Bill Commons

VA SB 19

enacted

DOE; policies relating to instructional material that contains sexually explicit content.

Virginia · 2026 Regular Session · upper

Quick answers

Did VA SB 19 pass?

Yes. VA SB 19 has been enacted into law as of 2026-04-06. Latest recorded action (2026-04-06): Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0322)

What is VA SB 19 about?

Department of Education; policies relating to instructional material that contains sexually explicit content; applicability; construction. Amends current law requiring the Department of Education to develop model policies and each school board to adopt policies consistent with the Department's model policies for ensuring parental notification of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content by (i) defining "instructional material" as any material, regardless of its format, assigned and provided to a student by a public school teacher directly for the completion of an assignment or curricular objective and clarifying that "instructional material" does not include any book or audiovisual material available in a public school library unless specifically required or assigned by a public school teacher directly for completion of an assignment or curricular objective and (ii) providing that nothing in the applicable law or any model policy or amendments thereto adopted by the Department or any policy or amendments thereto adopted by a school board pursuant to the applicable law shall be (a) construed to permit the censoring of books in any public elementary or secondary school or (b) utilized as a rationale or basis for the removal of books from any public elementary or secondary school. This bill is identical to HB 1499.

Who sponsors VA SB 19?

Mamie E. Locke is the primary sponsor of VA SB 19.

Description

Department of Education; policies relating to instructional material that contains sexually explicit content; applicability; construction. Amends current law requiring the Department of Education to develop model policies and each school board to adopt policies consistent with the Department's model policies for ensuring parental notification of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content by (i) defining "instructional material" as any material, regardless of its format, assigned and provided to a student by a public school teacher directly for the completion of an assignment or curricular objective and clarifying that "instructional material" does not include any book or audiovisual material available in a public school library unless specifically required or assigned by a public school teacher directly for completion of an assignment or curricular objective and (ii) providing that nothing in the applicable law or any model policy or amendments thereto adopted by the Department or any policy or amendments thereto adopted by a school board pursuant to the applicable law shall be (a) construed to permit the censoring of books in any public elementary or secondary school or (b) utilized as a rationale or basis for the removal of books from any public elementary or secondary school. This bill is identical to HB 1499.

Introduced
2025-11-17
Latest action
2026-04-06 — Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0322)
Bill type
bill
Last updated

Sponsors

  • Mamie E. Lockeprimary

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

  1. 2025-11-17

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100692D

    filing,introduction

  2. 2025-11-17

    Referred to Committee on Education and Health

    referral-committee

  3. 2026-01-15

    Assigned Education sub: Public Education

    referral-committee

  4. 2026-01-22

    Reported from Education and Health (8-Y 5-N 1-A)

    committee-passage

  5. 2026-01-23

    Rules suspended

  6. 2026-01-23

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)

  7. 2026-01-23

    Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)

  8. 2026-01-23

    Passed by for the day

  9. 2026-01-26

    Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote)

  10. 2026-01-26

    Read second time

    reading-2

  11. 2026-01-26

    Engrossed by Senate

  12. 2026-01-27

    Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 18-N 0-A)

    passage,reading-3

  13. 2026-02-03

    Placed on Calendar

  14. 2026-02-03

    Read first time

    reading-1

  15. 2026-02-03

    Referred to Committee on Education

    referral-committee

  16. 2026-02-04

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB19)

  17. 2026-02-18

    Reported from Education (14-Y 7-N)

    committee-passage

  18. 2026-02-20

    Read second time

    reading-2

  19. 2026-02-23

    Read third time

    reading-3

  20. 2026-02-23

    Passed House (62-Y 34-N 0-A)

    passage

  21. 2026-02-24

    Enrolled

    enrolled

  22. 2026-02-24

    Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB19ER)

    passage

  23. 2026-02-24

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB19)

  24. 2026-02-24

    Signed by Speaker

    passage

  25. 2026-02-24

    Signed by President

    passage

  26. 2026-03-10

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026

    enrolled,executive-receipt

  27. 2026-03-10

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

    executive-receipt

  28. 2026-04-06

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 322 (effective 7/1/2026)

    executive-signature

  29. 2026-04-06

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0322)

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • Reported from Education and Health

