Virginia 2026 Session Status: Introduced

HB263 — Certified school library specialists; Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ in DOE.

Last action — Continued from last session

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House of Delegates
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 09, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 6 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill mandates hiring certified school library specialists in the Department of Education.

This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ certified school library specialists within the Department of Education. This aims to enhance educational resources and support for schools.

What this means for you
  • Families: This may lead to improved educational resources in schools, benefiting students and their families.

Summary

Certified school library specialists; Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ in DOE.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HB263 on the official Virginia source →

Action History

  1. S Continued to next session in Education and Health (14-Y 1-N)

  2. S Referred to Committee on Education and Health

  3. S Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  4. H Read third time and passed House (74-Y 22-N 0-A)

  5. H Read second time and engrossed

  6. H Read first time

  7. H Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N)

  8. H Placed on Appropriations Agenda

  9. H Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 0-N)

  10. H Placed on Appropriations Agenda

  11. H Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB263)

  12. H Assigned HAPP sub: Elementary & Secondary Education

  13. H Referred to Committee on Appropriations

  14. H Reported from Education and referred to Appropriations (17-Y 4-N)

  15. H Placed on Education Agenda

  16. H Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations (9-Y 1-N)

  17. H Placed on Education Agenda

  18. H Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee

  19. H Referred to Committee on Education

  20. H Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101218D

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on · 23 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (147)

147 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 147 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations

Passed 9 Yea · 1 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 9101
Total 9101
% of votes cast 82%9%0%9%
How each member voted (11)
Member Party Vote
Alex Q. Askew — Yea
Anne Ferrell Tata — Yea
Destiny LeVere Bolling — Yea
Gretchen M. Bulova — Yea
Hillary Pugh Kent — Yea
Jessica L. Anderson — Yea
Lindsey Dougherty — Yea
Mike A. Cherry — Nay
Rae Cousins — Yea
Sam Rasoul — Not Voting
Shelly A. Simonds — Yea

Official roll call →

Reported from Education and referred to Appropriations

Passed 17 Yea · 4 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 17401
Total 17401
% of votes cast 77%18%0%5%
How each member voted (22)
Member Party Vote
Alex Q. Askew — Yea
Amy J. Laufer — Yea
Anne Ferrell Tata — Yea
Atoosa R. Reaser — Not Voting
Briana D. Sewell — Yea
Delores L. McQuinn — Yea
Destiny LeVere Bolling — Yea
Elizabeth R. Guzman — Yea
Eric R. Zehr — Nay
Gretchen M. Bulova — Yea
Hillary Pugh Kent — Yea
Jessica L. Anderson — Yea
Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler — Yea
Lindsey Dougherty — Yea
Madison Whittle — Yea
Mike A. Cherry — Nay
Nadarius E. Clark — Yea
Phillip A. Scott — Nay
Rae Cousins — Yea
Sam Rasoul — Yea
Shelly A. Simonds — Yea
Thomas A. Garrett, Jr. — Nay

Official roll call →

Continued to next session in Education and Health

Passed 14 Yea · 1 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 14100
Total 14100
% of votes cast 93%7%0%0%
How each member voted (15)
Member Party Vote
Barbara A. Favola — Yea
Christie New Craig — Yea
Christopher T. Head — Yea
David R. Suetterlein — Nay
Jennifer B. Boysko — Yea
L. Louise Lucas — Yea
Lamont Bagby — Yea
Lashrecse D. Aird — Yea
Mamie E. Locke — Yea
Mark J. Peake — Yea
Russet Perry — Yea
Schuyler T. VanValkenburg — Yea
Stella G. Pekarsky — Yea
Tara A. Durant — Yea
Todd E. Pillion — Yea

