VDOE has partnered with VA250 to engage students across the Commonwealth through extensive studies of history, democracy, and civics in order to promote principles of an informed citizenry and civic engagement. The VA250th Education Committee works with partners throughout the Commonwealth, including VDOE, to Make History Come Alive, Spark a Civics Renaissance, and Celebrate Democracy.  

To support educators, external partners, and organizations across the Commonwealth, VDOE has created the following toolkits to create memorable and educational experiences to foster community spirit and civic engagement:   

• Declaration of Independence Toolkit (July 2025, annual review): VDOE has developed the Declaration of Independence Toolkit to engage the community in reading the Declaration of Independence beginning July 4, 2025. Multiple tips to create a memorable and educational Fourth of July event that fosters community spirit and civic engagement are included.   
• Constitution Day and Citizenship Day Toolkit (September 2025, annual review): In honor of the Constitution of the United States, Constitution and Citizenship Day commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787, recognizing all who are born in the U.S. or by naturalization, have become citizens. September 17 is designated as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. Multiple resources and experiences have been cited to support planning educational activities, delineated by grade band.    

For more information about upcoming VA250 events in collaboration with VDOE, reference the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission | Virginia Department of Education webpage.  

To support school divisions’ continued implementation of the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA), VDOE has released an extensive update on the VLA.  

• Instructional Materials    
• VALLSS  
• Professional Development    
• Planning    
• Reference Charts for Planning   

Superintendents are asked to review the Literacy Update and also share these resources with key literacy staff and elementary and middle school principals.   

VDOE is pleased to announce both the 2025-2026 Literacy Grant (Year 1 Cohort Continuation) and 2025-2026 Literacy Grant (Year 2 Cohort) that will provide additional support and funding to ensure schools have expanded structures, tools, capacity, resources, and service providers to increase literacy growth and achievement for all students. VDOE is prioritizing three opportunities: family engagement literacy resources for birth through Kindergarten entry, the English Learner Literacy Network, and the Students with Disabilities Literacy Network.  

Applicants are highly encouraged to register for the 2025-2026 Literacy Grant Information Session, July 2, 2025, 9-10 a.m. During this time, VDOE staff will review the application requirements and provide information for successful application submissions. Grant applications are highly competitive. 

Applications will open beginning July 2, 2025, after the grant information session is held. A division may submit applications on behalf of their schools by no later than August 15, 2025, 3:00 p.m. The application should be submitted by one division-level employee and requires division point(s) of contact; acknowledgement of general assurances, administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements for federal awards (uniform guidance); and a programmatic overview summary.  

• Divisions already having received 2024-2025 Literacy Grant funds should complete the 2025-2026 Literacy Grant (Year 1 Cohort Continuation Application).
• Divisions newly applying for schools should complete the 2025-2026 Literacy Grants (Year 2 Cohort). Divisions that received 2024-2025 Literacy Grant funds wanting to add schools beyond the Year 1 Cohort, should add these schools to the Year 2 Cohort application.  

Optional office hours will also be held July 15, 2025, and July 22, 2025, to support divisions through the application process. Division points of contact must register in advance: 

• July 15, 2025, 9-10 a.m.: Registration  
• July 22, 2025, 9-10 a.m.: Registration  

The VDOE Computer Science program is excited to announce the release of the Kindergarten through Grade 8 computer sciences instructional guides and computer science instructional plans, aligned with the 2024 Computer Science Standards of Learning. The instructional guides serve as a companion document to the 2024 Computer Science Standards of Learning, designed to support educators in implementing standards into effective, developmentally appropriate instruction. Instructional guides include defined learning expectations, cross-content connections, and research-based instructional practices that promote computational thinking and integration across disciplines.  

Instructional guides for the computer science standalone courses: Middle School Computer Science Elective, Computer Science Foundations, Computer Science Principles, and Computer Science Programming (NCTE) will be available on the Computer Science webpage no later than August 1, 2025.  

