# Virginia HB1041: DOC; powers and duties of Director, Virginia Prison Education Task Force established, report.

Virginia HB1041, DOC; powers and duties of Director, Virginia Prison Education Task Force established, report., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Betsy B. Carr (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0725)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1041-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1041
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: DOC; powers and duties of Director, Virginia Prison Education Task Force established, report.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0725)
- Sponsor: Betsy B. Carr (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 15 (437 yes, 98 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

Department of Corrections; functional literacy program for incarcerated individuals; Virginia Prison Education Task Force established; report. Requires the Superintendent employed by the Director of Corrections to (i) by January 1, 2027, develop a functional literacy program for inmates testing below at least an eighth grade level, instead of a twelfth grade level as required by current law, and include in such program evidence-based literacy instruction, as defined in accordance with applicable law; (iii) share data with (a) the state entity that oversees the management, direction, and governance of the Commonwealth's education and workforce data for the purpose of developing educational, health, social service, and employment outcome data and improving the efficacy of state services and (b) the Virginia Community College System necessary for comprehensive community colleges to apply for and maintain eligibility as Federal Pell Grant-eligible prison education programs; and (iv) track and publicly report at least annually the number of incarcerated individuals eligible for, enrolled in, and waitlisted for the literacy and education programs. The bill also establishes the Virginia Prison Education Task Force for the purpose of implementing a consistent education program across all state correctional facilities operated by the Department. The bill requires the Task Force to submit a report to the Governor and the General Assembly on its activities, findings, and recommendations by November 1, 2026. Finally, the bill requires the Department of Education to, by November 1, 2026, (a) review and update the salary schedules for teachers licensed by the Board of Education and employed by the Department of Corrections to provide instruction in the schools of the correctional centers to be competitive with those in effect for the school division in which the correctional facility is located and (b) make recommendations for the inclusion of such teacher salary increases in the appropriation act.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Competitive pay schedules for prison teachers: benefit, low. Virginia’s Department of Education must set pay schedules for licensed teachers employed by corrections in correctional-center schools. The schedules must compete with those in the school division where each center is located. The department must review and update them each year. By November 1, 202…
- Private telehealth visits for incarcerated people: benefit, low. Virginia’s corrections Director must create and carry out policies supporting telehealth appointments in state prisons. Those policies must include designated private spaces for appointments. This requirement supports access and privacy but does not specify changes to health coverage or costs.
- New literacy support for incarcerated people: benefit, low. Virginia’s Department of Corrections must start a literacy program by January 1, 2027. It serves incarcerated people who test below a chosen grade level, which cannot be lower than eighth grade. The program must use proven teaching methods and set testing, participation, and completion rules. It mu…
- Planning better education in Virginia prisons: benefit, low. The law creates a prison education task force chaired and administered by Virginia’s Secretary of Finance. It reviews funding, agency agreements, waitlists, data, technology, reentry support, program evaluation, and required program hours. It must meet at least four times yearly and report to the G…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Betsy B. Carr (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-13 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-13 | House | Conference report agreed to by House | pass | 94 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Senate insisted on substitute Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | House | Senate substitute rejected by House | fail | 1 | 98 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Reported from Appropriations with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-30 | House | Reported from Public Safety with substitute and referred to Appropriations | pass | 21 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to Appropriations | pass | 7 | 0 |   |

## Actions (57)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0725) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 725 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-04-01: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1041) (House)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1041ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-24: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1041) (House)
- 2026-03-13: Conference report agreed to by House (94-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-13: Conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-13: Conference Report released
- 2026-03-12: House Conferees: Carr, Clark, Walker (House)
- 2026-03-12: Conferees appointed by House (House)
- 2026-03-12: House acceded to request (House)
- 2026-03-12: Conferees appointed by Senate (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Senate Conferees: Jones, Williams Graves, French (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Senate insisted on substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Senate requested conference committee (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Senate substitute rejected by House (1-Y 98-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-09: Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1041) (House)
- 2026-03-09: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Committee substitute printed 26109176D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1041) (House)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute rejected (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-11: Committee substitute printed 26107748D-H2 (House)
- 2026-02-11: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-11: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from Appropriations with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-05: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1041) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1041) (House)
- 2026-01-30: Committee substitute printed 26105898D-H1 (House)
- 2026-01-30: Reported from Public Safety with substitute and referred to Appropriations (21-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-30: Assigned HAPP sub: Transportation & Public Safety (House)
- 2026-01-29: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-29: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to Appropriations (7-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-27: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1041) (House)
- 2026-01-23: Assigned HMPPS sub: Subcommittee #2 (House)
- 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on Public Safety (House)
- 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104920D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222351.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222350.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213639.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213638.PDF)
- Conference Report, 2026-03-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210103.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-03-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210092.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210091.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-03-05: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1195937.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1195936.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142633.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142035.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142628.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142632.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142034.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142627.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104235.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104234.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100659.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101096.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101104.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100658.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101095.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101103.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087229.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087228.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222351.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222350.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213639.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213638.PDF)
- [Conference Report (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210103.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210092.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210091.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1195937.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1195936.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142633.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142035.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142628.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142632.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142034.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142627.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104235.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104234.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100659.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101096.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101104.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100658.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101095.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101103.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087229.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087228.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1041-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).