Bills of Interest to College Students

House and Senate bills that VCU’s Student Government Association is tracking

HB 191

Sponsored by Delegate Bob Marshall, R-ManassasAllows full-time faculty members of public institutions of higher education who possess a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun on campus.

HB 697

Sponsored by Delegate E. Filler-Corn, D-SpringfieldRequires the governing board of each college or university to ask students to identify points of contact to be notified if the student experiences a mental health crisis. The policy may require students to waive certain privacy or confidentiality privileges.

HB 701

Sponsored by by Filler-CornRequires the chief law-enforcement officer of a public or private institution of higher education to report the death or an alleged rape of any person on campus property to the law-enforcement agency of the locality in which the institution is located. The local law-enforcement agency would assume responsibility for leading the investigation with cooperation from the college or university.

HB 852

Sponsored by Delegate J.R. Yost, R-BlacksburgMakes it clear that an institution of higher education may require students to provide mental health records not only from their high school but also from any other college or university they attended.

HB 853

Sponsored by YostRequires public community colleges to advise students, faculty and staff how to identify and help students exhibiting suicidal tendencies.Provides that any licensed health professional treating a student may determine to withhold parental notification of a dependent student’s mental health treatment if such professional determines that the notification may result in substantial harm. Currently, only a physician or clinical psychologist could make such a determination.

HB 965

Sponsored by Delegate Robert B. Bell, R-CharlottesvilleRequires campus police to work with a local law-enforcement agency or the State Police in investigating deaths and alleged rapes on college campuses.

HB 967

Sponsored by BellIncludes campus police in various definitions of “law-enforcement officers.”

HB 969

Sponsored by BellRequires each commonwealth’s attorney to invite campus police chiefs to meetings of sexual assault response teams.

SB 623

Sponsored by Sen. Chap Peterson, D-FairfaxRequires public colleges and universities to have agreements with local mental-health facilities to coordinate the care of students. The bill would help ensure that school officials are notified when a student is involuntarily committed or is discharged.

SB 624

Sponsored by PetersonRequires public colleges and universities to alert parents whenever the institution receives notification from any source that a student may be suicidal, to the extent permitted by the federal law.