# Virginia HB894: Private elementary and secondary schools; policies relating to bullying and cyberbullying, etc.

Virginia HB894, Private elementary and secondary schools; policies relating to bullying and cyberbullying, etc., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0236)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB894-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB894
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Private elementary and secondary schools; policies relating to bullying and cyberbullying, etc.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0236)
- Sponsor: Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 14 (366 yes, 203 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Charlie's Law to Protect All Students; private elementary and secondary schools; student codes of conduct, policies, and procedures relating to bullying and cyberbullying prevention. Requires each principal, headmaster, or other chief administrator of each private elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth to include in such school's codes of student conduct policies and procedures (i) for addressing and handling instances of bullying and cyberbullying and (ii) that include a prohibition against bullying and a requirement to notify the parent of any student involved in a confirmed incident of bullying within 24 hours of confirming the incident of bullying. This bill incorporates HB 53 and is identical to SB 341.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Private schools must set fair anti-bullying rules: benefit, low. The law requires every private K–12 school in Virginia to include procedures for bullying and cyberbullying in its student code. Policies must follow state, federal, and court law. Schools must train or inform staff on handling student conduct and rule violations. Codes must add steps to reduce bia…
- Private schools: bullying bans and 24-hour parent notice: benefit, low. Every private K–12 school must ban bullying and hazing in its student code; hazing uses Virginia’s legal definition. Schools must also ban and address cyberbullying between students. Policies must protect victims and witnesses from retaliation so they can report or seek help. When bullying is confi…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-13 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 28 | 11 |   |
| 2026-03-13 | House | Conference report agreed to by House | pass | 65 | 30 |   |
| 2026-03-13 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 23 | 16 |   |
| 2026-03-13 | Senate | Reconsideration of conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Senate insisted on substitute | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | House | Senate substitute rejected by House | fail | 0 | 98 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Education and Health Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute | pass | 25 | 15 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 37 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Reported from Education and Health with substitute | pass | 8 | 6 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 73 | 24 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Reported from Education with substitute | pass | 18 | 3 |   |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (53)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0236) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 236 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB894) (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 (HB894ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-13: Conference report agreed to by House (65-Y 30-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-13: Conference report agreed to by Senate (23-Y 16-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-13: Reconsideration of conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-13: Conference report agreed to by Senate (28-Y 11-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Conference Report released
- 2026-03-12: House Conferees: Sullivan, Dougherty, Whittle (House)
- 2026-03-12: Conferees appointed by House (House)
- 2026-03-11: Conferees appointed by Senate (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Senate Conferees: Boysko, Favola, Head (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: House acceded to request (House)
- 2026-03-09: Senate insisted on substitute (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Senate requested conference committee (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Senate substitute rejected by House (0-Y 98-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-03: Passed Senate with substitute (25-Y 15-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Education and Health Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Floor Offered (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Senator Boysko Substitute withdrawn (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Floor substitute printed 26108740D-S2 (Boysko) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB894) (House)
- 2026-03-02: Passed by for the day (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Committee substitute printed 26108791D-S1 (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 with substitute (8-Y 6-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 (73-Y 24-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-12: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB894) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Committee substitute printed 26107679D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from Education with substitute (18-Y 3-N) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Incorporates HB53 (Cole, J.G.) (House)
- 2026-02-10: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-05: Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee (House)
- 2026-01-14: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB894) (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Education (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104005D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216942.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216941.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213671.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213670.PDF)
- Conference Report, 2026-03-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209171.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-03-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209168.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209167.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-03-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187574.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187573.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186353.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185734.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186352.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185733.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139934.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139933.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1138192.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1138191.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086353.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086352.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/1216942.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216941.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213671.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213670.PDF)
- [Conference Report (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209171.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209168.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209167.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187574.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187573.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186353.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185734.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186352.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185733.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139934.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139933.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1138192.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1138191.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086353.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086352.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-HB894-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).