# Virginia SB265: Elementary and secondary schools or higher educational institutions; bullying and cyberbullying. Virginia SB265, Elementary and secondary schools or higher educational institutions; bullying and cyberbullying., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by William M. Stanley, Jr. (Republican); status in committee, last action 2026-02-16 (Senate committee offered) (as of 2026-10-11). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB265-2026 - As of: 2026-10-11 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia SB265 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Elementary and secondary schools or higher educational institutions; bullying and cyberbullying. - Status: in committee - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-12 - Last action: 2026-02-16, Senate committee offered - Sponsor: William M. Stanley, Jr. (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Courts of Justice - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 2 (24 yes, 6 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 0 ## Summary Autumn's Law; elementary and secondary schools; institutions of higher education; aggravated bullying and cyberbullying unlawful; policies and procedures; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to commit an act of aggravated bullying or aggravated cyberbullying, as defined in the bill, against any student enrolled in any elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education. The bill requires the administrator of each elementary or secondary school and each institution of higher education, or his designee, to, upon receiving satisfactory proof of an incident of aggravated bullying by a student enrolled in such school or institution, address such incidents, discipline the student guilty thereof, and report such incidents to local law-enforcement. The bill also requires (i) reports to be made to the division superintendent and the principal or his designee on all incidents involving an act of aggravated bullying or aggravated cyberbullying occurring on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity; (ii) each principal to immediately report to the local law-enforcement agency any incident involving an an act of aggravated bullying or aggravated cyberbullying occurring on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity; and (iii) the Board of Education to include in its guidelines and model policies for codes of student conduct developed pursuant to applicable law standards for school board policies on aggravated bullying. Finally, the bill requires each school board to include in its code of student conduct policies and procedures prohibiting aggravated bullying and aggravated cyberbullying, including (a) a citation to the provision of the bill that makes committing an act of aggravated bullying a Class 1 misdemeanor; (b) detailed procedures for reporting any incident of aggravated bullying or aggravated bullying in accordance with the bill; (c) clear, escalating, and appropriate disciplinary procedures for addressing incidents of aggravated bullying; and (d) information and resources relating to any civil rights of action or remedies available to victims of an act of aggravated bullying or cyberbullying. ## Bill overview No economic impacts identified for this bill. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: William M. Stanley, Jr. (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-02-16 | Senate | Continued to 2027 in Courts of Justice | pass | 9 | 6 | | | 2026-01-29 | Senate | Rereferred from Education and Health to Courts of Justice | pass | 15 | 0 | | ## Actions (7) - 2026-02-16: Senate committee offered (Senate) - 2026-02-16: Continued to 2027 in Courts of Justice (9-Y 6-N) (Senate) - 2026-02-04: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB265) (Senate) - 2026-01-29: Rereferred from Education and Health to Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N) (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 26100204D (Senate) ## Bill text - Substitute, 2026-02-16: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1149113.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1149112.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087033.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087032.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 - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1149113.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1149112.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087033.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087032.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-SB265-2026 (as of 2026-10-11).