    2026-01-22 · pass · 8-5

    Member-level votes (15)
    • Barbara A. Favola: yes
    • L. Louise Lucas: yes
    • Mamie E. Locke: yes
    • David R. Suetterlein: abstain
    • Mark J. Peake: no
    • Todd E. Pillion: no
    • Jennifer B. Boysko: not voting
    • Lamont Bagby: yes
    • Christopher T. Head: no
    • Lashrecse D. Aird: yes
    • Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
    • Tara A. Durant: no
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
    • Christie New Craig: no
    • Russet Perry: yes
  • Constitutional reading dispensed R

    2026-01-23 · pass · 39-0

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Lashrecse D. Aird: yes
    • Lamont Bagby: yes
    • Jennifer B. Boysko: yes
    • Jennifer D. Carroll Foy: yes
    • Luther Cifers, III: yes
    • Christie New Craig: yes
    • R. Creigh Deeds: yes
    • Bill DeSteph: yes
    • J.D. "Danny" Diggs: yes
    • Tara A. Durant: yes
    • Adam P. Ebbin: yes
    • Barbara A. Favola: yes
    • Timmy French: yes
    • T. Travis Hackworth: yes
    • Christopher T. Head: yes
    • Michael J. Jones: yes
    • Emily M. Jordan: yes
    • Mamie E. Locke: yes
    • L. Louise Lucas: yes
    • David W. Marsden: yes
    • Ryan T. McDougle: yes
    • Jeremy S. McPike: yes
    • Tammy Brankley Mulchi: yes
    • Mark D. Obenshain: not voting
    • Mark J. Peake: yes
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
    • Russet Perry: yes
    • Todd E. Pillion: yes
    • Bryce E. Reeves: yes
    • Danica A. Roem: yes
    • Aaron R. Rouse: yes
    • Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
    • Kannan Srinivasan: yes
    • William M. Stanley, Jr.: yes
    • Richard H. Stuart: yes
    • Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.: yes
    • David R. Suetterlein: yes
    • Scott A. Surovell: yes
    • Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
    • Angelia Williams Graves: yes
  • Passage R

    2026-01-27 · pass · 21-18

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Lashrecse D. Aird: yes
    • Lamont Bagby: yes
    • Jennifer B. Boysko: yes
    • Jennifer D. Carroll Foy: yes
    • Luther Cifers, III: no
    • Christie New Craig: no
    • R. Creigh Deeds: yes
    • Bill DeSteph: no
    • J.D. "Danny" Diggs: no
    • Tara A. Durant: no
    • Adam P. Ebbin: yes
    • Barbara A. Favola: yes
    • Timmy French: no
    • T. Travis Hackworth: not voting
    • Christopher T. Head: no
    • Michael J. Jones: yes
    • Emily M. Jordan: no
    • Mamie E. Locke: yes
    • L. Louise Lucas: yes
    • David W. Marsden: yes
    • Ryan T. McDougle: no
    • Jeremy S. McPike: yes
    • Tammy Brankley Mulchi: no
    • Mark D. Obenshain: no
    • Mark J. Peake: no
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
    • Russet Perry: yes
    • Todd E. Pillion: no
    • Bryce E. Reeves: no
    • Danica A. Roem: yes
    • Aaron R. Rouse: yes
    • Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
    • Kannan Srinivasan: yes
    • William M. Stanley, Jr.: no
    • Richard H. Stuart: no
    • Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.: no
    • David R. Suetterlein: no
    • Scott A. Surovell: yes
    • Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
    • Angelia Williams Graves: yes
  • Reported from Education

    2026-02-18 · pass · 14-7

    Member-level votes (22)
    • Sam Rasoul: yes
    • Shelly A. Simonds: yes
    • Delores L. McQuinn: yes
    • Elizabeth R. Guzman: yes
    • Briana D. Sewell: yes
    • Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler: yes
    • Alex Q. Askew: yes
    • Nadarius E. Clark: not voting
    • Rae Cousins: yes
    • Atoosa R. Reaser: yes
    • Amy J. Laufer: yes
    • Destiny LeVere Bolling: yes
    • Jessica L. Anderson: yes
    • Lindsey Dougherty: yes
    • Gretchen M. Bulova: yes
    • Mike A. Cherry: no
    • Anne Ferrell Tata: no
    • Phillip A. Scott: no
    • Thomas A. Garrett, Jr.: no
    • Eric R. Zehr: no
    • Hillary Pugh Kent: no
    • Madison Whittle: no
  • H VOTE:

