Fabio
120 lines
8.1 KiB
Markdown
120 lines
8.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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type: "Bill"
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title: "Public elementary & secondary schools; bell-to-bell student cell phone & smart device possession."
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description: "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 SB 738."
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jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
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legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
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session: "2025"
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identifier: "HB 1961"
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citation: "Virginia HB 1961 (2025)"
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classification: ["bill"]
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subjects: []
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status: "enacted"
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primary_sponsors: ["Sam Rasoul"]
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version_count: 8
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action_count: 46
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vote_count: 10
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first_action: "2025-01-06"
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last_action: "2025-04-02"
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source: "openstates"
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source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1cdf6ead-d9b3-4f8c-96e1-02b807536259"
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source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/HB1961"
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source_hash: "aaa41ab1821ccdf8b5656af577973a6aa1faea7957cb4862303d70df16ece91c"
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vintage: "2026-07-01"
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source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
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retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
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confidence: "reported"
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tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
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---
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# Virginia HB 1961 (2025) — Public elementary & secondary schools; bell-to-bell student cell phone & smart device possession.
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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 SB 738.
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## Version chain
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The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
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1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1014186.PDF)
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2. **Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1079199.PDF)
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3. **Education Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1031200.PDF)
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4. **Education and Health Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1052274.PDF)
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5. **Governor Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1074626.PDF)
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6. **Governor's Recommendation** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1073580.HTML)
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7. **Reenrolled** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1075050.PDF)
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8. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1066862.PDF)
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## Votes
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- House concurred in Governor's recommendation (96-Y 0-N) — **96–0** (pass) · lower
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- Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N) — **21–19** (pass) · upper
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- Reading waived (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
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- Reported from Education and Health with substitute (9-Y 6-N) — **9–6** (pass) · upper
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- Reported from Education with substitute (16-Y 6-N) — **16–6** (pass) · lower
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- Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
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- Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 2-N) — **6–2** (pass) · lower
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- Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
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- Senate substitute agreed to by House (75-Y 22-N) — **75–22** (pass) · lower
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- Read third time and passed House (69-Y 30-N) — **69–30** (pass) · lower
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## Sponsors
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- Sam Rasoul — primary (person)
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- Dan I. Helmer — cosponsor (person)
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## Timeline
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The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
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- **2025-01-06** Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-08-2025 25103580D `filing, introduction`
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- **2025-01-06** Referred to Committee on Education `referral-committee`
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- **2025-01-24** Assigned Educ sub: K-12 Subcommittee `referral-committee`
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- **2025-01-28** Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 2-N) `substitution`
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- **2025-01-28** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1961)
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- **2025-01-29** Reported from Education with substitute (16-Y 6-N) `committee-passage`
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- **2025-01-29** Committee substitute printed 25106011D-H1 `substitution`
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- **2025-01-31** Read first time `reading-1`
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- **2025-02-03** Read second time `reading-2`
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- **2025-02-03** Education Substitute agreed to
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- **2025-02-03** Engrossed by House - committee substitute `substitution`
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- **2025-02-04** Read third time and passed House (69-Y 30-N) `passage, reading-3`
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- **2025-02-05** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
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- **2025-02-05** Referred to Committee on Education and Health `referral-committee`
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- **2025-02-10** Assigned Education sub: Public Education `referral-committee`
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- **2025-02-13** Reported from Education and Health with substitute (9-Y 6-N) `committee-passage`
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- **2025-02-13** Committee substitute printed 25107492D-S1 `substitution`
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- **2025-02-14** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1961)
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- **2025-02-17** Rules suspended
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- **2025-02-17** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N)
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- **2025-02-17** Passed by for the day
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- **2025-02-18** Passed by for the day
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- **2025-02-19** Read third time `reading-3`
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- **2025-02-19** Reading of substitute waived
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- **2025-02-19** Education and Health Substitute agreed to
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- **2025-02-19** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute `substitution`
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- **2025-02-19** Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N) `passage`
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- **2025-02-20** Senate substitute agreed to by House (75-Y 22-N) `substitution`
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- **2025-03-07** Enrolled `enrolled`
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- **2025-03-07** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1961ER) `passage`
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- **2025-03-07** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1961)
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- **2025-03-07** Signed by Speaker `passage`
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- **2025-03-10** Signed by President `passage`
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- **2025-03-11** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 11, 2025 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
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- **2025-03-11** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 24, 2025 `executive-receipt`
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- **2025-03-24** Governor's recommendation received by House `executive-veto-line-item`
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- **2025-03-24** Governor's substitute printed (HB1961H2)
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- **2025-04-02** House concurred in Governor's recommendation (96-Y 0-N)
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- **2025-04-02** Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (40-Y 0-N)
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- **2025-04-02** Governor's recommendation adopted `executive-signature`
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- **2025-04-02** Reenrolled `enrolled`
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- **2025-04-02** Reenrolled bill text (HB1961ER2) `enrolled`
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- **2025-04-02** Signed by Speaker as reenrolled `enrolled, passage`
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- **2025-04-02** Signed by President as reenrolled `enrolled, passage`
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- **2025-04-02** Enacted, Chapter 644 (Effective 07/01/25) `became-law`
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- **2025-04-02** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0644)
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## Source
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OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1cdf6ead-d9b3-4f8c-96e1-02b807536259`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).
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