# Virginia SB259: Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program; established, development of modules, report.

Virginia SB259, Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program; established, development of modules, report., is a 2027 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by William M. Stanley, Jr. (Republican); status in committee, last action 2026-07-21 (Continued from last session) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB259-2027
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB259
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2027 Regular Session
- Title: Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program; established, development of modules, report.
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-07-21, Continued from last session
- Sponsor: William M. Stanley, Jr. (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Finance and Appropriations
- Touches household money: no
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program established; pilot programs; development of modules; report. Establishes the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program, to be administered by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Department) in coordination with the Department of Education and the Department of Health, for the purpose of providing and expanding the accessibility of early childhood mental health consultation services, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill requires, pursuant to the Program, early childhood mental health consultation services shall be provided to families of children three through five years of age who exhibit developmental delays and behavioral health concerns and to early childhood care and education programs as enumerated in the bill. The bill requires the Department, in administering the Program, to (i) develop, or contract with community services boards to develop, and make available to early childhood care and education programs and providers developmental readiness modules, in accordance with the requirements of the bill; (ii) designate three pilot regions for initial implementation of the Program, with implementation beginning no later than January 1, 2027; and (iii) submit to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1 of each year a report on the implementation and outcomes of the Program for each pilot region selected for initial implementation. The provisions of the bill relating to initial implementation of the Program in the pilot regions shall expire on July 1, 2029.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: William M. Stanley, Jr. (Republican), Senate

## Actions (9)

- 2026-07-21: Continued from last session (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 1-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-29: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-01-29: Senate subcommittee offered (Senate)
- 2026-01-29: Reported from Education and Health with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB259) (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Assigned Education sub: Public Education (Senate)
- 2026-01-12: Referred to Committee on Education and Health (Senate)
- 2026-01-12: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102173D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Amendment, 2026-01-30: [HTML](https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20271/SB259)
- Introduced, 2026-01-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229758.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229757.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
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20271/SB259)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229758.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229757.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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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB259-2027 (as of 2026-10-11).