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 #2025-36 | Update for October 27, 2025
Latest Federal Updates:
This Week's To-Dos:
This Week's Articles:
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Latest Federal Updates
Virginia State of Emergency Issued
Article: 2025-36-548
Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a State of Emergency on October 23 to provide emergency hunger relief for Virginians during the federal shutdown. The Commonwealth will provide food benefits until the clean continuing resolution is passed, and the Federal government is reopened.
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Federal Funds Update
Article: 2025-36-547
Federal funds are being delivered as expected daily and there has been no disruption or cuts to the reimbursements to the Virginia Department of Education. This is true for several different funding sources across various federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Agriculture. This continued support has allowed the Department to maintain its planned programs, staffing, and services for students without interruption. Department leadership remain in close communication with federal contacts and will keep the Virginia Board of Education and stakeholders informed of any changes.
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Highlights
News from Across the Commonwealth
Va. cuts early childhood sites 'needing support' in half; instruction improvements ongoing • Virginia Mercury - Virginia’s list of early childhood centers rated as “needing support” has been cut in half from 51 to 25 over back-to-back school years, with instruction identified as the most common aspect requiring improvement. The state education department identified the data to determine how it can improve and support Virginia’s early childhood care centers and family day homes, as families continue to seek high-quality sites.
Virginia Department of Education invests $12 million in grant funding for 433 schools across 99 divisions for the 2025-2026 school year. This latest round of school security funding brings the total enhanced security infrastructure investments to $60 million since Governor Glenn Youngkin took office in FY2022, with 1,132 public schools benefiting across the Commonwealth.
Juniors from the Mass Communications Specialty Center at Manchester High in Chesterfield County Schools recently visited the Robertson School of Communication at Virginia Commonwealth University. They toured the broadcast studio and practiced interviewing by engaging with VCU students. |
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York County Public Schools, throughout the week of Yorktown Day, invited guest readers to visit the classrooms to engage students in learning about the events, places, and people of the Revolutionary era. The students learned about freedom, democracy, the Constitution, and the civic principles that helped shape our nation. |
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5 Things to Know from Last Week's Board of Education Meeting
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📆 EXTENSION ISSUED: The Board extended the window after requests from families to have more time to provide input on the implementation plan for Virginia's higher student proficiency levels. The Board received an overview from the recent Technical Advisory Council meeting and recap of the roadshow on proficiency implement plan to date. Additional listening sessions will be scheduled over the next two weeks and the online form to submit feedback will remain open until November 6, 2025. Meeting dates and times and the online form to provide input on the implementation plan can be found on the Raising Expectations in Virginia K-12 webpage.
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🆕 REDEFINING SUPPORT: The Board received an update how the Department continues to redefine state support on strategic and sustained school improvement. Agency staff updated the Board on ways the Department will coordinate cross divisional support for school improvement and collaboration with school leaders, monies available for support, and outlined upcoming support sessions. Learn more here!
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CONGRATULATIONS 🎉 to the 500 providers who made Honor Roll on the new VQB5 profiles. Chief Conway and team provided the Board with an update and map of where excellence is underway in every region - and learning model type - in the Commonwealth. If you have not yet scoped out the profiles of early childhood providers in your area - don’t miss out.
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TALENT PIPELINE NEEDS: 2️⃣5️⃣ New Endorsement Programs from 9 Virginia institutions of higher education were approved by the Board for divisions to establish partnerships and collaborations. From engineering and advanced sciences to multiple special education pathways, these new programs will help support PreK-12 talent pipeline needs of the field. Learn more here.
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FIRST REVIEW: The Board received Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) intervention instructional program guides and supplemental instructional program guides - including the first public school division program, Chesapeake Public School’s Morphology supplemental program for grades 6-8 - on first review. 🔜 Final review will occur on November 13 at the next business meeting.
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Phones in Focus Survey
Be Part of National Research on Student Cell Phone Use
Article: 2025-36-546
Researcher Dr. Angela Duckworth (author of "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance") invites you to keep the momentum going in the national study examining school cell phone policies and their effects on student learning and well-being. Why join? Virginia is leading the way with these efforts and wants to increase our participation from last year’s survey. Thousands of your fellow educators have already contributed their insights, including many of you right here in the Commonwealth! Your perspective will directly shape smarter, evidence-based policies and best practices for classrooms nationwide.
