Legislative Update for VA Assn of PE & HE
Friday March 7, 2025

Bill	Patron	Title	Synopsis	Upcoming Hearings	Status
HB 1890	Michael B. Feggans	Public School Teachers; Teacher Compensation; Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program Established.	Public school teachers; teacher compensation; Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program established. Establishes the Professionally Licensed Teacher Supplemental Pay Program (the Program) for the purpose of addressing shortages of professionally licensed teachers and reducing reliance on provisionally licensed teachers in public schools in the Commonwealth by providing, with such funds as are appropriated for such purpose, an annual supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher, as that term is defined by the bill, employed in any high-vacancy public school in the Commonwealth, defined as any public school that, based on the most recent data in the positions and exits collection, has a teacher vacancy rate that places it in the top 10 percent of public schools with the highest teacher vacancy rates in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Department of Education to administer and oversee the Program and, in doing so, requires it to (i) identify and develop a list, every four years, of each high-vacancy public school in the Commonwealth; (ii) ensure that, each year, such funds are disbursed in a timely manner and in an amount sufficient to provide the supplemental payment to each professionally licensed teacher employed in a high-vacancy public school in each school division; and (iii) annually submit to the Governor and publish on its website a report detailing the effect of the Program on recruitment and retention of professionally licensed teachers and the overall success of the Program in addressing teacher vacancy rates.		H Left in Appropriations (2/4)
HB 1958	Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker; Candi Mundon King; Laura Jane Cohen; Marcia S. "Cia" Price	School Breakfasts; Availability At No Cost To Students.	School breakfasts; availability at no cost to students. Requires each school board to require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to make breakfast available to any student who requests such a meal at no cost to the student, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill requires the Department of Education to reimburse each public elementary and secondary school for each school breakfast served to a student, with a maximum of one breakfast per student per school day and provides the formula for determining the state reimbursement rate for such meals. Finally, the bill repeals a provision of law relating to the federal School Breakfast Program that is rendered obsolete by the provisions of the bill.		H Left in Appropriations (2/4)
HB 2182	Nicholas J. Freitas	Sage's Law; Minor Students Experiencing Gender Incongruence, Etc.	Sage's Law; minor students experiencing gender incongruence; parental notification of certain requests and parental permission for certain plans required; parental care. Requires each public elementary or secondary school principal or his designee to (i) as soon as practicable, inform at least one parent of a minor student enrolled in such school if such minor requests that any such employee participate while at school in the social affirmation of such minor student's gender incongruence or the transition of such minor student to a sex or gender different from the minor's biological sex, as such terms are defined in the bill, and (ii) request and receive permission from at least one parent of a minor student enrolled at such school prior to the implementation at such school of any plan concerning any gender incongruence experienced by such minor, including any counseling of such minor at school. Any such plan shall include provision for parental participation to the extent requested by the parent. The bill also clarifies, in the definition of the term 'abused or neglected child,' that in no event shall referring to and raising the child in a manner consistent with the child's biological sex, including related mental health or medical decisions, be considered abuse or neglect.		H Left in Education (2/4)
HB 2381	Irene Shin; Jackie H. Glass; Michelle Lopes Maldonado	National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program And Fund; Eligibility.	National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund; eligibility; incentive grant awards. Renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund as the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from such Fund pursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtained national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to (i) all public school staff who are candidates for initial national certification or maintenance of national certification to cover certain costs of obtaining or maintaining such certification and (ii) all public school staff who have successfully obtained or maintained such certification. The bill also declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award in the amount of $7,500 all public school staff who have obtained or maintained such certification and an additional $2,500 in any year during the life of certificate in which the public school staff member is employed in a Title 1 school. Current law declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award of $5,000 in the first year and $2,500 in each subsequent year all teachers who have obtained or maintained such certification.		H Left in Appropriations (2/4)
