The School Board dropped its forced vaccination policy on Wednesday, February 16, in a 5-3 vote. The vaccination requirement took effect earlier this month, leaving about eight percent of the school division's unvaccinated workforce, about 960 employees, facing suspension if they chose not to submit to weekly testing.
According to the school division, 92% of its 12,013 employees got the jab. For those who didn't, some were suspended earlier this month, while others were forced to go to testing clinics operated by contractors from the state's health department to keep their jobs.
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A bill in the Virginia Senate gives parents mask choice for their children in public schools advanced on Wednesday and will head to the House of Delegates.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he would sign the bill and use emergency powers to implement the law to take effect sooner than July 1, the time when most new laws take effect.
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The centers that power the internet, they say, will help take the burden off residents when it comes to funding the government school division's ambitious $1.5 billion proposed budget, 14% higher than the previous year.
The spending plan for Fiscal Year 2023 starting July 1, Superintendent Dr. LaTanya McDade would spend $71 million for teacher pay raises (a cost-of-living and step increase). The raises will make the school division more competitive as it competes with surrounding jurisdictions to hire and maintain educators, said McDade.
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On Tuesday, the 28-year-old educator who works with children with autism at an elementary school in Woodbridge was shown the door. Administrators suspended her without pay because she didn't get a coronavirus vaccine and refused to comply with the division's weekly-testing mandate.
After three years on the job, Simms misses her students and their parents, with whom she's formed close bonds.
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Palmer Denny, 17, a Junior at Colgan Senior High School, recently performed a study at his school. He wore the hat with the words "Trump 2024: Take America Back." He spoke about the study at the January 12 School Board meeting.
He received multiple responses from his peers in school -- everything from nasty comments to death threats. He logged each one as part of his research.
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A new strategic plan for Prince William County Public Schools involves:
- Improving student scores.
- Applying families in the learning process.
- Developing new hiring strategies for teachers while focusing on equity and inclusion.
- Ending "get tough" approaches to student discipline.
Schools Superintendent Dr. LaTayna McDade will present the plan at a School Board meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 12.
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A plan to enhance pedestrian safety outside Yorkshire Elementary School just got a funding boost.
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors transferred $83,000 in leftover funds from a project to widen Purcell Road, near Dale City, to a plan to complete a portion of the sidewalk near the school and improve the street on which the school is located, Old Centreville Road.
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Residents hoping to ask questions about Critical Race Theory and its possible application in the classroom left disappointed Monday night.
More than 100 people attended a town hall meeting about Culturally Responsive Instruction on Monday night at the Prince William County Public Schools headquarters. They were not permitted to ask about CRT -- a decades-old framework that views all facets of society through race.
Woodbridge District School Board Member Loree Williams organized the town hall. She wouldn't entertain questions about CRT, a hot topic during the November 2 Virginia Gubernatorial Campaign that swept Republicans into statewide office, including Governor-Elect Glenn Youngkin, after two years of Democratic control.
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[Updated 9:55 p.m] Prince William County Public Schools added another layer of protection for students and employees, vowing to not discriminate based on race, religion, gender, or gender identity.
The county School Board passed a new regulation affirming equal rights, adding to an existing policy that contains the same language. The School Board approved the new regulation at its meeting on Tuesday, October 20.
School Superintendent Dr. LaTayna McDade told elected School Board members the new regulation puts the government school division into compliance with state and federal laws banning discrimination.