The K-8 computer science instructional plans are structured teaching guides designed to support effective, standards-aligned classroom instruction. The instructional plans serve as an instructional resource and model example of an integrated computer science lesson. They outline clear learning goals, define the sequence and methods of instruction, and provide opportunities for assessment and student engagement. The K-8 computer science instructional plans will be made publicly available on GoOpenVA no later than August 1, 2025.  

The Department, in collaboration with partner organizations, will offer professional development to support effective implementation of the 2024 Computer Science Standards of Learning. Details will be communicated via Teacher Direct and the Virginia Education Update newsletters.  

The Legislature appropriated $20 million in FY 2024 state and federal funding for a one-time school safety and security grant program for public schools (see Item 136, Paragraph DDD., Chapter 1, 2024 Special Session I). From these appropriations, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) awarded $18.5 million in grant funds to school divisions statewide, $10.5 million from the general fund and $8 million from federal pandemic State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.  

School divisions’ federal fund grant allocation was to have been obligated by December 31, 2024, and should be fully expended by December 31, 2025. The federal fund grant allocations are available on a reimbursement basis using the VDOE’s OMEGA grants management application located in the Single Sign-on Web Systems (SSWS) portal.

School divisions were permitted to carryover and spend their state general fund grant allocation during FY 2025 and should complete expenditures of their general fund grant allocation by June 30, 2025. To ensure appropriate use of the state fund allocation, school division superintendents will submit a periodic Expenditure Certification Form to the VDOE Office of Support Services during FY 2025.

This is a reminder to all school divisions that the FY 2024 general fund grant expenditure deadline is June 30, 2025. School divisions should ensure the state fund grant allocation is expended by that date, and the superintendents must submit the required Expenditure Certification Form to ensure appropriate use of the state fund allocation.  

The 2025 Virginia General Assembly amended the Budget Bill – HB 1600, providing an additional $2,500,000 from the general fund to support the Community Schools Planning and Development Grant. As a result of this additional funding, VDOE is announcing a grant opportunity to support school divisions in the planning and implementation of community school initiatives. Eligible applicants include Virginia school divisions as well as Communities In Schools and its affiliates. 

Applications are due by July 18, 2025, and grants will be awarded in August 2025 with funds available for use through June 2026. Applicants may request funding to support efforts at a single school or across multiple schools. The VDOE anticipates making 10 to 20 awards, with individual grants ranging from $125,000 to $250,000. Eligible applicants can apply for funds via the Virginia Community Schools Grant Application.  

A Virginia Community Schools Grant Application webinar will be held on July 2, 2025, at 11 a.m., and those interested in attending can register via the Virginia Community Schools Grant Application webinar registration form. A recording will be made available to all registrants.

The Virginia Department of Education is seeking proposals from Virginia public school divisions or consortia of divisions in partnership with regionally accredited institutions of higher education that have Board of Education approved educator preparation programs to support Clinical Faculty Programs that assist pre-service teachers and beginning teachers to make a successful transition into full-time teaching. The grant is to provide training and mentoring during the 2025-2026 school year for teachers designated as clinical faculty and/or new teacher mentors.

The Clinical Faculty Programs-2025-2026 applications will be accepted through July 25, 2025. The Request for Proposals includes a comprehensive program overview and submission requirements.

The Virginia Public School Authority closed on the issuance of $12.0 million in Notes to fund the 2024-2025 School Security Equipment Grant (SEGM) program on May 15, 2025.  

This grant is awarded on a competitive basis and school divisions are eligible to receive grant awards up to $250,000. SEGM grant information is located at Security Equipment Grants. Grant applications must be submitted to VDOE between July 1, 2025, and August 1, 2025, using the VDOE SSWS portal.  All funded security equipment must be purchased and installed within six months of notification of the grant award or by March 1, 2026. 

To support the installation of school security equipment during the summer months and expedite the spend-down of these Notes funds, school divisions and regional programs may apply for grants reimbursements for school security equipment expenditures beginning on or after May 15, 2025. Such projects must otherwise meet all existing program guidelines and only approved projects will be reimbursed. 

