Fairfax County Public Schools, Office of Government Relations

Final Report - Special Services/Student Health 

This report describes all the Special Services/Student Health 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Bills identified as Continued to 2025 are no longer active for the 2024 Session but can be picked back up by the continuing committee where they were left off in the legislative process during the 2025 Session.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: 06/03/2024

Special Services/Student Health – Passed

Disability Pride Month HJ 17 Cole designates July, in 2024 and in each succeeding year, as Disability Pride Month in Virginia.

Fentanyl crisis; Joint Commission on Health Care to study policy solutions. HJ 41 (Srinivasan) directs the Joint Commission on Health Care (JCHC) to study policy solutions to the Commonwealth's fentanyl crisis. The resolution directs JCHC to (i) study the causes of the rise in fentanyl prevalence and fentanyl overdoses in the Commonwealth, (ii) study the impact of the rise in fentanyl prevalence and fentanyl overdoses in the Commonwealth on Virginians and the Commonwealth's health care system, (iii) study and provide insight into the fentanyl crisis within the context of other drug crises and addiction trends in recent history, and (iv) establish and make policy recommendations related to reducing the prevalence of fentanyl in the Commonwealth and reducing the number of fentanyl overdoses in the Commonwealth. The resolution requires JCHC to complete its meetings by November 30, 2025, and to submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the next Regular Session of the General Assembly for each year.

Opioids; DOE to develop education materials concerning risks. HB 134 (Convirs-Fowler requires the Department of Education, in consultation with such stakeholders and experts as it deems necessary or appropriate, to develop and submit to the Chairs of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2024, (i) age-appropriate and evidence-based education materials concerning the risks to health and safety that are posed by opioids and (ii) guidelines for school boards for incorporating such education materials into instructional programs for students enrolled in the local school division.

School building evacuation plans, policies, and protocols; students with mobility impairments. HB 501 (Cohen) requires any divisionwide or public elementary or secondary school-specific school building evacuation plan, policy, or protocol to include provisions that seek to maximize the opportunity for students with mobility impairments to evacuate the school building alongside their non-mobility-impaired peers.

Students with disabilities; SCHEV to study process used to determine eligibility for accommodations. HB 509 (Cohen) and SB 21 (Salim) require the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in consultation with representatives of public institutions of higher education, students enrolled at public institutions of higher education, higher education disability accommodation professionals, and a subject matter expert to be selected by the Council, to study the processes by which each public institution of higher education determines the eligibility for accommodations of an admitted or enrolled student with a temporary or permanent disability and identify in such processes and make recommendations to reduce any barriers to establishing eligibility. In conducting its study, the Council is required to (i) evaluate the current processes used by such institutions for determining a student's eligibility for accommodations, including any required documentation; (ii) identify any barriers students may face in establishing eligibility for accommodations through such processes; (iii) identify any resources that may be necessary for students to overcome such barriers in establishing eligibility for accommodations; and (iv) make recommendations on (a) strategies for reducing any such barriers, and (b) the development and establishment of a uniform accommodations eligibility determination process for public institutions of higher education. The bills require the Council to submit to the Governor, the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Education, and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and Education and Health a report on its findings and recommendations by October 1, 2024.

Public schools; opioid antagonist administration, etc. HB 732 (Sewell) and SB 726 (Pillion) require each local school board to develop a plan, in accordance with the guidelines and model curriculum developed by the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Education, for providing at each public secondary school that includes grades nine through 12 a program of instruction on opioid overdose prevention and reversal. Require that each public secondary school shall provide an opioid overdose prevention and reversal program of instruction at such grade level as the local school board deems appropriate and shall adopt policies for the purpose of encouraging each student to complete such opioid overdose prevention and reversal program of instruction prior to graduation. Require each local school board to develop a plan and policies and procedures, in accordance with the guidelines developed by the Department of Health in collaboration with the Department of Education, that: (i) provide for the procurement, storage, and maintenance of at least two unexpired doses of opioid antagonists at each public elementary and secondary school; (ii) require each such school to inspect its opioid antagonist supply ay least annually and maintain a record of the date of inspection, the expiration date on each dose, and in the event that a dose is administered for overdose reversal, the date of such administration; and (iii) relate to the proper and safe storage of such opioid antagonist supply in each school. The bills require that each local school board shall develop policies and procedures relating to the possession and administration of opioid antagonists by any school nurse or employee of the school board who is authorized by a prescriber and trained in the administration of opioid antagonist including: (i) policies requiring each public school to ensure that at least one employee is authorized by a prescriber and has been trained and is certified in the administration of an opioid antagonist and has the means to access at all times during regular school hours any such opioid antagonist supply; and (ii) policies and procedures for partnering with a program administered or approved by the Department of Health to provide training in opioid antagonist administration and maintaining records of each employee of each such school who is trained and certified in the administration of an opioid antagonist. The bills state that any employee of a public school, school board, or local health department who, during regular school hours, on school premises, or during a school sponsored activity, in good faith administers an opioid antagonist for opioid overdose reversal to any individual who is believed to be experiencing or about to experience a life threatening opioid overdose, regardless of whether such employee was trained in administration of an opioid antagonist, shall be immune from any disciplinary action or civil or criminal liability for any act or omission made in connection with the administration of an opioid antagonist in such incident, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Finally, the bills direct the Department of Health and the Department of Education to collaborate to develop guidelines and policies for the implementation of the provisions of the bill and for the Department of Education to submit such guidelines to the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by January 1, 2025. The bills require such guidelines and policies to be implemented by each school board by the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.  Note that HB 732 also incorporated HB 271 (Reid) and HB 497 (Cohen) while SB 726 incorporated SB 387 (Pekarsky).

