The K‑12 Education Subcommittee of the Virginia House of Delegates on an unspecified date advanced a package of bills addressing school attendance and accountability, curriculum adoption, student discipline and safety, and college credit access for high school students. Lawmakers voted on multiple measures and reported several to the full committee for further consideration.

Most prominently, the panel folded Delegate Israel O'Rourke’s HB 1788 into Delegate Ruben Martinez’s HB 1769 (chronic‑absence adjustments) and reported the combined measure to the full committee by a recorded report vote of 6‑2 after testimony from school‑board members and teachers. Members said the bills seek to exclude planned and documented long‑term absences — including medical and IEP‑related absences — from chronic‑absenteeism calculations used in Virginia’s standards of accreditation.

The subcommittee also moved forward bills on curriculum, assessment and student supports. Delegate Helmer’s HB 1957 on assessment reform (substitute) — which would require better alignment of Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, add local‑assessment guardrails and make SOLs a modest component of student grades in grades 7‑12 — was reported as substituted after an amendment for delayed enactment, 6‑2. Supporters urged measures to reduce grade inflation and to restore instructional time; opponents raised concerns about cost and implementation timelines.

Restorative practices drew substantial testimony. Delegate Lashrecse McQuinn’s HB 2196 to establish a pilot restorative schools program (grant awards to divisions in each superintendent region) was reported 5‑3 after discussion on ensuring accountability alongside restorative approaches. Witnesses from New Virginia Majority, the League of Women Voters, the Virginia Education Association and the Board for People with Disabilities described evidence that restorative approaches reduce exclusionary discipline and racial disparities in suspensions.

On school safety and suicide prevention, the panel unanimously reported two companion measures. Delegate Reeser’s bills (HB 2055 and HB 2679) were supported by school and public safety groups and direct advocates and would require schools to notify parents when trained staff identify a student at serious risk of self‑harm or when a student is identified as a threat; materials would include suicide‑prevention guidance and reference to safe‑storage obligations under Virginia Code 18.2‑56.2. Both measures reported 8‑0.

Other bills reported or acted on by the subcommittee included: HB 1783 (narrow National FFA carve‑out related to career and technical student organization law) passed 8‑0; HB 1824 (allowing optional local substitution of AP African American Studies for a Virginia history requirement where offered) reported 5‑3; HB 2686 (automatic/more prescriptive placement in middle‑school algebra policies to expand access to accelerated math courses) reported 8‑0 after proponents cited state examples that increased access for underrepresented students; HB 2601 (standardizing and modernizing attendance reporting and creating an electronic data exchange) was reported and referred to Appropriations, 5‑3; HB 2777 (state vetting of high‑quality instructional materials, with substitute and line amendment) reported 8‑0; HB 1961 (smart devices/cellphone policy, substitute changing some language) reported 6‑2; HB 2460 (media literacy standards) reported 6‑2; HB 2640 (DOE virtual‑learning guidelines and closure planning in safety audits) reported 9‑0; and HB 2455 (concurrent/dual‑enrollment meta‑major articulation changes) reported as substituted 6‑0.

The committee also considered bills on overdose notification and parental notification policies. Delegate Higgins’s HB 2424 (24‑hour parental notification after a school‑connected overdose) and related measures were combined into a substitute carried forward; the substitute was reported 7‑1 after discussion about definitions and the appropriate trigger for notification (Narcan administration and confirmed overdose were discussed). Witnesses — including overdose survivors and families — urged codifying notification practices used by recent Board of Education guidance and noted local declines in juvenile overdoses where notification policies and outreach increased.

A voluntary trauma‑training and bleed‑response grant program (HB 2770) modeled on the Faster Saves Lives approach was presented but the subcommittee voted to table that measure (motion to table carried 5‑3). Members said similar legislation may be addressed elsewhere in the session and some preferred an alternative approach already moving through the process.

Several motions before the subcommittee were procedural: multiple substitutes and delayed‑effective‑date amendments were accepted on bills where members asked for additional time to align with appropriations or regulatory work (notably on assessment reform and restorative practices). Two bills were incorporated into others where sponsors agreed to combine language (for example, HB 1788 into HB 1769 and overdose/notification measures into a single substitute).

Votes at a glance

- HB 1769 (Martinez), incorporate HB 1788 (O'Rourke): motion to incorporate passed (voice); HB 1769 reported to full committee 6‑2.
- HB 1783 (Rock): substitute adopted; reported 8‑0.
- HB 1824 (Reid): reported 5‑3.
- HB 1957 (Helmer) (substitute): reported as substituted (delayed enactment amendment adopted) 6‑2.
- HB 2196 (McQuinn) restorative schools pilot (as amended): reported 5‑3.
- HB 2640 (Henson) virtual/online learning guidance & safety audits: reported 9‑0.
- HB 2686 (Colson) automatic/expanded middle‑school algebra placement policy: reported 8‑0 (amended to add reporting requirement).
- HB 2055 & HB 2679 (Reeser) suicide‑risk notification/materials (companion bills): each reported 8‑0.
- HB 2424 & companion bills (overdose parental notification) incorporated into substitute: reported 7‑1.
- HB 2770 (school trauma/bleed‑response grant program): tabled by subcommittee 5‑3.
- HB 2601 (Glass) attendance modernization (substitute): reported and referred to Appropriations 5‑3.
- HB 2777 (textbook/instructional materials process with incorporations): reported 8‑0.
- HB 1961 (smart devices/cellphone policy): reported 6‑2 (substitute, bell‑to‑bell wording adopted).
- HB 2460 (Scott) media literacy: reported 6‑2.
- HB 2455 (concurrent enrollment meta‑majors): reported with substitute 6‑0.
- HB 2244 (Cousins) proposed accountability metric for integration/resource sharing: reported 5‑3.

Why it matters

Committee action affects the shape of K‑12 policy the General Assembly will consider on the floor and what the Department of Education will be asked to implement through regulations and guidance. Several measures carry operational or fiscal implications flagged by members (assessment changes, data modernization and district‑level implementation supports) and include delayed effective dates or reenactment clauses to allow rulemaking or RFP procurement before statutory requirements take effect. Testimony from educators, school board members, students and advocates emphasized both equity and operational feasibility: witnesses pressed for resources for implementation, careful definitions where notification or discipline triggers are set, and statewide guidance that reduces unequal local practices.

Next steps

Bills reported by the subcommittee will move to the full committee and, where directed, to Appropriations for budgetary review. Several measures included delayed effective dates or reenactment language to allow the Department of Education, the State Board and stakeholders to finalize implementation details before statutory deadlines.

Ending note

The subcommittee’s decisions reflect a mixture of consensus and division across issues that intersect pedagogy, equity and school operations. Where members were split, their remarks typically focused on implementation timelines, the scope of state authority versus local control, and the need to pair policy changes with funding or regulatory clarity.