An Act to amend and reenact § 23.1-203 of the Code of Virginia, relating to State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; uniform, comprehensive data information system; information on self-identified students who are parents.
HB427 amends the duties of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) in § 23.1-203 of the Code of Virginia. The bill’s caption indicates that it concerns SCHEV’s uniform, comprehensive data information system and the collection of information on self-identified students who are parents. Based on the bill text provided, the measure is an update to SCHEV’s statutory responsibilities within the Commonwealth’s higher education governance framework.
The text shown in the bill primarily restates and continues SCHEV’s existing oversight role over statewide higher education planning, institutional mission changes, enrollment projections, new academic programs, program discontinuance, and the creation or reorganization of institutional units. Because the excerpt cuts off before the specific new data-system language appears, the visible portion does not show the exact reporting or data-collection requirements added by the bill; however, the caption makes clear that the amendment is intended to improve statewide higher education data collection, including information about students who are parents.
HB427 amends § 23.1-203, which governs SCHEV’s duties, and therefore affects the statutory framework for higher education oversight in Virginia. The bill appears to expand or refine SCHEV’s data-information system responsibilities, likely requiring the council to collect, maintain, or report additional student-level information related to self-identified parenting status. Any such change would affect SCHEV, public institutions of higher education, and the data they report for planning, accountability, and policy purposes.
No committee transcript or recorded vote information was provided, so the public discussion and legislative sentiment cannot be directly measured from the materials supplied. The bill’s enactment as Chapter 796 suggests it received sufficient support to pass both chambers and be signed into law. The subject matter—higher education data collection and support for student parents—generally indicates a policy-oriented, administrative measure rather than a highly partisan one.
The provided materials do not include recorded objections, amendments, or committee debate, so no specific points of contention can be identified from the record here. In bills of this type, likely issues would include privacy concerns around collecting self-identified parental status, administrative burden on institutions, and how the data would be used. However, those concerns are not documented in the text or context supplied, so they should be treated as possible rather than confirmed points of dispute.