#2025-38 Virginia Education Update November 14, 2025

Virginia Department of Education sent this bulletin at 11/14/2025 08:30 PM EST

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#2025-38 | Update for November 14, 2025

Download Superintendent's Briefing Note (To-Do & Article List)

5 Things to Know from this week's Virginia Board of Education Meetings

📢 Proficiency Implementation Update: The Board was briefed on the results of the fall listening sessions and common feedback by 5,600 Virginians to inform the implementation of the proficiency efforts. Department staff also provided an update on high school considerations. The Board’s vote affirmed that the 2025-2026 school year will be a preparation year and there will be no changes to the cut scores for the spring 2026 assessments. The Board also affirmed a multi-year phased-in approach to raise expectations and support progress towards proficiency of no less than four years.
- 🔜 After the School Performance and Support Framework results are released, the Board will review data on the impact on high school students. Staff will also present supports that have been developed and are in development for middle and high school student groups as well as an update on focus groups with parents and families that are underway about cut score messaging.
📉 K-12 Student Enrollment Trends: The Board received an update on K-12 student enrollment as of March 2025, including 10-year data trends, the latest projections by Weldon Cooper, and some solutions for divisions as they commence future planning. The Board asked for the Department to turnaround a best practices toolkit by the January 8 meeting to better assist divisions navigating enrollment declines and excess space.
🆕 2026 VOEE High Demand List: VOEE Executive Director Wendy Kang briefed the Board on the methodology for the proposed 2026 High Demand Occupations List, which will include 385 occupations. Compared to the 2024 list, 48 occupations are projected to be added statewide, 21 occupations are removed statewide, and 13 occupations qualify because of registered apprenticeship opportunities.
- 📅 The Virginia Workforce Board will review this list at its December 2025 meeting which coincides with the Virginia Board of Education meeting. Stay tuned!
ESSA Plan Updates: The Board discussed accountability system refinements to the Mastery Index, additions of History and Social Science into the School Performance and Support Framework, potential method to measure student growth, readiness enhancements with integrated reading and writing in the elementary and middle grades, and some potential advanced coursework additions in science and history 2 years from now. The Board also built off discussions from the last two years on the enlistment component of 3E Readiness, including a 1.25 point opportunity for military readiness and preliminary conversations on adding service enlistment in highly competitive and reputable service commissions and organizations such as the Peace Corps and Americorps.
- 📆 Listening and input sessions are still underway! Check out next week’s newsletter for additional ways to provide feedback.
2025 Prescriptions on the Standards of Quality: The Board reaffirmed its commitment to a student-weighted funding formula as the most important SOQ prescription ahead. This year’s list also includes modernizing the Department’s infrastructure for both student data and financial systems, adding a universal screener for gifted and advanced learners, recommendations on improving background check frequency for improved student safety, and some delineations in accreditation to address concerns on matters that are solely related to division leadership and governing board policies versus school leader-controlled components.

ICYMI: There was also a robust conversation and overview of supports for students with disabilities.

Highlights

News from Across the Commonwealth

Anna Drew was honored today by the Virginia Board of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction Emily Anne Gullickson for receiving the prestigious Milken Educator Award. The recognition highlighted her outstanding commitment to students and the transformative impact she has made in her classroom and community, with her principal and husband proudly joining her for the celebration.

In celebration of French Week, 2025 Region 3 Teacher of the Year, Beth Marshall, organized a French Café experience at Riverbend High School, Spotsylvania County, for students across all levels of her French classes. Students had the opportunity to create delicious desserts for staff while earning workplace readiness credits, class grades, and valuable real-world experience. The experience allowed them to apply their French language skills, explore French food and culture, and strengthen the 5Cs specifically collaboration and communication. Learning never tasted so delicious -bon appétit!

Salvato's Potatoes from Mechanicsville High in Hanover County Public Schools recently made a special delivery to the staff of Mechanicsville Elementary, giving Cardinals a taste of this delicious student-operated enterprise!

Salvato’s Potatoes is a school-based business where students learn job skills. Students make around 80 potatoes each time the business is open! This business helps students with skills like: time management, teamwork, organization, communication, food preparation, and safe handling of food.

