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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Jan. 27, 2024:
Paperwork to prove disabilities a burden to some college students
Reported by VPM News’ Megan Pauly
Virginia lawmakers recently advanced a proposal seeking to streamline documentation universities require from students asking for accommodations.
The legislation, sponsored by Del. Laura Jane Cohen (D–Fairfax), would require all public colleges and universities to accept any student’s Individualized Education Program updated in the last three years of high school as proof of their disability.
The bill aims to eliminate the need for an “unnecessary, often costly psychological or medical evaluation for students with previously documented disabilities,” Cohen said in a Wednesday committee meeting.
Cohen, whose child with autism is a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University, said she heard from other families whose kids were applying to state colleges and were having to repeatedly prove a student’s disability in order to receive accommodations.
Henry L. Marsh III, Richmond’s first Black mayor, dies at 91
Reported by VPM News
Henry Leander Marsh III — a civil rights attorney, longtime state senator and Richmond’s first Black mayor — died Friday. He was 91.
"It's going to be difficult to give him the honors that he deserves, because he did so much in so many different areas," U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott said Friday during a visit to the General Assembly. "It was his legal work that really transformed Virginia."
Most of the employment discrimination and school desegregation cases that shaped the commonwealth "probably have the name Hill, Tucker and Marsh on the lawsuit," Scott said.
Born in Richmond Dec. 10, 1933, Marsh graduated from Maggie L. Walker High School and Virginia Union University before receiving a law degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C.
In other news:
- On the agenda: Right-to-Counsel for Evictions Program, emergency response and rental inspections (VPM News)
- Push to mandate elected school boards in Virginia hits dead end (Virginia Mercury)
- Va. to receive $107.4M in updated opioids settlement (Virginia Business)*
- RPS to pay hourly workers for unplanned week off due to water crisis (The Richmonder)
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
