A Virginia circuit-court judge has ruled that the reorganization of the Virginia Department of Education is constitutional and did not require prior legislative approval.
Judge Randall G. Johnson of Richmond Circuit Court last month ruled against seven department employees who had claimed in a suit that the reorganization required approval by the state General Assembly. (See Education Week, Sept. 19, 1990.)
No such approval was needed for the internal reorganization of an executive agency, Judge Johnson said, adding that Joseph P. Spagnolo Jr., the state superintendent of public instruction, could continue with changes in the department as planned.
The reorganization, expected to be completed late last week, calls for the elimination of about 100 of the agency’s 534 positions.