For a school division to receive a grant, a local match of 25 percent of the grant amount is required. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is authorized to reduce the local match for school divisions with a composite index of local ability-to-pay less than 0.2000, including any such school division participating in a regional vocational center, special education center, alternative education center, or academic year Governor's School. The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind is exempt from the match requirement. 

Awarded grant funds will be maintained and disbursed from accounts administered by the State Non-Arbitrage Program (SNAP) under the Virginia Public School Authority. Upon approval of a reimbursement request, a written certification will be sent to SNAP to effect reimbursement payment within 30 days. 

As the end of the grant award period for FY23 grant funding approaches, it is important to ensure that school divisions are maintaining financial management and compliance as it relates to all federal ESEA grants.  FY23 federal ESEA grant funding must be fully encumbered by September 30, 2025, and fully reimbursed by November 15, 2025.  School divisions are encouraged to submit grant reimbursement requests at least monthly.  Following these best practices helps improve the chances of a successful reimbursement process and supports fiscal responsibility.  This information pertains to federal program coordinators of the programs below:

• Title I, Part A: Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged
• Title I, Part C: Education of Migratory Children; 
• Title I, Part D: Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk;
• Title II, Part A: Supporting Effective Instruction;
• Title III, Part A: Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students;
• Title IV, Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants; 
• Title IV, Part B, Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Community Learning Centers: and
• Title V, Part B, Subpart 2, Rural and Low-Income Education.

Title III, Part A Statewide Consortium members please be reminded that all reimbursement requests be submitted through the fiscal manager of Title III, Part A Statewide Consortium at VA Tech.   

If you need support with OMEGA, please email OMEGASupport@doe.virginia.gov.  If you have questions or need technical assistance with your federally issued grants, please contact individual grant program offices for support. 

The VDOE is pleased to announce the supplemental 2024-2025 Spring Career Switcher Mentor Grant Awards.   

The Career Switcher Mentor Grant provides grants to school divisions who have employed new, full-time teachers entering the profession through the Career Switcher Program to help support the mentoring programs for new teachers entering the field through the Career Switcher Program. The VDOE did an initial data collection in Fall 2024, however, a supplemental data collection for Spring 2025 for the Career Switcher Mentor Grant was announced on March 7, 2025 via the VA Education Update Newsletter. 

Each local school division will receive $2,455 per Career Switcher reported in the Supplemental Data Collection for Spring 2025 Career Switcher Mentor Program.  

For further details regarding the Career Switcher Mentor Program, please refer to the Terms of the Grant Award.

Chapter 725, 2025 Acts of Assembly (2025 Appropriation Act) provides state funds for the costs of prior year (Fiscal Year (FY) 2025) local operations and the local share of the FY 2026 (Summer 2025) Remedial Summer School program, as determined by VDOE, for certain children placed in foster care.  A detailed description of state funding requirements for Education of Children in Foster Care and instructions for completing the Foster Care data collection are provided in the Foster Care application in the Single Sign-on for Web Systems (SSWS) portal. Also provided in SSWS are the provisions from the appropriation act, the Code of Virginia, and Board of Education regulations pertaining to the education of children in foster care. 

Please note that all school divisions must complete the Foster Care Data Collection through the SSWS portal even if your division is not requesting reimbursement.  Once a division has successfully completed the Foster Care certification in SSWS, the division superintendent or designee will certify it electronically through the Superintendent’s Data Collection Approvals (SDCA) application in SSWS. Please see the instructions in the Foster Care application in SSWS for additional information.

The Foster Care data collection will open on July 1, 2025, and is due to VDOE no later than July 31, 2025.  

If you have any questions concerning this data collection, please contact the budget office staff at (804) 225-2025 or DOEBUDGETOFFICE@doe.virginia.gov.

Division superintendents are required to certify that insurance providing the required coverage for all vehicles to be used in transporting school children and school personnel has been obtained during the period of July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. Pursuant to Section 22.1-191, Code of Virginia, such insurance shall be secured, certified, and submitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction on or before August 15, 2025.  

