Criminal cases; sentencing by jury. Providesthat if a jury finds a person guilty of a criminal offense, suchjury shall ascertain the punishment of the offense. Under currentlaw, unless the accused has requested that the jury ascertain punishment,the court shall fix punishment after the accused has been found guiltyby a jury.
Carrying a firearm or explosive material withinCapitol Square and the surrounding area, into building owned or leasedby the Commonwealth, etc.; penalty. Repeals the prohibition oncarrying a firearm or explosive material within (i) the Capitol ofVirginia; (ii) Capitol Square and the surrounding area; (iii) anybuilding owned or leased by the Commonwealth or any agency thereof;or (iv) any office where employees of the Commonwealth or any agencythereof are regularly present for the purpose of performing theirofficial duties. Current law makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for anyperson to carry a firearm or explosive material within these areas, subject to certain exceptions, including the following individualswhile acting in the conduct of such person's official duties: anylaw-enforcement officer, any authorized security personnel, any activemilitary personnel, any fire marshal when such fire marshal has beengranted police powers, or any member of a cadet corps while suchmember is participating in an official ceremonial event for the Commonwealth.
Public elementary and secondary schools; student citizenship skills; certain instructional policies prohibited; parental rights; disclosures; penalties; other remedies. Requires the Board of Education to incorporate into each relevant Standard of Learning and associated curriculum framework a requirement that each student demonstrate the understanding of, among other concepts, the fundamental moral, political, and intellectual foundations of the American experiment in self-government, as well as the history, qualities, traditions, and features of civic engagement in the United States. The bill prohibits any public school teacher or other instructional staff member from being required to discuss any current event or widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs and provides that any such employee who chooses to discuss any such event or issue in the scope of his instructional duties shall, to the best of his ability, strive to explore such issues from diverse and contending perspectives, without giving deference to any one perspective. The bill prohibits the Board and Department of Education and each local school board from teaching, instructing, or training certain individuals and groups, including teachers and students, to support, believe, endorse, embrace, confess, act upon, or otherwise assent to a divisive concept, as defined in the bill, or penalizing or discriminating against any such individual or group for refusing to do so. The bill also prohibits any school board or employee thereof from teaching or incorporating into any course or class any such divisive concept or creating a position or hiring a consultant with the job title of equity director or diversity director or a substantially similar title and with a job description that includes any activity that would result in a violation of a provision of the bill. The bill further declares that the parent of each student enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school has the right to be aware of all curricula, instructional materials, lessons, and other forms of instruction provided to his child and may request that the student's teacher provide any such item for review. Finally, the bill provides that in the event that a local school board finds that a school board employee has persistently, knowingly, and intentionally violated any of the bill's provisions, the parent of any student affected by such violations may request and the local school board shall provide a voucher in an amount equal to all sums from any source that the local school board received for the education of such student and the parent shall use such voucher to provide for the education of his child in any setting set forth in relevant law.
Study; Department of Education; purpose and goals of public education; report. Requests that the Department of Education study the purpose and goals of public education by encouraging input from the citizens of the Commonwealth, including parents, teachers, school administrators, and local school board members, to clarify (i) the broader purpose of public education in light of the fundamental goal of public education, as expressed by the General Assembly and the Board of Education, and (ii) the specific measurable outcomes that education laws, regulations, policies, and practices should help to achieve in order to further such broader purpose and such fundamental goal.
Absentee voting in person; available beginningon the tenth day prior to election. Limits absentee voting inperson to the ten days immediately preceding an election.
Commending Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable JohnHowson Rust, Jr.
Carrying a firearm or explosive material withinCapitol Square and the surrounding area, into building owned or leasedby the Commonwealth, etc.; penalty. Repeals the prohibition oncarrying a firearm or explosive material within (i) the Capitol ofVirginia; (ii) Capitol Square and the surrounding area; (iii) anybuilding owned or leased by the Commonwealth or any agency thereof;or (iv) any office where employees of the Commonwealth or any agencythereof are regularly present for the purpose of performing theirofficial duties. Current law makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for anyperson to carry a firearm or explosive material within these areas, subject to certain exceptions, including the following individualswhile acting in the conduct of such person's official duties: anylaw-enforcement officer, any authorized security personnel, any activemilitary personnel, any fire marshal when such fire marshal has beengranted police powers, or any member of a cadet corps while suchmember is participating in an official ceremonial event for the Commonwealth.
Falun Gong; Persecution by Chinese CommunistParty. Condemns the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners bythe Chinese Communist Party.
Relocation of monument and memorials. Requiresa locality that votes to remove, relocate, contextualize, or covercertain war monuments or memorials to initiate a process to giftthe monument or memorial to a nonprofit organization that is mostrelated to the mission and spirit of the monument or memorial, atthe locality's expense. The bill provides that the placement of themonument or memorial shall be decided by an independent committeeand that a majority vote by the committee as to the relocation ofthe memorial is binding on the locality and shall be carried out within six months from the date of the committee's decision.
