Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 7, 1992 TAG: 9202070198
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
SCHOOL BOARD BILL OK'D
By more than a 3-to-1 margin, the House of Delegates advanced a bill Thursday that would allow voters to decide whether to elect their school boards.The House also gave final approval to a bill requiring parental notification when an unmarried minor seeks an abortion, and a Senate committee killed a measure to allow public schools to open before Labor Day.
Del. David Brickley's elected school boards bill advanced on a 77-23 vote. Brickley, D-Woodbridge, has been pushing such legislation for a decade.
A final vote is set today.
The House voted 63-36 to pass the parental notification abortion bill.
Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, said he supported the concept. But he said he could not vote for the bill because the House on Wednesday eliminated a provision that would have allowed a minister to be notified instead.
In making the change, Cranwell said, "we are not doing anything but denying young girls the counsel and advice they should be able to receive."
Del. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Martinsville and sponsor of the bill, had touted it as an effort to enhance family communication.
The bill includes a "judicial bypass" procedure to allow a girl to get an abortion without notifying her parents if a judge determines she is mature enough to give informed consent. It also allows a doctor to perform the abortion without notifying parents if he has reason to believe the child has been abused.
The Senate Education and Health Committee voted 8-7 to kill a bill that would have allowed schools to open before Labor Day. Public schools are required to open after the holiday unless they get an exemption.
The bill's sponsor, Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo, R-Fincastle, said he was concerned about the assembly "dictating to the school boards how to run their calendar." Tourism industry lobbyists spoke against the bill, saying it would interfere with family vacation plans.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.