    2026-02-23 · pass · 62-34

    Member-level votes (99)
    • Jessica L. Anderson: yes
    • Bonita G. Anthony: yes
    • Alex Q. Askew: yes
    • Terry L. Austin: no
    • Jason S. Ballard: no
    • Robert S. Bloxom, Jr.: no
    • Gretchen M. Bulova: yes
    • Katrina Callsen: yes
    • Karen R. "Kacey" Carnegie: yes
    • Betsy B. Carr: yes
    • Stacey Annie Carroll: yes
    • Mike A. Cherry: no
    • Nadarius E. Clark: not voting
    • Laura Jane Cohen: yes
    • Joshua G. Cole: yes
    • Nicole Cole: yes
    • Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler: yes
    • Mitchell Cornett: no
    • Rae Cousins: yes
    • Will Davis: no
    • Karrie K. Delaney: yes
    • Lindsey Dougherty: yes
    • Mark C. Downey: yes
    • Michael B. Feggans: yes
    • Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr.: no
    • Lily V. Franklin: yes
    • Margaret A. Franklin: yes
    • Debra D. Gardner: yes
    • Thomas A. Garrett, Jr.: no
    • Jackie H. Glass: yes
    • Timothy P. Griffin: no
    • Elizabeth R. Guzman: yes
    • Karen Hamilton: no
    • C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr.: yes
    • Dan I. Helmer: yes
    • Rozia A. Henson, Jr.: yes
    • Phil M. Hernandez: yes
    • Charniele L. Herring: yes
    • M. Keith Hodges: no
    • Patrick A. Hope: yes
    • Hillary Pugh Kent: no
    • Karen Keys-Gamarra: yes
    • Terry G. Kilgore: no
    • Paul E. Krizek: yes
    • Amy J. Laufer: yes
    • James A. "Jay" Leftwich: no
    • Destiny LeVere Bolling: yes
    • Alfonso H. Lopez: yes
    • Michelle Lopes Maldonado: yes
    • Marty Martinez: yes
    • John Chilton McAuliff: not voting
    • Adele Y. McClure: yes
    • Garrett McGuire: yes
    • Ellen H. McLaughlin: not voting
    • Joseph P. McNamara: no
    • Kirk McPike: yes
    • Delores L. McQuinn: yes
    • Leslie Chambers Mehta: yes
    • James W. Morefield: no
    • May Nivar: yes
    • Delores Oates: no
    • Israel D. O'Quinn: no
    • Justin Pence: no
    • Eric Phillips: no
    • Kimberly Pope Adams: yes
    • Marcia S. "Cia" Price: yes
    • Sam Rasoul: yes
    • Atoosa R. Reaser: yes
    • David A. Reid: yes
    • Chris S. Runion: no
    • Charlie Schmidt: yes
    • Don Scott: yes
    • Phillip A. Scott: no
    • Holly M. Seibold: yes
    • Briana D. Sewell: yes
    • Irene Shin: yes
    • Marcus B. Simon: yes
    • Shelly A. Simonds: yes
    • JJ Singh: yes
    • Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.: yes
    • Anne Ferrell Tata: no
    • Joshua E. Thomas: yes
    • Virgil Thornton: yes
    • Luke E. Torian: yes
    • Kathy K.L. Tran: yes
    • H. Otto Wachsmann, Jr.: no
    • Wendell S. Walker: no
    • Jeion A. Ward: yes
    • R. Lee Ware: no
    • Vivian E. Watts: yes
    • Michael J. Webert: no
    • Madison Whittle: no
    • Bill Wiley: no
    • Rodney T. Willett: yes
    • Wren M. Williams: no
    • Tony O. Wilt: no
    • Thomas C. Wright, Jr.: no
    • Scott A. Wyatt: no
    • Eric R. Zehr: no

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:35:59.552682Z

Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:

Use this data

Every field on this page is available from the free public API — no key or licence required. Fetch this bill as JSON: GET /api/v1/bills?jurisdiction=VA&identifier=SB 19. See the API docs or the MCP server for AI assistants.

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