Line of Duty Act; campus police officers; private police officers. Provides employees of contributing nonprofit private institutions of higher education and contributing private police departments, as those terms are defined in the bill, with the benefits granted to employees of participating employers under the Line of Duty Act. The bill clarifies that the Line of Duty Act shall not apply to any (i) private institution of higher education that is not a contributing nonprofit private institution of higher education or (ii) private police department that is not a contributing private police department. The bill requires each contributing nonprofit private institution of higher education and contributing private police department to pay its pro rata share of the initial costs to implement the bill, as determined by the Virginia Retirement System. This bill is identical to HB 1815.
Board of Dentistry; expedited licensure. Directs the Board of Dentistry to convene a work group including the Virginia Dental Association and the Virginia Dental Hygienists' Association to assess expedited pathways for licensure for dentists and dental hygienists. The bill specifies that the work group shall (i) review the licensure by credentialing statutes governing dentists and the licensure statutes governing dental hygienists and make recommendations on how such statutes can be updated to reflect an expedited pathway for licensure and (ii) study options for and make recommendations on a pathway for qualified internationally trained dentists to practice dental hygiene under the supervision of a licensed dentist.
Therapeutically equivalent drug products; provisions for return of outdated drugs. Requires drug manufacturers to implement provisions for the return of drugs past their expiration date by pharmacies in order for their products to be eligible for dispensing as a therapeutically equivalent drug.
Funerals; disagreements among next of kin. Permits funeral service establishments to proceed with funeral and disposition arrangements upon authorization from any next of kin after 30 days have passed since the funeral service establishment learned of a dispute between next of kin. Such procedure may only occur if the funeral service establishment has not received written notice of agreement among the next of kin or a court order resolving the dispute within the 30-day period.
School safety audit committees; annual meetings on school grounds with local law enforcement permitted. Permits each division superintendent or his designee and the school safety audit committee established by the division superintendent to meet annually on the grounds of any public school in the local school division with the chief law-enforcement officer of the locality or a designee from the local law-enforcement agency to discuss the annual school safety audit completed for such school.
Board of Education; Standards of Learning; incorporation of media literacy and digital citizenship. Requires the Board of Education to consider, during each regularly scheduled revision to the Standards of Learning and any associated curriculum framework, including the Digital Learning Integration Standards of Learning, incorporating media literacy and digital citizenship standards, as such terms are defined in the bill, at each grade level.
Board for Barbers and Cosmetology; employment prohibition exceptions; children 16 years of age or older. Allows children 16 years of age or older to serve in a licensed barbershop or cosmetology salon, provided that (i) the child is an apprentice, (ii) the child is employed in a work-training program as provided by relevant law and in accordance with relevant regulations, or (iii) the child has obtained a cosmetology or barber license from the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology. This bill is identical to SB 1228.
Voluntary contributions of refunds requirements; endowment fund of the Board for the Blind and Vision Impaired. Adds the Board for the Blind and Vision Impaired to the list of organizations and funds that may receive contributions of taxpayer refunds. The bill requires that moneys contributed shall be paid to the endowment fund of the Board for use in its mission in providing quality services to assist citizens of the Commonwealth who are blind, vision impaired, or deafblind in achieving their desired level of employment, education, and personal independence.
Department of Education; survey of local education agencies on school-based mental and behavioral health services; report. Requires the Department of Education (the Department) to survey each local education agency (LEA) in the Commonwealth to determine (i) how public schools governed by such LEA currently grant access to local departments of social services and community services boards and other community-based providers of mental and behavioral health services and (ii) what school-based mental and behavioral health services are made available by such LEA. The bill requires the Department to utilize the results of and feedback from the survey to inform the continued development and improvement of guidelines for school professionals to support students and families by connecting them with community resources that provide mental and behavioral health services. The bill requires the Department to report to the Commission on Youth by November 1, 2025, any findings and recommendations that result from the survey. This bill is identical to HB 1947.
Publication of personal information of retired or former law-enforcement officers. Adds retired or former law-enforcement officers, defined in the bill, to the definition of "public official" for the purposes of prohibiting the Commonwealth from publishing a public official's personal information on the Internet. The bill clarifies that such retired or former law-enforcement officer be in good standing with no pending investigations or disciplinary actions. The bill provides that the demand in writing required to prohibit the publication of such personal information shall be effective for a period of four years, provided that such retired or former law-enforcement officer was retired or ended his service within four years of filing a petition with a circuit court. This bill is identical to HB 1874.
Homeless youth; fees; certain government documents. Provides that when a homeless youth seeks to receive a certified copy of a vital record, including his birth record, or his DMV-issued learner's permit, driver's license, special identification card, or identification privilege card or permit, no fee shall be assessed.
Board of Pharmacy; long-acting injectable or extended-release prescription drugs; correctional facilities. Allows the Board of Pharmacy to register a correctional facility to maintain a floor stock of long-acting injectable or extended-release prescription drugs for the treatment of mental illness or substance use disorder. The bill requires such long-acting injectable or extended-release prescription drugs to be stored in an area accessible only to persons who are licensed to administer such prescription drugs, regardless of whether the prescriber is on site. The bill provides that each correctional facility shall maintain an ongoing perpetual inventory of all such drugs in Schedules II through V and that such perpetual inventory shall (i) accurately indicate the physical count of each drug on hand at the time the inventory is performed and (ii) no less than once per month, include a reconciliation of each drug with a written explanation for any difference between the physical count and the theoretical count. This bill is identical to SB 1367.
