SB171 • 2026

Minor elementary or secondary school students admitted to inpatient treatment; discl. of discharge.

An Act to amend and reenact § 16.1-346.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to minor elementary or secondary school students admitted to inpatient treatment; certain disclosures to certain school personnel upon discharge.

Children Education

Enacted

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

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

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Minor elementary or secondary school students admitted to inpatient treatment; discl. of discharge.

Minor elementary or secondary school students admitted to inpatient treatment; certain disclosures to certain school personnel upon discharge.

What This Bill Does

Minor elementary or secondary school students admitted to inpatient treatment; certain disclosures to certain school personnel upon discharge.
Provides that in the event that the facility to which a minor elementary or secondary school student is admitted to inpatient treatment determines that such minor student requires additional educational services upon discharge from the facility, the parents of such student may opt in to the disclosure, prior to or at the time of such minor student's discharge from the facility, of such determination by the facility to a mental health professional employed in such minor student's school or, if applicable, by the school division in which the student is enrolled.
The bill also provides that, in the event that the facility to which a minor elementary or secondary school student is admitted to inpatient treatment determines, based on communications from such minor student to a mental health service provider at such facility, that the student poses a specific and immediate threat to cause serious bodily injury or death to an identified or readily identifiable person or persons at the time of the student's discharge from the facility, the facility shall disclose, prior to or at the time of discharge in accordance with the requirements set forth in relevant law, such determination to a mental health professional employed in such minor student's school or, if applicable, by the school division.
The bill also prohibits any such facility from withholding discharge of such a student for the purpose of making any such disclosure.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-04-13 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 884 (Effective 1/1/2027)
2026-04-13 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0884)
2026-04-13 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0884)
2026-03-31 Senate
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 Senate
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 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB171)
2026-03-30 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-30 Senate
Enrolled
2026-03-30 Senate
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB171ER)
2026-03-10 Education
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB171)
2026-03-10 Senate
House substitute agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N 1-A)
2026-03-09 House
Read third time
2026-03-09 House
committee substitute agreed to
2026-03-09 House
Engrossed by House - committee substitute
2026-03-09 House
Passed House with substitute Block Vote (96-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-06 House
Read second time
2026-03-04 Education
Reported from Education with substitute (21-Y 0-N)
2026-03-04 Education
Committee substitute printed 26108179D-H1
2026-03-03 K-12 Subcommittee
Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N)
2026-03-03 K-12 Subcommittee
House subcommittee offered
2026-02-26 K-12 Subcommittee
Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee
2026-02-03 House
Placed on Calendar
2026-02-03 House
Read first time
2026-02-03 Education
Referred to Committee on Education
2026-01-27 Senate
Read third time
2026-01-27 Education and Health
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB171)
2026-01-27 Education and Health
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB171)
2026-01-27 Senate
Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-01-26 Senate
Read second time
2026-01-26 Senate
Education and Health Substitute agreed to
2026-01-26 Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute
2026-01-26 Education and Health
Education and Health Substitute agreed to
2026-01-26 Senate
Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-01-23 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-01-23 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-01-23 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-01-23 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-01-23 Education and Health
Committee substitute printed 26105829D-S1
2026-01-22 Education and Health
Reported from Education and Health with substitute (14-Y 0-N)
2026-01-22 Education and Health
Senate committee offered
2026-01-22 Senate
Senate committee offered
2026-01-21 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB171)
2026-01-20 Health
Senate subcommittee offered
2026-01-20 Health
Senate subcommittee offered
2026-01-20 Health
Assigned Education sub: Health
2026-01-20 Health
Senate subcommittee offered
2026-01-08 Senate
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104627D
2026-01-08 Education and Health
Referred to Committee on Education and Health

