# Virginia SB685: School bd. policies; communication & language accessibility for limited English proficient parents.

Virginia SB685, School bd. policies; communication & language accessibility for limited English proficient parents., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0765)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB685-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB685
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: School bd. policies; communication & language accessibility for limited English proficient parents.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0765)
- Sponsor: Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 13 (325 yes, 130 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

School boards; language access plan for limited English proficient parents. Requires each school board to develop, implement, and post in a publicly accessible location on its website a language access plan consisting of policies and procedures designed to ensure meaningful communication with and informational accessibility for limited English proficient (LEP) parents, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 1278.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Free translation and equal notices for limited-English parents: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2027, schools must notify parents with limited English as fully as other parents about key school matters. Schools must give free interpreters or translations and cannot make you rely on your child or untrained staff. They must translate vital papers, like enrollment forms, discip…
- School boards must adopt language access plans: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2027, each school board creates, carries out, and posts a language access plan to communicate with parents with limited English. The plan explains how services work, and staff who talk with these parents are trained on the rules and how to get interpreters and translations. All pa…
- Schools can use vendors for language help: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2027, school boards may meet these duties through contracts or shared regional or statewide services. Phone or video remote interpreting and central translation are allowed. Boards must follow the Standards of Quality but can choose cost‑effective models that fit local needs, so s…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-14 | House | Conference report agreed to by House | pass | 64 | 33 |   |
| 2026-03-13 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 25 | 14 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Senate acceded to request Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | House substitute rejected by Senate | fail | 0 | 40 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | House | Passed House with substitute | pass | 66 | 33 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | House | Reported from Education with substitute | pass | 15 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 7 | 3 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Education and Health Amendments agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-10 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | Senate | Reported from Education and Health with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 | 1 |

## Actions (48)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0765) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 765 (Effective 7/1/2027) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB685) (Senate)
- 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 (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB685ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Conference report agreed to by House (64-Y 33-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Conference Report released
- 2026-03-13: Conference report agreed to by Senate (25-Y 14-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: House Conferees: Reaser, Cohen, Tata (House)
- 2026-03-11: Conferees appointed by House (House)
- 2026-03-10: Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Conferees appointed by Senate (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Senate Conferees: Pekarsky, Favola, Craig (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: House requested conference committee (House)
- 2026-03-06: House insisted on substitute (House)
- 2026-03-04: House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 40-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Passed House with substitute (66-Y 33-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-02: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-03-02: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-03-02: Read third time (House)
- 2026-02-27: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-25: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB685) (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Committee substitute printed 26108227D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-25: Reported from Education with substitute (15-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-02-24: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 3-N) (House)
- 2026-02-19: Referred to Committee on Education (House)
- 2026-02-19: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-19: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-13: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB685) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Education and Health Amendments agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Engrossed by Senate as amended (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB685) (Senate)
- 2026-01-29: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-01-29: Reported from Education and Health with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N 1-A) (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Assigned Education sub: Public Education (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Senate subcommittee offered (Senate)
- 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on Education and Health (Senate)
- 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104840D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222595.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222594.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214562.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214561.PDF)
- Conference Report, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211566.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-02-25: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179287.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179286.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177986.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177985.PDF)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139803.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139802.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-01-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1105040.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094513.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091952.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091951.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/1222595.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222594.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214562.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214561.PDF)
- [Conference Report (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211566.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179287.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1179286.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177986.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177985.PDF)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139803.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139802.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1105040.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094513.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091952.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091951.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB685-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).