2026 SESSION

INTRODUCED

26100807D

SENATE BILL NO. 234

Offered January 14, 2026

Prefiled January 12, 2026

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-279.3 and 22.1-279.6 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Board of Education; student discipline and codes of student conduct; anti-bullying policies and procedures.

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Patron—Head

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Referred to Committee on Education and Health

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 22.1-279.3 and 22.1-279.6 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 22.1-279.3. Parental responsibility and involvement requirements.

A. Each parent of a student enrolled in a public school has a duty to assist the school in enforcing the standards of student conduct and compulsory school attendance in order that education may be conducted in an atmosphere free of disruption and threat to persons or property, and supportive of individual rights.

B. A school board shall provide opportunities:

1. Opportunities for parental and community involvement in every school in the school division;

2. Annual training on bullying prevention and intervention for students and their parents that includes information on parental responsibilities relating to bullying prevention and intervention, school board policies and student codes of conduct relating to bullying response measures and disciplinary consequences, and resources and assistance available through schools for students who are victims of or witnesses to incidents of bullying; and

3. Workshops for parents and educators relating to bullying prevention and intervention.

C. Within one calendar month of the opening of school, each school board shall, simultaneously with any other materials customarily distributed at that time, send to the parents of each enrolled student (i) a notice of the requirements of this section; (ii) a copy of the school board's standards of student conduct; and (iii) a copy of the compulsory school attendance law. These materials shall include a notice to the parents that by signing the statement of receipt, parents shall not be deemed to waive, but to expressly reserve, their rights protected by the constitutions or laws of the United States or the Commonwealth and that a parent shall have the right to express disagreement with a school's or school division's policies or decisions.

Each parent of a student shall sign and return to the school in which the student is enrolled a statement acknowledging the receipt of the school board's standards of student conduct, the notice of the requirements of this section, and the compulsory school attendance law. Each school shall maintain records of such signed statements.

D. The school principal may request the student's parent or parents, if both parents have legal and physical custody of such student, to meet with the principal or his designee to review the school board's standards of student conduct and the parent's or parents' responsibility to participate with the school in disciplining the student and maintaining order, to ensure the student's compliance with compulsory school attendance law, and to discuss improvement of the child's behavior, school attendance, and educational progress. In the event that a student violates a school board policy or student code of conduct by engaging in bullying and either, pursuant to subdivision D 3 of § 22.1-279.6, (i) the student's record evidences a pattern of repeated violations of school board policy or a student code of conduct involving bullying or (ii) the school principal determines the severity of the particular incident of bullying to require further intervention, the school principal shall request the student's parent or parents, if both parents have legal and physical custody of such student, to meet with the principal or his designee to (a) review the school board's standards of student conduct and the parent's or parents' responsibility to participate with the school in disciplining the student and (b) discuss additional interventions and resources available for the parent to address and remediate the student's behavior.

E. In accordance with the due process procedures set forth in this article and the guidelines required by § 22.1-279.6, the school principal or his designee shall notify the parents of any student who violates a school board policy or the compulsory school attendance requirements when such violation is likely to result in the student's suspension or the filing of a court petition, whether or not the school administration has imposed such disciplinary action or filed a petition. The notice shall state (i) the date and particulars of the violation; (ii) the obligation of the parent to take actions to assist the school in improving the student's behavior and ensuring compulsory school attendance compliance; (iii) that, if the student is suspended, the parent may be required to accompany the student to meet with school officials; and (iv) that a petition with the juvenile and domestic relations district court may be filed under certain circumstances to declare the student a child in need of supervision.

F. No suspended student shall be admitted to the regular school program until such student and his parent have met with school officials to discuss improvement of the student's behavior, unless the school principal or his designee determines that readmission, without parent conference, is appropriate for the student.

