SB 265 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Elementary and secondary schools or higher educational institutions; bullying and cyberbullying.

Summary
Autumn's Law; elementary and secondary schools; institutions of higher education; aggravated bullying and cyberbullying unlawful; policies and procedures; penalty. Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to commit an act of aggravated bullying or aggravated cyberbullying, as defined in the bill, against any student enrolled in any elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education. The bill requires the administrator of each elementary or secondary school and each institution of higher education, or his designee, to, upon receiving satisfactory proof of an incident of aggravated bullying by a student enrolled in such school or institution, address such incidents, discipline the student guilty thereof, and report such incidents to local law-enforcement. The bill also requires (i) reports to be made to the division superintendent and the principal or his designee on all incidents involving an act of aggravated bullying or aggravated cyberbullying occurring on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity; (ii) each principal to immediately report to the local law-enforcement agency any incident involving an an act of aggravated bullying or aggravated cyberbullying occurring on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity; and (iii) the Board of Education to include in its guidelines and model policies for codes of student conduct developed pursuant to applicable law standards for school board policies on aggravated bullying. Finally, the bill requires each school board to include in its code of student conduct policies and procedures prohibiting aggravated bullying and aggravated cyberbullying, including (a) a citation to the provision of the bill that makes committing an act of aggravated bullying a Class 1 misdemeanor; (b) detailed procedures for reporting any incident of aggravated bullying or aggravated bullying in accordance with the bill; (c) clear, escalating, and appropriate disciplinary procedures for addressing incidents of aggravated bullying; and (d) information and resources relating to any civil rights of action or remedies available to victims of an act of aggravated bullying or cyberbullying.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Feb 16, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Courts of Justice Substitute · 5 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended from its original introduction to a substitute version proposed by the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice. The most significant change is the removal of 'cyberbullying' from the definition of 'aggravated bullying' in the new penalty section, narrowing the scope of what constitutes a criminal offense. The definition of 'aggravated bullying' was also simplified to require more than one act, and a new provision was added establishing prima facie evidence standards for cases where bullying continues after being told to stop.
Scope change
The scope of criminal liability was narrowed by removing cyberbullying from the definition of aggravated bullying and adding a requirement that aggravated bullying must involve more than one act, rather than a single incident.
DEFINITION

The definition of 'aggravated bullying' was changed from including any single act of bullying with certain characteristics to requiring more than one act of bullying or cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying was removed from the definition of 'aggravated bullying' in the new penalty section, meaning cyberbullying alone would no longer automatically qualify as a criminal offense under this specific statute.

The definitions section was streamlined by referencing the new § 18.2-56.01 for the definition of 'aggravated bullying' rather than containing the full definition within § 22.1-276.01.

The original version included a broader definition of 'aggravated bullying' that applied to single incidents involving hate speech or fear of violence, which was narrowed in the substitute version.

ENFORCEMENT

A new provision was added stating that if an individual continues bullying or cyberbullying after being told to stop, this serves as prima facie evidence that the act was intentional or knowingly placed the victim in fear.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
7
Key actions
1
Committee
4
Feb 16, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate committee offered
upper
Jan 29, 2026
Committee
Rereferred from Education and Health to Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
Assigned Education sub: Public Education
upper
Jan 12, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Bill Stanley
Bill Stanley
RRepublican
VA
7