Quick Facts: -Just 5 minutes of your time -Completely confidential -No cost to participate -Instant snapshot of current results at end of survey
Make your voice heard today! Go to: www.phonesinfocus.org
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Instruction Implementation, Support & Evaluation
School-Based Instructional Leadership and Administration in Special Education Conference – December 9-10
Article: 2025-36-543 Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Assistant Principals Contact: Dr. Samantha Marsh Hollins, Deputy Superintendent of Special Education and Specialized Populations, Samantha.Hollins@doe.virginia.gov; Dr. Zenia Burnett, Director of Special Education Instructional Services, Zenia.Burnett@doe.virginia.gov
The Department will roll out tiered supports for local school divisions to help implement high-quality instruction for students with disabilities. These supports will align with the School Performance and Support Framework and focus on instructional practices to support specially designed instruction in inclusive settings. Educational leaders have a critical role in developing and supporting inclusive schools to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Instructional leadership and administration are essential to creating high-quality teaching and learning environments. General and special education teachers contribute to this by implementing evidence-based practices that enhance student achievement. Students with disabilities require specially designed instruction, delivered in their least restrictive environment, to access the general curriculum and prepare for successful coursework, graduation, and meaningful postsecondary outcomes.
Annual Civic Summit Deadline to Register Approaching – November 7
Article: 2025-36-542 Audience: Directors, School Principals, Teachers Contact: Christonya Brown, History and Social Science Coordinator, Christonya.Brown@doe.virginia.gov
In partnership with the Virginia Commission on Civic Education, the Virginia Department of Education is proud to announce the 2025 Annual Teacher Summit on Civic Education. The Summit will be held on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at the John Marshall Center at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond, Virginia, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The purpose of the Commission on Civic Education includes educating students on the importance of citizen involvement in a representative democracy, the promotion of the study of state and local government among the commonwealth's citizenry, and the enhancement of communication and collaboration among organizations in the commonwealth that conduct civics education programs.
The deadline to register is Friday, November 7, 2025. Lunch will be provided, and parking is free. Interested educators teaching civics and government are encouraged to attend and can use this form to register for the event. Space is limited.
WIDA Webinars: Exploring WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten and WIDA ACCESS Online for Test Administrators – Register by November 7
Article: 2025-36-541 Audience: LIEP Teachers, Title III Coordinators, Division Directors of Testing Contact: Jo-el Cox, Coordinator of Multilingual Learner Instruction, jo-el.cox@doe.virginia.gov
In partnership with World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA), the Virginia Department of Education will offer four webinars designed for individuals who administer the WIDA suite of assessments, including the WIDA Accessibility and Accommodations (WIDA ACCESS). WIDA ACCESS is the collective name for WIDA's suite of summative English language proficiency assessments. WIDA ACCESS is given annually to English learners in kindergarten through grade 12 in WIDA Consortium member states to monitor students' progress in learning academic English.
Webinar 1: Exploring WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten November 19, 2025, 3-4:30 p.m.
This supplemental, virtually facilitated workshop is designed to explore some of the features of the assessment and support preparation for administration. By engaging in this supplemental assessment workshop, participants will be able to explain assessment design and purpose, analyze rubrics and expect boxes for scoring, and create a plan for a positive testing experience.
Webinar 2: WIDA ACCESS Online for Test Administrators December 3, 2025, 10-11:30 a.m.
This virtually facilitated offering is an overview that highlights features of WIDA ACCESS Online requirements and resources for training and identifies the responsibilities of a test administrator. This is not a replacement for the WIDA ACCESS Online test administrator training.
Webinar 3: Understanding WIDA Alternate ACCESS Score Reports April 15, 2026, 3-4:30 p.m.
Identifies the components of the WIDA Alternate ACCESS score reports and how to interpret information they contain.
Webinar 4: WIDA ACCESS Score Reports for Instruction April 22, 2026, 3-4:30 p.m.
Provides an overview of WIDA ACCESS score reports for educators.
Interested educators must register by no later than November 7, 2025.
