Board of Education; Standards of Learning assessments and related student assessment methods; assessment development, implementation, and administration reform. Modifies provisions relating to assessment methods for determining the level of achievement of the Standards of Learning objectives by all students, including (i) requirements relating to assessment administration aimed at maximizing instructional time and optimizing time used for assessment administration; (ii) criteria and guidelines for the structure and content of Standards of Learning assessments and alternative assessments developed by local school boards, including criteria for the types of assessment items that shall be included; (iii) provisions relating to eligibility and timelines for students to retake assessments; and (iv) the scoring of Standards of Learning assessments and related assessments, including a requirement that all such assessments be scored on a 100-point scale. The bill contains a provision exempting from the requirement that all end-of-course assessments be administered no earlier than two weeks prior to the last day of the school year any assessments administered as a part of a competency-based assessment system. The bill requires the Board of Education to provide any teacher who participates in the scoring of Standards of Learning assessments professional development points toward renewal of his license for the time spent scoring such assessments. The bill also requires the Board of Education to develop and make available to each school board certain templates and guidelines relating to assessment content and structure and assessment scoring. Certain provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2026 Session of the General Assembly and certain others have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
Department of Medical Assistance Services; state pharmacy benefits manager; independent evaluation. Requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services, by July 1, 2026, to select and contract with a third-party administrator to serve as the state pharmacy benefits manager to administer all pharmacy benefits for Medicaid recipients, including recipients enrolled in a managed care organization. The bill enumerates requirements for the Department's contract with the state pharmacy benefits manager. In addition, the bill directs the Department to engage an independent consultant to evaluate the implementation of a contract with a third-party pharmacy benefits manager pursuant to the bill. This bill incorporates HB 2209 and is identical to SB 875.
Public schools; textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials. Makes several changes relating to the textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials that are utilized as the curriculum basis for public elementary and secondary school student instruction, including (i) requiring each local school board to adopt and implement textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials in English language arts for grades six through 12 and mathematics, science, and history and social studies for grades kindergarten through 12 and requiring the Department of Education to support such local adoption and implementation in several ways and (ii) requiring each education preparation program offered by a public institution of higher education or private institution of higher education or alternative certification program that provides training for any student seeking initial licensure by the Board of Education with certain endorsements to include a program of coursework and clinical experience and require all such students to demonstrate mastery in identifying and implementing textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials. The provisions of the bill, with the exception of a provision that requires a study of and report on the textbook review and approval process by November 1, 2025, have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. This bill is identical to HB 2777.
Virginia Consumer Protection Act; prohibited practices; mandatory fees or surcharges disclosure. Prohibits a supplier, in connection with a consumer transaction, from advertising or displaying a price for goods or services without clearly and conspicuously displaying the total price, which shall include all mandatory fees or surcharges, as defined in the bill. The bill specifies the requirements for compliance with its provisions for certain suppliers and excludes from its provisions (i) certain fees charged by motor vehicle dealers, as defined in relevant law; (ii) fees charged by electric utilities, natural gas utilities, and telecommunications service providers, as those terms are defined in relevant law; (iii) certain costs associated with real estate settlement services; and (iv) the provision of air transportation by air carriers. The bill requires a food delivery platform to (a) at the point when a consumer views and selects a vendor or items for purchase, include a clear and conspicuous disclosure of any additional fee or percentage charged, as defined in the bill, and (b) after a consumer selects items for purchase, but prior to checkout, display a subtotal page that itemizes the price of such selected items and any additional fee or percentage included in the total cost. This bill is identical to SB 1212.
Vehicles used for agricultural purposes. Provides that trailers and semitrailers used for certain agricultural purposes may be operated without tail lights or brake lights on the highways of the Commonwealth, except in Planning District 8 (Northern Virginia), that are not interstate highways between sunrise and sunset, provided that such trailer or semitrailer has affixed to the rear end either (i) two or more reflectors of a type approved by the Superintendent of State Police or (ii) at least 100 square inches of solid reflectorized material. The bill requires such a trailer or semitrailer operated without tail lights or brake lights to keep to the rightmost lane, except when turning at an intersection or avoiding any hazard. The bill also prohibits the operation of such a trailer or semitrailer operated without tail lights or brake lights whenever (a) certain conditions reducing visibility are present or (b) windshield wipers are in use as a result of fog, rain, sleet, or snow.
Virginia Consumer Protection Act; prohibited practices; mandatory fees or surcharges disclosure. Prohibits a supplier, in connection with a consumer transaction, from advertising or displaying a price for goods or services without clearly and conspicuously displaying the total price, which shall include all mandatory fees or surcharges, as defined in the bill. The bill specifies the requirements for compliance with its provisions for certain suppliers and excludes from its provisions (i) certain fees charged by motor vehicle dealers, as defined in relevant law; (ii) fees charged by electric utilities, natural gas utilities, and telecommunications service providers, as those terms are defined in relevant law; (iii) certain costs associated with real estate settlement services; and (iv) the provision of air transportation by air carriers. The bill requires a food delivery platform to (a) at the point when a consumer views and selects a vendor or items for purchase, include a clear and conspicuous disclosure of any additional fee or percentage charged, as defined in the bill, and (b) after a consumer selects items for purchase, but prior to checkout, display a subtotal page that itemizes the price of such selected items and any additional fee or percentage included in the total cost. This bill is identical to HB 2515.
