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HB859 • 2026

Farm to School Program Task Force; membership requirements.

An Act to amend and reenact § 22.1-23.4 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Department of Education; Farm to School Program Task Force; membership requirements.

Agriculture Education
Enacted

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

Sponsor
Cousins
Last action
2026-04-13
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Farm to School Program Task Force Membership Requirements

This act changes the membership requirements for the Farm to School Program Task Force in Virginia.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds a member from the Senate, chosen by the Senate Committee on Rules after considering the recommendation of the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health.
  • Includes one member from the House of Delegates, picked by the Speaker of the House of Delegates after considering the recommendation of the Chair of the House Committee on Education.
  • Requires at least four members to be chosen by the Department of Education, including a school board member, someone from the Department of General Services who handles buying things for schools, a person from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and a farmer or producer in Virginia who only sells what they grow or produce themselves.
  • Allows the Department of Education to add more members as needed.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Farm to School Program Task Force
  • Members of the Senate and House of Delegates involved with education committees
  • Department of Education

Terms To Know

Farm to school program
A program where schools buy local food for meals or teach students about local food and agriculture.
Task Force
A group of people brought together to work on a specific project or issue.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The act does not specify how the Task Force will be funded.
  • It is unclear what additional members might join beyond those required by law.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-13 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 684 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-13 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 684 (effective 7/1/2026)

  3. 2026-04-13 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0684)

  4. 2026-03-31 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026

  5. 2026-03-31 Governor

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

  6. 2026-03-31 House

    Signed by Speaker

  7. 2026-03-31 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026

  8. 2026-03-31 Governor

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

  9. 2026-03-31 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB859)

  10. 2026-03-30 Senate

    Signed by President

  11. 2026-03-30 House

    Enrolled

  12. 2026-03-30 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB859ER)

  13. 2026-03-10 House

    Senate substitute agreed to by House (98-Y 1-N 0-A)

  14. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Read third time

  15. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute

  16. 2026-03-09 Education and Health

    Education and Health Substitute agreed to

  17. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  18. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  19. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  20. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Rules suspended

  21. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Rules suspended

  22. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  23. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)

  24. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  25. 2026-03-04 Finance and Appropriations

    Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)

  26. 2026-03-02 Education and Health

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB859)

  27. 2026-02-27 Education and Health

    Committee substitute printed 26108248D-S1

  28. 2026-02-26 Education and Health

    Reported from Education and Health with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)

  29. 2026-02-19 Public Education

    Senate subcommittee offered

  30. 2026-02-19 Public Education

    Assigned Education sub: Public Education

  31. 2026-02-04 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  32. 2026-02-04 Education and Health

    Referred to Committee on Education and Health

  33. 2026-02-03 House

    Read third time and passed House (93-Y 2-N 0-A)

  34. 2026-02-02 House

    Read second time and engrossed

  35. 2026-01-30 House

    Read first time

  36. 2026-01-29 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB859)

  37. 2026-01-28 Education

    Reported from Education (18-Y 2-N)

  38. 2026-01-27 K-12 Subcommittee

    Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)

  39. 2026-01-23 K-12 Subcommittee

    Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee

  40. 2026-01-13 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105157D

  41. 2026-01-13 Education

    Referred to Committee on Education

Official Summary Text

Department of Education; Farm to School Program Task Force; membership requirements.
Amends the membership requirements of the Farm to School Program Task Force established in accordance with applicable law by requiring the membership to include (i) one member of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules after consideration of the recommendation of the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health; (ii) one member of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates after consideration of the recommendation of the Chair of the House Committee on Education; (iii) at least four members to be appointed by the Department of Education, including at least one school board member, one representative of the Department of General Services involved in procurement, one representative of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and one farmer or producer in the Commonwealth who sells only the farm or agricultural products produced or grown by him; and (iv) such additional members as the Department of Education deems necessary or appropriate.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to amend and reenact §
22.1-23.4
of the Code of Virginia, relating to Department of Education; Farm to School Program Task Force; membership requirements.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
22.1-23.4
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
22.1-23.4
. Department; Farm to School Program Task Force.
A. As used in this section, "farm to school program" means any program (i) whereby public schools purchase and feature prominently in school meals locally produced food or (ii) that involves experiential student learning opportunities relating to local food and agriculture, including school and community garden programs and local farm visits.
B. The Department shall establish
and appoint such members as it deems necessary or appropriate to
the Farm to School Program Task Force (the Task Force) for the purpose of increasing student access to high-quality farm to school programs throughout the Commonwealth.
The Task Force shall consist of (i) one member of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules after consideration of the recommendation of the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health; (ii) one member of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates after consideration of the recommendation of the Chair of the House Committee on Education; (iii) at least four members to be appointed by the Department, of whom at least (a) one shall be a member of a school board, (b) one shall be a representative of the Department of General Services who is involved in procurement, (c) one shall be a representative of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and (d) one shall be a farmer or producer in the Commonwealth who sells only the farm or agricultural products produced or grown by him; and (iv) such additional members as the Department deems necessary or appropriate.
C. The Task Force shall collaborate with local school boards, community-based organizations, farmers, relevant state and local agencies, and other relevant stakeholders to (i) assess existing farm to school programs within the Commonwealth to identify and disseminate to each local school board best practices for implementing and sustaining such programs, (ii) establish and distribute to each local school board a guidance document for the establishment and operation of school garden programs, (iii) provide information and resources to each local school board to assist it in leveraging grant funds to support farm to school programs, and (iv) collect such data and make such policy recommendations to local school boards, the Board, and the General Assembly as it deems appropriate.