Thousands of the state's students were excused from mandatory school attendance during the 2010-11 school year due to religious exemptions, according to a study by the Child Advocacy Clinic at the University of Virginia law school. But once a family receives the exemption, parents are not required to show proof of alternative education.
Yvonne Bunn of the Home Educators Association of Virginia told the AP parents who seek the exemption “would probably rather go to jail rather than put their children in school [id.], because they have very strong convictions that they’re following what God has directed them to do.”
In 2010-11, 7,296 students were granted religious exemptions, up from 5,479 during the 2002-03 school year. According to Block, 7,000 represents more than the number of students enrolled in three-quarters of the school divisions in Virginia, and more than those enrolled in Charlottesville.
Additionally, “If children with religious exemptions are not receiving any education, it could well mean that the statute, as applied, impermissibly violates their fundamental right to an education under the Virginia Constitution and is therefore unconstitutional,” the study states.
In Missouri, an amendment passed by voters last month reaffirmed students' right to pray in schools. But another part of the amendment reads, "no student shall be compelled to perform or participate in academic assignments or educational presentations that violate his or her religious beliefs [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/missouri-right-to-pray-am_n_1757665.html ]."
Critics said the clause will create confusion by giving students the power to refuse completing assignments they claim violate their religious beliefs.
Existing Va. abortion clinics lose exemption from strict building rules
By Laura Vozzella, Published: September 14, 2012
RICHMOND — Virginia’s Board of Health did an about-face on abortion regulations Friday, voting to impose strict, hospital-style building standards even on existing clinics and reversing its June decision.
The reversal came two days after the office of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) sent a letter to board members advising them against grandfathering clinics — and warning that they could be personally liable for legal fees if they were sued after ignoring his legal advice.
“There’s lot of people who are really fired up,” said Connie Boyer, 59, a retired computer programmer who was one of hundreds demonstrating outside the meeting and who held a sign reading “Stop the War on Virginia Women.” She added: “You talk about the Arab Spring. Well, we’ve got the same thing going on here.”
The board’s 13 to 2 decision also could have implications for next year’s race for governor — endearing Cuccinelli even more to the conservative activists expected to dominate the 2013 nominating convention but perhaps hurting him with swing voters if he gets to the general election.
Some of the state’s 20 abortion clinics have said they will go out of business if forced to make the costly renovations required to meet the new architectural standards.
The board’s decision is not the final word on the matter: The architectural rules face more hurdles in a review process that is expected to stretch into next year.
Even so, hundreds of activists on both sides of the abortion issue flocked to a Henrico County office park for the meeting, expressing either delight or outrage at the outcome.
“Shame! Shame! Shame!” abortion rights advocates chanted once the vote was tallied. “Women are going to die!” Some yelled obscenities as security officers, who had used metal-detecting wands on everyone entering the meeting room, ushered them out.
Within seconds of the vote, Victoria Cobb of the Family Foundation of Virginia issued a news release praising the decision and calling claims that clinics would close “hysterical.”
“We are pleased that the Board wasn’t fooled by the abortion industry’s distractions from the real issue of abortion centers in Virginia found with bloody patient tables, unsanitized conditions and untrained staffs,” Cobb said in the statement, referring to clinic inspection reports she had publicized in the days leading up to the meeting.
But some board members said they’d had a genuine change of heart after the board voted 7 to 4 in June to give clinics a reprieve.
“I regretfully admit I was operating under a lot of confusion” in June, said M. Catherine Slusher, a physician appointed by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R). “It’s not a matter of personal preferences. It’s a matter of the General Assembly has passed a law, and it’s up to us to create the regulations that abide with that law.”
Rather than capitulation to Cuccinelli and McDonnell, antiabortion activist Leslie Davis Blackwell saw the about-face as a “Saint Paul moment” — an epiphany like the one she had a few years ago after 30 years of abortion-rights activism. She addressed the gathering to say she’d had two abortions as a young woman and now deeply regrets them.
About 80 activists from both sides jammed the board’s meeting room, and 100 more were seated in overflow space next door. Hundreds more demonstrated for hours outside.
The two board members who voted to keep the exemption in place were H. Anna Jeng of Norfolk, who was appointed by then-governor Timothy M. Kaine (D), and James Edmondson of McLean, who was appointed by then-governor Mark R. Warner (D) and reappointed by Kaine.
Both urged their colleagues to resist Cuccinelli’s advice, saying that his office could not refuse to provide legal representation to them if they bucked his advice. Edmondson offered three amendments aimed at exempting current clinics or allowing the state health commissioner to grant variances. All three died in 13 to 2 votes.
Jeng left the meeting in tears. Edmondson, who risked missing his daughter’s wedding rehearsal in the District to attend the meeting, became emotional while talking with reporters afterward.
In June, the Board of Health had been expected to pass permanent regulations that were substantially the same as the emergency rules. It did so, but with a surprise amendment partially grandfathering in existing clinics.
Only 11 members were present for the June vote. In the interim, McDonnell filled a vacancy on the board with John W. Seeds, an obstetrician-gynecologist who performed abortions in the past but is now a vocal critic of the procedure.
Post Poll: Obama up 8 points over Romney in Virginia September 18, 2012 With just seven weeks of campaigning left before the November election, President Obama holds a clear lead over Mitt Romney in Virginia, buoyed by growing optimism about the state of the country and fueled by a gender gap working in his favor, according to a new Washington Post poll [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/polling/obama-leads-romney-virginia-washington-post/2012/09/18/fc0bc590-01ad-11e2-bbf0-e33b4ee2f0e8_page.html ]. Obama leads his Republican rival by 52 percent to 44 percent among likely voters. Among all registered voters, the president leads by 50 percent to 43 percent, a margin identical to that recorded in a survey in early May. That indicates that Romney has made up little apparent ground against Obama during four intense months of advertising and campaign visits. Virginia is critical to Romney’s hopes of winning the White House. Without the commonwealth, his path to 270 electoral votes would become significantly more difficult. Along with Ohio and Florida, Virginia will be one of the most fiercely contested of all the battleground states, reflecting the importance that both campaigns put on its 13 electoral votes. [...] http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/post-poll-obama-up-8-points-over-romney-in-virginia/2012/09/18/ca691d9a-0193-11e2-9367-4e1bafb958db_story.html [with comments]
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