HB894 • 2026

Private elementary and secondary schools; policies relating to bullying and cyberbullying, etc.

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-279.6:1, relating to private elementary and secondary schools; student codes of conduct; policies relating to bullying and cyberbullying prevention and parental notification; requirements.

Children Education

Enacted

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

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

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information on how the effectiveness of these policies will be measured.

Private Schools Bullying Prevention Act

This law requires private schools to have rules against bullying and cyberbullying, including informing parents within 24 hours of confirmed incidents.

What This Bill Does

Requires private school leaders to create policies that address and handle instances of bullying and cyberbullying.
Includes a rule prohibiting bullying and requiring notification to parents within 24 hours if their child is involved in a confirmed case of bullying.
Policies must protect students who report bullying from retaliation.

Who It Names or Affects

Students at private elementary and secondary schools
Parents of students at these schools
School leaders like principals and headmasters

Terms To Know

cyberbullying: Using the internet or other digital devices to bully someone.
hazing: Forcing new members of a group to do dangerous or embarrassing things as part of joining that group.

Limits and Unknowns

The law does not apply to public schools.
It is unclear how the effectiveness of these policies will be measured.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB894AC

2026-03-12 • Conference

Conference Report

Plain English: The amendment proposes to reject a previous Senate version of HB894 and accept a new substitute amendment.

Rejects the Senate's proposed changes to House Bill No. 894.
Accepts a new substitute amendment (26109740D) to address disagreements between the House and Senate versions.

The official text does not provide details about what specific changes are included in the new substitute amendment, making it hard to explain concrete changes.
Without additional context or the full text of the new substitute amendment (26109740D), more precise information cannot be provided.

HB894H2

2026-03-12 • Conference

Conference Report Substitute

Plain English: The amendment requires private schools to have clear policies on bullying and cyberbullying, including training for staff and immediate notification of parents if their child is involved in a bullying incident.

Private schools must include procedures for addressing bullying and cyberbullying in their student conduct codes.
Schools are required to train staff on managing student behavior and enforcing the code of conduct without bias or discrimination.
Parents must be notified within 24 hours if their child is involved in a confirmed case of bullying.

The amendment does not specify how schools should implement these policies beyond general guidelines.

Bill History

2026-04-06 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 236 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-06 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 236 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-06 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0236)
2026-03-31 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-31 House
Signed by Speaker
2026-03-31 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-31 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB894)
2026-03-30 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-30 House
Enrolled
2026-03-30 House
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB894ER)
2026-03-13 Senate
Conference report agreed to by Senate (28-Y 11-N 0-A)
2026-03-13 Senate
Reconsideration of conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-13 Senate
Conference report agreed to by Senate (23-Y 16-N 0-A)
2026-03-13 House
Conference report agreed to by House (65-Y 30-N 0-A)
2026-03-12 House
Conferees appointed by House
2026-03-12 House
House Conferees: Sullivan, Dougherty, Whittle
2026-03-12 Conference
Conference Report released
2026-03-11 Senate
Senate Conferees: Boysko, Favola, Head
2026-03-11 Senate
Conferees appointed by Senate
2026-03-10 House
House acceded to request
2026-03-09 Senate
Senate requested conference committee
2026-03-09 Senate
Senate insisted on substitute (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-05 House
Senate substitute rejected by House (0-Y 98-N 0-A)
2026-03-03 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-03 Senate
Amendment by Senator withdrawn
2026-03-03 Senate
Senator Boysko Substitute withdrawn
2026-03-03 Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute
2026-03-03 Senate
Floor Offered
2026-03-03 Education and Health
Education and Health Substitute agreed to
2026-03-03 Senate
Passed Senate with substitute (25-Y 15-N 0-A)
2026-03-02 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-02 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-02 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-03-02 Education and Health
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB894)
2026-03-02 Senate
Floor Offered
2026-03-02 Senate
Floor substitute printed 26108740D-S2 (Boysko)
2026-02-27 Education and Health
Senate committee offered
2026-02-27 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-02-27 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-02-27 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-27 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-02-27 Education and Health
Committee substitute printed 26108791D-S1
2026-02-26 Education and Health
Reported from Education and Health with substitute (8-Y 6-N)
2026-02-18 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
2026-02-18 Education and Health
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
2026-02-17 House
Read third time and passed House (73-Y 24-N 0-A)
2026-02-16 House
Read second time
2026-02-16 House
committee substitute agreed to
2026-02-16 House
Engrossed by House - committee substitute
2026-02-13 House
Read first time
2026-02-12 Education
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB894)
2026-02-11 House
Incorporates HB53 (Cole, J.G.)
2026-02-11 Education
Reported from Education with substitute (18-Y 3-N)
2026-02-11 Education
Committee substitute printed 26107679D-H1
2026-02-10 K-12 Subcommittee
Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N)
2026-02-05 K-12 Subcommittee
Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee
2026-01-14 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB894)
2026-01-13 House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104005D
2026-01-13 Education
Referred to Committee on Education

Official Summary Text

Charlie's Law to Protect All Students; private elementary and secondary schools; student codes of conduct, policies, and procedures relating to bullying and cyberbullying prevention.
Requires each principal, headmaster, or other chief administrator of each private elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth to include in such school's codes of student conduct policies and procedures (i) for addressing and handling instances of bullying and cyberbullying and (ii) that include a prohibition against bullying and a requirement to notify the parent of any student involved in a confirmed incident of bullying within 24 hours of confirming the incident of bullying. This bill incorporates HB 53 and is identical to SB 341.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
22.1-279.6:1
, relating to private elementary and secondary schools; student codes of conduct; policies relating to bullying and cyberbullying prevention and parental notification; requirements.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
22.1-279.6:1
as follows:
§
22.1-279.6:1
. Private elementary and secondary schools; codes of student conduct; bullying prevention and intervention; requirements.
A. Each principal, headmaster, or other chief administrator of each private elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth shall include in such school's policies for codes of student conduct procedures for addressing and handling instances of bullying and cyberbullying. Such policies and procedures shall (i) be consistent with applicable state, federal, and case law; (ii) include policies and procedures relating to ensuring school personnel are trained in or informed of the appropriate management of student conduct and student offenses that violate school policies; and (iii) include policies designed to reduce bias and harassment in the enforcement of any code of student conduct. Such policies may be developed in accordance with the guidelines and model policies established by the Board pursuant to subsection A of §
22.1-279.6
.
B. Each principal, headmaster, or other chief administrator of each private elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth shall include in such school's code of student conduct policies and procedures that include a prohibition against bullying. Such policies and procedures shall, at a minimum, (i) require notification to the parent of any student involved in a confirmed incident of bullying within 24 hours of confirming the incident of bullying; (ii) include prohibitions against and procedures for addressing instances of cyberbullying that occur between students enrolled in such school; (iii) provide protections designed to ensure that any student who is a victim of or a witness to bullying or cyberbullying is not deterred from reporting or seeking support by fear of retaliation; and (iv) include prohibitions against hazing, as that term is defined in §
18.2-56
. Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude a private elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth from adopting policies and procedures that are more comprehensive than the policies and procedures required pursuant to this section.