UVA students disenrolled for vaccine noncompliance
CHARLOTTESVILLE — More than 200 University of Virginia students who didn’t comply with the school’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement have been disenrolled ahead of the fall semester.
The school disenrolled 238 students, including 49 students who were enrolled in fall courses, The Virginian-Pilot reported. That may mean that “a good number” of the remaining students “may not have been planning to return to the University this fall at all,” university spokesperson Brian Coy said.
The students were disenrolled after “receiving multiple reminders via email, text, phone calls, calls to parents that they were out of compliance,” Coy said. They can re-enroll if they comply with the vaccine requirement or file an exemption by Wednesday.
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About 96.6% of students have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a news release. The university granted 335 permanent vaccine waivers for students with religious or medical exemptions. Exempt students must be tested weekly and wear a mask in indoor and outdoor common spaces.
Newport News board to revisit transgender students policy
NEWPORT NEWS — The Newport News School Board has scheduled a special meeting for this week to reconsider a policy change to protect transgender students that the board voted down a week before.
At the meeting Thursday, the School Board will get another presentation on the policy change and procedures before voting on reconsidering them, The Daily Press reported.
In a 5-1 vote on Tuesday, with one member abstaining, the board rejected a change to the district’s equity policy that would have more explicitly protected transgender students. State law requires boards to pass policies to protect students who don’t identify with the gender they were assigned at birth by the start of the school year.
The move drew fire from parents, advocates and local officials. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-3rd, tweeted that he was “disappointed by this move to discriminate against transgender students.” Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News, said he hoped the board “will quickly reverse course.”
Newport News is one of the state’s largest districts and among the first in Hampton Roads to refuse to follow the law. Most board members said they wanted more information, citing their discomfort with parts of the guidelines.
Danville murder trial continued over jury candidate no-shows
DANVILLE — The Danville trial for a man charged in the death of a cab driver was continued Monday when too few people showed up for jury selection.
Danville Circuit Court Judge James Reynolds set a new trial date in December for James Fultz IV, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Wendy Harris in January, according to local news outlets.
Thirty-five potential jurors were needed at 9 a.m., but only about 25 showed by then. Twelve jurors and an alternate were needed for the two-day trial.
“It’s a damning statement on our community,” Reynolds said.
Fultz and the commonwealth are entitled to a trial by jury and 15 witnesses had set aside two days, he said.
Those who failed to attend “were abandoning their basic responsibility as citizens,” Reynolds said. They will have to explain why they shouldn’t be jailed and will be fined, he said.
Neither Reynolds nor Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Newman had experienced the situation before in Danville.
“It is extremely frustrating, especially for the victim’s family, who has already waited a long time for justice and now has to wait even longer,” Newman said.