Virginia bills · 2026 Regular Session
Virginia SB 685
School bd. policies; communication & language accessibility for limited English proficient parents.
- Introduced
- In committee
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To Governor
- Became law
Sponsors
- Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic)
Cosponsors (1)
- Jennifer D. Carroll Foy (Democratic)
Summary
Official abstract published by the Virginia legislature· SUMMARY AS PASSED
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.
Text versions
- Introduced
- Education and Health Amendment
- Engrossed
- K-12 Subcommittee Subcommittee Substitute
- Education Substitute
- Conference Report
- Enrolled
Roll-call votes
State vote data last updated Oct 14, 2026, 8:13 PM.
| Date | Vote | Result | Your legislators |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14, 2026 House | H VOTE: | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Mar 13, 2026 Senate | Adopt Conference Committee Report R | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Mar 10, 2026 Senate | Accede Conference Committee R | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Mar 4, 2026 Senate | Concur House Substitute R | fail | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Mar 2, 2026 House | H VOTE: | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Feb 25, 2026 House | Reported from Education with substitute | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Feb 24, 2026 House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Feb 13, 2026 Senate | Passage R | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Feb 11, 2026 Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed R | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Feb 10, 2026 Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
| Jan 29, 2026 Senate | Reported from Education and Health with amendments | pass | Set your home in Virginia to see |
Actions
- Apr 13, 2026
Approved by Governor-Chapter 765 (effective 7/1/2026) - Mar 31, 2026
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 - Mar 31, 2026 · Senate
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 - Mar 31, 2026 · House
Signed by Speaker - Mar 31, 2026 · Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB685) - Mar 30, 2026 · Senate
Signed by President - Mar 30, 2026 · Senate
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB685ER) - Mar 30, 2026 · Senate
Enrolled - Mar 14, 2026 · House
Conference report agreed to by House (64-Y 33-N 0-A) - Mar 14, 2026 · Legislature
Conference Report released - Mar 13, 2026 · Senate
Conference report agreed to by Senate (25-Y 14-N 0-A) - Mar 11, 2026 · House
House Conferees: Reaser, Cohen, Tata - Mar 11, 2026 · House
Conferees appointed by House - Mar 10, 2026 · Senate
Senate Conferees: Pekarsky, Favola, Craig - Mar 10, 2026 · Senate
Conferees appointed by Senate - Mar 10, 2026 · Senate
Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) - Mar 6, 2026 · House
House requested conference committee - Mar 6, 2026 · House
House insisted on substitute - Mar 4, 2026 · Senate
House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 40-N 0-A) - Mar 2, 2026 · House
Passed House with substitute (66-Y 33-N 0-A) - Mar 2, 2026 · House
Engrossed by House - committee substitute - Mar 2, 2026 · House
committee substitute agreed to - Mar 2, 2026 · House
Read third time - Feb 27, 2026 · House
Read second time - Feb 25, 2026 · Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB685) - Feb 25, 2026 · House
Committee substitute printed 26108227D-H1 - Feb 25, 2026 · House
Reported from Education with substitute (15-Y 7-N) - Feb 24, 2026 · House
Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 3-N) - Feb 19, 2026 · House
Referred to Committee on Education - Feb 19, 2026 · House
Read first time - Feb 19, 2026 · House
Placed on Calendar - Feb 13, 2026 · Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB685) - Feb 13, 2026 · Senate
Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) - Feb 12, 2026 · Senate
Engrossed by Senate as amended (Voice Vote) - Feb 12, 2026 · Senate
Education and Health Amendments agreed to - Feb 12, 2026 · Senate
Read second time - Feb 11, 2026 · Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) - Feb 11, 2026 · Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) - Feb 11, 2026 · Senate
Rules suspended - Feb 10, 2026 · Senate
Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) - Feb 3, 2026 · Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB685) - Jan 29, 2026 · Senate
Reported from Education and Health with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N 1-A) - Jan 29, 2026 · Senate
Senate committee offered - Jan 22, 2026 · Senate
Senate subcommittee offered - Jan 22, 2026 · Senate
Assigned Education sub: Public Education - Jan 14, 2026 · Senate
Referred to Committee on Education and Health - Jan 14, 2026 · Senate
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104840D