K-12 Subcommittee

Tuesday, February 3, 2026·2h 6m·▶ Watch / Listen

The K-12 Subcommittee advanced bills on school safety (Alyssa's Law), superintendent qualifications, mental health screenings, water safety, and at-risk student funding, while tabling measures on school construction grants, composite index land-use reform, and superintendent performance evaluations; contested votes of 7-3 defined several outcomes, and multiple bills were referred to Appropriations.

Key Actions

·HB 592 – Alyssa's Law; Wearable Panic Alarm SystemsPassed

+ 12 more actions

Controversies

Composite index land-use reform versus urban school funding (HB 753)

Delegate This S. Runion argued rural localities face 'in excess of a million dollars per year of a penalty on their local school funding' due to land use tax discounts and called the bill a matter of 'fairness and equity,' while Matthew Stanley (Richmond City Public Schools) testified in opposition stating changes could 'push Richmond's LCI even higher, negatively impacting our state share of public education funding,' and Chad Stewart (VEA) argued the LCI is 'kind of a zero sum game' requiring simultaneous holistic reform.

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“I texted Alyssa. I told her to run and hide, that help was on the way. But on that day, help did not arrive fast enough. She wasn't alerted fast enough. And students didn't go into their safety protocols quickly enough. Alyssa and 16 others died that day.”
Lori Aldous, CEO of Make Our School Safe, identified as Alyssa's mother — Testifying in support of HB 592 (Alyssa's Law), which would permit school boards to provide wearable panic alarm systems to school staff and establish a DOE grant program for divisions with the greatest need.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Report HB 178 as substituted and amended (with reenactment clause)Passed

Report HB 705 as substitutePassed

Report HB 495 as substituted and refer to AppropriationsPassed

Lay HB 751 on the tablePassed

Lay HB 753 on the tablePassed

Report HB 412 as substitutedPassed

Report HB 1165 as substituted and amendedPassed

Lay HB 1168 on the tablePassed

Report HB 1470 and refer to AppropriationsPassed

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TranscriptPreview

The committee will come to order. The committee will go. At ease. Significant. Good morning. I would like to bring the K12 education subcommittee to order. Madam Clerk, you may take the roll. You may close the roll. A quorum is present to conduct our business today. Thank you for joining us in person and online. We have a busy docket, so we ask that you keep your testimony. We're going to start with less than one minute per person and address any comments to the chair. And please exercise decorum and respect for our members. First we will take testimony and person in favor and then we will move online. This will be followed by online person for online testimony. Please keep comments to less than one minute and turn on your camera per the rules of the House of Delegates. You can also submit comments using hodspeak.house.virginia.gov. that being said, let's start with some housekeeping. We have a note from Delegate Hamilton to strike HB541. That is a recorded vote. Can I have a motion, please? It's been moved and properly seconded to strike 541. Madam Clerk, you may open the roll. You may close the roll. That…

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