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HB686 • 2026

Open school enrollment policies; guidance on best practices available to school boards.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to require the Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board guidance on best practices relating to open school enrollment policies.</p>

Education
Enacted

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

Sponsor
Zehr
Last action
2026-03-05
Official status
Failed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify the exact form or content of the guidance beyond mentioning that it should address best practices as deemed appropriate by the Department.

Guidance for School Enrollment Policies

This bill requires the Department of Education to create guidelines on best practices for open school enrollment policies and share them with each school board.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the Department of Education to develop guidance on best practices relating to open school enrollment policies.
  • Makes this guidance available to every school board in Virginia.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Department of Education
  • Each school board

Terms To Know

Open school enrollment policies
Rules that allow students to attend schools outside their assigned zones, often based on availability and other factors.
Best practices
Recommended methods or procedures known to produce good results in a specific field.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how the guidance will be created or shared.
  • It is unclear what exact form the guidance will take (e.g., written document, online resource).

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-05 Education and Health

    Passed by indefinitely in Education and Health (9-Y 6-N)

  2. 2026-02-26 Public Education

    Assigned Education sub: Public Education

  3. 2026-02-18 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  4. 2026-02-18 Education and Health

    Referred to Committee on Education and Health

  5. 2026-02-17 House

    Read third time and passed House (85-Y 11-N 0-A)

  6. 2026-02-16 House

    Read second time

  7. 2026-02-16 House

    committee substitute agreed to

  8. 2026-02-16 House

    Engrossed by House - committee substitute

  9. 2026-02-13 House

    Read first time

  10. 2026-02-12 Education

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB686)

  11. 2026-02-11 Education

    Reported from Education with substitute (18-Y 3-N)

  12. 2026-02-11 Education

    Committee substitute printed 26107695D-H1

  13. 2026-02-10 K-12 Subcommittee

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 4-N)

  14. 2026-02-05 K-12 Subcommittee

    Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee

  15. 2026-01-30 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB686)

  16. 2026-01-13 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103148D

  17. 2026-01-13 Education

    Referred to Committee on Education

Official Summary Text

Department of Education; open school enrollment policies; guidance on best practices.
Requires the Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board guidance on best practices relating to open school enrollment.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HOUSE BILL NO. 686

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the House Committee on Education

on February 11, 2026)

(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Zehr)

A BILL to require the Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board guidance on best practices relating to open school enrollment policies.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.
§ 1.
The
Department
of Education
(the
Department
)
shall develop and make available to each school board guidance on best practices relating to open school enrollment policies as permitted pursuant to §
22.1-7.1
of the Code of Virginia
. Such guidance shall
address such
considerations
and best practices
as the
Department
deems appropriate, which may include
applications, waitlists,
capacity,
tuition, transportation,
student demand,
equity, and nondiscrimination.