Governor Abigail Spanberger continues to sign pieces of legislation sent to her by the General Assembly into law.
The governor signed eight pieces of legislation Thursday. One aims to train teachers to identify students with mental health challenges. Another offers funds for support staff for at-risk students.
And one from Roanoke-area officials Delegate Sam Rasoul, a Democrat, and Senator David Suetterlein, a Republican, expands the Community Builders Pilot program, which aims to keep kids out of trouble after school and over the summer.
“What we find is when we invest in children early, building good habits, especially in middle school," Rasoul told Radio IQ. "it helps them make better choices and lessens their propensity to be involved in gang and gun violence.”
The program covers both Roanoke and Petersburg public school systems.
Other efforts signed Thursday include new standardized safety rules for public pools. Another aims to assess school meal debt across the commonwealth’s school divisions. All the bills Spanberger signed Thursday passed unanimously or with bipartisan support.
Here's a list of the bills she signed with descriptions from her office:
- HB1071 (Delegate Amy Laufer) — Strengthening training on red flag laws. Passed unanimously.
- HB38 (Delegate Rozia Henson, Jr.) — Training teachers to help identify students experiencing mental health challenges. Passed with bipartisan support.
- HB171 (Delegate Alex Askew) — Protecting kids by modernizing required internet safety education in schools. Passed with bipartisan support.
- HB592 (Delegate Shelly Simonds) — Permitting school boards to provide teachers with wearable panic alarm systems in the classroom to more quickly alert law enforcement during emergencies. Passed unanimously.
- HB195 (Delegate Delores McQuinn), SB33 (Senator Barbara Favola) — Investing in greater classroom support for at-risk students. Passed unanimously.
- HB1153 (Delegate Sam Rasoul), SB820 (Senator David Suetterlein) — Reducing youth violence by expanding the Community Builders Pilot Program established in Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools. Passed with bipartisan support.
- HB222 (Delegate Patrick Hope) — Adopting standardized safety rules to make sure children are safe at public pools. Passed with bipartisan support.
- HB210 (Delegate Cia Price) — Directing a statewide report to assess school meal debt in Virginia school divisions. Passed with bipartisan support.
