{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/22.1-315.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/22.1-315.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/22.1-315.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/22.1-315.html"}],"law_id":58613,"edition_id":1,"section_id":58613,"structure_id":15388,"section_number":"22.1-315","catch_line":"Grounds and procedure for suspension","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 22-72, 22-97, 22-217.8:1; 1954, cc. 289, 291; 1956, Ex. Sess., c. 60; 1959, Ex. Sess., c. 79, \u00a7 1; 1966, c. 691; 1968, c. 501; 1970, c. 71; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 161; 1972, c. 511; 1975, cc. 308, 328; 1978, c. 430; 1979, c. 298; 1980, c. 559; 1987, c. 328; 1993, c. 498; 1996, c. 960; 1997, c. 721; 2001, cc. 430, 450.","full_text":"A\n\nA teacher or other public school employee, whether full-time or part-time, permanent, or temporary, may be suspended for good and just cause when the safety or welfare of the school division or the students therein is threatened or when the teacher or school employee has been charged by summons, warrant, indictment or information with the commission of a felony; a misdemeanor involving (i) sexual assault as established in Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (ii) obscenity and related offenses as established in Article 5 (§ 18.2-372 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 18.2, (iii) drugs as established in Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2, (iv) moral turpitude, or (v) the physical or sexual abuse or neglect of a child; or an equivalent offense in another state. Except when a teacher or school employee is suspended because of being charged by summons, warrant, indictment or information with the commission of one of the above-listed criminal offenses, a division superintendent or appropriate central office designee shall not suspend a teacher or school employee for longer than sixty days and shall not suspend a teacher or school employee for a period in excess of five days unless such teacher or school employee is advised in writing of the reason for the suspension and afforded an opportunity for a hearing before the school board in accordance with §§ 22.1-311 and 22.1-313, if applicable. Any teacher or other school employee so suspended shall continue to receive his or her then applicable salary unless and until the school board, after a hearing, determines otherwise. No teacher or school employee shall be suspended solely on the basis of his or her refusal to submit to a polygraph examination requested by the school board.B\n\nAny school employee suspended because of being charged by summons, warrant, information or indictment with one of the offenses listed in subsection A may be suspended with or without pay. In the event any school employee is suspended without pay, an amount equal to his or her salary while on suspended status shall be placed in an interest-bearing demand escrow account. Upon being found not guilty of one of the offenses listed in subsection A or upon the dismissal or nolle prosequi of the charge, such school employee shall be reinstated with all unpaid salary and accrued interest from the escrow account, less any earnings received by the school employee during the period of suspension, but in no event shall such payment exceed one year’s salary.C\n\nIn the event any school employee is found guilty by an appropriate court of one of the offenses listed in subsection A and, after all available appeals have been exhausted and such conviction is upheld, all funds in the escrow account shall be repaid to the school board.D\n\nNo school employee shall have his or her insurance benefits suspended or terminated because of such suspension in accordance with this section.E\n\nNothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of a school board to dismiss or place on probation a teacher or school employee pursuant to Article 3 (§ 22.1-306 et seq.) of this chapter.F\n\nFor the purposes of this section, the placing of a school employee on probation pursuant to the terms and conditions of § 18.2-251 shall be deemed a finding of guilt.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":214802,"text":"A teacher or other public school employee, whether full-time or part-time, permanent, or temporary, may be suspended for good and just cause when the safety or welfare of the school division or the students therein is threatened or when the teacher or school employee has been charged by summons, warrant, indictment or information with the commission of a felony; a misdemeanor involving (i) sexual assault as established in Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (ii) obscenity and related offenses as established in Article 5 (§ 18.2-372 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 18.2, (iii) drugs as established in Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2, (iv) moral