{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/22.1-279.6.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/22.1-279.6.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/22.1-279.6.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/22.1-279.6.html"}],"law_id":74451,"edition_id":1,"section_id":74451,"structure_id":13097,"section_number":"22.1-279.6","catch_line":"Board of Education guidelines and model policies for codes of student conduct; school board regulations","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 22-230.1, 22-230.2; 1972, c. 604; 1980, c. 559; 1993, cc. 819, 856, 889; 1995, cc. 724, 801; 1997, cc. 391, 585, 608, 830; 1998, c. 902; 1999, c. 432; 2000, c. 360, \u00a7\u00a7 22.1-277.02:1, 22.1-278, 22.1-278.2; 2001, cc. 688, 820; 2003, c. 899; 2004, cc. 574, 908, 939, 955; 2005, cc. 461, 484, 520; 2009, c. 431; 2013, c. 575; 2014, c. 326; 2017, c. 684; 2019, cc. 172, 246; 2020, c. 678; 2023, cc. 296, 297; 2024, cc. 796, 821; 2025, c. 438.","full_text":"A\n\nThe Board shall establish guidelines and develop model policies for codes of student conduct to aid local school boards in the implementation of such policies. The guidelines and model policies shall include (i) criteria for the removal of a student from a class, the use of suspension, expulsion, and exclusion as disciplinary measures, the grounds for suspension, expulsion, and exclusion, and the procedures to be followed in such cases, including proceedings for such suspension, expulsion, and exclusion decisions and all applicable appeals processes; (ii) standards, consistent with state, federal, and case laws, for school board policies on alcohol and drugs, gang-related activity, hazing, vandalism, trespassing, threats, search and seizure, disciplining of students with disabilities, intentional injury of others, self-defense, bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, and intimidation, and dissemination of such policies to students, their parents, and school personnel; (iii) standards for in-service training of school personnel in and examples of the appropriate management of student conduct and student offenses in violation of school board policies; (iv) standards for dress or grooming codes; and (v) standards for reducing bias and harassment in the enforcement of any code of student conduct.\n\t\t\tIn accordance with the most recent enunciation of constitutional principles by the Supreme Court of the United States of America, the Board’s standards for school board policies on alcohol and drugs and search and seizure shall include guidance for procedures relating to voluntary and mandatory drug testing in schools, including which groups may be tested, use of test results, confidentiality of test information, privacy considerations, consent to the testing, need to know, and release of the test results to the appropriate school authority.\n\t\t\tIn the case of suspension and expulsion, the procedures set forth in this article shall be the minimum procedures that the school board may prescribe.B\n\nSchool boards shall adopt and revise, as required by § 22.1-253.13:7 and in accordance with the requirements of this section, regulations on codes of student conduct that are consistent with, but may be more stringent than, the guidelines of the Board. School boards shall include in the regulations on codes of student conduct procedures for suspension, expulsion, and exclusion decisions and shall biennially review the model student conduct code to incorporate discipline options and alternatives to preserve a safe, nondisruptive environment for effective teaching and learning.C\n\nEach school board shall include in its code of student conduct prohibitions against hazing and profane or obscene language or conduct. School boards shall also cite in their codes of student conduct the provisions of § 18.2-56, which defines and prohibits hazing and imposes a Class 1 misdemeanor penalty for violations, that is, confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.D\n\nEach school board shall include in its code of student conduct policies and procedures that include a prohibition against bullying. Such policies and procedures shall (i) be consistent with the standards for school board policies on bullying and cyberbullying developed by the Board pursuant to subsection A; (ii) direct the principal or his designee to notify the parent of any student involved in an alleged incident of bullying within 24 hours of learning of the allegation of bullying; (iii) address instances of cyberbullying that occur outside of school property between students enrolled in the school division; (iv) provide protections designed to ensure that any student who is a victim of or a witness to an instance of cyberbullying is not deterred from reporting or seeking support for such instance of cyberbullying by fears of retaliation, social alienation or rejection, or other negative treatment; and (v) include a list of support services and resources available through each public school to any student who is a victim of cyberbullying relating to reporting and seeking support after experiencing an instance of cyberbullying, including mental health support services, and any information necessary to access any such support services and resources.