HB 2403	Geary Higgins	School Boards; Panic Alarm Systems In Each School Required.	School boards; panic alarm systems in each school required. Requires each school board to equip each public elementary and secondary school building in the local school division with a panic alarm system that includes at least one panic alarm device in each classroom or other room in the building which students will be present and that adheres to nationally recognized industry standards. The bill defines 'panic alarm system' as a silent security system by which the user manually activates a device that sends a non-audible signal to the local 9-1-1 public safety answering point that indicates a school security emergency that requires immediate response and assistance from such public safety answering point, including a non-fire evacuation, lockdown, medical emergency, or active shooter situation. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.		H Left in Education (2/4)
HB 2439	Jackie H. Glass	Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact; Enters The Commonwealth Into Compact.	Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. Enters the Commonwealth into the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, the purpose of which is to facilitate the mobility of teachers across the member states, with the goal of supporting teachers through a new pathway to licensure. The Compact is presently in effect, as it has reached the enactment threshold of 10 state members.		H Left in Education (2/4)
HB 2440	Phillip A. Scott	Health & Family Life Ed.; Certain Videos & Animations Relating To Human Development Inside Uterus.	Health education and family life education; certain videos and animations relating to human development inside the uterus. Requires health education instruction to include an oral, written, or digital lesson, lecture, or presentation about human biology relating to pregnancy and human development inside the uterus, including (i) a high-definition ultrasound video, at least three minutes in duration, showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development and (ii) a high-quality, computer-generated rendering or animation showing the process of fertilization and every stage of human development inside the uterus, noting significant markers in cell growth and organ development for each significant marker of pregnancy until birth. The bill requires any family life education curriculum or similar curriculum offered by a local school division that includes any oral, written, or digital lesson, lecture, or presentation about sexual activity and pregnancy in the context of student health or healthy relationships to also include such a video and rendering or animation.		H Left in Education (2/4)
HB 2475	Karen Keys-Gamarra	Motor Vehicles; Use Of Safety Belt Systems.	Use of safety belt systems. Requires all adult passengers in a motor vehicle equipped with a safety belt system to wear such safety belt system when the motor vehicle is in motion on a public highway. Current law requires adult passengers to wear such safety belts when occupying the front seat.		S Passed Senate (22-Y 17-N) (2/19)
HB 2583	A.C. Cordoza	School Bathroom Safety Checks; Bd. Of Education To Develop, Etc., To Each School Board Model Policy.	Celeste's Law;Board of Education; model policy; school bathroom safety checks. Requires the Board of Education to develop, adopt, and distribute to each local school board a model policy regarding bathroom safety checks in public elementary and secondary schools during normal school hours that includes consideration of appropriate staffing, the frequency of such checks, and any other topics that the Board deems relevant.		H Left in Education (2/4)
HB 2637	Destiny LeVere Bolling	Mental Health First Aid Program; Doe, Et Al., To Develop, Participation By School Staff & Students.	Department of Education; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; mental health first aid training program; development of plan to incentivize and facilitate participation. Directs the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to develop and implement a plan to incentivize and facilitate participation in the Commonwealth Mental Health First Aid Program, established pursuant to applicable law, by public school staff and students. As introduced, the bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Pandemic Response and Preparedness in the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to SB 1377.		H Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB2637) (2/19)
SB 1036	Stella G. Pekarsky	Seizure Rescue Meds.; Administration By Certain School Employees, Possession By Certain Students.	Seizure rescue medications; administration by certain school employees; possession by certain students. Permits a prescriber to authorize an employee of (i) a school board, (ii) a school for students with disabilities, (iii) an accredited private school, (iv) a local governing body, or (v) a local health department who is trained in the administration of seizure rescue medications for the treatment of seizures resulting from a condition causing seizures to administer such medications to a student diagnosed with a condition causing seizures when the student is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a seizure pursuant to a written order or standing protocol issued within the course of the prescriber's professional practice and with the consent of the student's parents. The bill provides that any such authorized employee who administers or assists in the administration of such medications to a student diagnosed with a condition causing seizures when the student is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a