HB 478 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Diploma seal for excellence in fine arts; established, industry-recognized workforce credential.

Summary

Diploma seal for excellence in fine arts established; industry-recognized workforce credential. Requires the Board of Education to establish criteria for awarding a high school diploma seal for excellence in fine arts, which may include a sequence of coursework, cumulative grade point average in such sequence of coursework, or any other performance-based criteria that the Board deems appropriate. The bill also requires the Board to add such diploma seal to its list of industry-recognized workforce credentials for the purpose of satisfying the career and technical education credential option for high school graduation.

Issues: ✓ Education

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 12, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled → Chaptered · 2 edits

MINOR

This bill transitions the legislative text from an 'Enrolled' draft status to a 'Chaptered' final law, officially adding the chapter number (Chapter 152) and the specific approval date (April 6, 2026). The substantive legal content regarding educational standards, diploma seals, and graduation requirements remains identical to the previous version, with no changes to policy, funding, or eligibility criteria.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; this is a procedural update confirming the law's enactment.

TECHNICAL

Added the official chapter number (Chapter 152) and the specific approval date (April 6, 2026) to the header, finalizing the bill's status as law.

Adjusted the formatting of the text to match the standard layout of a chaptered Virginia Act, including the addition of page numbering (e.g., '2 of 15').

Floor votes · Senate Feb 27, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 13, 2026

How they voted

36–0

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

Key actions

Committee

Apr 6, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 152 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB478ER)

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 (15-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Assigned Education sub: Public Education

upper

Feb 16, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Education and Health

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (68-Y 28-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Education (17-Y 3-N 1-A)

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 1-N)

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Assigned HED sub: Early Childhood and Innovation

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Education

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors