                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

GOVERNING BOARDS; DUTIES (§ 23.1-1303)

A. For purposes of this section, &#8220;intellectual property&#8221; means (i) a
potentially patentable machine, article of manufacture, composition of matter,
process, or improvement in any of those; (ii) an issued patent; (iii) a legal
right that inheres in a patent; or (iv) anything that is copyrightable.

B. The governing board of each public institution of higher education shall:

   1. Adopt and post conspicuously on its website bylaws for its own governance,
   including provisions that (i) establish the requirement of transparency, to
   the extent required by law, in all board actions; (ii) describe the
   board&#8217;s obligations under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act
   (&#xA7; 2.2-3700 et seq.), as set forth in subdivision B 10 of &#xA7;
   23.1-1301, including the requirements that (a) the board record minutes of
   each open meeting and post the minutes on the board&#8217;s website, in
   accordance with subsection I of &#xA7; 2.2-3707 and &#xA7; 2.2-3707.1, (b)
   discussions and actions on any topic not specifically exempted by &#xA7;
   2.2-3711 be held in an open meeting, (c) the board give public notice of all
   meetings, in accordance with subsection D of &#xA7; 2.2-3707, and (d) any
   action taken in a closed meeting be approved in an open meeting before it can
   have any force or effect, in accordance with subsection B of &#xA7; 2.2-3711;
   and (iii) require that the board invite the Attorney General&#8217;s appointee
   or representative to all meetings of the board, executive committee, and board
   committees;

   2. Establish and maintain on the institution&#8217;s website (i) a listing of
   all board members, including the name of the Governor who made each
   appointment and the date of each appointment; (ii) a listing of all committees
   created by the board and the membership of each committee; (iii) a schedule of
   all upcoming meetings of the full board and its committees and instructions
   for the public to access such meetings; (iv) an archive of agendas and
   supporting materials for each meeting of the governing board and its
   committees that was held; and (v) an email address or email addresses that
   allow board members to receive public communications pertaining to board
   business;

   3. Establish regulations or institution policies for the acceptance and
   assistance of students that include provisions (i) that specify that
   individuals who have knowingly and willfully failed to meet the federal
   requirement to register for the selective service are not eligible to receive
   any state direct student assistance, (ii) that specify that the accreditation
   status of a public high school in the Commonwealth shall not be considered in
   making admissions determinations for students who have earned a diploma
   pursuant to the requirements established by the Board of Education, and (iii)
   relating to the admission of certain graduates of comprehensive community
   colleges as set forth in &#xA7; 23.1-907;

   4. Assist the Council in enforcing the provisions relating to eligibility for
   financial aid;

   5. Notwithstanding any other provision of state law, establish policies and
   procedures requiring the notification of the parent of a dependent student
   when such student receives mental health treatment at the institution&#8217;s
   student health or counseling center and such treatment becomes part of the
   student&#8217;s educational record in accordance with the federal Health
   Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (42 U.S.C. &#xA7; 1320d et seq.)
   and may be disclosed without prior consent as authorized by the federal Family
   Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. &#xA7; 1232g) and related
   regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 99). Such notification shall only be required if
   it is determined that there exists a substantial likelihood that, as a result
   of mental illness the student will, in the near future, (i) cause serious
   physical harm to himself or others as evidenced by recent behavior or any
   other relevant information or (ii) suffer serious harm due to his lack of
   capacity to protect himself from harm or to provide for his basic human needs.
   However, notification may be withheld if any person licensed to diagnose and
   treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders by a health regulatory board
   within the Department of Health Professions who is treating the student has
   made a part of the student&#8217;s record a written statement that, in the
   exercise of his professional judgment, the notification would be reasonably
   likely to cause substantial harm to the student or another person. No public
   institution of higher education or employee of a public institution of higher
   education making a disclosure pursuant to this subsection is civilly liable
   for any harm resulting from such disclosure unless such disclosure constitutes
   gross negligence or willful misconduct by the institution or its employees;

   6. Establish policies and procedures requiring the release of the educational
   record of a dependent student, as defined by the federal Family Educational
   Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. &#xA7; 1232g), to a parent at his request;

   7. Establish programs to seek to ensure that all graduates have the technology
   skills necessary to compete in the twenty-first century and that all students
   matriculating in teacher-training programs receive instruction in the
   effective use of educational technology;

   8. Establish policies for the discipline of students who participate in
   varsity intercollegiate athletics, including a provision requiring an annual
   report by the administration of the institution to the governing board
   regarding enforcement actions taken pursuant to such policies;

