Last month, the Virginia Board of Education unanimously approved the release of three school divisions from their formal performance improvement agreements, known as Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), recognizing the significant progress they have made to strengthen teaching, learning, and student outcomes.  

Danville City Public Schools, Greensville County Public Schools, and Prince Edward County Public Schools successfully met the criteria to conclude state-level oversight, reflecting years of dedicated work to improve academic achievement, expand student supports, and enhance the quality of education for every learner.  

With the Board's 8-0 vote, more than 9,400 students across these three divisions are no longer under MOU status—a milestone worth celebrating. We are excited for these students, educators, families, and school communities and look forward to continuing our partnership as they build on this success in a new chapter. Congratulations to Danville City, Greensville County, and Prince Edward County on this achievement!  

The 2026 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card, marked a significant national milestone, with nearly 600,000 students nationwide participating between January 26 and March 20. In Virginia, students from 73 school divisions and 204 schools contributed to this effort by testing in grades 4 and 8 reading and mathematics, as well as grade 8 civics and U.S. history. 

The 2026 NAEP assessment included two major updates: (1) revised mathematics and reading frameworks and (2) expanded use of school-issued devices for testing. These changes reflect NAEP's continued alignment with current educational standards and modern testing environments. Given these changes, NAEP will conduct additional analysis to ensure any differences in student performance reflect what students know and can do—not shifts caused by updated frameworks or testing devices. 

NAEP 2026 reading and mathematics results are expected to be released in early 2027, with grade 8 U.S. history and civics results anticipated in summer 2027. 

VDOE extends special appreciation to our Division Directors of Testing, Division Technology Administrators, and school leaders and educators across Virginia whose collaboration made the 2026 assessment possible. 

Chapter 1, 2026 Acts of Assembly, Special Session I, provides state funds for the costs of prior year (Fiscal Year (FY) 2026) local operations and the local share of the FY 2027 (Summer 2026) Remedial Summer School program, as determined by VDOE, for certain children placed in foster care.  A detailed description of state funding requirements for Education of Children in Foster Care and instructions for completing the Foster Care data collection are provided in the Foster Care application in the Single Sign-on for Web Systems (SSWS) portal. Also provided in SSWS are the provisions from the appropriation act, the Code of Virginia, and Board of Education regulations pertaining to the education of children in foster care. 

Please note that all school divisions must complete the Foster Care Data Collection through the SSWS portal even if your division is not requesting reimbursement.  Once a division has successfully completed the Foster Care certification in SSWS, the division superintendent or designee will certify it electronically through the Superintendent’s Data Collection Approvals (SDCA) application in SSWS. Please see the instructions in the Foster Care application in SSWS for additional information.   

The Foster Care data collection will open on July 10, 2026, and is due to VDOE no later than July 31, 2026. 

If you have any questions concerning this data collection, please contact the budget office staff at (804) 225-2025 or doebudgetoffice@doe.virginia.gov. 

VDOE is seeking applicants for the Superintendent's Investigative Panel. The purpose of the panel is to review applications for licensure and petitions for revocation or suspension of a license and make recommendations to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. This panel requires expertise, specific qualifications, and geographic representation (VDOE regions), and meets in-person five to eight times per year at VDOE offices in Richmond. Members of the panel do not receive compensation for their service but may be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with state travel guidelines. 

Interested individuals are invited to submit an application for the Superintendent's Investigative Panel and have their immediate supervisor complete a confidential reference. Applications without a reference will not be considered. Applications are due by August 5, and references are due by August 12. 

 Virginia law (Section 22.1-70.3, Code of Virginia) requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to annually survey local school divisions to identify critical shortages of school bus drivers by division and geographic area.  

The results help determine where critical shortages exist and may allow eligible retired school bus drivers in those areas to continue receiving their Virginia Retirement System (VRS) retirement benefits while employed.  

Additional information is available from the Virginia Retirement System on critical shortage positions: Critical Shortage Positions | Virginia Retirement System. 

A survey was emailed to school division transportation directors on June 30 and must be completed and returned to VDOE by August 14. 

From July 13 through July 24, all sites that participated in VQB5 during the 2025-2026 year will have the opportunity to preview their quality profiles prior to results being posted publicly this fall. Data verification provides sites with the final opportunity to verify information, review rating results, and request corrections. At the conclusion of the data verification process, VDOE will review changes to quality profiles as necessary before finalizing and sharing publicly in the fall of 2026.   

Site administrators should review the information below to prepare for data verification.   

• Data Verification Resource Guide/Spanish   
• VQB5 Quality Ratings User Guide  

The final number of allocated VPI slots for the 2026-2027 school year is now available online. This allocation reflects all requests for expansions and enhancements, including redistribution of slots, expansion slots, 3-year-old slots, and community provider slots.  Note that slots for 4-year-olds and 3-year-olds are funded and awarded separately and cannot be exchanged for each other after August 7, 2026.         

As a reminder, Virginia Preschool Initiative programs are funded based on student enrollment on October 1, 2026, as reported in the fall 2026 Student Record Collection (SRC) based on available funding. Prorated funding for slots filled for the first time between October 2, 2026, and December 31, 2026, may also be available pending available funding.