A few weeks ago in our district, in a town built on former plantation land by freed slaves, the Clifton Town Council raised a banner, “Welcome to Clifton Where Black Lives Matter.”
In a Commonwealth where we have acquiesced to systemic racism expressed in an unequal education system; high mortality rates for Black mothers; a justice system that harshly punishes behavior by African-American youth that is tolerated in others; denies people of color access to quality jobs, credit, and housing; and, now, increased death in communities of color from the coronavirus, we must take action to create real change. I will be looking for and listening for opportunities to make systemic change during upcoming extraordinary meetings of the Committee on Public Safety, where I sit. And I hope many of you will share with me your thoughts on legislative solutions to some of our greatest challenges.
Tackling the difficult challenges is not radical. On the contrary, it’s toward a more perfect union that we strive because we love our country and want its promise of prosperity to be shared by all Americans. In Clifton, in the rest of our district, in our Commonwealth, and in our Country, we must not only state firmly that “Black Lives Matter,” but then show we mean it. The banner is a start.
SCHOOL REOPENING PLANS
Fairfax County Public Schools’ deadline for families to select a learning option for the fall is tomorrow, Wednesday, July 15. FCPS also announced that it will delay the start of school until Tuesday, September 8, to provide staff with more time to prepare for the school year.
The FCPS Plan has 2 options. Families may choose in-person learning two days a week and distance learning three days a week or 100% distance learning. More details about the school system’s plan can be found here.
Prince William County Public Schools shared four back-to-school options with its school board for the 2020-21 school year. The PWCS School Board has scheduled a final vote on a reopening plan at a meeting tomorrow, July 15.
The Board considered four options:
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Plan 1: All virtual learning with live and recorded lessons
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Plan 2: 25% Model – provides instruction for students in person one day a week, offline or online instruction four days a week with the fifth day for cleaning and virtual office hours
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Plan 3: 50% Model – provides instruction for students in person two days a week with offline or online instruction three days a week, with the fifth day for cleaning and virtual office hours
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Plan 4: return to school as normal: due to capacity and social distancing requirements of VDOE and VDH, not a possibility at the moment
The School Division also encouraged delaying the first day of school for students to September 8. After lengthy conversation, the Board came to a consensus on Plan 3, with the final votes by the School Board on these topics occurring tomorrow.
COMMUNITY CHECK-INS
Our team is continuing to make check-in calls to members of the community to ensure that our neighbors can put food on the table and navigate any issues they may be having. I was glad to join some of the incredible interns on our team who have been helping with this critical work—and thank you to all who are participating!
If you are interested in being a part of these efforts, let us know here.
COMMITTEE UPDATES
Beginning next week, the Public Safety and Courts of Justice committees will begin joint meetings to review criminal justice and police reform priorities ahead of August’s special session. As a member of the Public Safety Committee, I welcome the voices of constituents as we consider the legislation before us.
Linked you may find a suggested framework from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus which highlights many of the priorities we look forward to tackling.
As always, if there is anything my office can do to help you, please let me know. I hope you are staying safe and healthy.
Warm Regards,
Dan