Final reminder for divisions to submit the 2026 Diploma Seal Order Form by March 27. Only one order per division will be accepted. Use remaining seals before ordering, note the replacement of the Advanced Mathematics & Technology Seal with the STEM Seal, and report all seals awarded in the Student Record Collection. Please ensure your division’s order is submitted before the deadline. 

For questions, please contact Theresita Martinez, Office Manager, Division of Student Outcomes and School Quality, by email at Theresita.Martinez@doe.virginia.gov. 

The 2026-2027 list of Career and Technical Education (CTE) Board of Education approved Industry Certifications, Occupational Competency Assessments, and Professional Licenses and Exam Codes are available on the CTE Industry Credentialing webpage. This update includes the complete 2025-2026 list of credentials, along with technical edits made to align with the Virginia Office of Education Economics (VOEE) High Demand Occupations. 

If you have questions, please contact the Office of Career and Technical Education, by email at cte@doe.virginia.gov.  

Federal regulations require the VDOE to ensure all school divisions in Virginia comply with federal and state special education regulations on the funds provided to local educational agencies under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IDEA Part B funds may be used only to pay for the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.  

The VDOE utilizes the Special Education Excess Cost (Speced-Excess) web-based application, accessed through VDOE’s Single Sign-on for Web Systems (SSWS) portal, for school divisions to report excess cost calculations for the 2024-2025 school year. The collection window for submission will open March 16, 2026, and will close May 8, 2026. All LEAs are encouraged to submit the data by the close date to avoid delay in the approval of their Annual Plans. Late submissions or inaccurate reporting will affect the school division’s Local Determination Accountability Matrix and may prompt a fiscal monitoring review by the VDOE.  

The Excess Cost Calculation Guidelines and Procedures Manual provides guidance and information for submitting the worksheet and the division superintendent’s or their designee’s access to the Superintendent Data Collection Approvals Application in SSWS for approval and certification of the Verification Reports. Refer to the Excess Cost Information Document for additional information. An email will be sent to directors of special education with links to the pre-recorded training and two question-and-answer sessions. This information should be shared with the school division’s fiscal staff.  

The McKinney-Vento Act (Title IX, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act) authorizes the VDOE to award grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to facilitate the enrollment, attendance, and success in school of children and youth experiencing homelessness. The Project HOPE-Virginia Office of the State Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth conducts this process. Programs will be approved for the three-year grant period; however, funds will be allocated on a yearly basis, contingent upon performance, evaluation, and continued funding at the federal level. 

Federal funding for Virginia in 2026-2029 is anticipated to be approximately $2,000,000, allowing subgrant awards ranging from $15,000 to $100,000 per year for 30 to 35 school divisions. Multi-division/regional proposals are encouraged. Only one proposal is necessary for the three-year grant period. These competitive grants will be awarded based on documented need and quality of the proposed program. 

To compete for funds, LEAs must return a completed application proposal using the McKinney-Vento Subgrant Proposal Template. Directions for completion can be found in the 2026-2029 McKinney-Vento Subgrant Proposal Process. Completed proposals must be submitted electronically no later than 5 p.m. on June 30, 2026. 

An optional webinar for completing the application will be held on March 23, 2026, at 11 a.m. The link for the webinar will be emailed to all McKinney-Vento liaisons, and the webinar will be recorded for those unable to attend.    

The revised 2025 Title III, Part A, English Learner (EL) and Immigrant Youth (IY) reallocations for each school division receiving over $10,000 are now available. The revised 2025 Title III English Learner reallocation for statewide consortium divisions receiving under $10,000 and Additional Required Special Terms and Conditions for Grant Awards or Cooperative Agreements are also available on the VDOE Title III, Part A, website. 

The reallocation of EL and IY Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 allocations differ from the original FY 2025 allocations released in Virginia Education Update Article #2025-33-478. The IY allocations are final and were revised in accordance with the procedures provided in Superintendent’s Memorandum #179-17.  

Title III, Part A coordinators can submit an application amendment based on the revised FY 2025 allocation through the Online Management of Education Grants Award (OMEGA) application in the VDOE’s Sing Sign-On Web Systems (SSWS).   

2025 Title III Statewide Consortium members can submit an application amendment based on the revised FY 2025 allocation through the Title III Statewide Consortium inbox (t3statewideconsortium@doe.virginia.gov).   

A reminder that 2025-2026 funds must be fully encumbered by September 30, 2027, and reimbursed on by November 15, 2027.  *Title III Statewide Consortium reimbursements are due to Virginia Tech no later than September 30, 2027. 

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is seeking nominations for qualified individuals to apply to serve on a Kindergarten-Grade 5 English Language Arts Core Program Standards Alignment Committee to review core literacy programs for alignment to the 2024 English Standards of Learning.  These review committees will also serve as a professional learning opportunity to support educators reviewing materials for alignment to the 2024 English Standards of Learning. Educators who serve in schools whose data from the School Performance and Support Framework indicate an identification of Needs Intensive Support, or are Off-Track, along with schools that have a federal designation for English, are strongly encouraged to apply but applications are open to all educators.   

Nominees should be teachers, principals, administrators, content specialists, reading specialists, or other educators who have expertise with the content area and current standards. Individuals who wish to serve must apply using the Kindergarten-Grade 5 English Language Arts Core Program Standards Alignment Committee application available in ICAPS by Wednesday, March 25, 2026. The application can be accessed through this ICAPS application link. 

Committee members will be selected on the basis of expertise, experience, and balanced regional representation and notified by Monday, April 13, 2026. Committee members will be asked to participate in virtual meetings and trainings starting May 2026.  Additional details regarding training and timeline information will be made available to committee members once committees have been selected and established.  

