Virginia Beach School Board bans the use of seclusion rooms

February 26, 2026 Guest User

Virginia Beach School Board Member Alveta Green listens to Julie Xirau speak Tuesday during a school board meeting. Xirau is the mother of Joshua Sikes, an 11-year-old student with autism who died in November 2024 days after being placed in a makeshift seclusion area. The board voted on a new policy to limit seclusion but didn’t outright ban the practice. *Photo by John-Henry Doucette // VCIJ*

Virginia Beach reported the highest use of student seclusions in the state. A new policy limits the controversial practice for children in crisis.

Virginia Beach poised to change seclusion policy

February 23, 2026 Guest User

Virginia Beach School Board Chairperson Kathleen Brown said the proposed policy could address concerns of parents and be reviewed if there are unintended consequences. *Photo by John-Henry Doucette // VCIJ*

The Virginia Beach School Board may ban the use of seclusion rooms in city school buildings, a step to curtail the controversial practice of isolating troubled students in emergencies.

Key panel endorses ban on secluding Virginia Beach students

June 17, 2025 Guest User

Meghan Ashburn, chairperson of the Virginia Beach Special Education Advisory Committee, is seen during a committee meeting on May 12. The committee spoke with city schools officials and the executive director of Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs about seclusion and restraint policy during the meeting. *File Photo by John-Henry Doucette.*

A special education advisory committee wants Beach Schools to stop a controversial practice typically used on children with special needs

Virginia Beach schools, special education leaders re-examining student seclusion policies

May 27, 2025 Guest User

A photo of Josh Sikes sits in his mother, Julie Sikes, apartment in her Newport News, VA apartment, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. 11-year-old Josh Sikes died last November days after he was restrained in his SECEP classroom at Pembroke Elementary School in Virginia Beach. *Photo by William Tiernan.*

The treatment of a fourth grader in a special education classroom prompts administrators to question tactics, policies following VCIJ at WHRO investigation.

Return of the measles virus to Virginia brings new risks for children

May 13, 2025 Kunle Falayi

A map shows kindergarten measles vaccination rate across Virginia’s counties and cities according to the vaccination data reported by schools at the start of the school year. Map by Kunle Falayi // VCIJ at WHRO

Just half of Virginia’s public and private kindergarten classes reported a 95% vaccination rate – the key threshold for herd immunity – at the start of the 2024-25 school year, according to an analysis of state health data by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.

Search the VCIJ database to see vaccination rates for Virginia’s schools

May 13, 2025 Kunle Falayi

Nearly half of the commonwealth’s public and private kindergarten classes fail to meet an important vaccination threshold, an analysis of state health data by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO shows.

Death of Autistic Boy Renews Questions About the Use of Restraint and Seclusion in Schools

May 7, 2025 Guest User

Julie Sikes, in her Newport News, VA apartment, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, holding her phone with a picture of her son Josh Sikes. *Photo by William Tiernan.*

No one knows what caused 11-year-old Josh Sikes to die last November. But his final moments in a Virginia Beach classroom have led to investigations and renewed questioning over techniques used by Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs.

Lawmaker Seeks Study, Relief for Black Communities Uprooted by Virginia Universities

January 17, 2024 Guest User

Following an investigation by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO and ProPublica, Del. Delores McQuinn introduces bill for a commission to investigate the displacement of Black neighborhoods by Virginia’s public colleges and universities

Virginia Lawmaker Calls for Commission to Study State Universities’ History of Uprooting Black Communities

November 10, 2023 Guest User

A Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority map from the 1960s shows how Old Dominion University (then called Old Dominion College) planned to expand into the Lamberts Point neighborhood in Norfolk, Virginia. (*Old Dominion University Special Collections & University Archives)*

In response to our reporting, state Delegate Delores McQuinn said a task force could shed light on the impact of college expansion in Virginia. Officials are also calling for displaced families to receive redress, from scholarships to reparations.

A generational challenge - Where are Virginia’s Black male doctors?

October 5, 2022 Leah Small // VCIJ at WHRO

Jaz-Munn “Jaz” Johnson plays with a child during a healthy baby clinic at the Whitcomb Court Park and Recreation Center, 2302 Carmine St, Richmond, Va. Whitcomb Court is a public housing community.

Despite historic changes in educational and economic opportunities, the share of U.S. physicians who are Black men has remained unchanged since 1940. Virginia medical schools are still struggling to attract talented young men – a key to building trust between healthcare providers and the Black community.