School Board Employee Grievance Procedure; Timing of Dispute Resolution
Summary
Virginia enacted SB824 on April 6, 2026, requiring school boards to provide timely and fair grievance resolution procedures for employees before dismissal or disciplinary actions, excluding suspensions. The law takes effect July 1, 2026, and explicitly addresses timing requirements that prior law did not specify. School divisions must revise grievance procedures to ensure dispute resolution occurs before disciplinary measures take effect.
What changed
Virginia SB824 adds explicit timing requirements to school board employee grievance procedures. Previously, law required timely and fair resolution methods but was silent on timing. The new statute mandates that grievance procedures afford resolution before dismissal or disciplinary actions (excluding suspensions) are implemented. This change applies to all school board employees covered under the grievance statute.
School divisions in Virginia must update their grievance policies and procedures to comply with the new timing requirements by July 1, 2026. Affected parties include school boards as employers, school district HR administrators, and school board employees who may face disciplinary action. The law provides employees additional procedural protections by requiring dispute resolution to occur prior to disciplinary measures taking effect.
What to do next
- Update school board grievance policies to include specific timing requirements for dispute resolution
- Ensure all disciplinary actions follow the revised grievance procedure timeline
- Train HR and administrative staff on new pre-disciplinary grievance process requirements
Source document (simplified)
ChangeBridge / Virginia / SB824 Signed by Governor SB824 Senate Bill Signed by Governor 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
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Sponsors
Lamont Bagby (Sen - D) Kannan Srinivasan (Sen - D)
Action History
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 Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
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