This week, the Governor announced a critical Executive Order that calls for “Cell Phone-Free Education” for all K-12 students in the Commonwealth. This order requires leaders, educators, health officials, and families to come together and address the mental health crisis occurring because of smart phones and social media. We know that big tech companies have manipulated the devices and apps to create addictive behaviors for all who use them, but we are now becoming aware that the addictive social media architecture dramatically impacts adolescents more than anyone else.  

Since 2010,  there has been a 139% increase in adolescent anxiety (US National Survey of Drug Use and Health);  US Center for Disease Control reports an increase in self-harm by 188%  in girls  and 48% in boy adolescents as documented emergency room visits; clinical depression has increased by 145% in girls and by 161% for boys (US National Survey of Drug Use and Health); and most startling, suicide rates have increased by 91% for boys and 167% for girls (US Center for Disease Control). These statistics directly correlate with the explosion of social media apps and smart phone usage by adolescents. Jonathan Haidt’s An Anxious Generation demonstrates that these startling mental health statistics are not unique to the United States and are seen in data studies across the world, but most importantly, this crisis shows a one-to-one relationship to the increased use of smart phones and social media by the world’s adolescents over the past 10 to 15 years. 

Over the next several months, the Department will be leading conversations across the Commonwealth to better understand how to create policies, procedures, and practices that ensure our students are free from the distractions and dangers of smart phones and social media during school hours. We need to support schools in fostering in-person relationships focused on learning, and we need to make sure teachers, education leaders, and parents are confident that the protocols provide the strongest learning experiences for every child.  

See the Department’s new Cell Phone-Free Education website to leave feedback and sign up to attend a listening session near you. 

It is with a moment of pause that I announce the retirement of Kent Dickey and Annette Sherrill. Both have served the agency for decades and have given tireless efforts to the financial oversight of the agency, and as both have served with tireless commitment, they are ready to spend more time with their family. Kent has fostered a strong, collaborative focus on fiscal budgeting and management that has allowed the agency to manage numerous massive initiatives, including the most recent ESSER. He has developed a highly talented and skilled team that will continue to support the work of the agency and the key objectives to support school divisions across the Virginia. Both are mentors to many leaders who have served and continue to serve at VDOE and throughout the Commonwealth.

Congratulations and best wishes, Kent and Annette.  

-Lisa

Kent Dickey has served the Commonwealth of Virginia for over 35 years, with 33 of them here at VDOE. Supporting school divisions and working with division superintendents and their finance directors through the years, Kent has provided the budgetary, fiscal, and operations support and information critical to VDOE and school divisions’ on-going budgetary operations. He has been a leader in the finance and fiscal matters of the Commonwealth, often called upon to partner with counterparts at state agencies such as DPB, Treasury, DOA, and VRS on program initiatives.   

We appreciate Kent and Annette working with VDOE on a transition plan and giving the department the opportunity to conduct a nationwide search for their replacements.  The VDOE plans to have a new CFO in place by the end of August, and this overlap will help provide continuity of service as VDOE prepares for the 25-26 school year. 

Kent and Annette have been exceptional colleagues for many years. We wish them well in their retirement after over three decades of service and are thankful for all they have done for Virginia’s children. They will be missed. 

On July 9, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 33 to establish cell phone-free education to promote the health and safety of Virginia’s K-12 students.  

Executive Order 33 is focused on eliminating cell phone use during instructional time and addressing the mental health issues arising from children's social media and cell phone addiction. The EO directs the Virginia Department of Education to provide guidance to school boards on cell phone-free education policies and procedures. School boards will establish local cell phone-free education policies and procedures before the end of this year that will be implemented in 2025.   

The VDOE will be participating in a series of Commonwealth Conversations across Virginia to provide opportunities for discussion on how schools and communities can build new norms around phone usage. Information and dates for the Commonwealth Conversations are coming soon. Parents, educators, and community members are also invited to share their thoughts on cell phone-free education with the VDOE. 

Implementing cell phone-free education in Virginia’s K-12 public schools is critical, especially given youth chronic health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, that have been drastically on the rise since 2010 and driven in part by extensive social media and cell phone use.  

