# Virginia SB295: Public schools, etc.; student participation in women's sports, civil cause of action.

Virginia SB295, Public schools, etc.; student participation in women's sports, civil cause of action., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Mark J. Peake (Republican); status failed, last action 2026-01-29 (Passed by indefinitely in Education and Health (9-Y 6-N)) (as of 2026-11-06).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB295-2026
- As of: 2026-11-06
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB295
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Public schools, etc.; student participation in women's sports, civil cause of action.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-01-29, Passed by indefinitely in Education and Health (9-Y 6-N)
- Sponsor: Mark J. Peake (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Public Education
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (9 yes, 6 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

K-12 schools; student participation in women's sports; civil cause of action. Requires each interscholastic, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public school or any other school that is a member of the Virginia High School League to be expressly designated as one of the following based on the biological sex of the students who participate on the team or in the sport: (i) for males, men, or boys; (ii) for females, women, or girls; or (iii) for coed or mixed if participation on such team or sport is open to both males and females. The bill requires that the biological sex of any student seeking to participate on such an expressly designated team be affirmed by a signed physician's statement. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill prohibits any government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking any other adverse action against any such school based on a violation of the provisions of the bill and creates a cause of action for any school that suffers harm as a result of a violation of the bill. Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for any student who suffers harm as a result of a knowing violation of a provision of the bill by a school or as a result of the student's reporting a violation of a provision of the bill by a school, athletic association, or organization.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Mark J. Peake (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-01-29 | Senate | Passed by indefinitely in Education and Health | pass | 9 | 6 |   |

## Actions (5)

- 2026-01-29: Passed by indefinitely in Education and Health (9-Y 6-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Assigned Education sub: Public Education (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB295) (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Education and Health (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101143D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088584.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088583.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB20: Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB253: Electric utilities; pilot programs for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- SB226: Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure, etc. (signed)
- SB225: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership. (signed)

## Sources
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088584.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088583.PDF)

## Related
- [HB20: Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB20-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB253: Electric utilities; pilot programs for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB253-2026)
- [SB226: Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal i…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB226-2026)
- [SB225: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB225-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB295-2026 (as of 2026-11-06).