G. Upon the failure of a parent to comply with the provisions of this section, the school board may, by petition to the juvenile and domestic relations district court, proceed against such parent for willful and unreasonable refusal to participate in efforts to improve the student's behavior or school attendance, as follows:

1. If the court finds that the parent has willfully and unreasonably failed to meet, pursuant to a request of the principal as set forth in subsection D, to review the school board's standards of student conduct and the parent's responsibility to assist the school in disciplining the student and maintaining order, and to discuss improvement of the child's behavior and educational progress, it may order the parent to so meet; or

2. If the court finds that a parent has willfully and unreasonably failed to accompany a suspended student to meet with school officials pursuant to subsection F, or upon the student's receiving a second suspension or being expelled, it may order the student or his parent, or both, to participate in such programs or such treatment, including, but not limited to, extended day programs, summer school, other educational programs and counseling, as the court deems appropriate to improve the student's behavior or school attendance. The order may also require participation in a parenting, counseling, or mentoring program, as appropriate, or that the student or his parent, or both, shall be subject to such conditions and limitations as the court deems appropriate for the supervision, care, and rehabilitation of the student or his parent. In addition, the court may order the parent to pay a civil penalty not to exceed $500.

H. The civil penalties established pursuant to this section shall be enforceable in the juvenile and domestic relations district court in which the student's school is located and shall be paid into a fund maintained by the appropriate local governing body to support programs or treatments designed to improve the behavior of students as described in subdivision G 2. Upon the failure to pay the civil penalties imposed by this section, the attorney for the appropriate county, city, or town shall enforce the collection of such civil penalties.

I. All references in this section to the juvenile and domestic relations district court shall be also deemed to mean any successor in interest of such court.

§ 22.1-279.6. Board of Education guidelines and model policies for codes of student conduct; school board regulations.

A. The Board shall establish guidelines and develop model policies for codes of student conduct to aid local school boards in the implementation of such policies. The guidelines and model policies shall include (i) criteria:

1. Criteria for the removal of a student from a class, the use of suspension, expulsion, and exclusion as disciplinary measures, the grounds for suspension, expulsion, and exclusion, and the procedures to be followed in such cases, including proceedings for such suspension, expulsion, and exclusion decisions and all applicable appeals processes; (ii) standards,

2. Standards, consistent with state, federal, and case laws, for school board policies on alcohol and drugs, gang-related activity, hazing, vandalism, trespassing, threats, search and seizure, disciplining of students with disabilities, intentional injury of others, self-defense, bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, and intimidation, and dissemination of such policies to students, their parents, and school personnel. The standards for school board policies on bullying and cyberbullying shall (i) be designed to reduce bullying and protect vulnerable students; (ii) include procedures for imposing clear and escalating consequences for repeated incidents of bullying or particularly severe incidents of bullying, including suspension and, if necessary and consistent with applicable law, expulsion; and (iii) emphasize parental responsibility and intervention in preventing and addressing incidents of bullying and include procedures and criteria for ensuring accountability from both students and parents in responding to incidents of bullying; (iii) standards

3. Standards for in-service training of school personnel in and examples of the appropriate management of student conduct and student offenses in violation of school board policies; (iv) standards

4. Standards for dress or grooming codes; and (v) standards

5. Standards for reducing bias and harassment in the enforcement of any code of student conduct.

In accordance with the most recent enunciation of constitutional principles by the Supreme Court of the United States of America, the Board's standards for school board policies on alcohol and drugs and search and seizure shall include guidance for procedures relating to voluntary and mandatory drug testing in schools, including which groups may be tested, use of test results, confidentiality of test information, privacy considerations, consent to the testing, need to know, and release of the test results to the appropriate school authority; and

6. Guidance for school boards on effective oversight of public schools within the applicable school division to ensure compliance with the code of student conduct policies and procedures adopted by each school board in accordance with this section.

In the case of suspension and expulsion, the procedures set forth in this article shall be the minimum procedures that the school board may prescribe.

B. School boards shall adopt and revise, as required by § 22.1-253.13:7 and in accordance with the requirements of this section, regulations on codes of student conduct that are consistent with, but may be more stringent than, the guidelines of the Board. School boards shall include in the regulations on codes of student conduct procedures for suspension, expulsion, and exclusion decisions and shall biennially review the model student conduct code to incorporate discipline options and alternatives to preserve a safe, nondisruptive environment for effective teaching and learning.

