All Roll Calls
Yes: 215 • No: 6
VirginiaHB2582026 Regular SessionHouseWALLET
Early childhood care and education; updates terminology.
Sponsored By: Shelly A. Simonds (Democratic)
Became Law
Summary
Early childhood care and education; terminology. Updates throughout the Code of Virginia the term "family day home" to "home-based child care" and the term "family day system" to "home-based child care system." The bill permits the Department of Education to phase in such terminology changes over a period time to ensure that any necessary changes to its information technology systems can be integrated into future systems upgrades in order to minimize costs.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
20 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 1 costs, 15 mixed.
Small home child-care $500 incentive
In the Ready Region Chesapeake Bay, small home‑based providers can get $500 for each first‑time milestone: voluntary registration, first licensure, or first participation in VQB5 that meets subsidy standards. The pilot funds a Navigator to help providers. It runs through July 1, 2029, and only pays if the state appropriates money. Participation and payments are posted each year.
TANF checks tied to kids vaccines
TANF applicants and recipients must show vaccine proof for eligible children who are not in school or licensed child care. If a child is not fully vaccinated, at the next redetermination you must show at least one age‑appropriate dose and a doctor’s or health department plan to finish the shots. Monthly TANF is reduced by $50 for the first child without proof and $25 for each additional child, until you provide verification. No sanction is allowed until the agency finds the reason for noncompliance and removes access barriers.
New safety rules in child care settings
Family day homes must keep firearms unloaded and locked during operating hours, with ammunition locked separately and keys out of children’s reach. Child day centers must have trained staff and weight‑based epinephrine available at all times; family day homes need a trained caregiver and must tell parents if epinephrine is stored. Programs must verify each child’s identity and age at enrollment and destroy any copies after the retention period; if proof is not provided within seven business days, they must notify local police. The Department provides shaken baby syndrome information online and to licensed programs at initial licensure and on request.
School shots: rules, exemptions, free help
Children must get required shots to attend school and most child‑care settings. Required series include HepB (3), DTaP with a dose on or after the fourth birthday and a booster before 7th grade, MMR (2), varicella (2), HPV (2 with the first before 7th grade), and MenACWY before 7th and 12th grades. Providers who give shots must give you a certificate listing doses and dates. Parents may claim a religious or medical exemption, and may opt out of HPV after reviewing Board materials. Local health departments give required vaccines at no charge to parents if the child is eligible for the Vaccines for Children program or covered by Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, or CHAMPUS. The Board updates rules to match evidence‑based schedules with a 60‑day public comment period.
Stronger enforcement for child care safety
The Superintendent can revoke or summarily suspend licenses that put children at immediate risk. A hearing happens within 15 business days, and final orders follow set 10‑day timelines. The agency can put programs on probation, cut capacity, require training at the program’s cost, stop public funds, and fine up to $500 per inspection. Running without a required license, blocking inspectors, lying, or over capacity is a Class 1 misdemeanor; causing serious injury while knowingly unlicensed can be a Class 4 felony. Programs may not use misleading ads and cannot retaliate against complainants or abuse reporters. Providers must keep records and file reports, and the names of complainants and children in complaints are confidential.
Tougher background checks for child care and schools
Child care programs may not hire or use volunteers with a listed barrier crime or a founded child abuse or neglect finding when they would be alone with or supervise children. People with those findings cannot get a license or registration unless the Superintendent grants a waiver. It is illegal to operate a family day home or allow someone to be present there if that person has certain violent or sex‑offense convictions or a founded abuse finding. Background check fees cannot exceed actual processing cost, and making a false sworn statement for checks is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Accredited private schools must fingerprint job applicants for national checks; they can accept a recent child‑care background check instead.
Zoning rules for home child care
A family day home with 1–4 children is treated like a single‑family home. For 5–12 children, a locality may use an administrative permit with notice to neighbors and a 30‑day objection window. Some cities and urban counties can license and regulate local child‑care businesses, but they cannot duplicate state‑licensed or certain religious‑exempt facilities. Local rules cannot be broader than state rules for family day homes, except they may be stricter on gun possession and storage at child‑care sites. Local rules cannot control residential construction materials.
Stronger background checks for child care staff
The law requires background checks before hiring or licensing and every five years after. Checks include fingerprints, criminal and sex‑offender searches, the child‑abuse registry, and states lived in during the last five years. An applicant may work while other results are pending if fingerprints are clear and they are always supervised by someone with a recent clear check. Barrier crimes or founded abuse findings block hiring, licensing, approval, and contracts, and refusing to remove a disqualified person can cost a license. A narrow exception allows one old misdemeanor under § 18.2‑57 after 10 years, and some people can apply for a safety‑based waiver; localities may also require state and national checks and child‑welfare registry clearances.
Who must license home child care
Home-based child care that serves 5–12 children must be licensed. You may not care for more than four children under age two unless you are licensed or voluntarily registered. Family day home licenses can last up to three years; child day center licenses last two years and must be posted. Very small homes serving fewer than five children can choose a new voluntary registration every two years, with background checks. Unlicensed, unregistered homes must give parents a written notice that they are not regulated. Any licensed child care building must meet Virginia building code Use Group rules.
More inspections and tougher enforcement for child care
All licensed programs get at least two inspections each year, with one unannounced, and applicants must allow full reviews and interviews. Complaint‑driven inspections come first; a toll‑free complaint line is set up when funded. The Governor can order Board investigations and use subpoenas. Programs under a final suspension must post the order at each entrance, and courts can be asked to stop unlicensed operations. The Board may cut off public funds for serious or repeated violations. Local officials must report child‑care business licenses to the Department twice a year.
