Minor's records; access to records stored or accessible from a secure website.
Summary
SB846 amends Virginia law governing a parent’s access to a minor child’s records. The bill provides that, notwithstanding other law, neither parent may be denied access to a child’s academic records, health records, or records from a child day center or family day home, even when those records are stored on or accessible through a secure website. The measure applies regardless of whether the parent has custody, unless a court orders otherwise for good cause or a health-record exception applies.
For health records, the bill preserves an existing safety-based exception: access may be denied if the minor’s treating clinician makes a written professional judgment that disclosure to the requesting parent would be reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to the minor or another person. If access is denied by a health care entity, the bill requires compliance with the existing review procedures in Virginia’s health-record privacy law, allowing the minor or parent to seek review of the denial. The bill also ties key terms to existing statutory definitions for health records, health care entities, child day centers, and family day homes.
Impact
The bill amends and reenacts Section 20-124.6 of the Code of Virginia, expanding and clarifying parental access rights to a minor’s records, including records maintained on secure websites or otherwise electronically accessible. It reinforces that both custodial and noncustodial parents generally have access to academic, health, and child-care records, while preserving court-ordered restrictions and the existing medical-harm exception for health records. The bill also incorporates cross-references to Virginia’s health-record privacy and child-care definitions, aligning this section with related statutes governing disclosure and review of minors’ health information.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have enjoyed broad bipartisan support throughout the legislative process. It passed the Senate and House overwhelmingly, including unanimous or near-unanimous committee and floor votes, and the final conference report was adopted by both chambers without opposition. The voting history suggests general agreement on clarifying parental access to records, especially in the context of digital record systems.
Contention
The main policy tension in SB846 is between parental access rights and privacy or safety concerns for minors. Support for the bill is reflected in the strong votes, but the retained exception for health records shows concern that disclosure could harm the child or another person in some cases. Any disagreement appears to have centered less on the general rule of access and more on how to preserve existing protections, particularly for sensitive medical information and situations involving court-ordered limits or professional judgments about harm.