# Virginia HB1455: School bds.; opening of school year, certain alternative schedules & schedule flexibility permitted. Virginia HB1455, School bds.; opening of school year, certain alternative schedules & schedule flexibility permitted., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Joseph P. McNamara (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0815)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1455-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia HB1455 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: School bds.; opening of school year, certain alternative schedules & schedule flexibility permitted. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-23 - Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0815) - Sponsor: Joseph P. McNamara (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 7 (219 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary School boards; opening of the school year; certain alternative schedules and schedule flexibility permitted. Extends from no earlier than 14 days before Labor Day to no earlier than 14 days before September 1 of each year the requirement relating to the earliest date that each school board is permitted to schedule as the first day on which students are required to attend school each year. This bill is identical to SB 815. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Some Virginia divisions gain earlier school starts: benefit, low. Some Planning District 16 school divisions can open before Labor Day, even before the usual 14-days-before-September-1 limit. One exception covers divisions without a 2018–2019 good-cause waiver that qualified for 2019–2020 under rules predating July 1, 2019. A division entirely surrounded by two q… - Virginia school start dates and holiday closures: mixed, low. Virginia schools generally cannot require students to start earlier than 14 days before September 1. Divisions starting before Labor Day must close every school from the Friday before Labor Day through Labor Day. The Board of Education can waive this closure when a school board certifies year-round… - Virginia schools can approve four-day weeks: mixed, low. Individual Virginia schools can propose alternative schedules, including a four-day school week. Local school boards can approve them using Board of Education guidelines. Approved schedules must provide at least 990 instructional hours for kindergarten through grade 12. Families at schools adopting… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Joseph P. McNamara (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-02 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-02-27 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-27 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 37 | 0 | | | 2026-02-26 | Senate | Reported from Education and Health | pass | 14 | 0 | | | 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 | | | 2026-02-11 | House | Reported from Education | pass | 21 | 0 | | | 2026-02-10 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 10 | 0 | | ## Actions (26) - 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0815) (Governor) - 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 815 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor) - 2026-03-10: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1455) (House) - 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor) - 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (House) - 2026-03-09: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1455ER) (House) - 2026-03-09: Enrolled (House) - 2026-03-09: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-03-02: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-02: Read third time (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Reported from Education and Health (14-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on Education and Health (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: Read second time and engrossed (House) - 2026-02-13: Read first time (House) - 2026-02-11: Reported from Education (21-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-02-10: Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-02-05: Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee (House) - 2026-01-30: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1455) (House) - 2026-01-23: Referred to Committee on Education (House) - 2026-01-23: Presented and ordered printed 26104626D (House) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222876.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222875.PDF) - Enrolled, 2026-03-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194271.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194270.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-23: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094941.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094940.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/1222876.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222875.PDF) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194271.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1194270.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094941.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094940.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-HB1455-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).