A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-274 and 22.1-274.01:1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 22.1-274.01:2, relating to school boards; student diabetes care and management in schools; divisionwide plan required.
HB624 amends Virginia law governing school health services to address student diabetes care and management in public schools. The bill adds a new requirement that each school board develop and adopt a divisionwide diabetes care and management plan for students with diabetes, and it updates existing school health provisions to fit that new framework. The measure is aimed at ensuring that schools have a consistent, local plan for responding to students’ diabetes-related needs during the school day.
The bill also revises related school health statutes to clarify who may be required to provide health-related services and under what circumstances. It preserves the general rule that school boards may employ nurses and other health personnel, and it continues to state that staffing ratios for nurses are aspirational rather than mandatory. At the same time, it protects most instructional, instructional aide, and clerical employees from discipline for refusing to perform nonemergency health-related services or to obtain training for those services, with exceptions for personnel whose job duties specifically include health-related care.
HB624 would change Virginia’s Code by amending §§ 22.1-274 and 22.1-274.01:1 and adding § 22.1-274.01:2, creating a new statutory requirement for school boards to adopt divisionwide diabetes care and management plans. In practice, this would affect local school divisions, school nurses, administrators, and staff who may be involved in student health support, while leaving the nurse staffing ratio language advisory rather than mandatory. The bill would also reinforce limits on disciplining most school employees who decline nonemergency health tasks outside their assigned duties.
The available legislative history suggests the bill’s subject matter was treated favorably enough to be incorporated into another education measure, indicating general support for the underlying goal of improving student health planning in schools. No committee transcript or recorded vote details are provided here, so there is no evidence of organized opposition in the available record. Overall, the bill appears to have been viewed as a practical school health measure focused on student safety and administrative clarity.
The main point of potential contention is the extent to which school employees can be expected to perform health-related tasks for students. The bill draws a line between personnel whose duties specifically include health services and other instructional or clerical staff, who cannot be disciplined for refusing nonemergency health-related services or related training. Another possible issue is implementation burden on school divisions, since the bill requires a divisionwide diabetes plan while also preserving the nonmandatory nature of nurse staffing ratios and funding mechanisms.