Supporting Fine Arts Coursework and Pathways Webinar – November 10
Article: 2025-36-539 Audience: Directors, School Principals/Assistant Principals, Division Leaders of Fine Arts Curriculum and Instruction, School Counselors Contact: Kelly Bisogno, Coordinator of Fine Arts, Kelly.Bisogno@doe.virginia.gov; Sarah Bazemore, Behavioral Health and Instructional Supports Coordinator, Sarah.Bazemore@doe.virginia.gov
School counselors, fine arts curriculum leaders, principals and assistant principals are invited to join the Virginia Department of Education for a webinar on Supporting Fine Arts Coursework and Pathways. The session will provide practical strategies and best practices to help students balance their schedules while sustaining participation in music, art, theatre, or dance fine arts programs. Participants will explore ways to align scheduling practices with student interests and graduation needs, learn strategies to sustain enrollment through intentional pathways, and share and hear best practices.
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School Finance
School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP FY25.2) Award
Article: 2025-36-545 Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Facilities Directors Contact: A.K. (Vijay) Ramnarain, Director Office of Support Services, Vijay.Ramnarain@doe.virginia.gov
The General Assembly and Governor Youngkin created the School Construction Assistance Program. An additional $170 million in funding was appropriated for the program in FY 2025. SCAP FY25.2 Grants will be awarded by the Virginia Board of Education on a competitive basis to local school boards and regional Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that demonstrate poor building conditions, commitment, and need to fund the construction, expansion, or modernization of public school buildings. The Virginia Board of Education recently updated the Board's guidelines to support more innovative and flexible spaces so you won’t want to miss the upcoming informational webinars. The Board will award $170 million of the total $250 million in available funding this fall grant award cycle.
School divisions or regional CTE programs (with alignment to the VOEE high-demand occupation list and evidence of analysis with regional workforce and higher-education strategies) requesting funding may apply for up to three school projects during the open application period. Individual capital projects of a minimum $500,000 cost are eligible for grant awards. Capital projects for similar work at more than one school are eligible for funding with the project cost minimum set at $1.0 million.
Application for funding must be submitted in SSWS no later than Monday November 24, 2025. School divisions applying for a new school project in the planning or in the document preparation phase that have not yet obtained a VDOE school project number must complete a Planned School Form to be identified as an eligible school project in SSWS.
VDOE will host SCAP FY25.2 informational webinars on Tuesday, October 28, Noon- 1:00 p.m. and Friday, October 31, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. A webinar link will be emailed to all school divisions.
STEM Event Grant Webinar and Application
Article: 2025-36-544 Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers Contact: Dr. Anne Petersen, Director of STEM, Anne.Petersen@doe.virginia.gov
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is pleased to announce the 2025-2026 STEM Event Grant. This one-time grant provides funds to Virginia school divisions to conduct STEM Events which cultivate student, educator, parent, and community awareness of STEM academic and career opportunities, while also supporting STEM Competitions.
This grant is made possible by a federal appropriation specifically allocated to Virginia to advance STEM Education in the Commonwealth. The STEM Event Grant aligns with the Virginia Performance and Support Framework, ensuring students are exposed to high-demand STEM careers and academic pathways in Virginia. Furthermore, the grant facilitates opportunities for students to engage in concrete exploratory activities, utilizing the iterative engineering design process.
Applicants are encouraged to register for the 2025-2026 STEM Event Grant Information Session on October 29, 2025, 3-4 p.m. Information concerning the STEM Event Grant can be found on the STEM website. During this time, Department staff will review the application requirements and provide information for successful application submissions. Applications are due November 14, 2025, 5:00 p.m.
VDOE seeking Public Comment: VDOE 1003 Tydings Waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education of Section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act
Article: 2025-36-538 Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Public Stakeholders Contact: Dr. April Kiser-Edwards, School Quality Coordinator, April.kiser-edwards@doe.virginia.gov
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is requesting a Tydings waiver for FY2022 Title I, Part A 1003 funding of the ESEA (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Education Agencies), to carry out section 1003 school improvement.
This request to extend the obligation period is submitted pursuant to section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA). This permits the VDOE under the criteria it develops, to expend the remaining FY2022 awarded balances related to this waiver request.
