HB 1153 was signed into law by Governor Abigail Spanberger this past week, permanently putting in place Roanoke City Pubic School’s Community Builders Pilot Program.
The bill, which passed with bipartisan support, was introduced by Delegate Sam Rasoul and is identical to SB 820, a bill introduced by Republican Senator David Suetterlein.
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The Community Builders Pilot Program was set to expire on July 1, 2027, and was also expanded to the Petersburg City Public Schools.
The program helps introduce kids to good habits early, which can help limit the amount of gun violence amongst even the youngest of students.
“They go through an intense summer school, and then the program follows them all throughout their eighth-grade year and even into high school,” Del. Rasoul said. “[It’s] trying to ensure that they have good habits instilled, that they meet people from a variety of different professions, that we give them a vision for the future that is brighter than they may be in right now.”
Rasoul told 10 News that, ever since the program has been implemented, there has been a reduction in gun violence among juveniles by up to 80% within the community.
“What we learned is that if you want to help kids build good habits, you want to start in middle school,” Del. Rasoul said. “So if we want to limit gun and gang violence, especially with our youngest, we started middle school, we started this a few years ago, got some pilot funding and now we’ve made the program permanent moving forward.”
The program will be funded by the General Assembly.