Minors; parental admission for inpatient treatment. HB 772 (Delaney) and SB 460 (Marsden) clarify that for the purposes of admission of a minor to a willing mental health facility for inpatient treatment, the finding required to be made by a qualified evaluator that the minor appears to have a mental illness serious enough to warrant inpatient treatment may include a finding of substance abuse and such inpatient treatment may be related to such mental illness, which may include substance abuse. The bills also specify that a temporary detention order shall not be required for a minor 14 years of age or older who objects to admission to be admitted to a willing facility upon the application of a parent.

School boards; model memorandum of understanding; partnerships with certain mental health services providers; provision and expansion of virtual mental health services. HB 919 (Srinivasan) directs the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Department of Medical Assistance Services, to develop, adopt, and distribute to each school board a model memorandum of understanding between a school board and a nationally recognized school-based telehealth provider that sets forth the parameters for the provision of mental health teletherapy by such provider to public school students enrolled in the local school division. Current law only requires the development, adoption, and distribution of a model memorandum of understanding between a school board and a public or private community mental health services provider. The bill also permits each school board to adopt policies and procedures to increase the accessibility of school-based mental health services for students enrolled in each school division who may not have access to mental health services otherwise by providing or expanding virtual mental health resources and establishing or expanding a partnership with (i) a public or private community mental health services provider that offers school-based teletherapy to students or (ii) a nationally recognized school-based telehealth provider that provides mental health teletherapy to students.

Local government; regulation by ordinance for locations of tobacco products, etc. HB 947 (Lopez) allows a locality to regulate the retail sale locations of tobacco products, nicotine vapor products, alternative nicotine products, or hemp products intended for smoking for any such retail sale location and may prohibit a retail sale location on property within 1,000 linear feet of a child day center or a public, private, or parochial school.

Public elementary and secondary schools; possession and administration of undesignated glucagon. HB 1039 (Bennett-Parker) would permit any local school board to adopt and implement policies for the possession and administration of undesignated nasal or injectable glucagon in each public elementary or secondary school in the local school division, provided that such policies are consistent with the guidance outlined in the most recent revision of the Diabetes Management In School: Manual for Unlicensed Personnel published by the Department of Education and include guidance on several items enumerated in the bill. The bill also permits any public elementary or secondary school to maintain a supply of nasal or injectable glucagon in any secure location that is immediately accessible to any school nurse or other employee trained in the administration of nasal and injectable glucagon prescribed to the school by a prescriber. The bill requires any such school to ensure that such a supply consists of at least two doses. The bill permits any school nurse or other authorized employee who is trained in the administration of nasal and injectable glucagon consistent with the guidance outlined in the most recent revision of the Diabetes Management In School: Manual for Unlicensed Personnel published by the Department to administer nasal or injectable glucagon from undesignated inventory with parental consent and if the student's prescribed glucagon is not available on school grounds or has expired. The bill permits any school board to accept donations of nasal or injectable glucagon from a wholesale distributor of glucagon or donations of money from any individual to purchase nasal or injectable glucagon for the purpose of maintenance and administration in a public school in the local school division as permitted pursuant to the aforementioned provisions of the bill.