\n\t\t\tSuch policies and procedures shall not be interpreted to infringe upon the First Amendment rights of students and are not intended to prohibit expression of religious, philosophical, or political views, provided that such expression does not cause an actual, material disruption of the work of the school.E\n\nA school board may regulate the use or possession of beepers or other portable communications devices and laser pointers by students on school property or attending school functions or activities and establish disciplinary procedures pursuant to this article to which students violating such regulations will be subject.F\n\nNothing in this section shall be construed to require any school board to adopt policies requiring or encouraging any drug testing in schools. However, a school board may, in its discretion, require or encourage drug testing in accordance with the Board of Education’s guidelines and model student conduct policies required by subsection A and the Board’s guidelines for student searches required by § 22.1-279.7.G\n\nThe Board shall establish standards to ensure compliance with the federal Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 (Part F-Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994), as amended, in accordance with § 22.1-277.07.\n\t\t\tThis subsection shall not be construed to diminish the authority of the Board or to diminish the Governor’s authority to coordinate and provide policy direction on official communications between the Commonwealth and the United States government.H\n\nEach school board shall include in its code of student conduct a prohibition on possessing any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2, on a school bus, on school property, or at an on-site or off-site school-sponsored activity.I\n\nAny school board may include in its code of student conduct a dress or grooming code. Any dress or grooming code included in a school board’s code of student conduct or otherwise adopted by a school board shall (i) permit any student to wear any religiously and ethnically specific or significant head covering or hairstyle, including hijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and cornrows; (ii) maintain gender neutrality by subjecting any student to the same set of rules and standards regardless of gender; (iii) not have a disparate impact on students of a particular gender; (iv) be clear, specific, and objective in defining terms, if used; (v) prohibit any school board employee from enforcing the dress or grooming code by direct physical contact with a student or a student’s attire; and (vi) prohibit any school board employee from requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual, including the enforcing school board employee, to comply with the dress or grooming code.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":267580,"text":"The Board shall establish guidelines and develop model policies for codes of student conduct to aid local school boards in the implementation of such policies. The guidelines and model policies shall include (i) criteria for the removal of a student from a class, the use of suspension, expulsion, and exclusion as disciplinary measures, the grounds for suspension, expulsion, and exclusion, and the procedures to be followed in such cases, including proceedings for such suspension, expulsion, and exclusion decisions and all applicable appeals processes; (ii) standards, consistent with state, federal, and case laws, for school board policies on alcohol and drugs, gang-related activity, hazing, vandalism, trespassing, threats, search and seizure, disciplining of students with disabilities, intentional injury of others, self-defense, bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, and intimidation, and dissemination of such policies to students, their parents, and school personnel; (iii) standards for in-service training of school personnel in and examples of the appropriate management of student conduct and student offenses in violation of school board policies; (iv) standards for dress or grooming codes; and (v) standards for reducing bias and harassment in the enforcement of any code of student conduct.\n\t\t\tIn accordance with the most recent enunciation of constitutional principles by the Supreme Court of the United States of America, the Board’s standards for school board policies on alcohol and drugs and search and seizure shall include guidance for procedures relating to voluntary and mandatory drug testing in schools, including which groups may be tested, use of test results, confidentiality of test information, privacy considerations, consent to the testing, need to know, and release of the test results to the appropriate school authority.\n\t\t\tIn the case of suspension and expulsion, the procedures set forth in this article shall be the minimum procedures that the school board may prescribe.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":267581,"text":"School boards shall adopt and revise, as required by § 22.1-253.13:7 and in accordance with the requirements of this section, regulations on codes of student conduct that are consistent with, but may be more stringent than, the guidelines of the Board. School boards shall include in the regulations on codes of student conduct procedures for suspension, expulsion, and exclusion decisions and shall biennially review the model student conduct code to incorporate discipline options and alternatives to preserve a safe, nondisruptive environment for effective teaching and learning.