Virginia 2026 Session Status: Introduced

HB721 — Parents of public school children; fundamental right to opt children out of certain ed. content.

Last action — Left in Education

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

  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 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Parents of public school children; fundamental right to opt children out of certain ed. content.

Bill Text

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

Read HB721 on the official Virginia source →

How this bill changes current law

24 changes Share ↗

Compared against the Code of Virginia as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill amends 1 section(s) of the Code of Virginia: 22.1-1.1.

  • 22.1-1.1

    Consistent with § 1-240.1,

    Inserts “Consistent with § 1-240.1,”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    p

    Inserts “p”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    arents

    Inserts “arents”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    of public school children

    Inserts “of public school children”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    have the fundamental right to opt their child

    Inserts “have the fundamental right to opt their child”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    ren

    Inserts “ren”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    out

    Inserts “out”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    , without penalty,

    Inserts “, without penalty,”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    of any instruction, reading, discussion, presentation,

    Inserts “of any instruction, reading, discussion, presentation,”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    including any

    Inserts “including any”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    audio

    Inserts “audio”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    -

    Inserts “-”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    visual presentation, school assembly

    Inserts “visual presentation, school assembly”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    ,

    Inserts “,”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    or activity that includes

    Inserts “or activity that includes”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    any

    Inserts “any”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    gender identity, sexual orientation, transgenderism, or drag show

    Inserts “gender identity, sexual orientation, transgenderism, or drag show”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    theme

    Inserts “theme”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    or content

    Inserts “or content”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    ,

    Inserts “,”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    and the school shall make reasonable accommodations

    Inserts “and the school shall make reasonable accommodations”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    during

    Inserts “during”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    such

    Inserts “such”.

  • 22.1-1.1

    opt-out period.

    Inserts “opt-out period.”.

Action History

  1. H Left in Education

  2. H Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (7-Y 3-N)

  3. H House subcommittee offered

  4. H Placed on Education Agenda

  5. H Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee

  6. H Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB721)

  7. H Referred to Committee on Education

  8. H Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103884D

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on · 3 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 laying on the table

Passed 7 Yea · 3 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 7301
Total 7301
% of votes cast 64%27%0%9%
How each member voted (11)
Member Party Vote
Alex Q. Askew — Yea
Anne Ferrell Tata — Nay
Destiny LeVere Bolling — Yea
Gretchen M. Bulova — Yea
Hillary Pugh Kent — Nay
Jessica L. Anderson — Yea
Lindsey Dougherty — Not Voting
Mike A. Cherry — Nay
Rae Cousins — Yea
Sam Rasoul — Yea
Shelly A. Simonds — Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights 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 HB721 do?
Parents of public school children; fundamental right to opt children out of certain ed. content.
Who sponsors HB721?
HB721 is sponsored by Eric R. Zehr.
What is the current status of HB721?
This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB721?
Track HB721 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on HB721

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of HB721

Last checked for changes 4 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →