Va. Code » Title 22.1. Education » Chapter 7. General Powers and Duties of School Boards
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-71 (2026)

School board constitutes body corporate; corporate powers

✓ current as of May 2026
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The duly appointed or elected members shall constitute the school board. Every such school board is declared a body corporate and, in its corporate capacity, is vested with all the powers and charged with all the duties, obligations and responsibilities imposed upon school boards by law and may sue, be sued, contract, be contracted with and, in accordance with the provisions of this title, purchase, take, hold, lease and convey school property, both real and personal. School board members appointed or elected by district or otherwise shall have no organization or duties except such as may be assigned to them by the school board as a whole.

Code 1950, §§ 22-63, 22-94; 1980, c. 559; 1998, c. 102.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 16 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1982–2026 · leading case: Drewrey v. Portsmouth City Sch. Bd., 264 F. Supp. 3d 724 (E.D. Va. 2017).
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Drewrey v. Portsmouth City Sch. Bd., 264 F. Supp. 3d 724 (E.D. Va. 2017). · cites it 3× “(citing Va. Code § 22.1-71). Additionally, school boards may independently hire attorneys to represent themselves and their employees, and may pay employees’ legal expenses.”
D.N. ex rel. Nolen v. Louisa Cnty. Pub. Schs., 156 F. Supp. 3d 767 (W.D. Va. 2016). “§ 22.1-71. Other courts in this Circuit, including this *778 court, have held that public schools divisions are not entities that may be sued.”
Cole v. Buchanan Cnty. Sch. Bd., 661 F. Supp. 2d 569 (W.D. Va. 2009). · cites it 2× “Va.Code Ann. § 22.1-71 (2006). In Virginia, as in North Carolina, boards manage and control funds for the local school system and they may incur costs and expenses.”
Sch. Bd. v. Wilder, 73 Va. Cir. 251 (Richmond County Cir. Ct. 2007). · cites it 6× “Under law, the school board is “a body corporate and, in its corporate capacity, is vested with all the powers and charged with all the duties, obligations, and responsibilities imposed upon school boards by law____” See Va. Code § 22.1-71. This includes the power to sue and be…”
Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. M. L. Whitlow, Inc., 286 S.E.2d 230 (Va. 1982). · cites it 2× “” The Board bases its argument on the fact that school boards are provided for in the Virginia Constitution, Article VIII, Section 7, and do not, therefore, owe their existence to a charter granted by the General Assembly.”
Bockes v. Fields, 798 F. Supp. 1219 (W.D. Va. 1992). · cites it 2× “Compare Va.Code Ann. § 22.1-71 (code section entitled “School board constitutes body corporate; corporate powers”); Ram Ditta, 822 F.”
Thayer v. Washington Cnty. Sch. Bd., 949 F. Supp. 445 (W.D. Va. 1996). · cites it 2× “” Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-71 (Michie 1993). Thayer's complaint does not allege that any board members acted independently of the School Board.”
Sch. Bd. v. Wilder, 74 Va. Cir. 309 (Richmond County Cir. Ct. 2007). · cites it 6× “08 of the Charter of the City of Richmond (“Charter”); (2) The members of the School Board lack standing because they have not sued in the proper form pursuant to Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-71 ; (3) The Board lacks standing and the Court lacks jurisdiction because the suit was brought…”
ACM Constr. Mgmt. Corp. v. Chesterfield Cnty. Sch. Bd., 21 Va. Cir. 125 (Chesterfield Cir. Ct. 1990). · cites it 2× “Section 22.1-71 of the Code of Virginia provides that: School board constitutes body corporate; corporate powers.”
Monica Drasovean v. Steven Walts (Va. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 8× “When applied to the facts in this case, specifically, to the Prince William City School Board, the Drewrey factors show that the school board should be treated as a 9 Code § 22.1-71. - 16 - municipal corporation rather than an arm of the State.”
Jennifer Petersen v. Spotsylvania Cnty. Pub. Sch. Bd. (Va. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 5× “5 Code § 22.1-71 provides, in relevant part, that a school board “may sue, be sued, contract, be contracted with and, in accordance with the provisions of this title, purchase, take, hold, lease and convey school property, both real and personal.”
Spotsylvania Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Sherman Constr. Corp., 14 Va. Cir. 333 (Spotsylvania Cir. Ct. 1989). · cites it 3× “" Virginia Code § 22.1-71. Local school boards have the statutory duty to "care for, manage, and control the property of the school division and provide *335 for the erecting, furnishing, and equipping of necessary school buildings and appurtenances and the maintenance thereof .”
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