When it came to convincing Gov. Youngkin to support his legislation involving schools, Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington-Fairfax) had a win-some, lose-some session.
The governor on April 5 signed HB 947, a Lopez bill giving localities the power to regulate the location of vape shops and other venues that deal in nicotine products, including a prohibition of operating within 1,000 linear feet of a school or day-care facility.
There are some exceptions: Existing facilities will have their previous approvals grandfathered in, and the measure does not apply to convenience stores or gas stations.
The bill passed on votes of 99-0 in the House of Delegates and 40-0 in the state Senate before heading to the governor.
But when it came to mandating more student involvement in the operation of individual school districts, the governor took exception to a separate Lopez bill.
Youngkin on April 8 vetoed HB 957, which if enacted would have directed the Commission on Civic Education to develop guidance to local school boards for better inclusion of student voices in decision-making.
In his veto message, the governor called the intent of the bill “commendable,” but said it went too far.
“While some local school boards may currently choose to incorporate some student representation, the commonwealth should not establish a model that implies a state mandate,” he said in his veto message.
As submitted at the start of the 2024 session, Lopez’s bill would have required the school boards of Virginia’s 133 cities and counties to include either an elected or appointed student member, something similar to Fairfax County. There, a student representative has been on the board for decades, albeit for most of that time (including the present day) without voting power.
That concept was amended out of the bill during the legislative session before ending up on Youngkin’s desk.
