Del. Delores Oates

Maddy summaryThis is a commemorative resolution (SJ 308) honoring Garland Nuckols, a recognized individual in the community. It does not create new laws or affect policies; it is a symbolic gesture of recognition. The resolution passed unanimously in both the Senate and House, and is now awaiting final processing as a ceremonial measure. No substantive changes or direct impacts on constituents or legislation are involved.

Transportation district commissions; contracts or agreements. Expands the localities and entities with which transportation district commissions may enter into contracts or agreements to provide transit facilities and services and other modes of transportation.

Admission of evidence; evidentiary hearing; excluded persons. Exempts one person whose presence, in the judgment of the court, would be supportive of the complaining witness and would not impair the conduct of a fair hearing or pose a substantial risk of influencing or affecting the content of the testimony from being excluded from evidentiary hearings for certain prosecutions. The bill provides that if such support person is exempted, the judge shall admonish such support person to not prompt, communicate with, or influence the complaining witness in any way. Lastly, the bill provides that a court may exercise its discretion to remove the support person from the courtroom if it believes such support person is prompting, communicating with, or influencing the complaining witness.

School boards; employment of school resource officers in each public elementary and secondary school. Requires each school board to enter into a collaborative agreement with the local law-enforcement agency to employ at least one school resource officer in each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division and provides that no school board shall be granted any full or partial waiver from such staffing requirements. The bill contains a contingent effective date that states that the foregoing requirement shall become effective beginning with the fiscal year in which funding has been provided pursuant to the general appropriation act to fully fund such requirement.

Unauthorized use of electronic tracking device; penalties. Creates a Class 6 felony for any person who installs or places an electronic tracking device through intentionally deceptive means and without consent, or causes an electronic tracking device to be installed or placed through intentionally deceptive means and without consent, and uses such device to track the location of any person protected by a protective order issued pursuant to relevant law. The bill also states that any person who consents to the installation or placement of an electronic tracking device may withdraw such consent at any time, and such withdrawal shall allow prosecution.

K-12 schools and institutions of higher education; student participation in women's sports; civil cause of action. Requires each interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public school, or any other school that is a member of the Virginia High School League, or by a public institution of higher education to be expressly designated as one of the following based on the biological sex of the students who participate on the team or in the sport: (i) males, men, or boys; (ii) females, women, or girls; or (iii) coed or mixed if participation on such team or sport is open to both males and females. The bill requires that the biological sex of any student seeking to participate on such an expressly designated team be affirmed by a signed physician's statement. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill prohibits any government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking any other adverse action against any such school or institution of higher education based on a violation of the provisions of the bill and creates a cause of action for any school or institution of higher education that suffers harm as a result of a violation of the bill. Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for any student who suffers harm as a result of a knowing violation of a provision of the bill by a school or institution or as a result of the student's reporting a violation of a provision of the bill by a school, institution, athletic association, or organization.

Stalking; penalty. Clarifies that the term "electronically transmitted communication" as used in the offense of stalking includes the use or monitoring of location services through an application or a device to remotely determine or track the position and movement of another person, regardless if such person has previously given consent for the accused to use or monitor such location services. The bill contains technical amendments.

Maddy summaryThis bill (SJ 305) is a ceremonial resolution commending Colonel James B. Cogbill, USA, Ret., for his military service. It does not create new laws or affect any policies, programs, or individuals beyond this formal recognition. The resolution passed both the Senate and House by voice vote in early February 2025 and is now pending final action. It serves solely to honor an individual's service, with no substantive policy impact.

Road impact fees. Lowers one of the local government population requirements for eligibility to adopt a road impact fee ordinance from a population of at least 20,000 and a population growth rate of at least five percent to a population of at least 15,000 with no growth rate requirement.

Department of Education; school boards; student online activity; data collection, monitoring, and restrictions. Requires the Department of Education (the Department) to establish reporting expectations for school divisions that collect student online activity data and provides that if no school within a school division does so, the school board, upon submission of written documentation to the Department stating that no school within the school division collects student online activity data, shall be deemed to have satisfied such reporting expectations. The reporting expectations include: (i) making certain disclosures to parents, including what online activity is being tracked, monitored, and collected when using school devices on school property and what types of student online activity or online activity data would create an alert; (ii) including in the school division's acceptable use policy for the Internet that student online activity is being tracked and data collected; (iii) providing, to the extent available for the school division, parents the ability to access any collected student online activity data; (iv) notifying the parent of a student for whom an alert is created or an action taken on such student's online activity or associated data before the student is notified, except as provided in the bill; and (v) prohibiting the inclusion of student online activity data in a student's permanent record except in the most severe cases, as defined, set forth, and made publicly available by the Department. The bill requires the Department to create and distribute to each school board (a) a template for making the required parental disclosures and (b) best practices for deleting student online activity data.