Professions and occupations; regulation of geologists; licensure; penalty. Provides that professional geologists shall be licensed by the Board for Professional Soil Scientists, Wetland Professionals, and Geologists. Under current law, professional geologists are certified by the Board. The bill requires the Board to issue a license to any individual who holds an unexpired certification to practice as a geologist issued prior to July 1, 2025. The bill also makes any person practicing or offering to practice geology without holding such license from the Board guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill requires the Board to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill to be effective within 280 days of the bill's enactment.
Use of automatic license plate recognition systems; reports; penalty. Requires the Division of Purchases and Supply of the Department of General Services (the Division) to determine and approve the automatic license plate recognition systems, defined in the bill, for use in the Commonwealth and provides requirements for use of such systems by law-enforcement agencies. The bill limits the use of such systems by law-enforcement agencies to the following purposes: (i) as part of a criminal investigation into an alleged criminal violation of the Code of Virginia or any ordinance of any county, city, or town where there is a reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed; (ii) as part of an active investigation related to a missing or endangered person, including whether to issue an alert for such person, or a person associated with human trafficking; or (iii) to receive notifications related to a missing or endangered person, a person with an outstanding warrant, a person associated with human trafficking, a stolen vehicle, or a stolen license plate.The bill requires annual reports from law-enforcement agencies using such systems that provide de-identified information concerning the use of the systems and from the State Police that aggregate such information statewide beginning April 1, 2027. The bill also requires a law-enforcement officer or State Police officer to collect data on whether a stop of a driver of a motor vehicle or stop or temporary detention of a person was based on a notification from an automatic license plate recognition system prior to such stop and if so, the specific reason for the notification as set forth in relevant law.The provisions of the bill that require a law-enforcement agency to obtain a permit from the Department of Transportation in accordance with regulations of the Commonwealth Transportation Board before installing an automatic license plate recognition system on a state right-of-way do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2026 Session of the General Assembly. Except for provisions requiring (a) the Division to determine and approve automatic license plate recognition systems for use in the Commonwealth, which shall become effective on July 1, 2026, and (b) law-enforcement officers to collect data on whether a stop was based on a notification from an automatic license plate recognition system, which shall become effective January 1, 2026, the provisions of the bill become effective in due course. The bill requires the Division, in consultation with the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, to determine such systems for use in the Commonwealth and publicly post a list of such systems by January 1, 2026. Finally, the bill requires the Virginia State Crime Commission to collect data and conduct surveys of law-enforcement agencies to assess the use of automatic license plate recognition systems and report its findings by the first day of the 2026 Regular Session and again on November 1, 2026. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia State Crime Commission.
Small renewable energy projects; permit by rule. Amends the definition of "small renewable energy project" for the purposes of obtaining a permit by rule from the Department of Environmental Quality to include interconnection facilities, as defined in the bill. The bill requires that the Department of Environmental Quality and the State Corporation Commission enter into a memorandum of understanding to implement the provisions of the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
Determination of child support. Updates the amounts in the schedule of basic child support obligations based upon gross monthly income and calculates such obligations for specific amounts up to a gross monthly income of $42,500. Under current law, such child support obligations are calculated up to a gross monthly income of $35,000. The bill directs the Child Support Guidelines Review Panel, in collaboration with the Division of Child Support Enforcement, to examine the current outstanding amount of child support arrearages and make recommendations to the General Assembly about measures the General Assembly can consider regarding (i) helping child support obligors pay outstanding arrearages and (ii) whether existing penalties that place restrictions on such obligors' drivers licenses or other professional restrictions unnecessarily impair the obligor's ability to repay outstanding child support arrearages. The bill directs the Child Support Guidelines Review Panel to report its conclusions to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice by November 15, 2025.
Board of Education; teacher licensure; career and technical education; alternative pathway to provisional licensure. Requires the Board of Education (the Board) to issue a provisional license to any person seeking an initial license in the Commonwealth with an endorsement in the area of career and technical education who has a high school diploma or a high school equivalency certificate and an industry-recognized credential, certification, or license in the area in which such person seeks an endorsement but has not completed all requirements specified in the Board's regulations for licensure to allow time for such person to complete, in lieu of the outstanding requirements specified in the Board's regulations for licensure, coursework in three areas specified in the bill. The bill directs the Board to amend its regulations as necessary in accordance with the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to SB 879.
Involuntary manslaughter; certain drug offenses. Provides that any person who knowingly, intentionally, and feloniously manufactures, sells, or distributes a controlled substance knowing that such controlled substance contains a detectable amount of fentanyl, including its derivatives, isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, and unintentionally causes the death of another person is guilty of involuntary manslaughter if (i) such death results from the use of the controlled substance and (ii) such controlled substance is the proximate cause of the death. The bill provides that venue for a prosecution of this crime shall lie in the locality where the manufacturing, sale, or distribution of such controlled substance occurred, where the use of the controlled substance occurred, or where death occurred.The bill also provides that if a person gave or distributed such controlled substance only as an accommodation to another individual who is not an inmate in a community correctional facility, local correctional facility, or state correctional facility, or in the custody of an employee thereof, and not with intent to profit thereby from any consideration received or expected nor to induce the recipient of the controlled substance to use or become addicted to or dependent upon such controlled substance, he is not guilty of involuntary manslaughter but is guilty of a Class 6 felony. This bill is identical to HB 2657.
