Sam Rasoul's First Bill Non-Partisan, Progressive

The Virginia General Assembly.

Sam Rasoul, the brand spanking new 11th District House of Delegates rep from Roanoke, has introduced his first bill (during his first week in office) and it's exactly the type of bill you'd expect from him: one with support from both sides of the aisle and one that makes good sense.

The bill is HB 1128 and deals with cooperative career and technical education. Sam writes that "this legislation would allow school boards from different localities to partner together to provide cooperative career and technical education courses for middle and high school students. ... Students in one locality could attend a career or technical course offered by a neighboring school district not offered in their district." That means a kid in Roanoke County wanting to take an aueronautics course at William Fleming High in Roanoke could do that.

Sam says, "I think this is a first-step, commonsense approach to workforce development and growing our economy in the Roanoke region and across the Commonwealth. By listening to the needs of the business community and allowing localities to partner together to implement these programs, our young people can graduate with the skills they need for 21st century jobs and go on to successful careers."

Can you imagine Octavia Johnson, the Republican Sam dispatched, introducing anything approaching this bill?