HB 1455 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

School bds.; opening of school year, certain alternative schedules & schedule flexibility permitted.

Summary
School boards; opening of the school year; certain alternative schedules and schedule flexibility permitted. Extends from no earlier than 14 days before Labor Day to no earlier than 14 days before September 1 of each year the requirement relating to the earliest date that each school board is permitted to schedule as the first day on which students are required to attend school each year. This bill is identical to SB 815.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 9, 2026
MINOR
The bill text was converted from a draft introduction format to an official enrolled act, adding state headers and page numbers. The substantive policy language regarding school calendars, Labor Day exceptions, and four-day week schedules remained identical to the original draft.
Scope change
The scope of the law itself did not change; only the document format changed from a draft bill to an official enrolled act.
TECHNICAL

Added official state headers, page numbers, and the 'Enrolled' designation to finalize the bill as law.

Removed draft metadata including the bill number, introduction date, committee referral, and sponsor name.

Reformatted the text to align with the official layout of the Virginia Acts of Assembly.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 27, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

360
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 39
Feb 27, 2026
D Democratic20
18 Yea 2
90% Yea
R Republican19
18 Yea 1
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
25
Key actions
10
Committee
6
Apr 13, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 815 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1455ER)
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Education and Health (14-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Education (21-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Committee
Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Education
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Introduced
Presented and ordered printed 26104626D
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Joe McNamara
Joe McNamara
RRepublican
VA
40