We look forward to working together to create a healthier, more focused educational environment where every child is free to learn at their best.  

Lexia® is proud to partner with the Virginia Department of Education to help fulfill the Commonwealth’s priority to accelerate literacy growth for students in grades 3-8 through the ALL In Tutoring Initiative and the Learning Acceleration Grant funding. 118 Virginia school divisions have committed to using Lexia, including 46 divisions that are using Lexia for summer programming. See below for three ways to LEVEL UP your Lexia implementation this summer, including a variety of professional learning sessions and resources for parents and families. 

1. New to Lexia or looking for a refresh? Attend an UPDATED Core5 or PowerUp professional learning session to learn more about and prepare for implementation. 
2. Seeking to inform families and parents about student literacy growth? Share these upcoming Lexia information sessions with them. 
3. Need support with rostering or the VATutoring code? Opt into biweekly Open Office Hours with a Lexia Success Engineer on Wednesday 7/17 or 7/31 from 2-3 p.m. (Zoom Link) or check out these additional resources. 

Looking for more information or have any questions? Visit the Lexia for Virginia: ALL In Tutoring website or contact vatutoring@lexialearning.com. 

VDOE Literacy Office Hours

Article: 2024-27-256
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers
Contact: Jill Nogueras, Associate Director of K-12 English & Literacy,  Jill.Nogueras@doe.virginia.gov

As released on June 27, 2024, in Superintendent’s Memo 003-24, beginning July 10, Literacy Office Hours are being held for division instructional leaders to ask questions about the VLA implementation and give feedback on implementation. Literacy Office Hours will be weekly on Wednesdays from 9:30-10 a.m. through August 30 and move to biweekly on September 11 from 9:30-10 a.m. 

Registration links were shared with division level literacy instructional leads as identified in SSWS. Once registered, registrants can choose to attend any of the weekly sessions through August 30. A new registration link will be sent for biweekly sessions beginning in September. 

The United States Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs has released updated guidance regarding states’ special education general supervision responsibilities. These responsibilities outline the requirements of state educational agencies and their role in monitoring programs and local educational agencies or school divisions in Virginia. 

The USED’s Guidance on State General Supervision Responsibilities under Parts B and C of the IDEA (July 24, 2023) and accompanying Dear Colleague Letter: General Supervision Responsibilities (July 24, 2023) address the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA’s) “general supervision” requirement which necessitates states to monitor local educational agencies (Section 300.28) as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B (Section 1412 (a) (11)) to ensure children with disabilities and their families access their rights under IDEA. 

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has shared this information with local directors of special education and other stakeholders such as the State Special Education Advisory Committee and the state parent training and information center. The VDOE has established and will continue to implement general supervision and monitoring procedures and practices that are designed to ensure that local educational agencies meet the IDEA program requirements. For more information on special education monitoring in Virginia, please visit the VDOE's Program Improvement webpage.

K-3 English and Mathematics Achievement Records Available

Article: 2024-27-247
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers
Contact: Dr. Michelle Wallace, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, Michelle.Wallace@doe.virginia.gov

The Standards of Accreditation Regulation 8VAC20-131-80 requires that schools shall maintain an early skills and knowledge achievement record in reading and mathematics for each student in kindergarten through grade 3 to monitor student progress and to promote successful achievement on the third grade SOL tests. This record shall be included with the student's records if the student transfers to a new school. In accordance with the Standards of Quality, local school boards shall implement early identification, diagnosis, and assistance for students with reading and mathematics problems and provide instructional strategies and reading and mathematics practices that benefit the development of reading and mathematics skills for all students.  

English: K-3 English Achievement Records webpage 

Mathematics: K-3 Mathematics Achievement Records webpage 

For questions regarding these resources, contact: 

English: vdoe.english@doe.virginia.gov  

Mathematics: vdoe.mathematics@doe.virginia.gov 

The Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) offers annual in-person and virtual training options for division-designated VKRP Trainers to learn the VKRP Assessment System and prepare teachers and leaders for VKRP administration. School divisions may select one or more educators to serve as their “in-house” VKRP Trainer. Please note that training for the Kindergarten and Pre-K screeners may require different audiences. Programs/divisions are also invited to reach out to the VKRP Team if they need support in designing their teacher trainings for the 2024-25 school year.   

