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2000 SESSION

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006053400
SENATE BILL NO. 209 Offered January 13, 2000 A BILL to amend and reenact § 22.1-203 of the Code of Virginia, relating to one minute of silence in public schools. ----------
Patrons-- Barry, Bolling, Chichester, Colgan, Forbes, Hawkins, Holland, Martin, Maxwell, Newman, Potts, Puckett, Reynolds, Schrock and Trumbo
---------- Referred to Committee on Education and Health ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 22.1-203 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 22.1-203. Daily observance of one minute of silence.

In order that the right of every pupil to the free exercise of religion be guaranteed within the schools and that the freedom of each individual pupil be subject to the least possible pressure from the Commonwealth either to engage in, or to refrain from, religious observation on school grounds, the school board of each school division is authorized to establish the daily observance of oneOne minute of silencesilent meditation, prayer or reflection shall be observed daily in each classroom of the each school division. At the commencement of the first class of each day in all grades in all public schools, the teacher in charge of the room in which such class is held shall announce that a period of silence, not to exceed one minute in duration, shall be observed for meditation, prayer or reflection; during any such period of meditation, prayer or reflection, silence shall be maintained, and no other activities shall be performed.

Where such one-minute period of silence is instituted, the The teacher responsible for each classroom shall take care that all pupils remain seated and silent and make no distracting display to the end that each pupil may, in the exercise of his or her individual choice, meditate, pray, or engage in any other silent activity which does not interfere with, distract, or impede other pupils in the like exercise of individual choicereflect during any such period.