Regional or local detention homes; educational programs; staffing; funding. Provides that the state general funds required to be provided for educational programs in regional or local detention homes (i) shall support a statewide staffing ratio of one teacher for every eight students in average daily attendance and an additional one teacher for every 10 students in the Community Placement Program and (ii) shall be distributed to regional or local detention homes in such a manner as determined by the Department of Education, whether in a ratio-based manner or otherwise, based on such factors as the Department deems appropriate, including capacity, need, enrollment trends, and the availability of alternative educational settings. Current law provides that teacher staffing ratios for regional or local detention homes shall be based on a ratio of one teacher for every 12 beds based on the capacity of the facility; however, if the previous year's average daily attendance exceeds this bed capacity, the ratio shall be based on the average daily attendance at the facility as calculated by the Department from the previous school year.
Department of Juvenile Justice; transfer of responsibility from Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to Secretary of Health and Human Resources; stakeholder work group. Directs the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a stakeholder work group to create a plan and recommended timeline for transferring responsibility for the Department of Juvenile Justice from the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. The bill requires the work group to be composed of interested parties, including representatives from civil liberty organizations, organizations engaged in the daily work of youth justice and violence prevention, formerly incarcerated persons and their families, and mental health experts. The bill directs the work group to submit its plan and recommended timeline for executing the transfer to the Chairs of the House Committee for Courts of Justice, House Committee on Public Safety, Senate Committee for Courts of Justice, and Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2026.
Office of the Executive Secretary; annual trauma-informed education for certain court personnel. Requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to provide annual continuing legal education on trauma-informed practices in proceedings involving sexual abuse or abuse of a family or household member to magistrates, clerks, judges of juvenile and domestic relations district courts, general district courts, and circuit courts, and other court employees.
Parole; eligibility; youthful offenders. Expands the eligibility requirements for juvenile parole to include (i) any person sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was 20 years of age or younger and who has served at least 20 years of such sentence and (ii) any person who has active sentences that total more than 20 years for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was 20 years of age or younger and who has served at least 20 years of such sentence. Under current law, only a person who was a juvenile when he committed any such offense is eligible for juvenile parole.
Admission to bail; fixing terms of bail; mental health considerations. Requires the judicial officer, prior to conducting any hearing on the issue of bail, release, or detention, to obtain the person's criminal history and any emergency custody or temporary detention order or involuntary admission issued for such person. The bill also requires the judicial officer to consider any emergency custody or temporary detention order or involuntary admission issued for the person when determining admission to bail. Lastly, the bill requires the judicial officer to take into account the following factors in fixing the terms of bail if such person is admitted to bail: (i) whether the person is likely to obstruct or attempt to obstruct justice, or threaten, injure, or intimidate, or attempt to threaten, injure, or intimidate a family or household member as defined in relevant law; (ii) the history of the accused or juvenile, including medical, mental health, including any emergency custody or temporary detention order or involuntary admission issued pursuant to relevant law, or substance abuse treatment; (iii) any evidence the person provided indicating that such person (a) is currently pregnant, (b) has recently given birth, or (c) is currently nursing a child; and (iv) whether such person will be an unreasonable danger to himself, family or household members as defined in relevant law, or the public.
Expungement of police and court records. Permits the expungement of police and court records relating to an initial charge when a person is arrested, charged, summonsed, or indicted for the commission of an infraction, a crime, or a civil offense and such person is not ultimately convicted, provided that no stipulation of facts sufficient to find guilt was entered or the court did not determine the facts sufficient to find guilt but deferred adjudication or disposition to a later date. The bill also permits that a petition may request expungement of the police and court records for multiple charges arising out of separate transactions or occurrences. The bill also provides that if a person was the subject of a delinquency or traffic proceeding and was not ultimately adjudicated delinquent or convicted, provided that no stipulation of facts sufficient to find guilt was entered or the court did not determine facts sufficient to find guilt but deferred adjudication or disposition to a later date, such matter is eligible for expungement. Lastly, the bill (i) allows certain deferred dispositions to be eligible for expungement; (ii) requires the attorney for the Commonwealth, if he files an objection to the petition for expungement, to include the factual basis for such objection; (iii) provides that the unavailability of certain information shall not be a basis for refusing expungement; (iv) requires the court, if it finds potential manifest injustice to the petitioner, to order expungement; (v) provides that the existence of a prior conviction alone shall not be a sufficient basis to deny an expungement; (vi) allows any person whose petition for relief is the subject of an appeal to proceed under a pseudonym pursuant to relevant law; and (vii) allows specifically identified emergency or preliminary protective orders to be expunged. The bill has a delayed effective date of December 1, 2026.
Virginia Parole Board; powers and duties; juvenile offenders; parole procedures and considerations. Increases the members of the Virginia Parole Board (the Board) from up to five to at least 11 members, five of whom shall be appointed by the Governor within 60 days of inauguration, three of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates within 60 days of a new House being sworn in during a Senate election year, and three of whom shall be appointed by the Chair of the Senate Committee on Rules within 60 days of a new Senate being sworn in after an election, and all of whom shall be subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, if in session when such appointment is made, and if not in session, then at its next succeeding session. The bill specifies that all members of the Board shall have significant professional experience working in criminal law, corrections, reentry and community services, or victim services and that the Board members appointed by the Governor shall include (i) an attorney with significant experience in criminal prosecution; (ii) an attorney with significant experience in criminal defense; (iii) a qualified mental health professional with relevant background in adolescent development, trauma responses, psychology, and decision-making; and (iv) a representative of a crime victims organization or a victim of crime. These provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2028.The bill also requires the Board to provide a meaningful opportunity for release to certain juvenile offenders eligible for parole and specifies various factors the Board shall give substantial weight to when making a determination on whether to grant parole to such juvenile offender. The bill allows a juvenile offender to request for reconsideration or appeal of a decision by the Board not to grant parole based on (a) the Board's failure to give substantial weight to such juvenile offender's age and its related mitigating circumstances as required by the bill or (b) the Board's overreliance on static factors such as the nature and circumstances of the offense and failure to ground its decision in evidence of maturity, rehabilitation, and a lack of present danger to public safety. The bill requires the Board to provide individualized reasons for the grant or denial of parole upon reconsideration or appeal.The bill also requires that if parole is denied for any such juvenile offender, each Board member shall identify his reasoning for such decision at the time such member's vote is cast, including any youth-related factor and evidence of maturity and rehabilitation that was considered. The bill requires that the Board provide to such prisoner for whom parole is denied recommendations to demonstrate commitment to rehabilitation and at the next hearing, the Board is required to consider whether the prisoner has followed such recommendations. The bill also requires the Board to annually review the cases of such juvenile offenders eligible for parole. This bill is identical to SB 60.
Fines, costs, forfeitures, penalties, and restitution; collection fees; assessment against incarcerated defendant; deferred payment agreement. Extends from 90 days without payment to 180 days without payment the period of delinquency necessary for an account to be included on the required monthly report of delinquent accounts made by the clerk of the circuit court and district court.The bill also provides that for any defendant sentenced to an active term of incarceration and ordered to pay any fine, cost, forfeiture, or penalty related to the charge that such defendant is incarcerated for, or any other charge for which such defendant was sentenced on the same day, the court shall enter such defendant into a deferred payment agreement for such fines, costs, forfeitures, or penalties. The bill requires the due date for such deferred payment agreement to be set no earlier than the defendant's scheduled release from incarceration on the charge for which such defendant received the longest period of active incarceration. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. This bill was incorporated into SB 180.
Restorative justice practices. Provides that participation in a restorative justice practice, as defined in the bill, shall not be used as evidence or as an admission of guilt, delinquency, or civil liability in current or subsequent legal proceedings against any participant. The bill also provides that restorative justice communications, defined in the bill, are not admissible in, or subject to discovery for, any legal proceeding, and disclosure of such communications shall not be compelled in any judicial or administrative proceeding, arbitration, or mediation. The bill prohibits any person involved in a restorative justice practice, as defined in the bill, from testifying about any phase of such practice in any judicial or administrative proceeding, arbitration, or mediation except in certain circumstances enumerated in the bill. Lastly, the bill provides civil immunity for any person, who in good faith, discloses any restorative justice communication based on his belief that such disclosure is allowed pursuant to such provisions, provided that such disclosure was limited to solely address any such allowable disclosure.
Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets; Behavioral Health Docket Act. Authorizes a general district court and a juvenile and domestic relations district court to retain jurisdiction over a felony offense for the purpose of allowing the accused to complete a specialty docket or behavioral health docket established pursuant to relevant law. Current law only explicitly provides such courts with the ability to certify felony charges to the circuit court or dismiss such charges after a preliminary hearing to determine if probable cause exists for such charges.