C. Each school board shall include in its code of student conduct prohibitions against hazing and profane or obscene language or conduct. School boards shall also cite in their codes of student conduct the provisions of § 18.2-56, which defines and prohibits hazing and imposes a Class 1 misdemeanor penalty for violations, that is, confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.

D. Each school board shall include in its code of student conduct policies and procedures that include a prohibition against bullying. Such policies and procedures shall (i) be:

1. Be consistent with the standards for school board policies on bullying and cyberbullying developed by the Board pursuant to subsection A; (ii) direct

2. Direct the principal or his designee to notify the parent of any student involved in an alleged incident of bullying within 24 hours of learning of the allegation of bullying; (iii) address

3. Direct the principal or his designee, in the event that a student violates a school board policy by engaging in bullying and either (i) the student's record evidences a pattern of repeated violations of school board policy involving bullying or (ii) the principal determines that the severity of the particular incident of bullying requires further intervention, to request the parent of such student to meet with the principal or his designee to (a) review the school board's standards of student conduct and the parent's responsibility to participate with the school in disciplining the student and (b) discuss additional interventions and resources available for the parent to address and remediate the student's behavior;

4. Address instances of cyberbullying that occur outside of school property between students enrolled in the school division; (iv) provide

5. Include procedures for responding to incidents of bullying by requiring, when appropriate as determined by the school board or principal, any student who violates a school board policy by engaging in an act of bullying to receive counseling at the school for the purpose of addressing the behaviors and working on communication and conflict resolution skills designed to prevent recurrence of such behaviors;

6. Provide protections designed to (i) ensure that any student who is a victim of or a witness to an instance of bullying or cyberbullying is not deterred from reporting or seeking support for such instance of bullying or cyberbullying by fears of retaliation, social alienation or rejection, or other negative treatment and (ii) empower any student who is a victim of bullying or cyberbullying to stand up for himself in an appropriate and safe manner; and (v) include

7. Include a list of support services and resources available through each public school to any student who is a victim of bullying or cyberbullying relating to reporting and seeking support after experiencing an instance of bullying or cyberbullying, including mental health support services, and any information necessary to access any such support services and resources.

Such policies and procedures shall not be interpreted to infringe upon the First Amendment rights of students and are not intended to prohibit expression of religious, philosophical, or political views, provided that such expression does not cause an actual, material disruption of the work of the school.

E. A school board may regulate the use or possession of beepers or other portable communications devices and laser pointers by students on school property or attending school functions or activities and establish disciplinary procedures pursuant to this article to which students violating such regulations will be subject.

F. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any school board to adopt policies requiring or encouraging any drug testing in schools. However, a school board may, in its discretion, require or encourage drug testing in accordance with the Board of Education's guidelines and model student conduct policies required by subsection A and the Board's guidelines for student searches required by § 22.1-279.7.

G. The Board shall establish standards to ensure compliance with the federal Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (Part F-Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994), as amended, in accordance with § 22.1-277.07.

This subsection shall not be construed to diminish the authority of the Board or to diminish the Governor's authority to coordinate and provide policy direction on official communications between the Commonwealth and the United States government.

H. Each school board shall include in its code of student conduct a prohibition on possessing any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2, on a school bus, on school property, or at an on-site or off-site school-sponsored activity.

I. Any school board may include in its code of student conduct a dress or grooming code. Any dress or grooming code included in a school board's code of student conduct or otherwise adopted by a school board shall (i) permit any student to wear any religiously and ethnically specific or significant head covering or hairstyle, including hijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and cornrows; (ii) maintain gender neutrality by subjecting any student to the same set of rules and standards regardless of gender; (iii) not have a disparate impact on students of a particular gender; (iv) be clear, specific, and objective in defining terms, if used; (v) prohibit any school board employee from enforcing the dress or grooming code by direct physical contact with a student or a student's attire; and (vi) prohibit any school board employee from requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual, including the enforcing school board employee, to comply with the dress or grooming code.