turpitude, or (v) the physical or sexual abuse or neglect of a child; or an equivalent offense in another state. Except when a teacher or school employee is suspended because of being charged by summons, warrant, indictment or information with the commission of one of the above-listed criminal offenses, a division superintendent or appropriate central office designee shall not suspend a teacher or school employee for longer than sixty days and shall not suspend a teacher or school employee for a period in excess of five days unless such teacher or school employee is advised in writing of the reason for the suspension and afforded an opportunity for a hearing before the school board in accordance with §§ 22.1-311 and 22.1-313, if applicable. Any teacher or other school employee so suspended shall continue to receive his or her then applicable salary unless and until the school board, after a hearing, determines otherwise. No teacher or school employee shall be suspended solely on the basis of his or her refusal to submit to a polygraph examination requested by the school board.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":214803,"text":"Any school employee suspended because of being charged by summons, warrant, information or indictment with one of the offenses listed in subsection A may be suspended with or without pay. In the event any school employee is suspended without pay, an amount equal to his or her salary while on suspended status shall be placed in an interest-bearing demand escrow account. Upon being found not guilty of one of the offenses listed in subsection A or upon the dismissal or nolle prosequi of the charge, such school employee shall be reinstated with all unpaid salary and accrued interest from the escrow account, less any earnings received by the school employee during the period of suspension, but in no event shall such payment exceed one year’s salary.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":214804,"text":"In the event any school employee is found guilty by an appropriate court of one of the offenses listed in subsection A and, after all available appeals have been exhausted and such conviction is upheld, all funds in the escrow account shall be repaid to the school board.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"D"},"3":{"id":214805,"text":"No school employee shall have his or her insurance benefits suspended or terminated because of such suspension in accordance with this section.","type":"section","prefixes":["D"],"prefix":"D","entire_prefix":"D","prefix_anchor":"D","level":1,"prior_prefix":"C","next_prefix":"E"},"4":{"id":214806,"text":"Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of a school board to dismiss or place on probation a teacher or school employee pursuant to Article 3 (§ 22.1-306 et seq.) of this chapter.","type":"section","prefixes":["E"],"prefix":"E","entire_prefix":"E","prefix_anchor":"E","level":1,"prior_prefix":"D","next_prefix":"F"},"5":{"id":214807,"text":"For the purposes of this section, the placing of a school employee on probation pursuant to the terms and conditions of § 18.2-251 shall be deemed a finding of guilt.","type":"section","prefixes":["F"],"prefix":"F","entire_prefix":"F","prefix_anchor":"F","level":1,"prior_prefix":"E"}},"ancestry":[{"id":15388,"edition_id":1,"name":"Suspension","identifier":"4","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12824,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:54:34","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:54:34","permalink":{"id":183157,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15388,"identifier":"4","token":"22.1\/15\/4","url":"\/22.1\/15\/4\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12824,"edition_id":1,"name":"Teachers, Officers and Employees","identifier":"15","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12823,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","permalink":{"id":182871,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12824,"identifier":"15","token":"22.1\/15","url":"\/22.1\/15\/","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":58613,"structure_id":15388,"section_number":"22.1-315","catch_line":"Grounds and procedure for suspension","url":"\/22.1-315\/","token":"22.1\/15\/4\/22.1-315","metadata":false}],"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/22.1-315\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 14 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 1954, chapters 289 and 291; in 1966, chapter 691; in 1968, chapter 501; in 1970, chapter 71; in 1972, chapter 511; in 1975, chapters 308 and 328; in 1978, chapter 430; in 1979, chapter 298; in 1980, chapter 559; in 1987, chapter 328; in 1993, chapter 498; in 1996, chapter 960<\/a>; in 1997, chapter 721<\/a>; in 2001, chapters 430<\/a> and 450<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":68547,"section_number":"18.2-251","catch_line":"Persons charged with first offense may