The VDOE is seeking public comment to provide notice to the public of the intention to submit a waiver that would extend 1003 Funding (as indicated above) to allow Local Education Agencies (LEAs) with unexpended funds to fully reimburse on these funds and this will provide the SEA additional time to use state set aside funds to provide supplemental support to divisions and maximize student performance in the Commonwealth.
This information is requested to be shared with members within the education community and local boards of education.
Revised Final 2024-2025 Title I, Part C, Allocations under Provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as Amended
Article: 2025-36-536 Audience: Superintendents, Directors, Title I, Part C, Federal Program Coordinators Contact: Sarah Gallagher, Title I, Part C Specialist, Sarah.Gallagher@doe.virginia.gov
The revised final FY24 Title I, Part C allocations are a result of the U.S. Department of Education (USED) not using the full $10,000,000 reserve for coordination activities. USED determined it needed $8,737,755 of the $10,000,000 initially reserved.
Title I, Part C coordinators must submit an application amendment based on the revised final FY24 allocation through the Online Management of Education Grants Award (OMEGA) application in the Virginia Department of Education’s Single Sign-On Web Systems (SSWS).
Revised 2024-2025 Title II, Part A, Allocations under Provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as Amended
Article: 2025-36-535 Audience: Superintendents, Directors, Title II Division Coordinators Contact: Dr. Randall Johnson, Title II Coordinator,Randall.Johnson@doe.virginia.gov
Section 8601 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) authorizes the Department of Education (USED) to reserve up to 0.5 percent of funds from some ESEA programs, including Title II, Part A, for evaluation. The final allocations provided in June 2024 were based on reserving $1,067,699 for evaluation. USED has determined that it needed $656,646 from the $1,067,699 initially reserved under ESEA section 8601 for evaluation.
This change increases the total amount of FY 2024 Title II, Part A funds available to SEAs. Consequently, USED issued supplemental FY 2024 Title II, Part A grant awards to reflect the revised final FY 2024 allocations.
Title II, Part A coordinators should submit an application amendment based on the revised FY 2024 allocation through the Online Management of Education Grants Award (OMEGA) application in the Virginia Department of Education’s Single Sign-On Web Systems (SSWS).
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Behavioral Health & Student Safety
2025-2026 Federal Program Monitoring Schedule for Title IX, Part A, the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program (McKinney-Vento)
Article: 2025-36-537 Audience: Superintendents Contact: Patricia A. Popp, State Coordinator, pxpopp@wm.edu; or Laura Hackett, Assistant State Coordinator, lihack@wm.edu; Joseph Wharff, Director of Behavioral Health and Student Safety, Joseph.Wharff@doe.virginia.gov
Certain school divisions will receive federal program monitoring of Title IX, Part A, the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program (McKinney-Vento), during the 2025-2026 school year. Access the McKinney-Vento Monitoring Schedule for school divisions scheduled to receive monitoring in the spring of 2026.
To prepare for monitoring, Project HOPE-Virginia has scheduled a webinar on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 10 a.m. The webinar will be recorded for those unable to participate at that time. Additional resources are posted to the Project HOPE-Virginia Federal Program Monitoring webpage.
Directions for the webinar and the monitoring protocol will be sent directly to all McKinney-Vento liaisons in school divisions scheduled for monitoring. If you are not the liaison or not being monitored and would like to receive this information, contact Patricia Popp at pxpopp@wm.edu.
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Early Childhood
Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) Reporting Requirements for Fiscal Year 2025 – due November 7
Article: 2025-36-540 Audience: Superintendents, School Principals, VPI Coordinators, ECSE Coordinators Contact: Tiffanie Meehling, Associate Director of PreK Programs, Tiffanie.Meehling@doe.virginia.gov
Divisions participating in the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) will be reporting program and budget data for school year 2025-2026 through the Fall Verification Report, which is due on November 7, 2025. Please take time to thoroughly review this memo (PDF) before submitting your division’s VPI Fall Verification Report via the Single Sign-On for Web Systems (SSWS) portal.
Through a focus on advancing effective interactions and instruction, VPI programs help ensure all Virginia children enter school fully prepared for success. The VPI Guidelines (PDF) describe all programmatic requirements for VPI, and are available on the VDOE website.
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