Freshman Del. Cheryl Turpin of Virginia Beach secured passage of her first piece of legislation.
The bill, HB2147, was signed into law last Monday and provides more timely assistance to schools struggling with accreditation.
According to a news release from Turpin’s senior strategist Daniel McNamara, the legislation “ensures that a school would get assistance from the state after the first year of struggling with accreditation issues.”
Prior to the bill, schools in Virginia that struggled with accreditation had to wait four years before receiving assistance from the state.
The bill passed the House of Delegates and state Senate unanimously, according to the Virginia General Assembly’s website.
“As a high school science teacher, I am elated that my first piece of legislation to become law will help struggling schools across the Commonwealth,” Turpin said. “I’m glad that we were able to come together to work across the aisle to get this done. Ensuring the state can bring more resources to troubled schools will make sure every student in the Commonwealth has a fair shot at the American Dream.”
Virginia’s 85th District elected Turpin to the House of Delegates as part of the “Blue Wave” of new Democratic lawmakers in November 2017. Her victory came after a contentious election with then-Del. Rocky Holcolmb.
Holcomb — who is chief deputy of the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office — announced in January that he would once again run for delegate against Turpin in November.
Turpin is a member of the House Education and Privileges and Elections Committees, according to the General Assembly’s website. She is an environmental science teacher at Cox High School in Virginia Beach, and has been teaching more than 20 years, according to the news release.
The law goes into effect July 1, according to the release, and a bill signing ceremony is forthcoming.
Full text of the bill is available here.
Announcement
Turpin announced Monday she is running for the 7th District of the Virginia Senate.
The seat is currently held by Sen. Frank Wagner, who is not seeking re-election.
Turpin is a freshman delegate who was elected to the 85th District of the House of Delegates in November 2017. She will remain delegate of that district and will not resign as she runs for state Senate, said Daniel McNamara, Turpin’s spokesman.
Turpin will now face-off against candidate Susan Hippen and newcomer Kim Howard in the June Democratic primary for the 7th District senate seat, according to a news release from Turpin’s camp. The only announced Republican candidate is Carolyn Weems.
