Fairfax County Public Schools, Office of Government Relations

Final Report - Student Activities and Athletic Programs 

This report describes all the Student Activities and Athletic Programs related legislation considered during the 2024 General Assembly Regular and Special Sessions. Bills are listed as “Passed”, “Failed” or “Continued to 2025”.

Passed legislation will go into effect on July 1, 2024, unless otherwise specified in the legislation itself.

Bills identified as Continued to 2025 are no longer active for the 2024 Session but can be picked back up by the continuing committee where they were left off in the legislative process during the 2025 Session.  While possible, it is rare for a continued bill to be picked back up. Typically, such legislation is simply reintroduced in the next Session.

UPDATED: 05/22/2024

Student Activities and Athletic Programs – Passed

Coach Appreciation Week designating as week of October 6, 2024 and each succeeding year thereafter HJ 27 (Price) designates the week of October 6, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Coach Appreciation Week in Virginia.

High school student-athletes; use of name, image, or likeness HB 617 (Price) establishes rights, duties, and prohibitions relating to the use of the name, image, or likeness of high school student-athletes that are equivalent to those established in law for college student-athletes. The bill also requires the Department of Education to publish in a publicly accessibly format on its website information about laws that are applicable to any contract entered into by a student-athlete relating to compensation for the use of his name, image, or likeness.

Public middle schools and high schools; career and technical education organizations permitted SB 707 (Subramanyam) permits each public middle school and high school to establish career and technical education student organizations, regardless of whether such school offers career and technical education courses.

Student Activities and Athletic Programs – Continued to 2025 or Failed

Students who receive home instruction; participation in interscholastic programs, fees, etc. HB 17 (Garrett), HB 65 (Campbell), and SB 84 McGuire would have prohibited public schools from joining an organization governing interscholastic programs that does not deem eligible for participation a student who (i) receives home instruction; (ii) has demonstrated evidence of progress for two consecutive academic years; (iii) is in compliance with immunization requirements; (iv) is entitled to free tuition in a public school; (v) has not reached the age of 19 by August 1 of the current academic year; (vi) is an amateur who receives no compensation but participates solely for the educational, physical, mental, and social benefits of the activity; (vii) complies with all disciplinary rules and is subject to all codes of conduct applicable to all public high school athletes; and (viii) complies with all other rules governing awards, all-star games, maximum consecutive semesters of high school enrollment, parental consents, physical examinations, and transfers applicable to all high school athletes. The bill would have provided that no local school board is required to establish a policy to permit students who receive home instruction to participate in interscholastic programs. The bill would have permitted reasonable fees to be charged to students who receive home instruction to cover the costs of participation in such interscholastic programs, including the costs of additional insurance, uniforms, and equipment. The bill would have had an expiration date of July 1, 2029.   HB 411 (Griffin) would have additionally required each school board to adopt a policy to permit any student who receives home instruction and who resides in the local school division to participate in any intramural extracurricular program that is offered to public school students in the same grade level, subject to any reasonable conditions that the school board may establish for such participation such as conditions relating to fees, prerequisites, or space availability.

K-12 schools and higher educational institutions; student participation in women's sports, etc. HB 1120 (Oates) and SB 723 (Mulchi) would have required 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 prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill also would have provided that in the event of a dispute as to the biological sex of any student seeking to participate on any interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport that is expressly designated for males or females, such student may establish biological sex by presenting to the school or institution a signed physician's statement that attests to such student's biological sex based solely on (a) the student's internal and external reproductive anatomy; (b) the student's normal endogenously produced levels of testosterone; and (c) an analysis of the student's genetic makeup. The bill would have prohibited 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 would have created 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.

Elementary & secondary schools & higher educational institutions; student participation in sports HB 1229 (Higgins) would have required 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 biological sex: (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, men, or boys and females, women, or girls. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females, women, or girls from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill would have created a civil cause of action for any student that 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. The bill also would have limited access to any restroom or changing room that is capable of being accessed by more than one individual at one time in any public elementary or secondary school building or building owned or controlled by any public institution of higher education exclusively to individuals of the same biological sex.

Elementary and secondary schools; participation in female sports, civil cause of action SB 68 (Peake) would have required each public elementary or secondary school and each private elementary or secondary school that competes in sponsored athletic events against such public schools to designate all interscholastic athletic teams and intramural athletic teams sponsored by such school based on biological sex as follows: (i) for "males," "men," or "boys"; (ii) for "females," "women," or "girls"; or (iii) as "coed" or "mixed" if such team is open to participation by (a) "males," "men," or "boys" and (b) "females," "women," or "girls." The bill would have prohibited any student whose biological sex is male and who has not physically transitioned to female prior to puberty from participating on any school athletic team or squad designated for "females," "women," or "girls." Finally, the bill would have created a civil cause of action for students and schools that suffer harm as a result of a violation of the provisions of the bill, provided that such action is initiated within two years of the harm occurring.

Cardiac emergency response plans required SB 181 (Rouse) would have required each public elementary or secondary school to develop a cardiac emergency response plan (CERP) that addresses the appropriate use of school personnel to respond to incidents involving an individual who is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency while on school grounds and, in the event that such school has an athletic department or organized athletic program, while attending or participating in an athletic practice or event. The bill would have required each such CERP to integrate nationally recognized evidence-based core elements such as those recommended by the American Heart Association guidelines and to integrate certain provisions and guidelines, including those relating to establishing a cardiac emergency response team, activating such team in response to a sudden cardiac event, and integrating the CERP into the local community's emergency medical services response protocols. The bill also would have required, with such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pursuant to the general appropriation act, the Department to establish and administer the CERP Grant Program for the purpose of awarding grants, on a competitive basis, to any public elementary or secondary school to assist such school in the development or implementation of its CERP or in the purchase or funding of activities or equipment that further promotes CERP preparedness, giving priority to certain high-need schools.  The bill was Continued to 2025 in House Appropriations.