Department of Education

 

GDForum ID: 2770

Description of Proposed Guidance Document Changes

Pursuant to Senate Bill 161 (2022), the Virginia Department of Education, in conjunction with stakeholders, is to develop and biennially update guidelines on policies to inform and educate coaches and student-athletes and their parents or guardians of the nature and risk of heat related illness, how to recognize the signs of heat-related illness, and how to prevent heat related illness. In 2025, House Bill 1663 (SB 1104) was approved to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered § 22.1-271.9, relating to public schools; interscholastic sports and athletics; guidelines and policies on student-athlete extreme heat safety and protection; development and implementation. Section 22.1-271.9 of the Code of Virginia requires the Board to develop, biennially review and update as necessary, and distribute to each local school division guidelines on policies relating to extreme heat safety and protection for student-athletes that inform coaches, student-athletes, and student athletes' parents of risks associated with and best-practices and strategies for ensuring the safety and protection of student-athletes when engaging in outdoor physical activity in times of extreme heat.

 

Guidance Document(s) for this Comment Forum

Document ID	Document Title	Current Document	Proposed Document	Revised Proposed
School Safety	Guidelines for Policies on Heat-Related Illness Prevention	Old Version Removed	Proposed Document		Posted with original changes on 11/20/2025

 

Contact Information

 

  Contact Information