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Superintendent's Message
Earlier this month, I was proud to join the launch of the Virginia Business–K-12 Partnership at Hermitage High School — the start of an exciting new collaboration between Virginia’s business community and our schools.
This partnership is rooted in a reality our schools know well: Virginia students are amazingly talented, but too many still face barriers to opportunity. Closing that gap is critical for our students, our workforce, and the future of the Commonwealth.
Throughout our listening tour, we saw firsthand the incredible momentum already happening across Virginia, from innovative career and technical education (CTE) centers to high school academy models that are preparing students for success in meaningful, real-world ways. This partnership will help build on and accelerate that work.
At the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), we are committed to ensuring every student graduates ready for what comes next. Stronger connections between education and industry will help expand opportunity, meet workforce needs, and open more doors for students across the Commonwealth. Onward!
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Highlights
News from Across the Commonwealth
Kindergartners in Virginia Beach City Public Schools are building strong reading foundations and entering first grade with growing confidence and improved literacy skills, thanks to consistent, science-based reading instruction in the classroom.
Teachers and assistants continue to participate in ongoing professional development, including this year’s targeted literacy training provided by VDOE.
Read more: VBCPS kindergarten readers are ready for first grade – The Core
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Fifth graders at Rich Acres Elementary in Henry County Public Schools recently put their creativity and problem-solving skills to work in the library through a fun collaboration with A World In Motion (AWIM)! The students worked in small groups to design and build homemade pinball machines complete with targets and point systems. They then tested their creations to see if they could successfully hit their targets and score points.
What a great hands-on learning experience that combined teamwork, engineering, creativity, and fun!
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Virginia Board of Education
Summary of the April 2026 Meetings of the Board of Education
Article: 2026-19-238
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Child Care Center Operators, Teachers, Non-teaching staff
Contact: Jim Chapman, Director of Board Relations, jim.chapman@doe.virginia.gov
VDOE will now provide short summaries of actions taken and discussion had by the Board of Education at their meetings. Moving forward, these will be posted online and included in the VDOE Newsletter the week after the Board meets.
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School Finance
Final FY 2026 Direct Aid Entitlements
Article: 2026-19-237
Audience: Superintendents, School Finance Staff
Contact: Ed Lanza, Director of Budget, Edward.lanza@doe.virginia.gov
Pursuant to Chapter 7, 2026 Act of Assembly (i.e. 2026 Appropriation Act), school divisions were required to report average daily membership (ADM) as of March 31, 2026, to the VDOE. The data reported by divisions were used to recalculate all ADM-based state payments for FY 2026. School divisions will receive their full ADM-based general fund and Lottery state payments, pursuant to available funds, for fiscal year 2026 with no changes other than the routine adjustments that are made to the Basic Aid payment for some divisions each year as described later in this memorandum.
The information in this article contains the final state funding due to school divisions (as of the date of this memorandum) in FY 2026 for ADM-based accounts. Also, where available, final payments are shown for other Direct Aid to Public Education accounts that are not calculated based on ADM. Payments for some accounts that require school divisions to submit reimbursements have not been finalized for the year so the payment amounts shown are estimates only.
The Excel file referenced in this memorandum shows state payments, required local effort for the SOQ accounts, and required local matches for Incentive and Lottery-funded accounts calculated based on actual March 31, 2026, ADM. The accounts affected by actual March 31, 2026, ADM appear in the Excel file in bold font. Please note that, unlike previous Excel calculation files for FY 2026 provided by VDOE, this file does not offer an option to change ADM for FY 2026 since ADM is now final. The Excel file can be downloaded from the Virginia Department of Education website.
If you have any questions concerning the information in this memorandum, please contact Budget Office staff at (804) 225-2025 or by email at doebudgetoffice@doe.virginia.gov.
Title I, Part A, Carryover Provisions and Reallocation Procedures under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as Amended
Article: 2026-19-236
Audience: Superintendents, Division Finance Officers, Title I, Part A Coordinators
Contact: Tiffany Frierson, Title I Coordinator, Tiffany.Frierson@doe.virginia.gov
Section 1127 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, allows school divisions to carry over up to 15 percent of their Title I, Part A, allocation for any federal fiscal year. School divisions must certify that they have encumbered 85 percent of each award year’s Title I allocation by September 30 of the following year. Section 1126(c) of the ESEA requires states to develop procedures for the reallocation of Title I funds that have not been encumbered by September 30th. These procedures can be found on the Title I, Part A webpage. Virginia is now an Ed Flex State and school divisions can apply annually to carryover more than 15% of Title I funding. School divisions that receive less than $50,000 are excluded from the carryover limitation.
Divisions who have more than 15% of their grant funds remaining will receive an email prompting them to either certify that they have encumbered 85 percent of their FY2025 funds or apply for Ed Flex Waiver 1. Preliminary information about Ed Flex Waiver 1 was shared during the Ed Flex Webinar on April 9, 2026. The Certification of Obligation and Ed Flex Waiver 1 will require a superintendent’s signature. Additionally, Ed Flex Waiver 1 will require public comment. Directions for submission of the Certification of Obligation and the Ed Flex Waiver process will be provided by email in October to eligible school divisions. The Certification of Obligation and Ed Flex Waiver 1 will be due on November 4.
Preliminary IDEA Funding Allocations for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2026
Article: 2026-19-235
Audience: Superintendents, Division Finance and Special Education Staff
Contact: Shalonda Lewis, Special Education Financial Data Specialist, Shalonda.Lewis@doe.virginia.gov, (804) 774-4279 or Tracie L. Coleman, Director of Special Education Finance and Budget, Tracie.Coleman@doe.virginia.gov, (804) 750-8652
VDOE recently received preliminary Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding allocations for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2026 from the United States Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs as well as minor updates to policy guidance from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
Virginia’s IDEA Part B Section 611 flow-through grant award increased by $1,593,022 (0.53% increase) from FFY 2025 to FFY 2026. The IDEA Part B Section 619 flow-through grant award increased by $278,669 (3.70% increase) from FFY 2025 to FFY 2026. This information may not reflect the final FFY 2026 IDEA funding allocations.
The VDOE will release the final allocations after the final FFY 2026 grant award notification is received from the USED. The Preliminary Section 611 Flow-Through Subgrant Awards Allocation and the Preliminary Section 619 Preschool Subgrant Awards Allocation documents will be sent via email by Dr. Samantha Marsh Hollins, Deputy Superintendent of Special Education and Specialized Populations.
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Instruction Implementation,
Support & Evaluation
Summer 2026 Professional Learning Webinars for Fine Arts Educators
Article: 2026-19-239
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers
Contact: Kelly Bisogno, Coordinator of Fine Arts, kelly.bisogno@doe.virginia.gov
VDOE is hosting webinars for fine arts educators and leaders in July and August 2026. Webinar content supports new and continuing educators in planning standards-aligned instruction for the 2026-2027 school year. Webinars provide discipline-specific content and classroom examples provided by Virginia educators.
Educators and leaders who attend the live session and complete an exit survey will be sent a certificate of participation for one hour of professional learning. Certificates will not be offered by VDOE for viewing recorded sessions.
Advanced registration is required for each event. Select the event date to register and for a session description.
Information and Updates on the Release on WIDA ACCESS
Article: 2026-19-234
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers-English language Learners
Contact: Mark Jennings, Assistant Superintendent of Student Assessment and Accountability, student_assessment@doe.Virginia.gov
In the 2025-2026 school year, WIDA released updated versions of the following English language proficiency tests: WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten and WIDA ACCESS for grades 1-12. These updated tests are now based on the most current version of the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards, published in 2020. The WIDA Alternate ACCESS for K-12 students with the most significant cognitive disabilities is unaffected and was already updated in 2023-2024.
WIDA ACCESS score reports are expected to be released on time. For the 2025-2026 school year, WIDA will continue using the current proficiency levels (1.0-6.0) on Individual Student Reports (ISRs), which provide detailed information about a student’s performance on each section of ACCESS.
More information and resources on the updates to WIDA ACCESS, release of reports, suggestions on how to communicate with families, and the impact on instruction, assessment, accountability are available in this guide: WIDA ACCESS Update for May 2026.
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Early Childhood
One More Week – End of Year Action Items for VQB5
Article: 2026-19-241
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Child Care Center Operators, Teachers, Non-teaching staff
Contact: Lucy Mitzner, Early Childhood Improvement Strategy Lead, Lucy.Mitzner@doe.virginia.gov
The VQB5 spring window ends on May 31. Since May 31 falls on a weekend this year, the following action items will be accepted through June 1.
- Verify Educators’ Employment Status – Review and confirm each educator’s current employment status in LinkB5.
- Complete and Verify Spring Local Observations – Ensure that all local CLASS observation scores are entered and verified in LinkB5.
- Update Curriculum Use (optional) – Review your site’s curriculum use information in LinkB5 and update this information if needed.
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Data Collection
End of Year Student Behavior and Administrative Response Data Collection – Opens July 1
Article: 2026-19-240
Audience: Superintendents, School Principals, Data Managers
Contact: Patricia Mealy, Education Data Specialist, Patricia.Mealy@doe.virginia.gov
To satisfy required state and federal reporting, VDOE is conducting the End-of-Year Student Behavior and Administrative Response Collection (EOY SBAR) for the 2025-2026 school year.
The EOY SBAR window opens on July 1, 2026. A successful submission by each school division and non-exempted regional center is required by July 24, 2026. Superintendents and regional center directors must electronically approve the verification reports no later than August 14, 2026. For questions regarding the Student Behavior and Administrative Response Data Collection, please Contact Patricia Mealy, Education Data Specialist at Patricia.Mealy@doe.virginia.gov. Data Elements, codes, and additional specifications for completing SBAR data are located on the Student Behavior and Administrative Response Collection webpage.
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