As we continue our Summer of Support, I’d like to express my gratitude to our dedicated educators who have participated in our high-quality professional development offerings. The VDOE team provided many opportunities for educators to explore new literacy and math strategies and Standards, engage in interactive resources, and analyze and plan with their data.

I want to share just a few highlights from the summer so far. VDOE kicked off the Summer of Support in June with the Literacy and Mathematics Symposiums focus on transitioning to high-quality instructional materials to support the new Standards. These professional learning symposiums will continue through August and serve over 900 teacher-leaders. This summer also provided training related to the Virginia Literacy Act for elementary and middle school principals and assistant principals. A total of six regional trainings were held with over 1,600 principals and assistant principals registered, and additional sessions are planned this fall for any new principals. Over 550 educators attended the Special Education Content Teaching Academies with the goal to enhance the outcomes of students with disabilities and to promote high-quality instruction and inclusive practices. In total, educators have participated in over 50,000 hours of training so far this summer, with more to come in the next few weeks. It is affirming to see so many Virginia educators taking the time to reinforce and realign for best practice models, resources, and supports. With educators committed to continuous learning, our students are poised for an exceptional school year!

We have also started our Commonwealth Conversations to discuss Virginians’ expectations for a cell phone-free education.  At our first two meetings in Manassas and Virginia Beach, we had a strong mix of parents and educators who shared their thoughts on what cell phone-free education should look like and how they would like to see the policies implemented in their communities. It is clear that parents and teachers understand the effects of cell phones and social media on our children and are ready to work on solutions to these mental heath and educational achievement issues. We look forward to our upcoming Conversations, including the five we have next week throughout the Commonwealth.  We hope you join us when we are in your area. Register for the Conversations on the VDOE website and share your thoughts on our website as well.

As we approach the new school year, I want to thank all the educators who have joined us in the Summer of Support, and all the parents, educators, and community members who are helping us develop the guidance for cell phone-free education.  We appreciate your commitment to helping our children thrive in the year ahead.

-Lisa

The Unified Physical Education program provides students with and without disabilities opportunities to engage in learning designed to break down barriers, promote acceptance and understanding, and create a more inclusive school environment as students prepare for individual or team competitions or events. 

In Virginia, some divisions offer Unified Physical Education as an elective course that students in grades 11 and 12 can select based on their interests, career goals, or to fulfill certain requirements beyond the health and physical education curriculum.  Student leaders from Maternal and Child Health Upliftment and Progress (MATCH UP) in Prince William County, with the assistance of their physical education teacher, have been elevating this opportunity across their division and have seen success in the enrollment and impact of the addition of the Unified PE course. We appreciate their advocacy for this course to be offered to 9th and 10th grade students as a substitute for the physical education component of the Health and Physical Education courses required for graduation.  

VDOE is thrilled to present this course to the Board in August for addition to the Board of Education Approved Courses to Satisfy Graduation Requirements for the Standard and Advanced Studies Diploma in Virginia Public Schools. Following Board approval, students will be able to take Unified PE to satisfy the physical education component of the course credit requirements for graduation. Additional guidance will be provided to school divisions.  

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) published Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (89 FR 31962) (final rule). The text of the final rule covers the expansion of the geographic preference option provision for school food authorities (SFAs) when procuring unprocessed locally grown, raised, or caught agricultural products. 

The implementation date of this final rule provision was July 1, 2024.  

Procuring local foods provides economic support for local farmers, encourages students to make healthy food choices, and increases opportunities for nutrition and agricultural education. More information on procuring local foods is available from the USDA-FNS website. 

The final rule continues to allow state agencies and program operators to adopt their own definition of “local” and does not prescribe a federal definition of “local” for the purpose of procuring local foods. SFAs may employ different strategies if they choose to conduct local procurements under this provision. Details were provided to SFAs in SCNP Memo No. 2024-2025-03, including a Questions and Answers resource from USDA-FNS. 

The Virginia Department of Education Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs will publish a director’s memo in the coming weeks with resources, guides, and tools to help SFAs procure local foods using the expanded geographic preference option.

School nutrition directors, division superintendents, and school principals are invited to attend the Governor’s Scorecard on Nutrition and Physical Activity webinar on Thursday, August 29, 2024, from 2-3 p.m. Attendees will receive information for joining the webinar upon registration.  

The Governor’s Scorecard is an initiative designed to recognize and celebrate schools that prioritize health and wellness among their students. Nutrition education and physical activity are important components to creating a healthy school environment. This award acknowledges schools that excel in promoting a culture of well-being through various initiatives and educational programs so students can thrive academically, emotionally, and physically.  

Schools are encouraged to complete the Governor’s Scorecard annually to highlight their achievements in enhancing the school wellness environment. A team approach should be used to complete the Scorecard, utilizing the school principal, nutrition manager, division nutrition director, health and physical education program coordinator, wellness policy coordinator, and at least one parent and one student. For more information or to view past winners, please visit the Virginia Governor's Scorecard website.  

The Virginia Board of Education adopted the 2023 Mathematics Standards of Learning in August 2023, and indicated that full implementation of the 2023 Mathematics Standards of Learning will occur in the 2024-2025 school year.  

The mathematics assessments measuring the 2023 Mathematics Standards of Learning will be administered for the first time in the spring 2025 test administration in grades 3 through 8 and end-of-course (EOC). To support preparation for implementation of the 2023 Mathematics Standards of Learning, the new mathematics test blueprints are available online. 

