republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2025/sb-738.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	Public elementary & secondary schools; bell-to-bell student cell phone & smart device possession.	Public elementary and secondary schools; student cell phone possession and use policies; development and implementation. Directs each school board to develop and each public elementary and secondary school to implement policies relating to the possession and use of cell phones and smart devices by students on school property from bell to bell, as defined in the law, and requires such policies, among other things, to (i) restrict student cell phone and smart device possession and use on school property from bell to bell and (ii) permit any student, pursuant to an Individualized Education Plan, Section 504 Plan, individualized health care plan, or Limited English Proficiency plan, to possess and use a cell phone or smart device on school property, including in the classroom, from bell to bell to monitor or address a health concern or as an accommodation or assistive technology support. This bill is identical to HB 1961.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2025	SB 738	Virginia SB 738 (2025)	bill		enacted	Stella G. Pekarsky	10	55	11	2024-09-18	2025-04-02	openstates	ocd-bill/0db811bc-c59d-46b9-891d-0a8b243c405a	https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/SB738	cd219dc5c4f03bfce7ecdab6cccc736708f58bedc4c06fb8983aed3c78ef6165	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia SB 738 (2025) — Public elementary & secondary schools; bell-to-bell student cell phone & smart device possession.

Public elementary and secondary schools; student cell phone possession and use policies; development and implementation. Directs each school board to develop and each public elementary and secondary school to implement policies relating to the possession and use of cell phones and smart devices by students on school property from bell to bell, as defined in the law, and requires such policies, among other things, to (i) restrict student cell phone and smart device possession and use on school property from bell to bell and (ii) permit any student, pursuant to an Individualized Education Plan, Section 504 Plan, individualized health care plan, or Limited English Proficiency plan, to possess and use a cell phone or smart device on school property, including in the classroom, from bell to bell to monitor or address a health concern or as an accommodation or assistive technology support. This bill is identical to HB 1961.

Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. Introduced (filed) — source
2. Chaptered (committee substitute) — source
3. Conference Report (committee substitute) — source
4. Conference Substitute (committee substitute) — source
5. Education Substitute (committee substitute) — source
6. Education and Health Substitute (committee substitute) — source
7. Governor Substitute (committee substitute) — source
8. Governor's Recommendation (committee substitute) — source
9. Reenrolled (committee substitute) — source
10. Enrolled (enrolled) — source

Votes

• Senate acceded to request (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper
• Passed House with substitute (67-Y 28-N) — 67–28 (pass) · lower
• Reported from Education and Health with substitute (9-Y 6-N) — 9–6 (pass) · upper
• Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 18-N) — 21–18 (pass) · upper
• House concurred in Governor's recommendation (91-Y 2-N) — 91–2 (pass) · lower
• Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 18-N) — 21–18 (pass) · upper
• Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (40-Y 0-N) — 40–0 (pass) · upper
• Reported from Education with substitute (14-Y 6-N) — 14–6 (pass) · lower
• Conference report agreed to by House (73-Y 23-N) — 73–23 (pass) · lower
• House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 37-N) — 0–37 (fail) · upper
• Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (37-Y 0-N) — 37–0 (pass) · upper

Sponsors

• Stella G. Pekarsky — primary (person)
• Ghazala F. Hashmi — cosponsor (person)
• Lamont Bagby — cosponsor (person)
• Lashrecse D. Aird — cosponsor (person)
• Schuyler T. VanValkenburg — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

• 2024-09-18 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-08-2025 25100096D filing, introduction
• 2024-09-18 Referred to Committee on Education and Health referral-committee
• 2025-01-16 Assigned Education sub: Public Education referral-committee
• 2025-01-23 Committee substitute printed 25105124D-S1 substitution
• 2025-01-23 Reported from Education and Health with substitute (9-Y 6-N) committee-passage
• 2025-01-24 Rules suspended
• 2025-01-24 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (37-Y 0-N)
• 2025-01-24 Passed by for the day
• 2025-01-27 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB738)
• 2025-01-27 Read second time reading-2
• 2025-01-27 Reading of substitute waived
• 2025-01-27 Education and Health Substitute agreed to
• 2025-01-27 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute substitution
• 2025-01-28 Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 18-N) passage, reading-3
• 2025-02-03 Read first time reading-1
• 2025-02-03 Placed on Calendar
• 2025-02-03 Referred to Committee on Education referral-committee
• 2025-02-05 Committee substitute printed 25106766D-H1 substitution
• 2025-02-05 Reported from Education with substitute (14-Y 6-N) committee-passage
• 2025-02-06 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB738)
• 2025-02-07 Read second time reading-2
• 2025-02-10 Read third time reading-3
• 2025-02-10 Education Substitute agreed to
• 2025-02-10 Engrossed by House - committee substitute substitution
• 2025-02-10 Passed House with substitute (67-Y 28-N) passage
• 2025-02-12 House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 37-N)
• 2025-02-13 House insisted on substitute substitution
• 2025-02-13 House requested conference committee referral-committee
• 2025-02-17 Senate acceded to request (39-Y 0-N)
• 2025-02-17 Conferees appointed by Senate
• 2025-02-17 Senators: Pekarsky, Hashmi, Pillion
• 2025-02-18 Conferees appointed by House
• 2025-02-18 Delegates: Rasoul, Cousins, Green
• 2025-02-20 Amended by conference committee
• 2025-02-20 Conference substitute printed 25107823D-S2
• 2025-02-21 Conference report agreed to by House (73-Y 23-N) committee-passage-favorable
• 2025-02-21 Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 18-N) committee-passage-favorable
• 2025-03-07 Enrolled enrolled
• 2025-03-07 Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB738ER) passage
• 2025-03-07 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB738)
• 2025-03-07 Signed by Speaker passage
• 2025-03-10 Signed by President passage
• 2025-03-11 Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 11, 2025 enrolled
• 2025-03-11 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 24, 2025 executive-receipt
• 2025-03-24 Governor's recommendation received by Senate executive-veto-line-item
• 2025-03-24 Governor's substitute printed (SB738S3)
• 2025-04-02 Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (40-Y 0-N)
• 2025-04-02 House concurred in Governor's recommendation (91-Y 2-N)
• 2025-04-02 Governor's recommendation adopted executive-signature
• 2025-04-02 Reenrolled enrolled
• 2025-04-02 Reenrolled bill text (SB738ER2) enrolled
• 2025-04-02 Signed by President as reenrolled enrolled, passage
• 2025-04-02 Signed by Speaker as reenrolled enrolled, passage
• 2025-04-02 Enacted, Chapter 606 (Effective 07/01/2025) became-law
• 2025-04-02 Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0606)

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/0db811bc-c59d-46b9-891d-0a8b243c405a. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).