# Virginia HB1162: State correctional facilities; required education or vocational training.

Virginia HB1162, State correctional facilities; required education or vocational training., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Wendell S. Walker (Republican); status in committee, last action 2026-02-13 (Continued to 2027 in Public Safety (Voice Vote)) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1162-2026
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1162
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: State correctional facilities; required education or vocational training.
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-02-13, Continued to 2027 in Public Safety (Voice Vote)
- Sponsor: Wendell S. Walker (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Subcommittee #2
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (0 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

State correctional facilities; required education or vocational training; earned sentence credits classification levels. Requires a prisoner in a state correctional facility, as a part of his reentry plan developed and implemented by the Department of Corrections, to complete a high school equivalency test or vocational, technical, or other certification prior to such prisoner's release. The bill also provides that the annual review of a prisoner's classification level for earned sentence credits shall include such prisoner's quantifiable or measurable progress, as available, in any programs, job assignments, and educational curricula in which he is participating, such as test scores achieved or completion of a high school equivalency test or other trade or vocational certification.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Wendell S. Walker (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-13 | House | Continued to 2027 in Public Safety (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2027 (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |

## Actions (6)

- 2026-02-13: Continued to 2027 in Public Safety (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-02-12: Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2027 (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-02-02: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1162) (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 26103663D (House)

## Bill text

- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087567.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087566.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
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087567.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087566.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1162-2026 (as of 2026-10-11).