Compliance with these requirements is mandatory before any state school funds can be distributed (see Sections 22.1-190, 191 and 197, Code of Virginia). The Virginia Department of Education urges you to initiate the procurement process in time to finalize the necessary insurance contract by the end of July 2025. Please ensure that the contract contains the coverage required for all days that schools are operated during the entire 2025-2026 school year.  

Insurance certification instructions can be found at: Pupil Transportation Data Collection

 Section 22.1-70.3, Code of Virginia, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to annually survey all local school divisions to identify critical shortages of school bus drivers by geographic area and by individual school division.  

This data will be used to identify school divisions or geographic areas with critical shortages of school bus drivers, thus permitting any school bus driver hired by a local school board in any area or division in which a critical shortage of school bus drivers has been identified to elect to continue to receive a service retirement allowance during such employment if the driver meets certain other conditions.   

Additional Virginia Retirement System (VRS) school bus driver critical shortage guidelines can be found at: VRS K-12 Critical Shortage Positions. 

A survey form to meet this requirement will be emailed to school division transportation directors which must be completed and returned to VDOE by August 15, 2025.  

The Virginia Department of Education is excited to welcome Sara Bennett as the new State Director of the Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs. 

Bennett brings extensive experience in administering Child Nutrition Programs at the state, local, and national levels. She has served in three state agencies in Colorado and Virginia, cultivating expertise in program policies and regulations, training development and implementation, grant management, technical assistance, and program compliance with state and federal regulations. As the Assistant Director for Alexandria City Public Schools’ School Nutrition Services, Bennett supported the Division’s efforts to elevate student meals through scratch cooking, kitchen modernization, and workforce development, including staffing and training. Most recently with the Child Nutrition Programs at USDA’s National Office, she led numerous training and technical assistance projects—most notably championing stronger local school food systems and partnerships through her leadership on the Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative’s School Food System Transformation Challenge Grants.  

Bennett earned a Master of Science in Human Nutrition from Colorado State University, is a Registered Dietitian, and holds the School Nutrition Specialist (SNS) credential. Under Bennett’s leadership, VDOE-SCNP will remain committed to advancing child nutrition in the Commonwealth. 

Article:2025-24-332
Audience: Superintendents, Public School Divisions
Contact: Crystal Crutchfield, SNS, VDOE-SCNP Operations Coordinator, Crystal.Crutchfield@doe.virginia.gov

Public school divisions may apply for Breakfast after the Bell (BaB) funding, beginning June 30, 2025. School nutrition program administrators (as designated in SNPWeb) will receive an email with the link to the Qualtrics BaB application from noreply@qemailserver.com on June 30, 2025. Applications are due by July 24, 2025, at midnight. School divisions will be notified of the approved schools in mid-August. 

About BaB 

BaB is the state incentive program that supports a per-meal reimbursement for breakfasts served using an alternative service model, such as grab and go, second chance, and breakfast in the classroom. BaB is available to public school divisions participating in SBP. Awarded schools will be reimbursed at the following rates per breakfast served until the allocated state funds ($1.074 million/fiscal year) are expended: 

• Elementary schools: $0.05 per breakfast served 
• Middle schools: $0.10 per breakfast served 
• High schools: $0.10 per breakfast served 

Required BaB Application Documents 

SFAs applying for BaB funding must complete two documents before beginning the online application, as they will be uploaded into the application: 

• The BaB Application School Information Table (SCNP (Dir.) Memo #2024-2025-92, Attachment A) 
• The BaB Certification Statement (SCNP (Dir.) Memo #2024-2025-92, Attachment B) 
• Requires signatures from the division superintendent and the SNP director 

Review SCNP (Dir.) Memo #2024-2025-92 for more information on BaB, the application process, and how applications are scored.  

This is the same information in SCNP (Dir.) Memo #2024-2025-90. 

SFAs may review the following USDA memos that were released on June 2, 2025: 

• SP 14-2025, Offer versus Serve Flexibilities for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program 
• SP 15-2025, Enhancing Child Nutrition Program Meal Standards 

Visit the Virginia Department of Education, Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs’ webpage to learn more about how Virginia supports Child Nutrition Program sponsors.