House Republicans say parents need to play a bigger role in the education of their children, and they are hoping the General Assembly might take action to make sure that school systems keep them informed about what's happening in the classroom.
Delegate Nick Freitas is a Republican from Culpeper who introduced one bill along those lines. "All we did is we said if you are going to invite a speaker from outside the school system to come in and speak to our children we would like an email notification that's going to take place. And then provide us some options if we decide we are not comfortable with it as parents," Freitas argued.
Now that the bill has passed the Republican-controlled House, it'll soon be considered in the Democratically controlled Senate.
Senator Louise Lucas is a Democrat from Portsmouth who is chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee. "I just think it's utter foolishness," Lucas quipped. "It's just a whole lot of unnecessary drama, and for what? Why do we have to let everybody in the world know any time someone is going to come to a school to speak to students?"
She says the bill Freitas introduced probably won't get very far in her committee.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.