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":267582,"text":"Each school board shall include in its code of student conduct prohibitions against hazing and profane or obscene language or conduct. School boards shall also cite in their codes of student conduct the provisions of § 18.2-56, which defines and prohibits hazing and imposes a Class 1 misdemeanor penalty for violations, that is, confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"D"},"3":{"id":267583,"text":"Each school board shall include in its code of student conduct policies and procedures that include a prohibition against bullying. Such policies and procedures shall (i) be consistent with the standards for school board policies on bullying and cyberbullying developed by the Board pursuant to subsection A; (ii) direct the principal or his designee to notify the parent of any student involved in an alleged incident of bullying within 24 hours of learning of the allegation of bullying; (iii) address instances of cyberbullying that occur outside of school property between students enrolled in the school division; (iv) provide protections designed to ensure that any student who is a victim of or a witness to an instance of cyberbullying is not deterred from reporting or seeking support for such instance of cyberbullying by fears of retaliation, social alienation or rejection, or other negative treatment; and (v) include a list of support services and resources available through each public school to any student who is a victim of cyberbullying relating to reporting and seeking support after experiencing an instance of cyberbullying, including mental health support services, and any information necessary to access any such support services and resources.\n\t\t\tSuch policies and procedures shall not be interpreted to infringe upon the First Amendment rights of students and are not intended to prohibit expression of religious, philosophical, or political views, provided that such expression does not cause an actual, material disruption of the work of the school.","type":"section","prefixes":["D"],"prefix":"D","entire_prefix":"D","prefix_anchor":"D","level":1,"prior_prefix":"C","next_prefix":"E"},"4":{"id":267584,"text":"A school board may regulate the use or possession of beepers or other portable communications devices and laser pointers by students on school property or attending school functions or activities and establish disciplinary procedures pursuant to this article to which students violating such regulations will be subject.","type":"section","prefixes":["E"],"prefix":"E","entire_prefix":"E","prefix_anchor":"E","level":1,"prior_prefix":"D","next_prefix":"F"},"5":{"id":267585,"text":"Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any school board to adopt policies requiring or encouraging any drug testing in schools. However, a school board may, in its discretion, require or encourage drug testing in accordance with the Board of Education’s guidelines and model student conduct policies required by subsection A and the Board’s guidelines for student searches required by § 22.1-279.7.","type":"section","prefixes":["F"],"prefix":"F","entire_prefix":"F","prefix_anchor":"F","level":1,"prior_prefix":"E","next_prefix":"G"},"6":{"id":267586,"text":"The Board shall establish standards to ensure compliance with the federal Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 (Part F-Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994), as amended, in accordance with § 22.1-277.07.\n\t\t\tThis subsection shall not be construed to diminish the authority of the Board or to diminish the Governor’s authority to coordinate and provide policy direction on official communications between the Commonwealth and the United States government.","type":"section","prefixes":["G"],"prefix":"G","entire_prefix":"G","prefix_anchor":"G","level":1,"prior_prefix":"F","next_prefix":"H"},"7":{"id":267587,"text":"Each school board shall include in its code of student conduct a prohibition on possessing any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2, on a school bus, on school property, or at an on-site or off-site school-sponsored activity.","type":"section","prefixes":["H"],"prefix":"H","entire_prefix":"H","prefix_anchor":"H","level":1,"prior_prefix":"G","next_prefix":"I"},"8":{"id":267588,"text":"Any school board may include in its code of student conduct a dress or grooming code. Any dress or grooming code included in a school board’s code of student conduct or otherwise adopted by a school board shall (i) permit any student to wear any religiously and ethnically specific or significant head covering or hairstyle, including hijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and cornrows; (ii) maintain gender neutrality by subjecting any student to the same set of rules and standards regardless of gender; (iii) not have a disparate impact on students of a particular gender; (iv) be clear, specific, and objective in defining terms, if used; (v) prohibit any school board employee from enforcing the dress or grooming code by direct physical contact with a student or a student’s attire; and (vi) prohibit any school board employee from requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual, including