Official roll call →

Read third time and passed House

Passed 74 Yea · 22 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 742204
Total 742204
% of votes cast 74%22%0%4%
How each member voted (100)
Member Party Vote
Adele Y. McClure — Yea
Alex Q. Askew — Yea
Alfonso H. Lopez — Yea
Amy J. Laufer — Yea
Anne Ferrell Tata — Yea
Atoosa R. Reaser — Yea
Barry D. Knight — Not Voting
Betsy B. Carr — Yea
Bill Wiley — Yea
Bonita G. Anthony — Yea
Briana D. Sewell — Yea
C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr. — Yea
Charlie Schmidt — Yea
Charniele L. Herring — Yea
Chris S. Runion — Nay
Dan I. Helmer — Yea
David A. Reid — Yea
Debra D. Gardner — Yea
Delores L. McQuinn — Yea
Delores Oates — Yea
Destiny LeVere Bolling — Yea
Don Scott — Yea
Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker — Yea
Elizabeth R. Guzman — Yea
Ellen H. McLaughlin — Yea
Eric Phillips — Nay
Eric R. Zehr — Nay
Garrett McGuire — Yea
Gretchen M. Bulova — Yea
H. Otto Wachsmann, Jr. — Nay
Hillary Pugh Kent — Yea
Holly M. Seibold — Yea
Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr. — Yea
Irene Shin — Yea
Israel D. O'Quinn — Nay
JJ Singh — Yea
Jackie H. Glass — Yea
James A. "Jay" Leftwich — Nay
James W. Morefield — Yea
Jason S. Ballard — Nay
Jeion A. Ward — Yea
Jessica L. Anderson — Yea
John Chilton McAuliff — Yea
Joseph P. McNamara — Yea
Joshua E. Thomas — Yea
Joshua G. Cole — Yea
Justin Pence — Nay
Karen Hamilton — Nay
Karen Keys-Gamarra — Not Voting
Karen R. "Kacey" Carnegie — Yea
Karrie K. Delaney — Yea
Kathy K.L. Tran — Yea
Katrina Callsen — Yea
Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler — Not Voting
Kimberly Pope Adams — Yea
Laura Jane Cohen — Yea
Leslie Chambers Mehta — Yea
Lily V. Franklin — Yea
Lindsey Dougherty — Yea
Luke E. Torian — Yea
M. Keith Hodges — Nay
Madison Whittle — Nay
Marcia S. "Cia" Price — Yea
Marcus B. Simon — Yea
Margaret A. Franklin — Yea
Mark C. Downey — Yea
Marty Martinez — Yea
May Nivar — Yea
Michael B. Feggans — Yea
Michael J. Webert — Nay
Michelle Lopes Maldonado — Yea
Mike A. Cherry — Nay
Mitchell Cornett — Nay
Nadarius E. Clark — Yea
Nicole Cole — Yea
Patrick A. Hope — Yea
Paul E. Krizek — Yea
Phil M. Hernandez — Yea
Phillip A. Scott — Nay
R. Lee Ware — Not Voting
Rae Cousins — Yea
Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. — Yea
Robert S. Bloxom, Jr. — Yea
Rodney T. Willett — Yea
Rozia A. Henson, Jr. — Yea
Sam Rasoul — Yea
Scott A. Wyatt — Yea
Shelly A. Simonds — Yea
Stacey Annie Carroll — Yea
Terry G. Kilgore — Yea
Terry L. Austin — Nay
Thomas A. Garrett, Jr. — Nay
Thomas C. Wright, Jr. — Nay
Timothy P. Griffin — Nay
Tony O. Wilt — Yea
Virgil Thornton — Yea
Vivian E. Watts — Yea
Wendell S. Walker — Nay
Will Davis — Nay
Wren M. Williams — Nay

Official roll call →

Reported from Appropriations

Passed 22 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 22000
Total 22000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (22)
Member Party Vote
Alex Q. Askew — Yea
Amy J. Laufer — Yea
Betsy B. Carr — Yea
Bill Wiley — Yea
Briana D. Sewell — Yea
C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr. — Yea
Charniele L. Herring — Yea
David A. Reid — Yea
Delores L. McQuinn — Yea
Ellen H. McLaughlin — Yea
James W. Morefield — Yea
Joshua E. Thomas — Yea
Kathy K.L. Tran — Yea
Luke E. Torian — Yea
M. Keith Hodges — Yea
Marcia S. "Cia" Price — Yea
Paul E. Krizek — Yea
Robert S. Bloxom, Jr. — Yea
Rodney T. Willett — Yea
Scott A. Wyatt — Yea
Shelly A. Simonds — Yea
Terry L. Austin — Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB263 do?
Certified school library specialists; Superintendent of Public Instruction to employ in DOE.
Who sponsors HB263?
HB263 is sponsored by Shelly A. Simonds.
What is the current status of HB263?
This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 09, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB263?
Track HB263 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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