   9. In addition to all meetings prescribed in Chapters 14 (&#xA7; 23.1-1400 et
   seq.) through 29 (&#xA7; 23.1-2900 et seq.), meet with the chief executive
   officer of the institution at least once annually, in a closed meeting
   pursuant to subdivision A 1 of &#xA7; 2.2-3711 and deliver an evaluation of
   the chief executive officer&#8217;s performance. Any change to the chief
   executive officer&#8217;s employment contract during any such meeting or any
   other meeting of the board shall be made only by a vote of the majority of the
   board&#8217;s members;

   10. If human research, as defined in &#xA7; 32.1-162.16, is conducted at the
   institution, adopt regulations pursuant to the Administrative Process Act
   (&#xA7; 2.2-4000 et seq.) to effectuate the provisions of Chapter 5.1 (&#xA7;
   32.1-162.16 et seq.) of Title 32.1 for human research. Such regulations shall
   require the human research committee to submit to the Governor, the General
   Assembly, and the chief executive officer of the institution or his designee
   at least annually a report on the human research projects reviewed and
   approved by the committee and require the committee to report any significant
   deviations from approved proposals;

   11. Submit and make publicly available on the institution&#8217;s website the
   annual financial statements for the fiscal year ending the preceding June 30
   and the accounts and status of any ongoing capital projects to the Auditor of
   Public Accounts for the audit of such statements pursuant to &#xA7; 30-133;

   12. No later than December 1 of each year, report to the Council and make
   publicly available on the institution&#8217;s website (i) the value of
   investments as reflected on the Statement of Net Position as of June 30 of the
   previous fiscal year, excluding any funds derived from endowment donations,
   endowment income, or other private philanthropy; (ii) the cash earnings on
   such balances in the previous fiscal year; and (iii) the use of the cash
   earnings on such balances. In the event that the commitment of any such
   investment earnings spans more than one fiscal year, the report shall reflect
   the commitments made in each future fiscal year. The reports of the Boards of
   Visitors of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia
   shall exclude the value of and earnings on any investments held by the
   Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority and the University of
   Virginia Medical Center, respectively. As used in this subdivision,
   &#8220;investments&#8221; includes all short-term, long-term, liquid, and
   illiquid Statement of Net Position accounts, and subaccounts thereof, in which
   moneys have been invested in securities;

   13. Submit to the General Assembly and the Governor and make publicly
   available on the institution&#8217;s website an annual executive summary of
   its interim activity and work no later than the first day of each regular
   session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted as
   provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems
   for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on
   the General Assembly&#8217;s website;

   14. Make available to any interested party upon request a copy of the portion
   of the most recent report of the Uniform Crime Reporting Section of the
   Department of State Police entitled &#8220;Crime in Virginia&#8221; pertaining
   to institutions of higher education;

   15. Adopt policies or institution regulations regarding the ownership,
   protection, assignment, and use of intellectual property and provide a copy of
   such policies or institution regulations to the Governor and the Joint
   Commission on Technology and Science. All employees, including student
   employees, of public institutions of higher education are bound by the
   intellectual property policies or institution regulations of the institution
   employing them;

   16. Adopt policies that are supportive of the intellectual property rights of
   matriculated students who are not employed by such institution; and

   17. Solicit the input of representatives of the institution&#8217;s faculty
   senate or its equivalent (i) at least twice per academic year on topics of
   general interest to the faculty and (ii) in advance of decisions to be made on
   the search for the institution&#8217;s new chief executive officer.

HISTORY: Code 1919, § 837, § 23-99; 1970, c. 197, § 23-9.2:3; 1972, c. 861,
§ 23-91.40; 1984, c. 734, § 23-1.01; 1985, cc. 146, 520; 1986, c. 358, §
23-4.3; 1987, c. 109; 1990, c. 646, § 23-9.1:1; 1992, cc. 603, 630, §
23-9.2:3.3; 1997, c. 827; 1998, cc. 39, 362, 483, 784; 2001, cc. 664, 673; 2004,
cc. 176, 195, 650; 2005, cc. 633, 818; 2006, cc. 77, 121, 899; 2008, cc. 441,
495; 2012, cc. 448, 658, 716; 2013, c. 577, §§ 23-2.02, 23-2.03, 23-2.05;
2014, c. 557, § 23-2.5; 2016, cc. 441, 588; 2017, cc. 314, 320, 616; 2021, Sp.
Sess. I, c. 447; 2023, c. 536.