VA SB134 | 2026 | Regular Regular Session
Status
Completed Legislative Action
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: Passed on April 8 2026 - 100% progression
Action: 2026-04-08 - Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0457)
Text: Latest bill text (Chaptered) [HTML]
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: Passed on April 8 2026 - 100% progression
Action: 2026-04-08 - Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0457)
Text: Latest bill text (Chaptered) [HTML]
Summary
Public education; early childhood care and education; child care access calculations; report. Requires the Department of Education to establish and maintain calculations for the provision of early childhood care and education services based on cost of quality rate per child, actual data from the prior year, an estimate of parental demand and choice preferences based on historic growth trends and current eligibility criteria, and an estimate of the number of slots to be added to support local or regional economic development efforts and public-private partnerships focused on increasing the supply of child care services, giving priority to localities or regions identified as child care deserts, as determined by the Department. The bill also contains several provisions relating to the use and appropriation of funds as applicable to such calculations, including (i) providing that the calculations shall not obligate the General Assembly to a specific appropriation, (ii) requiring the calculations to be used to provide information to guide the General Assembly in making decisions about the proportion of parental demand for and supply of early childhood care and education services to be addressed and level of appropriation required to address such demand, and (iii) providing that the annual overall funding available for slots shall be subject to appropriation as determined by the General Assembly. The bill also provides that if waitlists for slots at early childhood care and education sites remain, up to $5 million from prior-year unexpended state general funds appropriated for such purpose in a general appropriation act may be carried forward to the current fiscal year to temporarily provide additional slots during the current fiscal year solely to reduce or eliminate waitlists, unless the general appropriation act authorizes a greater amount to be carried forward and that such prior-year funds shall not be used to increase the base amount of funding required in the subsequent fiscal year and the Department shall monitor program utilization and attrition to ensure that no families will lose access at the end of the current fiscal year. Finally, the bill requires the Department to annually submit to the Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education and post on its website a report on the data used to calculate the minimum funding and number of slots for the calculations in accordance with the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to HB 1208.
Title
Public education; early childhood care and education, child care access calculations, report.
Sponsors
| Sen. Mamie Locke [D] |
Roll Calls
2026-03-14 - Senate - Conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 39 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2026-03-14 - House - Conference report agreed to by House (85-Y 12-N 0-A) (Y: 85 N: 12 NV: 0 Abs: 2) [PASS]
2026-03-04 - Senate - Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 40 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-02-27 - Senate - House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 39-N 0-A) (Y: 0 N: 39 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [FAIL]
2026-02-25 - House - Passed House with substitute (93-Y 3-N 0-A) (Y: 93 N: 3 NV: 0 Abs: 3) [PASS]
2026-02-20 - House - Reported from Appropriations with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (Y: 22 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-02-13 - Senate - Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 39 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2026-02-11 - Senate - Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 40 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-02-10 - Senate - Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N) (Y: 15 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-01-22 - Senate - Reported from Education and Health with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Y: 14 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2026-03-14 - House - Conference report agreed to by House (85-Y 12-N 0-A) (Y: 85 N: 12 NV: 0 Abs: 2) [PASS]
2026-03-04 - Senate - Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 40 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-02-27 - Senate - House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 39-N 0-A) (Y: 0 N: 39 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [FAIL]
2026-02-25 - House - Passed House with substitute (93-Y 3-N 0-A) (Y: 93 N: 3 NV: 0 Abs: 3) [PASS]
2026-02-20 - House - Reported from Appropriations with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (Y: 22 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-02-13 - Senate - Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 39 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2026-02-11 - Senate - Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 40 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-02-10 - Senate - Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N) (Y: 15 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-01-22 - Senate - Reported from Education and Health with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Y: 14 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
History
| Date | Chamber | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-08 | Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0457) | |
| 2026-04-08 | Approved by Governor-Chapter 457 (effective 7/1/2026) | |
| 2026-03-31 | Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 | |
| 2026-03-31 | Senate | Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 |
| 2026-03-31 | House | Signed by Speaker |
| 2026-03-31 | Senate | Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB134) |
| 2026-03-30 | Senate | Signed by President |
| 2026-03-30 | Senate | Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB134ER) |
| 2026-03-30 | Senate | Enrolled |
| 2026-03-14 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| 2026-03-14 | House | Conference report agreed to by House (85-Y 12-N 0-A) |
| 2026-03-14 | Conference Report released | |
| 2026-03-10 | House | House Conferees: Sewell, Askew, Kent |
| 2026-03-10 | House | Conferees appointed by House |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate Conferees: Locke, Favola, Pillion |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Conferees appointed by Senate |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| 2026-03-02 | House | House requested conference committee |
| 2026-03-02 | House | House insisted on substitute |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | House substitute rejected by Senate |
| 2026-02-25 | House | Passed House with substitute (93-Y 3-N 0-A) |
| 2026-02-25 | House | Engrossed by House - committee substitute |
| 2026-02-25 | House | committee substitute agreed to |
| 2026-02-25 | House | Read third time |
| 2026-02-25 | House | Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar |
| 2026-02-24 | House | Read second time |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB134) |
| 2026-02-20 | House | Committee substitute printed 26108283D-H1 |
| 2026-02-20 | House | Reported from Appropriations with substitute (22-Y 0-N) |
| 2026-02-18 | House | Assigned HAPP sub: Elementary & Secondary Education |
| 2026-02-18 | House | Referred to Committee on Appropriations |
| 2026-02-18 | House | Read first time |
| 2026-02-18 | House | Placed on Calendar |
| 2026-02-13 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute Block Vote (Voice Vote) |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Education and Health Substitute rejected |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Read second time |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | Rules suspended |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB134) |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | Committee substitute printed 26107527D-S2 |
| 2026-02-10 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N) |
| 2026-02-03 | Senate | Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB134) |
| 2026-01-30 | Senate | Committee substitute printed 26105480D-S1 |
| 2026-01-22 | Senate | Reported from Education and Health with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) |
| 2026-01-22 | Senate | Senate committee offered |
| 2026-01-15 | Senate | Senate subcommittee offered |
| 2026-01-15 | Senate | Assigned Education sub: Public Education |
| 2026-01-06 | Senate | Referred to Committee on Education and Health |
| 2026-01-06 | Senate | Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102085D |