be placed on probation; conditions; substance abuse screening, assessment treatment and education programs or services; drug tests; costs and fees; violations; discharge","order_by":null,"url":"\/18.2-251\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":84070,"section_number":"18.2-247","catch_line":"Use of terms \"controlled substances,\" \"marijuana,\" \"Schedules I, II, III, IV, V, and VI,\" \"imitation controlled substance,\" and \"counterfeit controlled substance\" in Title 18.2","order_by":null,"url":"\/18.2-247\/"},{"id":68547,"section_number":"18.2-251","catch_line":"Persons charged with first offense may be placed on probation; conditions; substance abuse screening, assessment treatment and education programs or services; drug tests; costs and fees; violations; discharge","order_by":null,"url":"\/18.2-251\/"},{"id":81551,"section_number":"18.2-372","catch_line":"\"Obscene\" defined","order_by":null,"url":"\/18.2-372\/"},{"id":75662,"section_number":"18.2-61","catch_line":"Rape","order_by":null,"url":"\/18.2-61\/"},{"id":74295,"section_number":"22.1-306","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-306\/"},{"id":71751,"section_number":"22.1-311","catch_line":"Hearing before school board, hearing officer, or fact-finding panel","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-311\/"},{"id":78390,"section_number":"22.1-313","catch_line":"Decision of school board; generally","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-313\/"}],"permalink":{"id":183159,"object_type":"law","relational_id":58613,"identifier":"22.1-315","token":"22.1\/15\/4\/22.1-315","url":"\/22.1-315\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/22.1-315\/","token":"22.1\/15\/4\/22.1-315","dublin_core":{"Title":"Grounds and procedure for suspension","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 22.1-315","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> A teacher or other public school employee, whether full-time or part-time, permanent, or temporary, may be suspended for good and just cause when the safety or welfare of the school division or the students therein is threatened or when the teacher or school employee has been charged by summons<\/span>, warrant, indictment<\/span> or information with the commission of a felony<\/span>; a misdemeanor<\/span> involving (i) sexual assault<\/span> as established in Article 7 (§ 18.2-61<\/a> et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (ii) obscenity and related offenses<\/span> as established in Article 5 (§ 18.2-372<\/a> et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 18.2, (iii) drugs as established in Article 1 (§ 18.2-247<\/a> et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 18.2, (iv) moral turpitude<\/span>, or (v) the physical or sexual abuse or neglect of a child; or an equivalent offense<\/span> in another state. Except when a teacher or school employee is suspended because of being charged by summons<\/span>, warrant, indictment<\/span> or information with the commission of one of the above-listed criminal offenses<\/span>, a division superintendent<\/span> or appropriate central office designee shall not suspend a teacher or school employee for longer than sixty days and shall not suspend a teacher or school employee for a period in excess of five days unless such teacher or school employee is advised in writing of the reason for the suspension and afforded an opportunity for a hearing<\/span> before the school board<\/span> in accordance with §§ 22.1-311<\/a> and 22.1-313<\/a>, if applicable. Any teacher or other school employee so suspended shall continue to receive his or her then applicable salary unless and until the school board<\/span>, after a hearing<\/span>, determines otherwise. No teacher or school employee shall be suspended solely on the basis of his or her refusal to submit to a polygraph examination requested by the school board<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> Any school employee suspended because of being charged by summons<\/span>, warrant, information or indictment<\/span> with one of the offenses<\/span> listed in subsection A may be suspended with or without pay. In the event any school employee is suspended without pay, an amount equal to his or her salary while on suspended status shall be placed in an interest-bearing demand escrow account. Upon being found not guilty of one of the offenses<\/span> listed in subsection A or upon the dismissal<\/span> or nolle prosequi<\/span> of the charge, such school employee shall be reinstated with all unpaid salary and accrued interest from the escrow account, less any earnings received by the school employee during the period of suspension, but in no event shall such payment exceed one year’s salary. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> In the event any school employee is found guilty by an appropriate court<\/span> of one of the offenses<\/span> listed in subsection A and, after all available appeals<\/span> have been exhausted and such conviction<\/span> is upheld, all funds in the escrow account shall be repaid to the school board<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