Offender alerts and registry privacy
Any person can sign up to get electronic notices within three business days when an offender in the same or a nearby ZIP code registers or updates information. The state also limits putting a child’s name on the central abuse registry when the parents are not the accused and the incident happened in school or child‑care settings. Parents can ask in writing to remove a child’s name that was entered without the required consultation.
Private schools cannot help abusers get jobs
Accredited private schools must adopt policies that forbid anyone at the school from helping a person get a new school job when they know or have probable cause the person committed sexual misconduct with a minor or student in violation of law. The rule covers board members, administrators, employees, contractors, and agents.
Updated child-care standards and staffing options
The Board sets rules to protect children without forcing one teaching method or a single accreditor. Rules for school‑age programs cannot ban outdoor play equipment, and parents in cooperative preschools are exempt from orientation but can be asked to do up to four training hours a year. The Board updates therapeutic recreation rules with partner agencies and cannot ban centers from hiring a state‑licensed armed security officer. An advisory committee with diverse members helps the Board shape early childhood programs and regulations.
Parents get records access and insurance notice
Parents cannot be denied access to their child’s school, health, or child‑care records unless a court orders it or a treating professional documents likely serious harm. Child‑care records about individuals are confidential, and unlawful disclosure is a Class 1 misdemeanor; only people with a lawful, legitimate interest may see them. Family day homes must tell parents in writing whether required liability insurance is in force, keep signed receipts during care and for 12 months after, and notify parents within 10 business days if coverage ends. A civil penalty of up to $500 can apply for each failure to give a required notice.
Immunization data rules and TANF status
Health providers, health departments, and the state immunization system can share immunization and contact data without parental consent only for the limited public‑health purposes named in law. The data stays confidential and use is limited to those purposes. If your TANF cash stops because you did not verify a child’s shots, you still count as a TANF recipient for all other non‑cash purposes.
Licensing fees and hardship variances
The Board sets child‑care license application fees, with amounts tied to capacity. Fee revenue must fund operator and staff training and be spent within two fiscal years. Federal facilities do not pay these fees. The Superintendent may grant a variance when following a rule would cause a big financial or program hardship and safety is not harmed. Each variance is reviewed at least yearly.
Agencies update terms and rules
Education and Social Services must update regulations, forms, and guidance to carry out this law. The Department of Education may phase in new terms to match IT upgrades and lower costs.
Faster offender alerts for schools and childcare
Schools, child‑care programs, and family day homes can register with State Police to get offender‑registration notices. The State Police must send notices within three business days when the entity is in the same or a nearby ZIP code; notices may be electronic or by mail. The private‑school council sends the State Police a yearly list of accredited private schools and emails to enable notices. The State Police may charge a one‑time or ongoing fee to maintain electronic access, and fees cover system and mailing costs.
Stronger child abuse assessments and oversight
Local departments using the differential response system must begin an immediate family assessment, check child‑abuse registries (and out‑of‑state when needed), and may get state criminal history when rules allow. They must contact families promptly, finish assessments within 60 days, send reports to the Department and the subject, and consult on services; families may decline services without an automatic investigation. If the assessment shows it is required, the department must open an investigation. Family assessments must document safety needs, risks, and, when a child was exposed to drugs in utero, whether the mother sought treatment, and note an alternate safety plan. A 15‑member advisory committee helps the Board set and review standards for out‑of‑family investigations and the family‑assessment track.
Tighter rules for sharing background records
The law limits re‑sharing of background‑check records and protects people who follow the rules in good faith from civil suits. Starting July 1, 2026, administrators and board presidents may receive criminal‑history records and share them only with the Superintendent’s investigator, the data subject, required authorities, or a court. The Central Criminal Records Exchange gives applicants denied a job instructions to get their FBI record and allows limited sharing for private‑school accreditation. The Department must answer child‑abuse registry requests in 10 business days with no match and 30 business days with a match, and some volunteer checks are free.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Shelly A. Simonds
Democratic • House
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
Senate vote • 3/2/2026
Passed Senate Block Vote
Yes: 40 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/27/2026
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading)
Yes: 37 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/27/2026
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
Yes: 0 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/26/2026
Reported from Education and Health
Yes: 15 • No: 0
House vote • 2/3/2026
Read third time and passed House
Yes: 93 • No: 5
House vote • 1/28/2026
Reported from Education with amendment(s)
Yes: 20 • No: 1
House vote • 1/21/2026
Subcommittee recommends reporting
Yes: 10 • No: 0
Actions Timeline
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0917)
4/13/2026GovernorApproved by Governor-Chapter 917 (effective 7/1/2026)
4/13/2026GovernorFiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB258)
3/31/2026HouseGovernor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
3/31/2026GovernorEnrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
3/31/2026HouseSigned by Speaker
3/31/2026HouseBill text as passed House and Senate (HB258ER)
3/30/2026HouseEnrolled
3/30/2026HouseSigned by President
3/30/2026SenatePassed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
3/2/2026SenateRead third time
3/2/2026SenatePassed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2/27/2026SenateConstitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)
2/27/2026SenateRules suspended
2/27/2026SenateReported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N)
2/26/2026SenateAssigned Education sub: Public Education
2/19/2026SenateFiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB258)
2/5/2026HouseReferred to Committee on Education and Health
2/4/2026SenateConstitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
2/4/2026SenateRead third time and passed House (93-Y 5-N 0-A)
2/3/2026HouseEngrossed by House as amended
2/2/2026Housecommittee amendment agreed to
2/2/2026HouseRead second time
2/2/2026HouseRead first time
1/30/2026HouseReported from Education with amendment(s) (20-Y 1-N)
1/28/2026House
Bill Text
Chaptered
4/13/2026
Enrolled
3/30/2026
Engrossed
2/2/2026
Amendment
1/28/2026
Introduced
1/9/2026
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