the enforcing school board employee, to comply with the dress or grooming code.","type":"section","prefixes":["I"],"prefix":"I","entire_prefix":"I","prefix_anchor":"I","level":1,"prior_prefix":"H"}},"ancestry":[{"id":13097,"edition_id":1,"name":"Discipline","identifier":"3","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12850,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:17","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:17","permalink":{"id":182375,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13097,"identifier":"3","token":"22.1\/14\/3","url":"\/22.1\/14\/3\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12850,"edition_id":1,"name":"Pupils","identifier":"14","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12823,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:56","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:56","permalink":{"id":182133,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12850,"identifier":"14","token":"22.1\/14","url":"\/22.1\/14\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12823,"edition_id":1,"name":"Education","identifier":"22.1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","permalink":{"id":180949,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12823,"identifier":"22.1","token":"22.1","url":"\/22.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":84373,"structure_id":13097,"section_number":"22.1-276","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/22.1-276\/","token":"22.1\/14\/3\/22.1-276","metadata":false},{"id":77797,"structure_id":13097,"section_number":"22.1-276.01","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/22.1-276.01\/","token":"22.1\/14\/3\/22.1-276.01","metadata":false},{"id":59130,"structure_id":13097,"section_number":"22.1-276.1","catch_line":"Expired","url":"\/22.1-276.1\/","token":"22.1\/14\/3\/22.1-276.1","metadata":false},{"id":59973,"structure_id":13097,"section_number":"22.1-276.2","catch_line":"Removal of students from classes","url":"\/22.1-276.2\/","token":"22.1\/14\/3\/22.1-276.2","metadata":false},{"id":67307,"structure_id":13097,"section_number":"22.1-276.3","catch_line":"Ineligibility of students to compete in athletic competitions","url":"\/22.1-276.3\/","token":"22.1\/14\/3\/22.1-276.3","metadata":false},{"id":87441,"structure_id":13097,"section_number":"22.1-277","catch_line":"Suspensions and expulsions of students generally","url":"\/22.1-277\/","token":"22.1\/14\/3\/22.1-277","metadata":false},{"id":60099,"structure_id":13097,"section_number":"22.1-277.01","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/22.1-277.01\/","token":"22.1\/14\/3\/22.1-277.01","metadata":false},{"id":56964,"structure_id":13097,"section_number":"22.1-277.04","catch_line":"Short-term suspension; 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The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 21 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1972, chapter 604; in 1980, chapter 559; in 1993, chapters 819, 856, and 889; in 1995, chapters 724<\/a> and 801<\/a>; in 1997, chapters 391<\/a>, 585<\/a>, 608<\/a>, and 830<\/a>; in 1998, chapter 902<\/a>; in 1999, chapter 432<\/a>; in 2000, chapter 360<\/a>; in 2001, chapters 688<\/a> and 820<\/a>; in 2003, chapter 899<\/a>; in 2004, chapters 574<\/a>, 908<\/a>, 939<\/a>, and 955<\/a>; in 2005, chapters 461<\/a>, 484<\/a>, and 520<\/a>; in 2009, chapter 431<\/a>; in 2013, chapter 575<\/a>; in 2014, chapter 326<\/a>; in 2017, chapter 684<\/a>; in 2019, chapters 172<\/a> and 246<\/a>; in 2020, chapter 678<\/a>; in 2023, chapters 296<\/a> and 297<\/a>; in 2024, chapters 796<\/a> and 821<\/a>; in 2025, chapter 438<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":54140,"section_number":"22.1-279.3","catch_line":"Parental responsibility and involvement requirements","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-279.3\/"},{"id":60962,"section_number":"22.1-79.3:1","catch_line":"Student cell phone and smart device possession and use policies; development and implementation","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-79.3_1\/"},{"id":63952,"section_number":"8.01-220.1:2","catch_line":"Civil immunity for teachers under certain circumstances","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-220.1_2\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":68538,"section_number":"18.2-371.2","catch_line":"Prohibiting sale or distribution, etc. of retail tobacco products and hemp products intended for smoking by persons under 21 years of age; civil penalties","order_by":null,"url":"\/18.2-371.2\/"},{"id":86902,"section_number":"18.2-56","catch_line":"Hazing unlawful; civil and criminal liability; duty of school, etc., officials; penalty","order_by":null,"url":"\/18.2-56\/"},{"id":59824,"section_number":"22.1-253.13:7","catch_line":"Standard 7. School board policies","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-253.13_7\/"},{"id":67657,"section_number":"22.1-277.07","catch_line":"Expulsion of students under certain circumstances; exceptions","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-277.07\/"}],"permalink":{"id":182493,"object_type":"law","relational_id":74451,"identifier":"22.1-279.6","token":"22.1\/14\/3\/22.1-279.6","url":"\/22.1-279.6\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/22.1-279.6\/","token":"22.1\/14\/3\/22.1-279.6","dublin_core":{"Title":"Board