VA250

VA250 Passport: 70 Leading History Attractions in Virginia Launch First-of-its-Kind Statewide Commemorative Passport in Celebration of America’s 250th

Article: 2025-38-572
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers
Contact: Christonya Brown, Coordinator of History and Social Science, Christonya.Brown@doe.virginia.gov; Brad Tuggle, Virginia Museum of History and Culture, BTuggle@VirginiaHistory.org

The Virginia Department of Education is proud to announce the Virginia 250 Passport in partnership with the VA250 Commission and supported by the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC). In 2026, the United States marks its 250th anniversary. This historic milestone—extraordinary in our lifetimes—provides the ideal moment to come together, better understand our shared past, and renew our commitment to the pursuit of A More Perfect Union.

In partnership, the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC), Colonial Williamsburg, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Virginia Tourism Corporation, and the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission created the Virginia 250 Passport.

This commemorative passport is a history travel guide, discount book, and 250th keepsake! From November 11, 2025, through December 31, 2026, participants can collect unique stamps at 70 history sites and museums across the Commonwealth, receive special pricing on admission, and enter to win prizes. Passports are available at no cost at the VMHC and select locations across the state.

Hear from Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin about the statewide launch of the Virginia 250 Passport here. Learn more at https://virginiahistory.org/250passport

Phones in Focus

Help Virginia Lead the Way: Be Part of National Research on Student Cell Phone Use!

Article: 2025-38-576

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!

Meeting Workforce Needs

Call for Proposals: Teacher Residency Programs

Article: 2025-38-573
Audience: Superintendents, Directors
Contact: Ahmad Saidi, Grant Manager-Office of Human Capital, ahmad.saidi@doe.virginia.gov

The Virginia Department of Education is pleased to call for proposals for Teacher Residency Partnerships between teacher preparation programs at institutions of higher education and hard-to-staff school divisions to help improve teacher candidate training and retention. Grants will support planning, preparing, developing, and implementing site-specific residency models.

Information about the application process and submission details can be found on the Teacher Residency Programs Call for Proposals website. Applications are due at 4 p.m. on December 12, 2025.

3E Readiness & Pathways

Free Financial Aid Help Desk

Article: 2025-38-571
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Child Care Center Operators, Teachers, Non-teaching staff
Contact: Brittany Everett, Postsecondary Access and Success Specialist, brittany.everett@doe.virginia.gov

Help is available for Virginia students and families who are filling out the recently available Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) announced a financial aid help desk and a new series of free webinars to support completion of the application.

Students can text “Hello” to 434-478-4003 and receive answers to their financial aid questions from an expert within 24 business hours. The service is available at no cost to Virginia students and is part of SCHEV’s efforts to ensure that no student leaves financial aid funding on the table.

In addition to text-based support, SCHEV has partnered with uAspire, a national non-profit focused on college affordability, to host a six-part webinar series for students and families. Each one-hour session offers guidance on the following financial aid topics:

FAFSA Completion
Financial Aid for Current College Students
Scholarship Basics and Tips
Next Steps After the FAFSA
Financial Aid Offer Review
Summer Steps for Financial Aid

Registration links and details are available on the financial aid events webpage.

School Finance

2026-2028 Composite Index of Local Ability-to-Pay

Article: 2025-38-570
Audience: Superintendents, School Finance Staff
Contact: Ed Lanza, Director of Budget, Edward.lanza@doe.virginia.gov

The Virginia Department of Education (the Department) has calculated and published the Composite Index of Local Ability-to-Pay for the 2026-2028 biennium, which will begin on July 1, 2026. Pursuant to Item 125, Paragraph A.4, Chapter 725 (2025 Virginia Acts of Assembly), the 2026-2028 composite index was calculated using 2023 base-year data provided by the Department of Taxation for Virginia adjusted gross income (AGI), taxable retail sales, and true value of real property. The estimates of local population for 2023 are provided by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, and the actual March 31, 2024, average daily membership is based on data reported by school divisions to the Virginia Department of Education.

The Department will use this composite index in calculating the state share of projected school division payments for the Governor’s introduced budget for the 2026-2028 biennium. Information regarding these projected payments will be provided to you in late December following the release of the Governor’s 2026-2028 introduced budget.