 Practice Opportunities for Students 

Practice test questions, called Practice Items, will be available in fall 2024 for each mathematics test (grades 3 through 8 and EOC). These items will provide students an opportunity to become familiar with the types of test questions that will be administered as part of the new mathematics tests.  

Practice test questions may be accessed online via the SOL Practice Items (All Subjects) webpage or the installable TestNav 8 application. See the TestNav 8 Technical Assistance Document (PDF) for information on system requirements and instructions for downloading the application. Guided Practice Suggestions will accompany the practice test questions to provide specific guidance for teachers or other adults to lead students through these items. School divisions will be notified when these practice items become available in fall 2024.  

Federal funds are available for the 2024-2025 federal fiscal year (FFY) to support the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grants. The funds will support school food authorities (SFAs) participating in NSLP for the purpose of serving healthier meals, improving food safety, and/or helping to support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of child nutrition programs. 

SFAs must use the online Qualtrics application to apply for NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant funding. A personalized link to the application will be sent to each school nutrition program (SNP) administrator (as designated in SNPWeb) on August 7, 2024. Details were provided to SNP administrators in SCNP Memo No. 2024-2025-06. 

Priority will be given to schools that did not receive a NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant in FFY 2023-2024. 

The NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant application submission deadline is September 9, 2024, at 5 p.m. SFAs will be notified of the schools approved to receive funding by October 10, 2024. 

FY 2024 Annual School Report Submission

Article: 2024-29-273
Audience: School Division Finance Directors
Contact: Ed Lanza, Director of Budget, Edward.Lanza@doe.virginia.gov

The 2024-2025 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B (Sections 611 and 

619) Flow-Through federal allocations, for school divisions and state operated programs that qualify based on submission of an approvable 2024-2025 annual plan, are now available.   

The full allocation for Section 619 Flow-Through funds was made available as of July 1, 2024, through the reimbursement process to school divisions and SOPs that have submitted an approvable annual plan. 

The 2024-2025 IDEA Part B Flow-Through Funding document includes comprehensive details about funding allocations, reimbursement procedures, and additional required special terms and conditions for grant awards or cooperative agreements. 

Item 137.B.31 of the budget bill passed at the 2024 Special Session I (i.e., Chapter 1) requires school divisions to submit periodic spending updates on the uses and spending progress of federal pandemic relief funds. This is the final year of this particular legislative reporting requirement and will focus on ESSER II and III LEA formula funds. 

To facilitate the submission of the required data, the Virginia Department of Education has created an application in the Single Sign-on Web Systems (SSWS) portal – ESSER State Reporting Collection (“ESSER-STATE”). The submission window is now open and will close on August 13, 2024. 

The Office of Federal Pandemic Relief Programs will offer a webinar to provide an overview of the reporting requirements for the ESSER II and III formula funds. School division personnel who will submit the data through the application are strongly encouraged to attend the webinar; however, it will be recorded to provide access for school division staff who are unavailable during the live presentation. In preparation for the webinar and data submission, school division staff who will submit the data should work with their local SSWS administrator to gain access to the ESSER-STATE application in SSWS.   

The webinar to overview this data collection is scheduled for  Tuesday, July 30 at 1:00 p.m. The Meeting ID is: 893 6852 1529, and the passcode is: 566137. 

Please also note that a separate reporting requirement in the state budget related to ESSER and state ALL In funds will be addressed through a separate data collection that will be announced in next week’s newsletter. This additional reporting requirement contains data elements that are different than the ones under this requirement. 

Questions may be emailed to vdoefederalrelief@doe.virginia.gov.  

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.  

The Board is in the process of repealing 8VAC20-131 (Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia) and replacing it with a new chapter, 8VAC20-132. The existing current chapter (8VAC20-131) includes an accreditation system that does not transparently communicate information to the public about the quality performance of schools or student learning outcomes due to the complicated nature of the system and the inability of the system to meaningfully identify schools needing additional support. The existing chapter also used the process for accrediting schools as an accountability system to foster school improvement, rather than deploying accreditation to ensure the establishment of effective school-level educational programs. The new proposed chapter (8VAC20-132) will separate accountability from accreditation, creating two separate but inter-related systems. The proposed school performance and support framework will measure student outcomes and identify schools for supports, and the school accreditation system will determine full compliance with each of the inputs described in 8VAC20-132. The proposed chapter would also allow for flexibility in the future for the Board to continue to refine the school performance and support framework and align to federal requirements, creating one system of supports for Virginia divisions and schools. 

The Agency Background Document for the proposed stage includes a crosswalk between 8VAC20-131 and 8VAC20-132. The proposed text is available on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall. 

The Virginia Board of Education has worked over the past few years to design a new school performance and support framework that provides clear and transparent information to the public, holds high expectations for all students, and brings together the state and federal support systems. With the Board’s recent first review of the new school performance and support framework, VDOE is seeking public comment on Virginia’s Consolidated State Plan under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Virginia’s Consolidated State Plan under ESSA provides additional detail regarding Virginia’s school performance and support framework.​ This plan is federally required, and every state submits an ESSA state plan.​ 

Per United States Department of Education Requirements, Amendment 7 to the Consolidated State Plan is posted to the VDOE website for public comment until Saturday, August 24, 2024.  

Public comments can be submitted through this online form.