Official Summary Text

Minor elementary or secondary school students admitted to inpatient treatment; certain disclosures to certain school personnel upon discharge.
Provides that in the event that the facility to which a minor elementary or secondary school student is admitted to inpatient treatment determines that such minor student requires additional educational services upon discharge from the facility, the parents of such student may opt in to the disclosure, prior to or at the time of such minor student's discharge from the facility, of such determination by the facility to a mental health professional employed in such minor student's school or, if applicable, by the school division in which the student is enrolled. The bill also provides that, in the event that the facility to which a minor elementary or secondary school student is admitted to inpatient treatment determines, based on communications from such minor student to a mental health service provider at such facility, that the student poses a specific and immediate threat to cause serious bodily injury or death to an identified or readily identifiable person or persons at the time of the student's discharge from the facility, the facility shall disclose, prior to or at the time of discharge in accordance with the requirements set forth in relevant law, such determination to a mental health professional employed in such minor student's school or, if applicable, by the school division. The bill also prohibits any such facility from withholding discharge of such a student for the purpose of making any such disclosure. The provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

An Act to amend and reenact §
16.1-346.1
of the Code of Virginia, relating to minor elementary or secondary school students admitted to inpatient treatment; certain disclosures to certain school personnel upon discharge.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
16.1-346.1
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
16.1-346.1
. Discharge plan; certain disclosures to certain school personnel upon discharge.
A.
Prior to discharge of any minor admitted to inpatient treatment, including a minor in detention or shelter care pursuant to an order of a juvenile and domestic relations district court
or in a state hospital or training center as set forth in subdivision A 3 of §
37.2-505
, a discharge plan shall be formulated,
shall be
provided and explained to the minor, and copies thereof shall be sent (i) to the minor's parents
or
;
(ii) if the minor is in the custody of the local department of social services, to the department's director or the director's designee
;
or (iii) to the minor's parents and (a) if the juvenile is to be housed in a detention home upon discharge, to the court in which the petition has been filed and the facility superintendent
,
or (b) if the minor is in custody of the local department of social services, to the department.
A copy of the
discharge
plan shall also be provided, upon request, to the minor's attorney and guardian ad litem. If the minor was admitted to a state facility, the discharge plan shall be contained in a uniform discharge document developed by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The plan shall, at a minimum,
(i)
(1)
specify the services required by the released minor in the community to meet his needs for treatment, housing, nutrition, physical care, and safety;
(ii)
(2)
specify any income subsidies for which the minor is eligible;
(iii)
(3)
identify all local and state agencies
which
that
will be involved in providing treatment and support to the minor; and
(iv)
(4)
specify services
which
that
would be appropriate for the minor's treatment and support in the community but
which
that
are currently unavailable. A minor in detention or shelter care prior to admission to inpatient treatment shall be returned to the detention home, shelter care, or other facility approved by the Department of Juvenile Justice within 24 hours by the sheriff serving the jurisdiction where the minor was detained upon release from the treating facility, unless the juvenile and domestic relations district court having jurisdiction over the case has provided written authorization for release of the minor, prior to the scheduled date of release.
B. In the event that the facility to which a minor elementary or secondary school student is admitted to inpatient treatment determines that such minor student requires additional educational services upon discharge from the facility, the parents of such student may opt in to the disclosure, prior to or at the time of such minor student's discharge from the facility, of such determination by the facility to a mental health professional employed in such minor student's school or, if applicable, by the school division in which the student is enrolled.
C. In the event that the facility to which a minor elementary or secondary school student is admitted to inpatient treatment determines, based on communications from such minor student to a mental health service provider at such facility, that the student poses a specific and immediate threat to cause serious bodily injury or death to an identified or readily identifiable person or persons at the time of the student's discharge from the facility, the facility shall disclose, prior to or at the time of discharge in accordance with the requirements set forth in subsection B of §
54.1-2400.1
, such determination to a mental health professional employed in such minor student's school or, if applicable, by the school division in which the student is enrolled.
D. No facility shall withhold the discharge of a minor elementary or secondary student from the facility solely for the purpose of making a disclosure described in subsection B or C.
2. That the Department of Education shall create guidelines to place safeguards around proper use of student discharge planning information disclosed to elementary or secondary schools to prevent further disclosure of the discharge plan beyond the purpose for which such disclosure was made.
3. That the provisions of this act shall become effective on January 1, 2027.