Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with principals from across the Commonwealth, first at the William & Mary SURN Leadership Conference and then at the 98th Annual Virginia Middle & High School Principals Conference and Exposition.

At both events, I had the opportunity to share insights from our listening tour, discuss the priorities guiding our work as a department, and celebrate some of Virginia’s most outstanding school leaders.

While recognizing exceptional principals is always a highlight, one of the most rewarding aspects of these conferences is hearing directly from educators serving communities of every size and setting. These conversations are invaluable as they help ensure that our work at the state level remains connected to the experiences of students and educators in our schools, while providing important insight into the challenges, opportunities, and questions facing divisions across Virginia.

A special thank you to all the principals throughout the Commonwealth. Your leadership and commitment to student success make a difference every day. I am grateful for all that you do and for the impact you have on the lives of Virginia’s students.

The 2026 General Assembly passed more than 130 bills related to early childhood care and education and k-12 education in Virginia.  

You will find the list of bills, associated requirements, resources and points of contact for bills passed in 2026, organized by topic, in the 2026 Annual Legislative Report. An additional appendix is included at the end of the report detailing a list of bills passed during the 2025 General Assembly session for reference. While bill summaries are provided, we encourage you to use the links provided to review the actual text of the legislation. You may also find more information on activity from the 2026 General Assembly session on VDOE’s education legislation webpage.  

VDOE has received the estimated state allocations under the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) for school year 2026-2027. The grant award period is from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027; all funds must be expended or obligated by June 30, 2027. Reimbursement and budget transfer requests for Perkins funds must be submitted through the VDOE Single Sign-on for Web Systems (SSWS) portal using the Online Management of Education Grant Awards (OMEGA) application no later than September 30, 2027. All expenditures must be consistent with the approved Perkins local plan and budget for school year 2026-2027.  

The Perkins V allocation for 2026-2027 is distributed to the school divisions in two allocations, approximately 46 percent will be available on July 1, 2026, and the remaining allocation amount, approximately 54 percent, will be available on October 1, 2026.  

The following federal regulations impact the calculation of the school division allocations divisions:  

VDOE’s Office of Innovation, Digital Learning Unit is launching a statewide project to strengthen instruction and support for English Learner (EL) students and their families. Beginning in July, educators will collaborate to create an instructional crosswalk that aligns the WIDA English Language Development Standards with the Digital Learning Integration (DLI) Standards of Learning (SOL) and other SOL content areas. This work will produce practical vocabulary resources, instructional supports, and crosswalk tools that help teachers enhance academic language, digital literacy, and content learning for EL students. 

Submit the application before July 10.  

• Who Should Apply: K-12 educators ready to collaborate virtually in grade‑band teams made up of EL, Instructional Technology Resource Teachers (ITRT), special education, and general education educators.
• Project Timeline: July 2026 through March 2027 with structured tasks and virtual collaboration.
• What You’ll Do: Selected consultants will receive compensation for participating in professional learning, completing project tasks, and contributing to virtual team meetings that develop instructional supports and aligned resources. 

VDOE’s Fine Arts program invites school divisions to identify fine arts educators to participate in the 2026 Fine Arts Teacher Leadership Program. This new initiative aims to build leadership capacity among dance, music, theatre, and visual arts teachers and prepare them to support division-level professional learning and curriculum development. 

Divisions may nominate one educator per discipline. Selected teachers will engage in a series of five required virtual meetings. Participants must also attend one in-person session on either October 7 (Region 1), October 14 (Region 7), or October 21 (Region 5), from 9a.m.-2p.m.  

Division leaders should plan for selected educators to take on leadership responsibilities related to fine arts professional learning and curriculum work during summer 2027 and/or the 2027-2028 school year. Before submitting names, divisions should notify each educator of their nomination for the program and verify availability. 

Submission information (teacher and division contact details) must be provided on the 2026 VDOE Fine Arts Leadership Program Educator Identification Form by July 17. Each division should submit the form once all educators have been confirmed. 

Division teams are invited to join VDOE for a statewide, in-person literacy network session on August 4 at the Hotel Roanoke from 9a.m.-4p.m. 

Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grantees should send teams of representatives based on division size and the number of grants awarded. Teams should include division literacy leaders, school leaders, reading specialists, and other literacy educators. Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI), and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) schools are encouraged to send similar teams. Non-grantee divisions that are not federally identified should consider sending representatives who can share information and support implementation across schools and divisions. All divisions should use local data and identified needs to determine participation. 

The convening will feature sessions focused on strengthening literacy implementation, highlighting schools and divisions demonstrating successful outcomes, and providing opportunities for collaboration and networking. Topics will include implementation of the Literacy Walkthrough Tool, literacy planning through Professional Learning Communities, and family literacy engagement strategies. 

Divisions can use CLSD grant funds, if available, for travel expenses, or consider state, local, or federal grant funding according to local travel policies. 

To receive details on how to register teams for the convening, divisions must first complete this Interest Form using a valid school email address. Once the form is submitted, registrants will receive access to the official registration form and additional event information.  

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