seizure in accordance with the prescriber's instructions shall not be liable for any civil damages for ordinary negligence in acts or omissions resulting from the rendering of such treatment. The bill also permits any local school board to adopt and implement policies (a) permitting any student enrolled in any elementary or secondary school in the local school division who has a diagnosis of a condition causing seizures to possess seizure rescue medications during the school day, at school-sponsored activities, or while on a school bus or other school property if the student's parent has submitted a seizure management and action plan that includes written consent of the parent and written approval of the student's primary care provider for such self-possession or (b) for the administration of seizure rescue medications to any student enrolled in any elementary or secondary school in the local school division who has a diagnosis of a condition causing seizures, consistent with the provisions of the bill relating to prescriber authorization. This bill is identical to HB 2104.		G Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 24, 2025 (3/5)
SB 1066	Mark J. Peake	Family Life Education; Inclusion Of Certain Materials Relating To Human Gestation Required.	Programs of instruction; family life education; instruction on human reproduction; inclusion of certain materials relating to human gestation required. Requires the curriculum guidelines developed by the Board of Education for a comprehensive, sequential family life education curriculum in accordance with applicable law to include, as a part of the guidelines for instruction on human reproduction, the viewing of a video recording of an ultrasound of a live human fetus in the uterus at (i) six to eight weeks' gestation, (ii) 15 to 17 weeks' gestation, and (iii) 27 weeks' gestation.		S Passed by indefinitely in Education and Health (9-Y 6-N) (1/23)
SB 1074	Mark J. Peake	Youth Health Protection Act; Established, Civil Penalty.	Youth Health Protection Act established; civil penalty. Creates the Youth Health Protection Act, which makes it unlawful for any individual to provide gender transition procedures, defined in the bill, for minors and prohibits the use of public funds for gender transition procedures. The bill allows parents, guardians, or custodians to withhold consent for any treatment, activity, or mental health care services that are designed or intended to form their child's conceptions of sex and gender or to treat gender dysphoria or gender nonconformity. The bill prohibits government agents, other than law-enforcement personnel, from encouraging or coercing a minor to withhold information from the minor's parent. The bill establishes a duty for a government agent with knowledge that a minor has exhibited symptoms of gender dysphoria or gender nonconformity or otherwise demonstrates a desire to be treated in a manner incongruent with the minor's sex to immediately notify each of the minor's parents, guardians, or custodians in writing, with descriptions of relevant circumstances. The bill prohibits discrimination against persons (i) providing information regarding violations of the Act to their employer or specified public entities or (ii) who make disclosures under the Act of information that evinces any violation of law, rule, or regulation; any violation of any standard of care or other ethical guidelines for the provision of health care service; or gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. The bill establishes a civil action for any violation of the Act by a clinic, health care system, medical professional, or other responsible person with a two-year statute of limitations. The bill prohibits political subdivisions of the Commonwealth from enacting, adopting, maintaining, or enforcing any measure that interferes with the professional conduct and judgment of a mental health care professional or counselor undertaken within the course of treatment and communication with clients, patients, other persons, or the public. The bill provides for enforcement by the Attorney General or a mental health care professional or counselor through an action for injunctive relief and allows a mental health care professional to recover reasonable attorney fees and reasonable costs incurred in obtaining an injunction. The bill waives sovereign immunity to suit and immunity from liability under this statute.		S Passed by indefinitely in Education and Health (9-Y 6-N) (1/23)
SB 1079	Mark J. Peake	Elementary And Secondary Schools; Athletics, Participation In Female Sports, Civil Cause Of Action.	Elementary and secondary schools; athletics; participation in female sports; civil cause of action. Requires each public elementary or secondary school and each private elementary or secondary school that competes in sponsored athletic events against such public schools to designate all athletic teams and intramural athletic teams sponsored by such school based on biological sex as follows: (i) for 'males,' 'men,' or 'boys'; (ii) for 'females,' 'women,' or 'girls'; or (iii) as 'coed' or 'mixed' if such team is open to participation by (a) males, men, or boys and (b) females, women, or girls. The bill prohibits any student whose biological sex is male and who has not physically transitioned to female prior to puberty from participating on any school athletic team or squad designated for 'females,' 'women,' or 'girls.' Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for students and schools that suffer harm as a result of a violation of the provisions of the bill, provided that such action is initiated within two years of the harm occurring.		S Passed by indefinitely in Education and Health (9-Y 6-N) (1/23)
