HB1499Introduced in the House of Delegates
DOE; policies relating to instructional material that contains sexually explicit content.
Introduced by Destiny LeVere Bolling, District 80
What does this bill do?
Plain-English breakdown
Writing a plain-English summary of this bill… this can take a few seconds the first time.
Official description
Department of Education; policies relating to instructional material that contains sexually explicit content; applicability; construction. Amends current law requiring the Department of Education to develop model policies and each school board to adopt policies consistent with the Department's model policies for ensuring parental notification of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content by (i) defining "instructional material" as any material, regardless of its format, assigned and provided to a student by a public school teacher directly for the completion of an assignment or curricular objective and clarifying that "instructional material" does not include any book or audiovisual material available in a public school library unless specifically required or assigned by a public school teacher directly for completion of an assignment or curricular objective and (ii) providing that nothing in the applicable law or any model policy or amendments thereto adopted by the Department or any policy or amendments thereto adopted by a school board pursuant to the applicable law shall be (a) construed to permit the censoring of books in any public elementary or secondary school or (b) utilized as a rationale or basis for the removal of books from any public elementary or secondary school. This bill is identical to SB 19.
Where it stands
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0321)
April 6, 2026
How did lawmakers vote?
House of Delegates votes
3 recorded votes · each counted separately
Senate votes
3 recorded votes · each counted separately
SenateStage: Passed Senate (20-Y 18-N 0-A) · February 23, 2026
20
Yes
18
No
2
Absent or Not Voting
40 senators recorded in this Senate vote. Colors show vote categories only, not whether a vote was good or bad.
What do people think?
Citizen Voice
How would you vote on this bill?
An unofficial public opinion poll. It does not affect the bill or the official vote.
One response per device. Location is self-reported and not verified. Results are informal and not a scientific survey.
See how each senator voted
| Senator | District | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Bennett-Parker | 5 | Yes |
| Michael Jones | 77 | Yes |
| Timmy French | 1 | No |
| Mark Obenshain | 2 | No |
| Chris Head | 3 | No |
| David Suetterlein | 4 | No |
| Travis Hackworth | 5 | No |
| Todd Pillion | 6 | No |
| William Stanley | 7 | No |
| Mark Peake | 8 | No |
Bill history
Presented and ordered printed 26101382D
Referred to Committee on Education
Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee
Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 3-N)
Reported from Education (14-Y 7-N)
Read first time
Read second time and engrossed
Read third time and passed House (62-Y 35-N 0-A)
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1499)
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
Reported from Education and Health (9-Y 5-N)
Rules suspended
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
Read third time
Passed Senate (20-Y 18-N 0-A)
Enrolled
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1499ER)
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1499)
Signed by Speaker
Signed by President
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
Approved by Governor-Chapter 321 (effective 7/1/2026)
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0321)
Verify the information
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