Feds Approve Amendments to Virginia’s K-12 Accountability and Support Plan

After awaiting a months-long review by the federal government, the Virginia Department of Education announced on Monday that it can fully implement its School Performance and Support Framework plan for how students will be assessed in public schools.

The approval was the final step in the regulatory process for Virginia to fully implement its goals of setting and assisting students in meeting high expectations and supporting learning loss recovery.

The board, supported by Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration, made the changes after its members said data from Virginia’s existing accountability system wasn’t clearly delineated when determining the quality of schools or student learning outcomes. In addition, the existing system used the process of accrediting schools as an accountability system to “foster” school improvement, instead of fostering the establishment of effective school-level educational programs, the board said.

Before submitting the changes for the state’s plan, the board overhauled and separated the existing accreditation system into two parts: an accreditation system, to assess whether schools meet all requirements laid out in state laws and regulations; and an accountability system, to provide “timely and transparent information on student and school performance.”

Virginia needed final approval from the U.S. Department of Education to avoid disruptions when the plan is fully implemented next school year.

The federal approval “means the new framework is fully in place and affirms our commitment to high expectations, transparency, and prioritizing resources to those students and schools most in need,” said Grace Turner Creasey, president of the Board of Education, who was appointed by Youngkin, in a statement on Monday.

“We are especially grateful that [the] Biden Administration’s approval recognizes that changing the Framework mid-school year would have been especially disruptive to schools and students,” Creasey said. “Having received this final federal approval, Virginia educators and families know the expectations set for their public schools and students remain in place and they can continue to work towards those goals without worry of the planning and preparations they have already completed being disregarded.”

During the review, some education leaders, including those in Northern Virginia, urged the Board of Education to delay implementation, claiming VDOE needed to define the framework measures and identify the types of support Virginia will provide to schools needing improvement.

However, the board proceeded with its plan after saying it received significant support from other parts of the commonwealth to move forward.

Youngkin proposed at least $50 million for “schools that need support the most” in his budget amendments sent to lawmakers last month, part of $1 billion in new funding for education in his proposal. The legislature will consider the governor’s proposed budget amendments in this year’s legislative session, which starts Wednesday.

Education bills up for review in the 2025 legislative session

As lawmakers continue filing bills, the General Assembly is also expected to weigh short-term recommendations from a joint K-12 education funding committee tasked with overhauling the state’s funding formula, a process that is likely to take time.

House Education Committee Chair Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, sponsored HB 1954, which would provide additional support for students with special needs and create a program to support at-risk, or low-income, students and English Language learners in Virginia’s public schools.

Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, and Del. Laura Jane Cohen, D-Fairfax, have introduced Senate Bill 753 and House Bill 500, which would require the Board of Education to begin developing Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments in languages other than English starting next school year. The SOL standards outline Virginia’s expectations for student learning and measure proficiency in subjects like math, reading, science, writing, and history and social science. Under the proposals, students with limited English proficiency could take the tests in one of the three most common languages other than English for up to two consecutive years.

With attendance being one of the factors used to determine if a school is meeting the state’s academic expectation, Del. Marty Martinez, D-Loudoun, and Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Caroline, introduced HB 1769 and HB 1788,  to minimize the impact on a student’s attendance record and school’s performance measurements.

Cohen also introduced HB 1807 that would create a special fund to support preparing students for kindergarten by putting any leftover money from the Virginia Preschool Initiative into the new fund. Her HB 1808 would direct the Commission on Early Childhood Care and Education to develop a plan to find additional funding to prepare students for kindergarten.

Del. Delores Oates, R-Warren, and Sen. Tammy Mulchi, R-Pittsylvania, introduced HB 1809 and SB 749, requiring K-12 public schools and higher education colleges and universities that have sports teams to label each team as either boys, girls, or coed based on the biological sex of the players. To join a team, a student would have to have a doctor’s note confirming their biological sex. Teams specifically for girls cannot have boys on them, the bill reads.

Del. Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News, introduced HB 1829, which would create new programs and policies to improve mathematics instruction and student outcomes.

HB 1890 by Del. Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach, would create a program to compensate professionally licensed teachers in hopes of reducing the teacher shortage and reliance on provisionally licensed teachers in public schools.

Learn more about additional education bills in this year’s session here.

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury

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