SB 1104	Lashrecse D. Aird; Ghazala F. Hashmi	Public Schools; Guidelines And Policies On Student-athlete Extreme Heat Safety And Protection.	Public schools; interscholastic sports and athletics; guidelines and policies on student-athlete extreme heat safety and protection; development and implementation. Requires the Board of Education to develop, biennially review and update as necessary, and distribute to each local school division guidelines on policies relating to extreme heat safety and protection for student-athletes. The bill requires each school board to develop and update, in accordance with the guidelines developed by the Board, policies on student-athlete extreme heat safety and protection that (i) are consistent with any heat guidelines based on Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) levels developed by an organization or entity whose purpose it is to regulate or govern interscholastic athletics programs in the Commonwealth; (ii) establish tiered heat-acclimatization and modification procedures for outdoor athletics practices or games based on the WBGT levels to reduce the risks associated with extreme heat faced by student-athletes; (iii) require student-athletes to be given unhindered access to hydration at all times; (iv) include procedures relating to preventing, recognizing, and addressing heat-related illnesses; and (v) establish a process for reporting and investigating any instance in which a student-athlete experiences a heat-related illness requiring emergency medical treatment or resulting in death. This bill is identical to HB 1663.		H Passed House (80-Y 18-N) (2/20)
SB 1124	Jennifer B. Boysko	Driver Education Programs; Classroom Training May Be Administered In-person Or Online.	Board of Education; driver education programs; computer-based driver education courses; requirements. Clarifies that the classroom training portion of the standardized program of driver education in the safe operation of motor vehicles, established by the Board of Education pursuant to applicable law, may be administered in-person or online, except in the case of the parent/student driver education component of the classroom training portion administered in Planning District 8 which, pursuant to applicable law, must be administered in person. The bill contains technical amendments. .		H Passed House (59-Y 39-N) (2/20)
SB 1129	Jennifer B. Boysko	National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program And Fund; Eligibility.	National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund; eligibility; incentive grant awards. Renames the National Teacher Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund as the National Board Certification Incentive Reward Program and Fund, expands eligibility for incentive grant awards from such Fund pursuant to such Program from solely teachers who have obtained national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to (i) all public school staff who are candidates for initial national certification or maintenance of national certification to cover certain costs of obtaining or maintaining such certification and (ii) all public school staff who have successfully obtained or maintained such certification. The bill also declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award in the amount of $7,500 all public school staff who have obtained or maintained such certification and an additional $2,500 in any year during the life of certificate in which the public school staff member is employed in a Title 1 school. Current law declares as eligible for an annual incentive grant award of $5,000 in the first year and $2,500 in each subsequent year all teachers who have obtained or maintained such certification.		S Left in Finance and Appropriations (2/5)
SB 1146	Timmy F. French	Juveniles; Possession Or Use Of Tobacco Or Vape Products On School Grounds, Etc., Civil Penalties.	Persons under 21 years of age; possession or use of tobacco products or vape products on school grounds, etc.; civil penalties. Prohibits any person under 21 years of age from possessing a tobacco product on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity. The bill requires that each local school board implement an educational rehabilitation program for a first violation. The bill permits a law-enforcement officer to issue a summons upon a second violation within a single school year and requires a court to order up to eight hours of community service. Upon a third violation within a single school year, the bill adds a civil penalty of up to $50. For a fourth or subsequent violation within a single school year, the bill requires punishment include a civil penalty of up to $50 or up to eight hours of community service. Additionally, the bill requires that the civil penalty be paid in person at the courthouse for the locality by such person accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, unless such person is 18 years of age or older and not enrolled at the school where the offense occurred. The bill directs the Board of Education and local school boards to amend any affected policies by July 1, 2026.		H Left in Courts of Justice (2/18)
SB 1240	Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.	School-connected Overdoses; Policies Relating To Parental Notification And Response, Requirements.	School-connected student overdoses; policies relating to parental notification. Requires public school principals and heads of private schools in the Commonwealth to report certain information to the parents of enrolled students within 24 hours of a confirmed or suspected school-connected student overdose, as defined in the bill. This bill is identical to HB 2774.		C Amended by conference committee (2/22)
