Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: Passed House Bipartisan · 4 D · 1 R cosponsors

HB 443 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR VOLUNTEERS IN EDUCATION.

Last action — Signed by Governor

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

This bill has passed the House. Introduced May 21, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 74% · high confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Passed House

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 6 sponsors

    6 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (4 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes 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.

In plain language

The bill requires background checks for student mentors in Delaware's education system.

This act mandates that all mentors in Delaware schools undergo state and federal criminal background checks. Additionally, these mentors will be monitored for criminal records for one year.

What this means for you
  • Families: This means families can feel more secure knowing that mentors to their children are background checked and monitored.

Summary

This Act provides clarification that all individuals currently or prospectively serving as mentors to one or more students through a mentoring program under the Department of Education must submit to state and federal criminal background checks, and that they are subject to continued criminal record monitoring for 1 year.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

  2. Reported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 7 On Its Merits

  3. Re-Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate

  4. Assigned to Education Committee in Senate

  5. Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES

  6. Reported Out of Committee (Education) in House with 10 On Its Merits

  7. Introduced and Assigned to Education Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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6 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 56 not signed on

Sponsors (6)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (56)

56 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 56 →

"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

SM

Passed 20 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 15000
Republican 5001
Total 20001
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Daniel Cruce Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Kyra L. Hoffner Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
Ray Seigfried Democratic Yea
Russell Huxtable Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Not Voting
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Eric Buckson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

3/4

Passed 41 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 27000
Republican 14000
Total 41000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Alonna Berry Democratic Yea
Claire Snyder-Hall Democratic Yea
Cyndie Romer Democratic Yea
DeShanna U Neal Democratic Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Frank Burns Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Josue O Ortega Democratic Yea
Kamela T Smith Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kerri Evelyn Harris Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Mara Gorman Democratic Yea
Melanie Ross Levin Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Yea
Sophie Phillips Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeff Hilovsky Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea
Valerie Jones Giltner Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety 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 HB 443 do?
This Act provides clarification that all individuals currently or prospectively serving as mentors to one or more students through a mentoring program under the Department of Education must submit to state and federal criminal background checks, and that they are subject to continued criminal record monitoring for 1 year.
Who sponsors HB 443?
HB 443 is sponsored by Stell Parker Selby, Kerri Evelyn Harris (Democratic), Dave G. Lawson (Republican), Josue O Ortega (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), and Kimberly Williams (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 443?
This bill has passed the House. Introduced May 21, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track HB 443?
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