Kindergarten – Grade 5 English Language Arts Core Program Standards Alignment Review Committee Expectations:  

• Attend virtual trainings on the review process in May 2026. 
• Work independently and collaboratively to review core literacy programs for alignment to the 2024 English Standards of Learning. 
• Kindergarten – Grade 5 English Language Arts Core Program Standards Alignment Review Cycle: May – mid-July 2026. 

The VDOE would like to remind division superintendents, leaders and school principals of the Reading Specialist microcredential opportunity. This was established by the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) to help school divisions fill Reading Specialist positions to support students and teachers with VLA implementation. The Standards of Quality require one reading specialist for each 550 students in kindergarten through grade five and one reading specialist for each 1,100 students in grades six through eight. Course completers will qualify for a five-year provisional reading specialist license that can help divisions fill reading specialist vacancies until full licensure can be obtained by individuals.  

Teachers interested in enrolling in the Reading Specialist Microcredential Course must complete the preregistration form. Divisions should work with educators interested in becoming a reading specialist to sign-up for the reading microcredential course and to enroll in a reading specialist degree program through a university. The microcredential and provisional endorsement are not renewable beyond the five-year license. 

The VDOE Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs encourages schools to promote the Summer EBT Program (SEBT), known as SUN Bucks, to households. SEBT is a USDA program that provides households $120 per school-aged eligible child to purchase food like fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, dairy, and meat at grocery stores, farmers' markets, and other SNAP-accepting vendors. The Virginia SUN Bucks website has the eligibility guidelines and the Virginia SUN Bucks application with instructions for households that did not automatically qualify to complete and submit to the Virginia Department of Social Services. 

Review SCNP (Dir.) Memo #2025-2026-31 for the criteria used to determine if students are automatically eligible for SUN Bucks. 

LEA Responsibilities 

• Webinar: SNP administrators and LEA SIS/SRC data stewards should attend the Summer EBT 2026 Data Collection and Program Requirements webinar on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, from 2-3:30 p.m. to learn more about the required data and how to submit it. Attendees must register in advance of the webinar.  
• SEBT data file:  
  • The VDOE has updated its process for the SEBT data collection. 
    • The division SIS/SRC data steward is responsible for creating and submitting the data file to VDOE through the Single Sign-on for Web Systems 
      • See SCNP (Dir.) Memo #2025-2026-31, Attachment A for the SEBT data file layout 
    • The SNP administrator is responsible for providing the list of eligible students with eligibility type to the data steward to determine which students are eligible to be included in the file to receive SEBT 
    • The Superintendent, SIS/SRC data steward, and the SNP administrator must validate the data file before it is submitted 
• Review SCNP Director’s Memo 2025-2026-31 for more information. 

The VDOE Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs is ready to kick-off SUN Meals 2026 by sharing information on upcoming training opportunities and application timelines. SUN Meals are also known as the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO). 

SFSP sponsoring organizations must register for and attend one of the Here Comes the SUN: SUN Meals State Agency Trainings, hosted by VDOE-SCNP on either March 26, 2026, 2-4 p.m. or April 9, 2026, 2-4 p.m. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training. This training is not required for SFAs operating SSO. 

The fiscal year 2025-2026 SFSP and SSO application packets will open in SNPWeb on April 1, 2026, for sponsors operating a SUN Meals program. Sponsors may not start the application process before this date, as the system is currently undergoing updates to reflect rural non-congregate meal service operations. The deadline to submit the FY 2025-26 application for sponsors operating rural non-congregate feeding is May 1, 2026. The deadline to submit the FY 2025-26 application for sponsors operating only congregate feeding is 30 days prior to the operation start date.  

Refer to VDOE-SCNP Director’s Memo 2025-2026-30 for additional information, including timelines to submit advance requests. 

This is the same information in SCNP (Dir.) Memo #2025-2026-32) 

The USDA announced the SFSP reimbursement rates for the calendar year 2026. The rates address changes in the Consumer Price Index, as required under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and are effective January 1-December 31, 2026. 

Calendar Year 2026 SFSP Reimbursement Rates 

For More Information 

For more information, please contact your assigned SNP regional specialist, CNP regional specialist, or the SNP policy mailbox via email at SNPPolicy@doe.virginia.gov. 

(This article is the same information as SCNP (Dir.) Memo #2025-2026-29) 

On January 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and USDA released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 (Guidelines). Every five years, HHS and USDA are mandated to reassess and reissue the Guidelines, which provide nutritional and dietary information and guidelines for the general public and the federal nutrition programs, including SNAP, WIC, and Child Nutrition Programs. The release of the new Guidelines does not immediately impact Child Nutrition Programs requirements. USDA strongly encourages child nutrition program operators to familiarize themselves with the key recommendations and consider how these Guidelines can be incorporated into program meals and snacks to promote healthy outcomes and healthy families. 

USDA is developing a proposed rule to update the Child Nutrition Programs nutrition standards and meal requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations to align with the Guidelines. The rulemaking process is a multi-year effort and involves a public comment process.  

The USDA and VDOE-SCNP will provide additional guidance and information during this process.  

For More Information 

SFAs and sponsors may review USDA memo SP02-2026, CACFP 01-2026, SFSP 01-2026, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 – Eat Real Food. For more information, contact your assigned SNP regional specialist, CNP regional specialist, or the SNP policy mailbox at SNPPolicy@doe.virginia.gov. 

The VDOE will host a webinar for all Early Childhood Care and Education stakeholders about the proposed updates to the 2026-2027 VQB5 Guidelines on Monday, March 23 at noon. This webinar will be recorded.      

• Webinar: VQB5 Update on 2026-2027 Proposed Guidelines   
• Date: March 23 at Noon    
• Register