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HB131 • 2026

Higher educational institutions, public; reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs, etc.

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 23.1-401.4, relating to public institutions of higher education; reasonable accommodations for the religious beliefs and practices of individual students.

Education
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Simon
Last action
2026-04-06
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify the exact types of changes colleges must make or penalties for non-compliance.

Public Colleges Must Help Students Follow Religious Beliefs

This law requires public colleges in Virginia to provide reasonable help to students who need time off or changes in schedules due to their religion.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires each public college to offer reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs and practices regarding admissions, class attendance, and scheduling of exams and work assignments.
  • Defines 'reasonable accommodations' as any change that allows a student to practice their religion without fundamentally altering educational requirements or causing undue hardship.
  • Needs colleges to include in their handbooks the grievance procedure for students who believe they have been unreasonably denied religious accommodations.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Students at public colleges seeking help with following their religious beliefs.
  • Public colleges that must provide reasonable accommodations and describe grievance procedures.

Terms To Know

reasonable accommodations
Changes made by a college to allow students to follow their religious practices without fundamentally altering educational requirements or causing undue hardship for the institution.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify exact types of changes colleges must make.
  • It is unclear how compliance will be enforced and if there are penalties for non-compliance.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 74 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 74 (effective 7/1/2026)

  3. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0074)

  4. 2026-03-10 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026

  5. 2026-03-10 Governor

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

  6. 2026-03-06 House

    Signed by Speaker

  7. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Signed by President

  8. 2026-03-06 House

    Enrolled

  9. 2026-03-06 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB131ER)

  10. 2026-03-06 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB131)

  11. 2026-03-02 Senate

    Read third time

  12. 2026-03-02 Senate

    Read third time

  13. 2026-03-02 Senate

    Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A)

  14. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Rules suspended

  15. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  16. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)

  17. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  18. 2026-02-26 Education and Health

    Reported from Education and Health (13-Y 0-N 2-A)

  19. 2026-02-23 Higher Education

    Assigned Education sub: Higher Education

  20. 2026-02-04 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  21. 2026-02-04 Education and Health

    Referred to Committee on Education and Health

  22. 2026-02-03 House

    Read third time and passed House (94-Y 2-N 0-A)

  23. 2026-02-02 House

    Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar

  24. 2026-02-02 House

    Read second time and engrossed

  25. 2026-01-30 House

    Read first time

  26. 2026-01-28 Education

    Reported from Education (21-Y 0-N)

  27. 2026-01-28 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB131)

  28. 2026-01-27 Higher Education

    Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N)

  29. 2026-01-23 Higher Education

    Assigned HED sub: Higher Education

  30. 2026-01-03 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104369D

  31. 2026-01-03 Education

    Referred to Committee on Education

Official Summary Text

Public institutions of higher education; reasonable accommodations for the religious beliefs and practices of individual students.
Requires each public institution of higher education to provide reasonable accommodations, as defined in the bill, for the religious beliefs and practices of individual students with regard to admissions, class attendance, and the scheduling of examinations and work assignments and to provide and describe in the institution's student handbook or an equivalent document and in the institution's faculty handbook or an equivalent document a grievance procedure for any student to seek redress when the student believes that he has been unreasonably denied such reasonable accommodations for his religious beliefs and practices.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
23.1-401.4
, relating to public institutions of higher education; reasonable accommodations for the religious beliefs and practices of individual students.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
23.1-401.4
as follows:
§
23.1-401.4
. Reasonable accommodations for the religious beliefs and practices of individual students.
A. As used in this section, "reasonable accommodations" means any change to admissions or class attendance requirements or the scheduling of examinations or work assignments that allows a student who has applied to or who is enrolled at a public institution of higher education to exercise his religious beliefs and practices and that does not fundamentally alter any admissions or educational requirement or place an undue hardship on any employee, department, or office of such institution.
B. Each public institution of higher education shall provide reasonable accommodations for the religious beliefs and practices of individual students with regard to admissions, class attendance, and the scheduling of examinations and work assignments and shall provide and describe in the institution's student handbook or an equivalent document and in the institution's faculty handbook or an equivalent document a grievance procedure for any student to seek redress when the student believes that he has been unreasonably denied such reasonable accommodations for his religious beliefs and practices.