Special education and related services; definitions, utilization of Virginia IEP. HB 1089 (Coyner) and SB 220 (Favola) make several changes relating to special education and related services for children with disabilities in public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth, including requiring (i) the Department of Education to (a) develop, establish, review and update as necessary at least once every five years, and make available to each local school board an IEP writing, facilitation, tracking, and transfer system to be referred to as the Virginia IEP that includes, at a minimum, an IEP template component and a data system component and (b) develop and publish a data dashboard for the annual public reporting of state-level, division-level, and school-level special education data; (ii) each local school board to designate a faculty member to serve as a special education parent/family liaison to be a resource to parents and families to understand and engage in the referral, evaluation, reevaluation, and eligibility process if they suspect that their child has a disability and in the IEP process; and (iii) the Parent Training and Information Center in the Commonwealth designated pursuant to relevant federal law to establish special education family support centers in eight distinct regions of the Commonwealth that shall each be staffed by a regional special education family liaison employed by such center, coordinate with the designated special education parent/family liaisons in the local school divisions in the region, develop and implement outreach and support to parents of children with disabilities in its region, and track and report to the State Parent Ombudsman for Special Education data on questions and concerns raised by parents.  Finally, the bills require that the Virginia Commission on Youth (the Commission) shall study and make recommendations on Virginia's special education dispute resolution system, with a report of findings and recommendations due to the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2025.  Note that provisions related to the Virginia IEP and to professional development in implementing the Virginia IEP and in instructional practices to support specially designed instruction in inclusive settings shall become effective on July 1, 2027 and are required to be fully implemented in each local school division in the 2027-2028 school year.  Note also that no later than January 1, 2028, each school board shall adopt policies regarding the utilization of the components of the Virginia IEP or a local alternative to either such component.

School health entrance form; Departments of Education and Health to streamline. HB 1279 (Hayes) requires the Department of Health, in conjunction with the Department of Education, to examine the Department of Health's COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL HEALTH ENTRANCE FORM: Health Information Form/Comprehensive Physical Examination Report/Certification of Immunization and make such changes as they deem necessary to streamline such form and make it more user-friendly for families, physicians, and other health care professionals while continuing to gather all of the information that is necessary to comply with relevant state laws relating to student health and immunization and school attendance.

Fentanyl education and awareness informational one-sheet; Department of Education to develop. HB 1473 (Clark) requires the Department of Education to develop, in collaboration with the Department of Health, a fentanyl education and awareness informational one-sheet designed to promote awareness of the dangers associated with and the prevalence of fentanyl and provide essential information on fentanyl overdose prevention and preparedness among high school-age students. The bill requires the Department of Education to make available to each school board and post in a publicly accessible location on its website such informational one-sheet and to annually review and update such informational one-sheet in collaboration with the Department of Health to ensure its currency and accuracy. The bill requires each public high school or secondary school that includes grades nine through 12 to annually distribute such informational one-sheet to each student in grades nine through 12 within the first two weeks of the school year. This bill incorporates HB 1007 (Lovejoy).

Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services; dissemination and availability of online transition resources. SB 51 (Favola) directs the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, in partnership with relevant entities, to ensure that online resources are readily available and disseminated to all individuals of age to transition from school to post-school activities and their families. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Disability Commission.

Guidelines for individualized education program teams relating to certain age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate instruction; availability and posting. SB 60 (Favola) requires the Department of Education to make available to each school board and post on its website by the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year the guidelines established in accordance with relevant law for individualized education program (IEP) teams to use in developing IEPs for children with disabilities relating to the need for age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate instruction.

Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind; Board of Visitors, expands membership, powers & duties. SB 420 (Head) expands the total membership of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind from 11 to 15 members by increasing the number of nonlegislative citizen members from seven to 11. The bill provides that of the 11 nonlegislative citizen members, two shall be parents of current students at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, of whom (i) one is the parent of a student who is deaf or hard of hearing and one is the parent of a student who is vision impaired and (ii) one represents the Eastern region of the Commonwealth and one represents the Western region of the Commonwealth; two shall be representatives of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind Alumni Association who are deaf or hard of hearing; and two shall be representatives of the Alumni Association who are vision impaired. Under current law, the requirements for the parent representatives are less specific and there is only one representative of the Alumni Association. The bill also amends the powers and duties of the Board of Visitors to include supervising the superintendent, other officers, and the faculty of the school. The bill provides that, in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, any notice of a meeting of the Board of Visitors shall state whether public comment will be received and, if so, the approximate point at which it will be received. The bill requires that at each meeting at which public comment will be received each interested individual is allotted three minutes to speak and prohibits limiting that allotted time without adequate notice prior to the date of the meeting. The bill also requires the Board of Visitors to meet no less than four times each year. Current law provides that the Board of Visitors shall meet no more than four times each year. Finally, the bill defines the terms "deaf," "hard of hearing," and "vision impaired."

