The Senate met Monday morning for a lengthy floor session.
During the session, Senator Joey Garcia (D – Marion, 13) attempted a discharge motion to pull Senate Bill 972 from the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee and bring it directly before the full body for consideration. The motion was tabled.
After the motion was tabled, Senator Garcia requested that all bills on third reading be read in their entirety, meaning the full text of each bill must be read aloud before final passage.
Senate Bill 972, known as “Raylee’s Law,” would would pause a request for not just homeschoolers during a pending child abuse investigation; it would also impact parents in the same situation looking to move their child to a private school or microschool. Child Protective Services would have to complete the investigation within 10 days under the bill.
The legislation, which was named for an eight-year-old girl who died of horrific abuse and neglect in 2018 after her teachers notified CPS of potential abuse, prompting her parent to move her to homeschooling.
The Senate also advanced several bills, including Senate Bill 1077 and Senate Bill 459.
Senate Bill 1077 would require county school districts to offer vocational agriculture programs to students and limit the circumstances under which those programs can be eliminated.
Under the bill, a district could only terminate its agriculture program if it had the lowest enrollment among all vocational education programs, and it would have to report its reasoning to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.
Senate Bill 459 would update state custody law to promote meaningful contact between a child and his or her siblings, including half-siblings and step-siblings.
The bill adds step-siblings to the list of relationships courts should consider in serving a child’s best interest, when an established bond exists, and the step-sibling lives at least part-time with the biological parent.
Both bills passed the full Senate and were reported to the House of Delegates for consideration.
Afternoon Meetings:
Finance at 3 p.m. in Room 451M
Judiciary at 3:15 p.m. in Room 208W
The Senate is in recess until 4:30 p.m.
