HB 299 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

SOL assessments and related assessment methods; development, administration, scoring, and release.

Summary

Board of Education; Standards of Learning assessments and related assessment methods; development, administration, scoring, and release. Makes several clarifying revisions to applicable law relating to the development, administration, and scoring of Standards of Learning assessments and related assessment methods for determining the level of achievement of Standards of Learning objectives by all students, including (i) clarifying that students who are children with disabilities, as that term is defined by applicable law, who participate in alternative methods of Standards of Learning assessment administration or in alternate assessments through the Virginia Alternate Assessment Program are exempt from several requirements set forth in applicable law relating to the administration and grading of Standards of Learning assessments and related assessments and (ii) repealing the provisions requiring the Board of Education to establish a through-year growth assessment system in lieu of a one-time end-of-year assessment. The provisions of the bill limiting the number of end-of-course assessments that may be administered to students in grades seven through 12 and requiring the score received by each student in grades seven through 12 on an end-of-course assessment to account for at least 10 percent of the student's final grade in such course are subject to a contingent and delayed effective date. This bill is identical to SB 200.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 9, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

Education and Health Substitute → Chaptered · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill transitions HB 299 from a Senate substitute amendment into an officially enacted Chapter of the Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive policy content regarding school accreditation, assessment methods, and grading requirements remains unchanged; the primary difference is the formal legal status and the addition of standard legislative formatting.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged as it covers the same Code of Virginia section and policy areas.

TIMELINE

The document header changed from a 'Senate Substitute' proposed on March 5, 2026, to an 'Approved' Chapter 102 dated April 6, 2026, indicating the bill has passed both houses and been signed into law.

TECHNICAL

Standard legislative formatting elements were added, including the official title 'VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY - 2026 SESSION', Chapter number, approval date, and page numbering.

Drafting headers, committee attribution, and patron information associated with the Senate substitute process were removed.

The text layout was converted from a diff format (using '-' and '+' symbols) into a clean, continuous text format suitable for the official code.

Introduced → Enrolled · 10 edits · Apr 6, 2026

MAJOR

This bill updates Virginia's education code to modernize school accreditation, introduce a multi-year growth assessment system for reading and math, and establish new rules for local alternative assessments. The changes aim to reduce testing burden while maintaining accountability, ensure virtual schools are held to the same standards as traditional schools, and provide clearer guidelines for how students are evaluated and graded.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of accreditation standards to explicitly include public virtual schools and clarifies that local school boards must maintain full accreditation for all schools under their jurisdiction.

REQUIREMENT

Added explicit requirements for accrediting public virtual schools under the same standards as traditional schools.

Changed the accreditation review cycle to allow for triennial reviews for schools that have been fully accredited for three consecutive years, provided they submit annual progress updates.

Established a 'through-year' growth assessment system for reading and math in grades 3-8, replacing a single end-of-year test with beginning, mid, and end-of-year assessments to measure student progress throughout the year.

Reordered and renumbered the list of assessment methods the Board must prescribe, clarifying the sequence of options for industry certification, local alternatives, and remediation measures.

Added a requirement that local alternative assessments must be scored on a 100-point scale using statewide rubrics to ensure consistency across districts.

Mandated that students in grades 7-12 must have at least 10% of their final course grade based on standardized assessments, unless the course uses a competency-based system.

Created a new audit process where the Board will randomly audit a percentage of local alternative assessments to ensure they meet state quality and rigor standards.

DEFINITION

Added specific definitions for 'mandatory local alternative assessment' and 'permissive local alternative assessment' to clarify when districts must create their own tests versus when they can choose to.

TIMELINE

Set a specific deadline for the Board to develop best practices for grading local alternative assessments by September 1, 2026.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarified that students receiving Brown v. Board of Education scholarships in adult education programs are exempt from Standards of Learning assessments.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 6, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 39

Mar 6, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

18 Yea 1

94% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 6, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 102 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB299ER)

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate subcommittee offered

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Education and Health with substitute (15-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Committee

Assigned Education sub: Public Education

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Education and Health

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (86-Y 11-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Appropriations (19-Y 3-N)

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 2-N)

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Committee

Assigned HAPP sub: Elementary & Secondary Education

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Education with substitute and referred to Appropriations (18-Y 3-N)

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

House committee offered

lower

Jan 9, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Education

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors