Healthcare

Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities; program extension. Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to take all steps necessary to implement the federal extension option for the federal Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities to allow children four years of age or younger to receive services through such Program. Under current law, the Program is available for children between birth and three years of age.

Interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements; behavioral health co-response teams. Provides that interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements may allow for the development of co-response teams staffed by one or more law-enforcement agencies that respond to behavioral health-related calls in multiple jurisdictions. This bill is a recommendation of the Behavioral Health Commission. This bill is identical to HB 248.

Department of Health; suicide prevention; at-risk populations; work group; report. Directs the Department of Health to convene a work group to develop a statewide strategic plan to reduce suicides among at-risk populations in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the work group to submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the Joint Commission on Health Care, the Chair of the House Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2026.

Secretary of Public Safety; firearm violence. Directs the Secretary of Public Safety to convene a work group to develop policy and legislative recommendations to establish the Virginia Gun Violence Prevention Center. The bill allows the work group to (i) meet both in-person and virtually, (ii) have small group breakouts for the purpose of advancing work in a timely and efficient manner, and (iii) collaborate with experts and other representatives as needed. The bill requires the work group to report its findings and any legislative and policy recommendations to the General Assembly by December 15, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 364.

Secretary of Health and Human Resources; State Health Commissioner; website; services and programs available to pregnant women. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources (the Secretary) and the State Health Commissioner, by July 1, 2027, to establish, maintain, and annually update a website that provides information about public and private agencies, services, and programs available to pregnant women. The bill specifies that the website shall include a portal that allows users to receive specifically tailored pregnancy information and provides for the submission of feedback on how user-friendly and helpful the portal was in providing such specifically tailored information. The bill requires the Secretary to submit a report to the General Assembly, no later than 180 days after the website and portal are established, on (i) the traffic on the website and portal; (ii) user feedback submitted regarding the website and portal; (iii) any identified gaps in services for pregnant and postpartum women, including any missing resources helpful to include in future updates; and (iv) recommendations on how to improve the user experience based upon user feedback.

Dietitian Licensure Compact. Authorizes Virginia to be a signatory to the Dietitian Licensure Compact in order to increase public access to dietetics services and provide opportunities for interstate practice by licensed dietitians who meet uniform requirements. The Compact is presently in effect, as it has reached the enactment threshold of seven member states.

Sickle Cell Coordinated Access Network established. Directs the State Health Commissioner, in coordination with the Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems Authority, to establish and maintain the Sickle Cell Coordinated Access Network to provide health care providers in the Commonwealth with real-time consultation and support from sickle cell specialists. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 1391.

School boards; student diabetes care and management in schools; divisionwide plan required. Requires each school board to develop, amend as necessary, and implement a divisionwide plan for the care, at school during regular school hours, of each public elementary or secondary school student who is diagnosed with diabetes in the school division, to become effective beginning with the 2027–2028 school year, in accordance with the requirements enumerated in the bill, including that each such divisionwide plan must: (i) give consideration to, and incorporate, where appropriate, the guidelines contained in the Department of Education's Diabetes Management in Schools: Manual for Unlicensed Personnel (the Manual); (ii) include procedures for ensuring that each school building in the school division that is attended by one or more students diagnosed with diabetes meets the minimum staffing requirements set forth in current law for employees trained in the administration of insulin and glucagon; (iii) ensure that the provision or assistance with the provision of diabetes-related care by licensed or unlicensed school board employees is consistent with the guidance contained in the most recent revision of the Manual and applicable law; and (iv) provide opportunities for parental involvement and input in the process of providing students with diabetes-related care and developing or amending the divisionwide plan.The bill also expands the diabetes care and management that each school board is required, pursuant to current law, to permit each student diagnosed with diabetes to independently provide to require each school board to permit each such student to carry with him and use a cell phone or smart device, consistent with applicable law, to monitor, address, or contact his parent, the school, or his health care provider on diabetes-related matters.The bill directs the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health and other enumerated stakeholders, to (a) no later than January 1, 2027, conduct a comprehensive review of the Manual and revise it as necessary in accordance with the requirements set forth in the bill and (b) at least biennially, review the Manual, revise it as necessary to ensure currency and accuracy, and post it in a publicly accessible location on its website. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Health, to develop, periodically review, post on its website, and make available to each school board informational materials for parents on type 1 and type 2 diabetes and directs each school board to make such informational materials available to the parent of each student enrolled in the school division at the beginning of each school year.The bill contains technical amendments.

Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact; criminal background check. Establishes the procedure by which the Board of Dentistry shall fulfill the criminal background check requirement of the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact. The bill requires applicants for compact-eligible licensure to provide fingerprints and personal identifying information for a criminal background check, directs the Central Criminal Records Exchange to disseminate criminal history information obtained to the Board, and establishes the process by which an applicant may obtain their criminal history record in the event that such applicant disputes the criminal history information on which a denial of licensure is based.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 54.1-2971.2, relating to physicians; informed consent; disclosure of certain information prior to hysterectomy or oophorectomy.