A data file and a calculation file are published on the Composite Index Website. If you have questions or need additional information concerning this data, please contact the Budget Office at (804) 225-2025 or by email at doebudgetoffice@doe.virginia.gov.

Instruction Implementation,
Support & Evaluation

Executive Order Number 55 – Presidential Fitness Testing

Article: 2025-38-569
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers, Health & Physical Education Supervisors
Contact: Jennifer Vedder, Health, Physical, Family Life, & Driver Education Coordinator jennifer.vedder@doe.virginia.gov

Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 55 (2025) on November 4, 2025, directing the Virginia Department of Education (the Department) to reestablish the Presidential Fitness Test in accordance with Executive Order 14327 of July 31, 2025. This initiative is an opportunity to reignite student engagement, strengthen school culture, and celebrate the lifelong value of movement and wellness.

Per Executive Order 55, local school divisions should adopt and implement the Presidential Fitness Test by the start of the 2026-27 school year, and the Superintendent and the Department will work with local school divisions to ensure that the Presidential Fitness Test is fully implemented by July 1, 2027, unless earlier directed by federal guidance.

Upon release of the Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition’s program and assessment guidance, the Department, in conjunction with the soon to be formed Virginia Presidential Fitness Test Task Force, shall review existing practices and materials to ensure consistency and alignment with the established statewide expectations.

We look forward to this opportunity to enhance and encourage fitness education through creating an inclusive, motivating, and data-informed pathway to overall student well-being.

As further guidance is released, updates will be made to the VDOE Physical Education Webpage.

Seeking Feedback on Performance Task and Innovative Assessment Types

Article: 2025-38-575
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers
Contact: Jason Ellis, Director of Student Assessment, Student_Assessment@doe.virginia.gov

In continuation of implementation of the recommendations from the Work Group on House Bill 585: Revisions to the Virginia Standards of Learning Summative Assessments of Proficiency and the current Work Group on Innovative Assessment, the Virginia Department of Education is seeking educator and community member feedback on performance tasks and innovative assessment item types. More information on the sessions and registration to participate is below.

Science Simulation Session: Wednesday, November 19, 2025, 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Participants will discuss a new assessment item type designed to measure student knowledge and skills using recreations of scientific real-world systems or phenomena relevant to the content. This new assessment item type is intended for potential use at Grade 5 and 8 Science, and End-of-Course Biology.

Performance Task Session: Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Participants will discuss a new assessment item type as a model to assess some of the foundational principles of Virginia’s 5 C’s: critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, communication, and citizenship. This potential new assessment item type is intended to allow students to apply knowledge and skills in situations that simulate real-world conditions.

Those interested can register for one or both sessions by Monday November 17, 2025, by completing the Performance Task and Innovative Assessment Item Type Sessions Form.

If you have questions about these sessions, please contact Virginia Department of Education student assessment staff by email at Student_Assessment@doe.virginia.gov or by telephone at (804) 225-2102.

Special Education

Speech Language Pathologist Division Leads Network Meeting (Virtual) – December 11

Article: 2025-38-574
Audience: Special Education Coordinators, Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) Division Leads
Contact: Martha Montgomery, Evaluation, Eligibility, and Related Services Specialist, Martha.Montgomery@doe.virginia.gov

The Virginia Department of Education is hosting a virtual Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) Division Leads Network Meeting on Thursday, December 11, 2025, from 3-4:30 p.m. to provide a forum to discuss relevant topics that impact SLP practices and to collaborate with colleagues in other school divisions. This meeting will include updates on legislation and guidance that impact the practice of SLPs, answers to SLP questions, and opportunities to discuss topics of interest with SLP leads from different school divisions. This meeting is limited to SLP leads or designated SLPs who can relay the information back to their division and share it with other SLPs.

Please register in advance for the SLP Division Leads Network Meeting and include any questions you would like to have answered and topics that you would like to discuss during the meeting.

VDOE Careers

The Virginia Department of Education is hiring! Access the list of our current job openings to learn more and apply for the following positions:

Learn More & Apply Here

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