The Newport News School Board reversed course Thursday night and voted to uphold a state policy that will protect transgender students. The measure narrowly passed four votes - Lisa Surles-Law, Terri Best, John Eley and Gary Hunter - to three - Douglas Brown, Rebecca Aman and Marvin Harris - after hearing nearly three hours of public comment from more than 50 speakers and a presentation by school administration on how some of the procedures in the policy would work.

The Parent Teacher Student Association at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology appears safe from being disbanded - at least for now. Just last month, the TJ PTSA was on the verge of having its charter revoked by the Virginia PTA for hostile behavior and political conflict.

Walker-Grant Middle School will revert to virtual learning immediately and stay virtual until Sept. 7, Fredericksburg City Public Schools announced Thursday evening. According to a statement, the number of students and staff quarantined at the school have been growing for two weeks.

Bonsack Elementary School will close starting Friday due to coronavirus cases and symptomatic students and staff, the Roanoke County school division announced. The school will remain closed at least through Tuesday, according to a school system news release. The closure was directed by the Virginia Department of Health, according to the release.

After just more than two weeks of in-person learning, Linkhorne Elementary School is temporarily shuttering its doors "out of an abundance of caution and in consultation with the Virginia Department of Health."

NELSON COUNTY, Va. - Nelson County Public Schools will be closed for all students on Friday, Aug. 27 due to a fight that broke out between two students and an increase in COVID-19 activity at the schools. School officials say the fight happened at Nelson County High School on Thursday.

COVID-19 cases in Lynchburg-area schools are rising to levels never seen before locally. This week, Lynchburg City Schools and public schools in the counties of Amherst, Bedford and Nelson together reported 137 new positive cases of COVID-19 in their schools and facilities.

WINCHESTER - Fourteen of the 53 school bus driver positions in Winchester Public Schools are vacant. "It's causing people to have to do more," said Jill McDaniel, 70, who has been driving a school bus for the division for 43 years.

The Fairfax County School Board approved bonuses for all public school employees yesterday (Thursday) in a gesture intended thank them for their work during the pandemic. According to Fairfax County Public Schools, the district had $82.1 million available in its year-end budget review. The school

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A school board in Virginia has agreed to pay $1.3 million in legal costs to the American Civil Liberties Union after the nonprofit spent six years representing a student who sued over the board's transgender bathroom ban.

Some Friday night lights are dimming. Six high school football games in Hampton Roads have been postponed because of COVID-19 concerns, reducing a season-opening night that began with more than 20 scheduled games. Princess Anne High's football season is on hold for at least two weeks, athletic director Bob Robbins said Thursday.

The Fluvanna County School Board held its regular meeting on Wednesday (Aug. 11), a marathon five-and-a-half-hour session that covered the twin controversies of mask wearing and transgender policies, and even featured an unexpected cameo by Representative Bob Good (R-Va 5th). The meeting came just two days after the board met in a special session on Monday morning (Aug.

Rockingham County Public Schools students have only been back in the classroom three days and already there are a handful of reported cases of COVID-19 among students. Harrisonburg City Public Schools students have been back a week and a half and the number of students quarantining after possibly coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 is in the double digits.

Breaking News MONTEREY - The Highland County School Board has called a meeting for Tuesday, Aug. 31. The agenda includes: * A revised, tentative COVID-19 Mitigation Plan, which includes recommending all students over age 12 be vaccinated, and mandated mask wearing for all students and staff indoors and on buses.

GRUNDY, Va. - The Buchanan County (Va.) School Board has received a legal caution related to opening meetings with a Christian prayer. Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a Wisconsin-based organization, sent a letter to the board after learning members "routinely" begin meetings with a prayer that, it says, is unconstitutional.

Danville deaths from COVID-19 increased again Friday morning as the virus continues to infect more and more residents and students across Southside. The latest fatalities were a man and woman between the ages of 50 and 59, data from the Virginia Department of Health show.

Richmond-area public schools are short roughly 270 bus drivers, collectively. While most school districts have about two weeks to hire more drivers, Chesterfield County Public Schools on Friday wrapped up a first week of school plagued with bus delays. School districts across the country already disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic are scrambling to find enough bus drivers.

David Jeck, superintendent of Fauquier County Public Schools, posted a video update for parents on Friday night. With COVID-19 case numbers still rising in the county, he addressed the large number of students who have been quarantined after only two weeks of school and how staffing shortages have affected transportation and instruction.