Legislative & Advocacy
The VSDB PTO is a dedicated voice for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Blind, and Visually Impaired students and their families across Virginia. We advocate at the local and state levels to ensure our students receive the resources, accessibility, and support they need to thrive in every aspect of their education and residential life.
Protecting Critical Services
We advocate for the essential services and communication methods that provide our students with full access to their education, such as ASL, Braille, O&M, and Interveners.
Family Rights & Advocacy
Empowering families to know their rights and effectively advocate for their children within the special education system.
Supporting ECC Resources
The Expanded Core Curriculum is vital for independence. We ensure students have the tools and resources to master life skills.
Ensuring LRE Learning
We work to ensure every student learns in the least restrictive environment that meets their unique sensory and academic needs.
Take Action
Your voice makes a difference. Whether you are a current family, staff member, or VSDB alumni, there are many ways to support our students and ensure their needs are heard at the state level.
- Share your personal story of student success
- Respond to legislative action alerts
- Attend advocacy and policy trainings
- Join us for legislative visit days
STUDENT IMPACT
Winning for Our Students
When we advocate together, we create real change for our students. These legislative wins translate directly into stronger specialized services, enhanced accessibility across campus, and more robust opportunities for every Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Blind, and Visually Impaired learner at VSDB. Your voice ensures our students have the tools they need to thrive and succeed.
VSDB's Statewide Reach
- VSDB is a commonwealth-wide investment that relieves the burden on local districts to create and staff prohibitively expensive, individualized programs.
- 132 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) Served: VSDB accepts students from all 132 city and county school divisions across Virginia, ensuring equity of access regardless of a family's zip code.
- Cost-Efficiency: Providing specialized expertise (O&M instructors, certified ASL educators, Braille teachers) centrally is far more fiscally responsible than requiring every local district to hire and retain such high-demand specialists.
- Constituent Success: Funding VSDB is a direct investment in the post-secondary success of constituents residing in every legislative district in the state.
How to Find Your Local Legislator
You must contact the legislators who represent your specific home address, not the school's address in Staunton. This ensures you are speaking to the person responsible for your family's community.
Use the State Lookup Tool
The most reliable way to find your representative is by using the official state legislative lookup tool.
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Step 1: Use this search query to find the official Virginia General Assembly website tool: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/.
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Step 2: Enter your residential street address, city, and zip code.
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Step 3: The tool will instantly provide the name and district number for:
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Your Virginia House of Delegates Representative (Delegate)
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Your Virginia Senate Representative (Senator)
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Key dates for the 2027 Virginia legislative session are published, with the session starting on January 13, 2027, and adjournment scheduled for February 27, 2027. You can view further scheduling resources via the Division of Legislative Services and track live updates on the Legislative Information System.
Session Timeline
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Start Date: January 13, 2027
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Adjournment Date: February 27, 2027
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Prefiling Start: July 20, 2026
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