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Subcommittee narrows student‑support data rules, preserves local MOUs and privacy safeguards
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Summary
The House K–12 subcommittee passed a substituted version of HB178 that narrows the statutory definition of student support programs, allows approved nonprofit–school MOUs to exchange student information with FERPA protections and limits Department of Education oversight to certification and credible‑complaint responses.
Delegate Delia Rivera presented a substituted HB178 that rewrites the bill’s core definition of a "student support program" to narrow when nonprofit partners may receive student personal information from a school division and to require that such sharing occur under a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The patron said the change is intended to "protect the continuity of education for displaced and unhoused students" while "preserving student privacy" under FERPA.
Proponents at the hearing described practical problems with current practice: Matthew Stanley of Richmond City Public Schools said local districts maintain dozens of MOUs and the substitute would "streamline that process and ensure better compliance with FERPA and other data privacy laws." Dot Walton of the Virginia Education Association told the panel HB178, as amended, directs the Virginia Department of Education to oversee registration and certification of agencies that receive student information, a change the union supports.
Opponents and questioners urged caution about added state oversight. Some members asked whether the substitute duplicates local capability to negotiate MOUs; the patron responded that the substitute only asks DOE to develop a template so school divisions avoid a "hodgepodge" of inconsistent memoranda. The substitute also removed earlier fiscal triggers and limited DOE’s role to certification and responding to credible complaints, the patron said, to avoid new staffing or funding burdens.
The subcommittee approved the substitute and reported the bill to the next stage (recorded vote: reported 7–3). The committee also recorded a separate earlier action to carry HB568 (a related literacy/implementation bill) to 2027 and asked the Executive Order 4 work group to consider HB568’s provisions.
What’s next: HB178 moves on as substituted; DOE and stakeholders will likely work on the MOU template and certification details during executive‑branch review and subsequent committee stages.
