SB824 School Board Employee Grievance Procedure Timing Requirements
Summary
Virginia enacted SB824 amending school board employee grievance procedures to explicitly require timely dispute resolution methods before dismissal or disciplinary actions. The bill, approved by Governor Youngkin on April 6, 2026, takes effect July 1, 2026, and addresses the prior statutory silence on timing requirements. This legislation mirrors HB 116 and passed with broad bipartisan support in both chambers.
What changed
Virginia SB824 amends existing law governing school board employee grievance procedures by explicitly requiring that dispute resolution be timely in addition to fair. The previous statute required fair methods for resolving disputes regarding dismissal or disciplinary actions but was silent on timing. The new law adds the word 'timely' to the statutory requirements, creating an affirmative obligation for school divisions to establish and follow timeframes for grievance resolution.
School boards and public school divisions in Virginia must revise their grievance policies and procedures to comply with the new timing requirements before the July 1, 2026 effective date. Non-compliance could result in administrative challenges to disciplinary actions or dismissements, as employees may argue that disputes were not resolved within required timeframes. Human resources administrators, school attorneys, and district leadership should review current grievance procedures and implement compliant timelines.
What to do next
- Review and update school board grievance procedures to include explicit timing requirements for dispute resolution
- Ensure HR and administration understand new timeline obligations for dismissal and disciplinary actions
- Train relevant personnel on compliance with amended grievance procedure requirements
Archived snapshot
Apr 9, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
ChangeBridge / Virginia / SB824 Enacted SB824 Senate Bill Enacted 2026-04-06
School board employee grievance procedure; timing of dispute resolution.
School board employee grievance procedure; timing of dispute resolution. Requires the grievance procedure for certain school board employees to afford a timely and fair method of the resolution of disputes arising between the school board and such employees before dismissal or other disciplinary actions, excluding suspensions. Current law requires such procedure to afford a timely and fair method of the resolution of disputes arising between the school board and such employees regarding dismissal or other disciplinary actions, excluding suspensions, but is silent on the timing of such dispute resolution. This bill is identical to HB 116.
Bill Details
State Virginia
Session 2026 Regular Regular Session
Chamber Senate
Official Source lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB824
LegiScan View on LegiScan
Sponsors
Lamont Bagby (Sen - D) Kannan Srinivasan (Sen - D)
Action History
2026-04-06 Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0068) 2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 68 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 68 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-03-10 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 2026-03-10 S Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 2026-03-05 S Signed by President 2026-03-05 H Signed by Speaker 2026-03-05 S Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB824) 2026-03-05 S Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB824ER) 2026-03-05 S Enrolled 2026-03-02 H Passed House (94-Y 5-N 0-A) 2026-03-02 H Read third time 2026-02-27 H Read second time 2026-02-25 H Reported from Education (19-Y 3-N) 2026-02-24 H Referred to Committee on Education 2026-02-24 H Read first time 2026-02-24 H Placed on Calendar 2026-02-16 S Blank Action 2026-02-16 S Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-16 S Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-16 S Rules suspended 2026-02-16 S Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) 2026-02-16 S Read second time 2026-02-13 S Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) 2026-02-13 S Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (36-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-13 S Rules suspended 2026-02-12 S Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) 2026-02-05 S Assigned Education sub: Public Education 2026-01-30 S Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB824) 2026-01-23 S Referred to Committee on Education and Health 2026-01-23 S Presented and ordered printed 26104431D
Votes
2026-02-12 Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) Yea: 15 Nay: 0 2026-02-13 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (36-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 36 Nay: 0 2026-02-16 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 39 Nay: 0 2026-02-16 Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 39 Nay: 0 2026-02-25 Reported from Education (19-Y 3-N) Yea: 19 Nay: 3 2026-03-02 Passed House (94-Y 5-N 0-A) Yea: 94 Nay: 5
Committee Referrals
2026-01-23 S Education and Health 2026-02-05 S Education: Public Education 2026-02-24 H Education
Bill Text Versions
2026-01-23 Introduced 2026-03-05 Enrolled 2026-04-06 Chaptered Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
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