of Education guidelines and model policies for codes of student conduct; school board regulations","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 22.1-279.6","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> The Board shall establish guidelines and develop model policies for codes of student conduct to aid local school boards<\/span> in the implementation of such policies. The guidelines and model policies shall include (i) criteria for the removal of a student from a class, the use of suspension, expulsion, and exclusion as disciplinary measures, the grounds for suspension, expulsion, and exclusion, and the procedures to be followed in such cases, including proceedings for such suspension, expulsion, and exclusion decisions and all applicable appeals<\/span> processes; (ii) standards, consistent with state, federal, and case laws<\/span>, for school board<\/span> policies on alcohol and drugs, gang-related activity, hazing, vandalism, trespassing, threats, search and seizure<\/span>, disciplining of students with disabilities, intentional injury of others, self-defense, bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, and intimidation, and dissemination of such policies to students, their parents<\/span><\/span>, and school personnel; (iii) standards for in-service training of school personnel in and examples of the appropriate management of student conduct and student offenses<\/span> in violation of school board<\/span> policies; (iv) standards for dress or grooming codes; and (v) standards for reducing bias and harassment in the enforcement of any code of student conduct.\n\t\t\tIn accordance with the most recent enunciation of constitutional principles by the Supreme Court<\/span> of the United States of America, the Board’s standards for school board<\/span> policies on alcohol and drugs and search and seizure<\/span> shall include guidance for procedures relating to voluntary and mandatory drug testing in schools, including which groups may be tested, use of test results, confidentiality of test information, privacy considerations, consent to the testing, need to know, and release of the test results to the appropriate school authority.\n\t\t\tIn the case of suspension and expulsion, the procedures set forth in this article shall be the minimum procedures that the school board<\/span> may prescribe. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> School boards<\/span> shall adopt and revise, as required by § 22.1-253.13:7<\/a> and in accordance with the requirements of this section, regulations on codes of student conduct that are consistent with, but may be more stringent than, the guidelines of the Board. School boards<\/span> shall include in the regulations on codes of student conduct procedures for suspension, expulsion, and exclusion decisions and shall biennially review the model student conduct code to incorporate discipline options and alternatives to preserve a safe, nondisruptive environment for effective teaching and learning. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> Each school board<\/span> shall include in its code of student conduct prohibitions against hazing and profane or obscene language or conduct. School boards<\/span> shall also cite in their codes of student conduct the provisions of § 18.2-56<\/a>, which defines and prohibits hazing and imposes a Class 1 misdemeanor<\/span> penalty<\/span> for violations, that is, confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

D.<\/span> Each school board<\/span> shall include in its code of student conduct policies and procedures that include a prohibition against bullying. Such policies and procedures shall (i) be consistent with the standards for school board<\/span> policies on bullying and cyberbullying developed by the Board pursuant to subsection A; (ii) direct the principal or his designee to notify the parent<\/span> of any student involved in an alleged incident of bullying within 24 hours of learning of the allegation<\/span> of bullying; (iii) address instances of cyberbullying that occur outside of school property between students enrolled in the school division; (iv) provide protections designed to ensure that any student who is a victim of or a witness<\/span> to an instance of cyberbullying is not deterred from reporting or seeking support for such instance of cyberbullying by fears of retaliation, social alienation or rejection, or other negative treatment; and (v) include a list of support services and resources available through each public school to any student who is a victim of cyberbullying relating to reporting and seeking support after experiencing an instance of cyberbullying, including mental health support services, and any information necessary to access any such support services and resources.\n\t\t\tSuch policies and procedures shall not be interpreted to infringe upon the First Amendment rights of students and are not intended to prohibit expression of religious, philosophical, or political views, provided that such expression does not cause an actual, material<\/span> disruption of the work of the school. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

