HB495Introduced in the House of Delegates
School boards; mental health awareness training for full-time school bus drivers.
Introduced by Elizabeth Guzman, District 31
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
School boards; mental health awareness training; full-time school bus drivers. Permits any school board to require each school bus driver employed on a full-time basis in the local school division to complete mental health awareness training at least once. The bill requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to consider condensing and abbreviating the existing mental health first aid training program into a two-hour module that any school board may utilize in order to train full-time school bus drivers.
Where it stands
Continued to next session in Education and Health (15-Y 0-N)
March 5, 2026
How did lawmakers vote?
House of Delegates votes
3 recorded votes · each counted separately
Senate votes
1 recorded vote · each counted separately
SenateStage: Continued to next session in Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) · March 5, 2026
15
Yes
0
No
0
Absent or Not Voting
15 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Head | 3 | Yes |
| David Suetterlein | 4 | Yes |
| Todd Pillion | 6 | Yes |
| Mark Peake | 8 | Yes |
| Lashrecse Aird | 13 | Yes |
| Lamont Bagby | 14 | Yes |
| Schuyler VanValkenburg | 16 | Yes |
| Louise Lucas | 18 | Yes |
| Christie New Craig | 19 | Yes |
| Mamie Locke | 23 | Yes |
Bill history
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102869D
Referred to Committee on Education
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB495)
Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee
House subcommittee offered
Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to Appropriations (7-Y 3-N)
House committee offered
Reported from Education with substitute (14-Y 7-N)
Committee substitute printed 26107573D-H1
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB495)
Read first time
Read second time
committee substitute agreed to
Engrossed by House - committee substitute
Read third time and passed House (62-Y 34-N 0-A)
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
Assigned Education sub: Public Education
Continued to next session in Education and Health (15-Y 0-N)
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