Please follow ADA guidelines regarding diabetes care in school.

The Virginia Council of Administartors of Special Education has expressed opposition to the introduced version of HB497 because it mandated an unnecessary reporting of data by school divisions. We have provided draft substitute language that would ask the VDOE to collect data from existing sources and report to the committee by Nov. 2026. We have not seen the substitute as finally crafted so cannot comment and cannot be there due to a legal obligation. We respect Del. Guzman's concerns in special education ineligibility determinations and hope that any final HB497 does not add a reporting burden for localities.

I oppose this bill because it turns normal special education decisions and disagreements into state reports and public data, creating pressure to over-identify students and treat professional judgment as failure. It adds bureaucracy and public dashboards without improving services, timelines, or support for students. More reporting does not mean better outcomes, and this approach risks harming the very students it claims to help.