K-12 Subcommittee

Tuesday, January 20, 2026·1h 12m·▶ Watch / Listen

The K-12 Subcommittee advanced nine bills — including free school breakfast, mental health training, internet safety instruction, and school employee due process protections — with most passing unanimously, while one bill was stricken and another passed by for the day after a substitute was introduced.

Key Actions

·HB199 – Through-Year Growth Assessment FlexibilityPassed

+ 8 more actions

Controversies

HB116 – Due process before suspension for school employees accused of child abuse

Ann Tatus of the Virginia Childhood Innocence Project argued that providing due process before suspension would result in people reported for child abuse — including acts of sexual violence and rape — being sent back to schools, calling the committee 'nothing but an army of enablers.' Chair Ward countered that Child Protective Services handles child protection in those circumstances and that employees still deserve an opportunity to be heard before losing pay.

+ 4 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“When you're talking about some school employees, such as teacher assistants, sometimes custodians, other support staff, losing five days of pay could mean whether or not you're going to pay your rent on time or not.”
Chair Ward — Chair Ward was presenting HB116, which ensures school employees cannot be suspended without pay for five days without an opportunity to address the allegations against them.

+ 2 more quotes

Votes

Strike HB36 from the docketPassed

Report HB199Passed

Report HB116Passed

Report HB96 and refer to AppropriationsPassed

Report HB38Passed

Move the substitute for Delegate Anthony's billNo Vote

Pass Delegate Anthony's bill by for the dayPassed

Report HB206Passed

Report HB210Passed

Report HB288Passed

Report HB171Passed

AdjournPassed

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TranscriptPreview

Good morning. Welcome to the first K12 education subcommittee. We have a quorum to conduct our business. Madam Clerk, would you please take the role? You may close the roll. First, I want to do some introductions. I'm very grateful to our new clerk. Sam Fiddler will be with us. And we also have our attorney, Ryan Bremer, and a new member of the committee who wasn't here yesterday. So I'll just recognize Gretchen Bulova. Thank you for being part of the democratic process. As you may know, the K12 education committee is one of the busiest committees in the House of Delegates. So we will always be moving along at a fast pace because we want as many as many people as possible to participate. So please be brief and concise with your comments and keep testimony to less than one minute. Since this is our first meeting, I wanted to set some ground rules for decorum in this committee. Please address all comments through me, the chair, and exercise respect for our members. For example, there will be no shouting, sign waving, booing, name calling or disrespect of any of the members of this committee. I also want…

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