• Register for Summer/Fall Train the Trainer  
• Contact VKRP: vkrp@virginia.edu or 1-866-301-8278.  

The Student Advisory Board is a highly competitive opportunity comprised of one high school senior from each of the eight Superintendent’s Regions  in the Commonwealth. Appointed by the Governor, the Board works closely with the Virginia Department of Education to provide student perspectives on important issues and play a vital role in the creation of policy by the Virginia Board of Education.  

Students are chosen based on demonstrated academic achievement and passion for educational policy issues. The students will pick an education topic of their choosing and present suggested policy solutions to the Board of Education. Additionally, the students will meet with Governor Youngkin to present their ideas.   

Applications are open to any Virginia rising high school senior.  The application window opened July 1 and closes September 15. The Student Advisory Board will meet from 5 – 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month beginning in October and will present to the Board of Education at the June 2025 Board meeting.  

Please share this with your division and spread the word about this great opportunity for rising high school seniors! Please visit the Student Advisory Board website for any additional information, or feel free to reach out with any questions. 

The Virginia Board of Education is seeking nominees for a vacancy on the Virginia Advisory Committee for Advanced Learning. Details and more information about the open seat are available on the VDOE website.  

Please note that, by state or federal law or regulation, some of the vacancies on advisory committees require specific categories of expertise, qualifications, or geographic representation. A map of the VDOE Superintendent’s Regions is available here.   

Members of advisory committees do not receive compensation for their service but may be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with state travel guidelines set forth by the Department of Accounts.  

Nationally recognized experts in Gifted Education and/or advanced academic programming are invited to apply by completing this nomination form before noon on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.  

Pursuant to § 22.1-17 of the Code of Virginia, the Board of Education is required to develop a statement of the administrative impact on school divisions and the projected cost of implementation and compliance with newly promulgated regulations.  

As a result of a September 2023 onsite federal monitoring visit by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (“OSEP”) with a Differentiated Monitoring and Support Report (“DMS Report”) being released to the DOE on March 13, 2024, the DOE is amending its Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia (8VAC20-81). The Board approved the regulatory change at its meeting on March 28, 2024.  

The full statement  is now available.  

On June 24, 2024, the Virginia Department of Education entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Navy Talent Acquisition Group Richmond (NTAG Richmond) for the purpose of sharing student "directory information" between the parties in a manner consistent with the Family Education Records Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).   

The VDOE undertook this task for school divisions across the Commonwealth by entering this MOA. The decision to centralize the release of this data was made to improve the efficiency in the response to these report requests.  The VDOE Office of Data Services has updated the Student Record Collection (SRC) to facilitate collection of the directory data and will provide training this summer to division data staff. This information will be collected twice a year on the fall SRC (October) and spring SRC (April).    

In order to comply with opt out provisions in the Federal law, any student (18 or older) or parent of an 11th or 12th grader that has opted their child out of their information being sent to the military must be excluded and updated with the VDOE by November 1 each year to not be included in the December 1 secure data transmission to the military and by May 1 to not be included in the June 1 secure data transmission to the military.  If opt outs are received by the VDOE after either date, the opt out will take effect during the next data transmission to the military.  It is imperative that schools continue to accurately update opt outs with the VDOE data submission so that FERPA is maintained, and names are not erroneously sent to the military.     

The directory information will be used by military recruiters in Virginia to provide student information concerning training, employment, and scholarship opportunities available through the military. Additionally, by this agreement, VDOE appoints NTAG Richmond as the point of contact for military recruiting branches for purposes of sharing this centralized data. The data shared with NTAG Richmond and other military recruiting branches is to be used only for military recruiting purposes authorized by statute.  School divisions that accurately submit these new data elements in the fall and spring SRC submissions during the 2024-25 school year for all of their high schools will have successfully met federal requirements pertaining to “directory information” and will require no further action.