E.<\/span> A school board<\/span> may regulate the use or possession<\/span> of beepers or other portable communications devices and laser pointers by students on school property or attending school functions or activities and establish disciplinary procedures pursuant to this article to which students violating such regulations will be subject. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

F.<\/span> Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any school board<\/span> to adopt policies requiring or encouraging any drug testing in schools. However, a school board<\/span> may, in its discretion, require or encourage drug testing in accordance with the Board of Education’s guidelines and model student conduct policies required by subsection A and the Board’s guidelines for student searches required by § 22.1-279.7<\/a>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

G.<\/span> The Board shall establish standards to ensure compliance with the federal Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 (Part F-Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994), as amended, in accordance with § 22.1-277.07<\/a>.\n\t\t\tThis subsection shall not be construed to diminish the authority of the Board or to diminish the Governor’s authority to coordinate and provide policy direction on official communications between the Commonwealth and the United States government. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

H.<\/span> Each school board<\/span> shall include in its code of student conduct a prohibition on possessing any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking, as those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2<\/a>, on a school bus, on school property, or at an on-site or off-site school-sponsored activity. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

I.<\/span> Any school board<\/span> may include in its code of student conduct a dress or grooming code. Any dress or grooming code included in a school board<\/span>’s code of student conduct or otherwise adopted by a school board<\/span> shall (i) permit any student to wear any religiously and ethnically specific or significant head covering or hairstyle, including hijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and cornrows; (ii) maintain gender neutrality by subjecting any student to the same set of rules and standards regardless of gender; (iii) not have a disparate impact on students of a particular gender; (iv) be clear, specific, and objective in defining terms, if used; (v) prohibit any school board<\/span> employee from enforcing the dress or grooming code by direct physical contact with a student or a student’s attire; and (vi) prohibit any school board<\/span> employee from requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual, including the enforcing school board<\/span> employee, to comply with the dress or grooming code. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nBOARD OF EDUCATION GUIDELINES AND MODEL POLICIES FOR CODES OF STUDENT CONDUCT;\nSCHOOL BOARD REGULATIONS (\u00a7 22.1-279.6)\n\nA. The Board shall establish guidelines and develop model policies for codes of\nstudent conduct to aid local school boards in the implementation of such\npolicies. The guidelines and model policies shall include (i) criteria for the\nremoval of a student from a class, the use of suspension, expulsion, and\nexclusion as disciplinary measures, the grounds for suspension, expulsion, and\nexclusion, and the procedures to be followed in such cases, including\nproceedings for such suspension, expulsion, and exclusion decisions and all\napplicable appeals processes; (ii) standards, consistent with state, federal,\nand case laws, for school board policies on alcohol and drugs, gang-related\nactivity, hazing, vandalism, trespassing, threats, search and seizure,\ndisciplining of students with disabilities, intentional injury of others,\nself-defense, bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, and intimidation, and\ndissemination of such policies to students, their parents, and school personnel;\n(iii) standards for in-service training of school personnel in and examples of\nthe appropriate management of student conduct and student offenses in violation\nof school board policies; (iv) standards for dress or grooming codes; and (v)\nstandards for reducing bias and harassment in the enforcement of any code of\nstudent conduct.\n\t\t\tIn accordance with the most recent enunciation of constitutional principles\nby the Supreme Court of the United States of America, the Board’s\nstandards for school board policies on alcohol and drugs and search and seizure\nshall include guidance for procedures relating to voluntary and mandatory drug\ntesting in schools, including which groups may be tested, use of test results,\nconfidentiality of test information, privacy considerations, consent to the\ntesting, need to know, and release of the test results to the appropriate school\nauthority.\n\t\t\tIn the case of suspension and expulsion, the procedures set forth in this\narticle shall be the minimum procedures that the school board may prescribe.\n\nB. School boards shall adopt and revise, as required by § 22.1-253.13:7 and\nin accordance with the requirements of this section, regulations on codes of\nstudent conduct that are consistent with, but may be more stringent than, the\nguidelines of the Board. School boards shall include in the regulations on codes\nof student conduct procedures for suspension, expulsion, and exclusion decisions\nand shall biennially review the model student conduct code to incorporate\ndiscipline options and alternatives to preserve a safe, nondisruptive\nenvironment for effective teaching and learning.