SB 1262	Stella G. Pekarsky	Restorative Schools In Virginia Pilot Program; Established, Report, Sunset Date.	Public schools; student discipline; Restorative Schools in Virginia Pilot Program; established. Establishes the Restorative Schools in Virginia Pilot Program (the Program), to be administered by the Department of Education (the Department), for the purpose of addressing school discipline issues and promoting evidence-based restorative practices, as that term is defined in the bill, in public schools in the Commonwealth by awarding grants to an eligible school in each superintendent's region in the Commonwealth to be used in developing and implementing a comprehensive plan to integrate evidence-based restorative practices in such schools in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The bill directs the Department to (i) develop the application process by which a school board may apply on behalf of an eligible school, as defined in the bill, in the applicable school division to receive funds pursuant to the Program; (ii) establish criteria for the selection and award of grants pursuant to the Program; and (iii) develop a process for evaluating the progress and performance of each eligible school selected to receive a grant pursuant to the Program in implementing such evidence-based restorative practices and satisfying the Program requirements set forth in the bill. The bill requires any eligible school selected to receive funds pursuant to the Program, in collaboration with the applicable school board, to (a) establish a learning collaborative for the purpose of developing a comprehensive plan for implementing evidence-based restorative practices in such school in accordance with the provisions of the bill and (b) submit to the Department by July 1 of each year a report on the school's progress in implementing such evidence-based restorative practices for the preceding school year. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027.		S Left in Finance and Appropriations (2/5)
SB 1289	Emily M. Jordan; Christie New Craig; Tara A. Durant	Public Elementary And Secondary Schools; Nutritional Standards For School Meals And Other Foods.	Public elementary and secondary schools; nutritional standards for school meals and other foods; nutrition requirements; certain color additives prohibited. Prohibits any public elementary or secondary school from offering or making available to any student any food served as a part of a school meal or any competitive food, as defined in applicable law, that contains any of the seven color additives listed in the bill. The bill directs the Board of Education to amend its nutritional guidelines for competitive foods promulgated pursuant to relevant law in accordance with the provisions of the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.		H Passed House (98-Y 0-N) (2/20)
SB 1377	Ghazala F. Hashmi	Mental Health First Aid Program; Doe, Et Al., To Develop, Participation By School Staff & Students.	Department of Education; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; mental health first aid training program; development of plan to incentivize and facilitate participation. Directs the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to develop and implement a plan to incentivize and facilitate participation in the Commonwealth Mental Health First Aid Program, established pursuant to applicable law, by public school staff and students. As introduced, the bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Pandemic Response and Preparedness in the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to HB 2637.		S Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB1377) (2/19)
SB 1381	Ghazala F. Hashmi	Mental Health First Aid Training Program; Department Of Education, Et. Al., To Develop.	Department of Education; mental health first aid training program. Directs the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to develop a mental health first aid training program consisting of an adult component and an adolescent and youth component. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study Pandemic Response and Preparedness in the Commonwealth.		S Stricken at request of Patron in Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) (1/30)
SJR 251	Mamie E. Locke	Public School Libraries; Jlarc To Study Removal Of Books.	Study; JLARC; public school libraries; removal of certain books; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study the removal of books from public school libraries in the Commonwealthafter July 1, 2020, on the basis of such books containing sexually explicit content or other content deemed objectionable for the purpose of identifying each book removed and, for each book removed, (i) the purported reason for its removal, (ii) the processes and procedures by which each book was identified as containing content necessitating its removal and for removing each book, and (iii) whether applicable state law directing the Department of Education to adopt model policies and each school board to adopt policies consistent with such model policies was used by any school division to justify the identification, removal, or process and procedures by which each book was identified or removed. The bill requires JLARC to complete its meetings by August 1, 2025, and directs the chairman to submit an executive summary of its findings and recommendations by October 1, 2025.		S Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ251ER) (2/20)