Special Services/Student Health – Continued to 2025 or Failed

Public schools; Department of Education to review physical accessibility challenges, report. HB 618 (Price) would have required the Department of Education, in consultation with each school board, the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, and such other stakeholders as it deems appropriate, to review the extent to which (i) public elementary and secondary school buildings and grounds in the Commonwealth present physical accessibility challenges and barriers for individuals with disabilities, including challenges and barriers that may prevent such individuals from fully participating in school activities; (ii) such schools have begun or plan to address and eliminate such challenges and barriers; and (iii) state agencies can assist such schools to address and eliminate such challenges and barriers and fully comply with all applicable state and federal laws. The bill would have required the Department of Education to report its findings and any associated recommendations to the Board, the Governor, the General Assembly, and each local school board no later than November 1, 2024.

Minors admitted to inpatient treatment; discharge plans. HB 1017 (Wilt) and SB 575 (Obenshain) would have provided that prior to the discharge of any minor or individual who has been admitted to inpatient treatment and is a student at a public elementary or secondary school, a copy of such minor's or individual's discharge plan shall be provided to the division superintendent and the division safety official in the local school division in which such minor or individual attends such school.  HB 1017 failed to pass, while SB 575 was Continued to 2025 in House Education.

Community services boards, local; waiver usage flexibility HB 1021 (Wilt) would have directed the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to amend their regulations to allow local community services boards the discretion to convert allocated Community Living waivers to Family and Individual Support waivers and Building Independence waivers if the Community Living waivers are not being utilized and will not be utilized in the foreseeable future. The bill would have required DMAS to seek any necessary federal approvals to effectuate this modification through the submission of a state plan for medical assistance services amendment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Standards of Learning assessments; virtual assessment administration. HB 1212 (Scott, P.A.) would have required the Board of Education to offer virtual assessment administration as an alternative method of Standards of Learning assessment administration for any student with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) who meets the criteria established by the Board to demonstrate achievement of the Standards of Learning. The bill would have provided that such virtual assessment administration shall be available at the option of such student and such student's parent subject to the final determination of such student's IEP team as to the virtual setting and conditions appropriate for such student. The bill would have further permitted the Board to adopt policies providing for such virtual assessment administration as an alternative for any student who does not receive special education or does not have an IEP, provided that such alternative is equally available to any such student subject to through-year growth assessment requirements. Finally, the bill would have required the Board to develop guidance to implement the provisions of the bill by January 1, 2025.

Students with individualized education programs or Section 504 Plans; emergency protocol and guide. HB 1283 (Willett) would have required a protocol for individualized accommodations and supports during emergency situations at school and a step-by-step guide on how to execute such protocol to be included in each individualized education program implemented for a public school student with a disability in accordance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and in each Section 504 Plan implemented for a public school student in accordance with § 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and provided to all of such student's teachers for implementation.

Information Technology Access Act; numerous organizational changes to Act. HB 1355 (Tran) would have made numerous organizational changes to the Information Technology Access Act. The bill defined "information and communications technology" as it relates to digital accessibility, defined in the bill, for all persons with disabilities. The bill would have permitted the head of each covered entity, defined in the bill, to designate an employee to serve as such covered entity's digital accessibility coordinator and provides that such digital accessibility coordinator is responsible for developing and implementing such covered entity's digital accessibility policy. The bill had a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025. This legislation was Continued to 2025 in Senate General Laws and Technology.

Persons with disabilities; creates a helpline program within disAbility Law Center of Virginia. SB 43 (Favola) would have established a helpline program within the disAbility Law Center of Virginia for persons with disabilities. The bill would have provided that such program may receive and respond to questions regarding state-operated programs that provide services to persons with disabilities and directs the disAbility Law Center of Virginia to publicize a toll-free phone number and web-based portal for receiving questions and the procedures for contacting the helpline program.

Parental Behavior Technician Registration and Participation Pilot Program; established. SB 96 (Stanley) would have established the Parental Behavior Technician Registration and Participation Pilot Program (the Pilot Program), to be developed and administered by the Board of Education in collaboration with the Department of Health and the Advisory Board on Behavioral Analysis, for the purpose of assisting parents of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with becoming a registered behavior technician (RBT) in order to provide assistance to their children both in the classroom as a volunteer under the supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or other qualified Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) individual and outside the classroom in the home environment. The bill would have provided that the Pilot Program shall assist any eligible parent, defined as any parent of a child with ASD who is enrolled in a public school in the Commonwealth and receives special education, by (i) providing assistance, resources, and support to any eligible parent in meeting the requirements to receive an RBT credential and (ii) coordinating with the school board of the school division in which the child of an RBT-credentialed parent is enrolled to set up a volunteer position for the parent to provide assistance as an RBT in his child's special education program under the supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or other qualified ABA individual.  This legislation was Continued to 2025 in Senate Education and Health.

Public elementary and secondary schools; 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.  This legislation was Continued to 2025 in House Appropriations.