CHAPTER 940

An Act to amend and reenact § 30-231.01 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program; permissible use of scholarship funds.

[S 196]

Approved April 13, 2026

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 30-231.01 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 30-231.01. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise:

"Accredited career and technical education postsecondary school" means (i) a privately owned and managed, academic-vocational school, noncollege degree school, postsecondary school, or a vocational school, as defined in § 23.1-213; (ii) formed, incorporated, or chartered within the Commonwealth and whose administrative office and principal campus is located in Virginia; (iii) accredited by a national or regional organization or agency recognized by the United States Secretary of Education for accrediting purposes; and (iv) certified by the State Council of Higher Education to award certificates and diplomas or to confer degrees, pursuant to § 23.1-219.

"Approved education program" means an educational agency or transition program or services accepted for participation in the Program by the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Committee.

"College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)" means a program consisting of a series of general and subject examinations in undergraduate college courses that measures an individual's college level knowledge gained through course work, independent study, cultural pursuits, travel, special interests, military service, and professional development, for the purpose of earning college credit.

"Committee" means the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Committee.

"Dual enrollment" means the concurrent enrollment of a scholarship recipient in an adult education program for the high school diploma and a public or private accredited two-year or four-year Virginia institution of higher education.

"Educational agency" means any (i) public school in the Commonwealth, (ii) public or private accredited two-year or four-year Virginia institution of higher education that is in compliance with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation standards for institutions and academic programs or other national or regional organization or agency recognized by the United States Secretary of Education for accrediting purposes, (iii) high school equivalency preparation program in compliance with Board of Education guidelines, (iv) College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) in compliance with the requirements of the College Board governing college level examination programs, or (v) accredited career and technical education postsecondary school in the Commonwealth, that accepts for admission recipients of the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program, or (vi) solely for the purpose of a scholarship for any eligible student or any individual who is a lineal descendant of an eligible student as defined in subsection G of § 30-231.2, accredited two-year or four-year institution of higher education outside of the Commonwealth.

"Graduate degree program" means an accredited academic program of study offered by a Virginia institution of higher education that has been accepted for participation in the Program by the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Committee to which scholarship recipients are accepted for admission and successful completion of the academic program culminates in the awarding of the masters or doctoral degree.

"High school equivalency preparation program" means a program of preparation and instruction for adults who did not complete high school, and for youth who have been granted permission by the division superintendent of the school in which they are enrolled, to take a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education.

"Professional degree program" means an accredited graduate level program of study offered by a Virginia institution of higher education that has been accepted for participation in the Program by the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Committee to which scholarship recipients are accepted for admission and successful completion of the academic program culminates in the award of a degree in medicine, dentistry, nursing, law, pharmacy, optometry, engineering, architecture, veterinary medicine, or other discipline approved by the Committee.

"Program" means the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program and Fund.

"Transition program and services" means individualized instruction or a compensatory education program designed to provide remediation, acceleration, or fundamental basic life skills to assist scholarship recipients in overcoming learning problems or to prepare such persons for academic success in an approved education program.

2. That any scholarship awarded pursuant to the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program established pursuant to Chapter 34.1 (§ 30-231.01 et seq.) of Title 30 of the Code of Virginia to an eligible student to attend an accredited two-year or four-year institution of higher education outside of the Commonwealth as described in clause (vi) of the definition of "educational agency" in § 30-231.01 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by this act, shall be limited to $5,000 annually, provided that the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Committee established in § 30-231.5 of the Code of Virginia may subsequently adjust such annual scholarship limit as it deems necessary or appropriate.