Parents of public school children; fundamental right to opt children out of certain ed. content.
<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-1.1, relating to parents of public school children; fundamental right to opt children out of certain educational content.</p>
ChildrenEducation
Enacted
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
Sponsor
Zehr
Last action
2026-02-18
Official status
Failed
Effective date
Not listed
Plain English Breakdown
The exact definition of 'reasonable accommodations' is left undefined by the bill.
Parents' Right to Exclude Certain School Content
This law gives parents the right to keep their children from learning about gender identity, sexual orientation, transgenderism, and drag shows in school without facing any consequences.
What This Bill Does
Adds a new rule that says parents can choose not to let their kids learn or talk about certain topics at school.
Parents can opt out of lessons, readings, discussions, presentations, assemblies, or activities related to gender identity, sexual orientation, transgenderism, and drag shows without facing any consequences.
Schools must make reasonable accommodations during the time students are excluded from these topics.
Who It Names or Affects
Parents of public school children
Public schools and their staff
Terms To Know
gender identity
A person's internal sense of being male, female, a blend of both, or neither.
sexual orientation
Who someone is romantically attracted to.
Limits and Unknowns
The bill does not specify what 'reasonable accommodations' means for schools during opt-out periods.
It's unclear how this law will be enforced or if it covers all types of school activities and materials.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment adds protections under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and modifies certain terms in an existing bill about parents' rights to opt their children out of specific educational content.
Adds 'and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States' after a reference to another clause.
Removes the word 'discussion' from the text.
Inserts the word 'or' before 'orientation,'
Strikes out the term ', or drag show' following 'transgenderism'
The exact impact of these changes on parents' rights and educational content is not fully explained in the amendment text.
Bill History
2026-02-18House
Left in Education
2026-02-10K-12 Subcommittee
Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (7-Y 3-N)
2026-02-10K-12 Subcommittee
House subcommittee offered
2026-02-05K-12 Subcommittee
Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee
2026-01-19House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB721)
2026-01-13House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103884D
2026-01-13Education
Referred to Committee on Education
Official Summary Text
Parents of public school children; fundamental right to opt children out of certain educational content.
Provides that parents of public school children have the fundamental right to opt their children out, without penalty, of any instruction, reading, discussion, presentation, including any audio-visual presentation, school assembly, or activity that includes any gender identity, sexual orientation, transgenderism, or drag show theme or content, and the school shall make reasonable accommodations during such opt-out period.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
HB 721
SUBCOMMITTEE
1. Line 14, introduced, after
1-240.1
insert
and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
SUBCOMMITTEE
2. Line 15, introduced, after
reading,
strike
discussion,
SUBCOMMITTEE
3. Line 16, introduced, after
orientation,
insert
or
SUBCOMMITTEE
4. Line 17, introduced, after
transgenderism
strike
, or drag show