Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker

Health insurance; coverage for mental health and substance abuse disorders; generally accepted standards of care. Requires health insurance coverage, as defined in the bill, to provide coverage for mental health and substance use disorder benefits for children, adolescents, and adults and requires such coverage to apply the definitions of "generally accepted standards of mental health or substance use disorder care" and "medically necessary" provided in the bill for any determination of medical necessity, prior authorization, or utilization review under such coverage.

Claims; Marvin Leon Grimm, Jr.; compensation for wrongful incarceration. Grants relief in an amount to be appropriated to Marvin Leon Grimm, Jr., who was wrongly convicted in 1976 of murder, sodomy by force, and abduction with the intent to defile and, as a result of such wrongful conviction, was subjected to 45 years of imprisonment and when released on parole was required to register on the sex offender registry for an additional four years before receiving a writ of actual innocence in 2024.

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 SB 768.

Compensation for wrongful incarceration; compensation for certain intentional acts. Provides that the instrumentality, political subdivision, or employee responsible for employing the individual who committed an intentional act shall compensate the wrongfully incarcerated individual. Under current law, additional compensation for intentional acts shall not become effective unless and until the wrongfully incarcerated person enters into an agreement with the instrumentality or political subdivision that committed or employed the individual committing the intentional acts to provide such compensation. In the event that the instrumentality or subdivision fails to compensate the individual, the bill authorizes the Governor to issue an order to the Comptroller to withhold all payments of appropriated funds to the instrumentality or political subdivision until such compensation has been paid. The bill also provides that any compensation an individual receives for wrongful registration with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry only applies to the years that the individual was registered after release from incarceration.

Virginia Values Veterans Program; military spouse eligibility. Provides that the comprehensive program developed by the Department of Veterans Services to reduce unemployment among veterans extends to military spouses.

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; recommendations on exempting certain courses of instruction operated by private and out-of-state institutions of higher education; report. Directs the State Council of Higher for Virginia (the Council) to evaluate and make recommendations on amending the provisions of law relating to certain activities and programs offered by private and out-of-state postsecondary schools that are exempt from the requirements for obtaining and maintaining certification by the Council to operate in the Commonwealth for the purpose of exempting noncredit courses of instruction offered by an entity or organization in accordance with the requirements of a nationally recognized certifying body and those intended solely to prepare students for certification as project management professions, provided that no such exempted course shall exceed the number of hours required by the applicable certifying body. The bill requires the Council to report its findings and recommendations to the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and Education and Health and the House Committees on Appropriations and Education by November 1, 2025.

Malcolm's Law; hospitals; urine drug screening; fentanyl. Requires hospitals with an emergency department, when conducting a urine drug screening, as defined in the bill, to assist in diagnosing a patient's condition, to include testing for fentanyl in such urine drug screening. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2026.

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.

Certain advanced or accelerated mathematics opportunities; policies and criteria for enrollment; data reporting. Requires each school board to develop and adopt a policy that sets forth the criteria for students in grades five through eight to be eligible to enroll in advanced or accelerated mathematics and requires each such policy to provide for (i) the automatic enrollment of certain students in advanced or accelerated mathematics based on Standards of Learning assessment scores, subject to course offerings and availability and the opportunity for parental opt-out; (ii) multiple additional pathways to student enrollment in advanced or accelerated mathematics; and (iii) an annual parental notification relating to mathematics coursework. The bill also requires each school board to report and the Department of Education to post on its website certain data relating to advanced or accelerated mathematics participation and performance.

Maddy summaryHJ 564 is a non-binding resolution honoring the late Honorable Henry Levander Marsh, III, recognizing his contributions to the state. It does not create new laws or affect any specific group, as it is purely commemorative. The resolution passed unanimously in both the House and Senate and was formally adopted by the legislature. This type of resolution serves to acknowledge an individual's legacy without implementing policy changes.