\n\nC. Each school board shall include in its code of student conduct prohibitions\nagainst hazing and profane or obscene language or conduct. School boards shall\nalso cite in their codes of student conduct the provisions of § 18.2-56,\nwhich defines and prohibits hazing and imposes a Class 1 misdemeanor penalty for\nviolations, that is, confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine\nof not more than $2,500, either or both.\n\nD. Each school board shall include in its code of student conduct policies and\nprocedures that include a prohibition against bullying. Such policies and\nprocedures shall (i) be consistent with the standards for school board policies\non bullying and cyberbullying developed by the Board pursuant to subsection A;\n(ii) direct the principal or his designee to notify the parent of any student\ninvolved in an alleged incident of bullying within 24 hours of learning of the\nallegation of bullying; (iii) address instances of cyberbullying that occur\noutside of school property between students enrolled in the school division;\n(iv) provide protections designed to ensure that any student who is a victim of\nor a witness to an instance of cyberbullying is not deterred from reporting or\nseeking support for such instance of cyberbullying by fears of retaliation,\nsocial alienation or rejection, or other negative treatment; and (v) include a\nlist of support services and resources available through each public school to\nany student who is a victim of cyberbullying relating to reporting and seeking\nsupport after experiencing an instance of cyberbullying, including mental health\nsupport services, and any information necessary to access any such support\nservices and resources.\n\t\t\tSuch policies and procedures shall not be interpreted to infringe upon the\nFirst Amendment rights of students and are not intended to prohibit expression\nof religious, philosophical, or political views, provided that such expression\ndoes not cause an actual, material disruption of the work of the school.\n\nE. A school board may regulate the use or possession of beepers or other\nportable communications devices and laser pointers by students on school\nproperty or attending school functions or activities and establish disciplinary\nprocedures pursuant to this article to which students violating such regulations\nwill be subject.\n\nF. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any school board to\nadopt policies requiring or encouraging any drug testing in schools. However, a\nschool board may, in its discretion, require or encourage drug testing in\naccordance with the Board of Education’s guidelines and model student\nconduct policies required by subsection A and the Board’s guidelines for\nstudent searches required by § 22.1-279.7.\n\nG. The Board shall establish standards to ensure compliance with the federal\nImproving America’s Schools Act of 1994 (Part F-Gun-Free Schools Act of\n1994), as amended, in accordance with § 22.1-277.07.\n\t\t\tThis subsection shall not be construed to diminish the authority of the Board\nor to diminish the Governor’s authority to coordinate and provide policy\ndirection on official communications between the Commonwealth and the United\nStates government.\n\nH. Each school board shall include in its code of student conduct a prohibition\non possessing any retail tobacco product or hemp product intended for smoking,\nas those terms are defined in § 18.2-371.2, on a school bus, on school\nproperty, or at an on-site or off-site school-sponsored activity.\n\nI. Any school board may include in its code of student conduct a dress or\ngrooming code. Any dress or grooming code included in a school board’s\ncode of student conduct or otherwise adopted by a school board shall (i) permit\nany student to wear any religiously and ethnically specific or significant head\ncovering or hairstyle, including hijabs, yarmulkes, headwraps, braids, locs, and\ncornrows; (ii) maintain gender neutrality by subjecting any student to the same\nset of rules and standards regardless of gender; (iii) not have a disparate\nimpact on students of a particular gender; (iv) be clear, specific, and\nobjective in defining terms, if used; (v) prohibit any school board employee\nfrom enforcing the dress or grooming code by direct physical contact with a\nstudent or a student’s attire; and (vi) prohibit any school board employee\nfrom requiring a student to undress in front of any other individual, including\nthe enforcing school board employee, to comply with the dress or grooming code.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 22-230.1, 22-230.2; 1972, c. 604; 1980, c. 559; 1993,\ncc. 819, 856, 889; 1995, cc. 724, 801; 1997, cc. 391, 585, 608, 830; 1998, c.\n902; 1999, c. 432; 2000, c. 360, \u00a7\u00a7 22.1-277.02:1, 22.1-278, 22.1-278.2; 2001,\ncc. 688, 820; 2003, c. 899; 2004, cc. 574, 908, 939, 955; 2005, cc. 461, 484,\n520; 2009, c. 431; 2013, c. 575; 2014, c. 326; 2017, c. 684; 2019, cc. 172, 246;\n2020, c. 678; 2023, cc. 296, 297; 2024, cc. 796, 821; 2025, c. 438.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}