D.<\/span> No school employee shall have his or her insurance benefits suspended or terminated because of such suspension in accordance with this section. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

E.<\/span> Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of a school board<\/span> to dismiss or place on probation<\/span> a teacher or school employee pursuant to Article 3 (§ 22.1-306<\/a> et seq.) of this chapter. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

F.<\/span> For the purposes of this section, the placing of a school employee on probation<\/span> pursuant to the terms and conditions of § 18.2-251<\/a> shall be deemed a finding<\/span> of guilt. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nGROUNDS AND PROCEDURE FOR SUSPENSION (\u00a7 22.1-315)\n\nA. A teacher or other public school employee, whether full-time or part-time,\npermanent, or temporary, may be suspended for good and just cause when the\nsafety or welfare of the school division or the students therein is threatened\nor when the teacher or school employee has been charged by summons, warrant,\nindictment or information with the commission of a felony; a misdemeanor\ninvolving (i) sexual assault as established in Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et\nseq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, (ii) obscenity and related offenses as\nestablished in Article 5 (§ 18.2-372 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 18.2,\n(iii) drugs as established in Article 1 (§ 18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7\nof Title 18.2, (iv) moral turpitude, or (v) the physical or sexual abuse or\nneglect of a child; or an equivalent offense in another state. Except when a\nteacher or school employee is suspended because of being charged by summons,\nwarrant, indictment or information with the commission of one of the\nabove-listed criminal offenses, a division superintendent or appropriate central\noffice designee shall not suspend a teacher or school employee for longer than\nsixty days and shall not suspend a teacher or school employee for a period in\nexcess of five days unless such teacher or school employee is advised in writing\nof the reason for the suspension and afforded an opportunity for a hearing\nbefore the school board in accordance with §§ 22.1-311 and 22.1-313,\nif applicable. Any teacher or other school employee so suspended shall continue\nto receive his or her then applicable salary unless and until the school board,\nafter a hearing, determines otherwise. No teacher or school employee shall be\nsuspended solely on the basis of his or her refusal to submit to a polygraph\nexamination requested by the school board.\n\nB. Any school employee suspended because of being charged by summons, warrant,\ninformation or indictment with one of the offenses listed in subsection A may be\nsuspended with or without pay. In the event any school employee is suspended\nwithout pay, an amount equal to his or her salary while on suspended status\nshall be placed in an interest-bearing demand escrow account. Upon being found\nnot guilty of one of the offenses listed in subsection A or upon the dismissal\nor nolle prosequi of the charge, such school employee shall be reinstated with\nall unpaid salary and accrued interest from the escrow account, less any\nearnings received by the school employee during the period of suspension, but in\nno event shall such payment exceed one year’s salary.\n\nC. In the event any school employee is found guilty by an appropriate court of\none of the offenses listed in subsection A and, after all available appeals have\nbeen exhausted and such conviction is upheld, all funds in the escrow account\nshall be repaid to the school board.\n\nD. No school employee shall have his or her insurance benefits suspended or\nterminated because of such suspension in accordance with this section.\n\nE. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of a school\nboard to dismiss or place on probation a teacher or school employee pursuant to\nArticle 3 (§ 22.1-306 et seq.) of this chapter.\n\nF. For the purposes of this section, the placing of a school employee on\nprobation pursuant to the terms and conditions of § 18.2-251 shall be\ndeemed a finding of guilt.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 22-72, 22-97, 22-217.8:1; 1954, cc. 289, 291; 1956, Ex.\nSess., c. 60; 1959, Ex. Sess., c. 79, \u00a7 1; 1966, c. 691; 1968, c. 501; 1970, c.\n71; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 161; 1972, c. 511; 1975, cc. 308, 328; 1978, c. 430;\n1979, c. 298; 1980, c. 559; 1987, c. 328; 1993, c. 498; 1996, c. 960; 1997, c.\n721; 2001, cc. 430, 450.","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}}