, and fairness.”
“After years of dedicated service to our country, every member of our armed forces deserves the right to retire with the benefits they’ve earned – including the Coast Guard,” said Kiggans. “The Coast Guard Separation Parity Act ensures that the brave men and women who wear the uniform in our nation’s maritime force receive the same protections as their military counterparts in other branches. This is about fairness, recognizing the sacrifices of our Coast Guard, and ensuring these servicemembers are not forced out just before reaching retirement eligibility.”
The bipartisan legislation has received the support of several military-affiliated organizations.
