# Virginia HB263: Certified school library specialists; Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ in DOE.

Virginia HB263, Certified school library specialists; Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ in DOE., is a 2027 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Shelly A. Simonds (Democratic); status passed house, last action 2026-07-21 (Continued from last session) (as of 2026-10-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB263-2027
- As of: 2026-10-13
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB263
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2027 Regular Session
- Title: Certified school library specialists; Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ in DOE.
- Status: passed house
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-09
- Last action: 2026-07-21, Continued from last session
- Sponsor: Shelly A. Simonds (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Education and Health
- Touches household money: no
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Superintendent of Public Instruction; employment of certified school library specialists. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ in the Department of Education at least one certified school library specialist who shall have several duties enumerated in the bill, including (i) providing leadership and technical assistance with the implementation and use of information literacy skills to school divisions, Department staff, and other stakeholders to support student achievement; (ii) directing the implementation of state and national school library standards and consulting with and providing technical assistance to local school divisions relating to such standards; (iii) collaborating on various grants and other initiatives that promote student literacy through school library programs throughout the Commonwealth; (iv) supporting student learning through instructional programs in which students are required to demonstrate information literacy, digital literacy and fluency, and effective use of technology and instructional programs that incorporate science, technology, engineering, and math learning; and (v) providing the Department, the Board of Education, the General Assembly, and school boards with support relating to student learning through the use of school library standards and library resources.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Shelly A. Simonds (Democratic), House

## Actions (16)

- 2026-07-21: Continued from last session (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Continued to 2027 in Education and Health (14-Y 1-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Referred to Committee on Education and Health (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Read third time and passed House (74-Y 22-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-05: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-04: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-02: Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-30: Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-28: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB263) (House)
- 2026-01-28: Reported from Education and referred to Appropriations (17-Y 4-N) (House)
- 2026-01-28: Assigned HAPP sub: Elementary & Secondary Education (House)
- 2026-01-27: Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations (9-Y 1-N) (House)
- 2026-01-23: Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee (House)
- 2026-01-09: Referred to Committee on Education (House)
- 2026-01-09: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101218D (House)

## Bill text

- Introduced, 2026-01-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1228891.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1228890.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority, report. (in committee)
- HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of statements. (introduced)
- HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information. (introduced)
- SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset. (in committee)
- SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment. (in committee)
- SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion State Prison. (in committee)

## Sources
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1228891.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1228890.PDF)

## Related
- [SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority, report.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB844-2027)
- [HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of s…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1535-2027)
- [HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1534-2027)
- [SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB843-2027)
- [SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB842-2027)
- [SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion Sta…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB840-2027)
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- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB263-2027 (as of 2026-10-13).