The Virginia Public School Authority closed on the issuance of $12 million in Notes to fund the 2026-2027 School Security Equipment Grant (SEGM) program on April 30, 2026.  

This grant is awarded on a competitive basis, and school divisions are eligible to receive grant awards up to $250,000. SEGM grant information is located at Security Equipment Grants | Virginia Department of Education. Grant applications must be submitted to VDOE between July 1, 2026, and August 1, 2026, using the VDOE SSWS portal.  All funded security equipment must be purchased and installed within six months of notification of the grant award or by March 1, 2027.

The Office of Support Services will host two webinars to assist school divisions with the application process, update attendees on the changes included in the List of Allowable Equipment Eligible for Funding, and provide any clarifications requested. School division staff involved in this grant implementation process are encouraged to attend. 

• School Security Equipment Grant Webinar: July 21, 1:30-2:15 p.m.
• School Security Equipment Grant Webinar: July 23, 9-9:45 a.m.

Chapter 7, 2026 General Assembly, reduced the appropriation for low-interest loans for school construction from the Literary Fund from $250 million in the 2024-2026 biennium to $78 million. This action removed all available appropriation for additional loans and eliminated the ability for VDOE to open an application window for Literary Fund loans in FY26. 

Chapter 1, 2026 Special Session I General Assembly, did not appropriate funding for Literary Fund loans in the 2026-2028 biennium. Chapter 1 appropriated Literary Fund loans for teacher retirement ($635 million in the 2026-2028 biennium) and the School Construction Assistance Program ($172 million in FY27). 

VDOE will not conduct an application window for Literary Fund loans during the 2026-2028 biennium. If funds for loans from the Literary Fund are appropriated by the General Assembly, it will be communicated to school divisions through the VDOE newsletter. 

If you have any questions concerning the Literary Fund, please contact VDOE staff at doeliteraryfund@doe.virginia.gov. 

To satisfy the training requirements of the Virginia Literacy Act, the first Virginia Literacy Partnership (VLP) Science-based literacy training enrollment period for new hires for the 2026-27 school year will be August 1-7. Local school divisions are responsible for ensuring that teachers complete this required training. Teachers are also encouraged to retain documentation of training completion for their records, particularly in the event of a change in employment. 

Information and a complete set of directions is being communicated via email to Division Literacy Plan contacts and Division Literacy Leads as identified in SSWS. Human Resources directors and literacy leaders should collaborate to determine new staffing needs. 

The VDOE Science Instruction Team will host a series of webinars this fall to support science teachers and leaders.  

Office Hours For Science Leaders  

The Science Leadership Lab is a monthly forum for school and division science leaders. Each session will feature a timely topic for discussion, with open time reserved for questions and discussion. Science Leadership Lab Sessions occur on the third Tuesday of each month beginning in August from 9-10 a.m. Registration is required in advance.  

Science Safety for Leaders 

This webinar for division science leaders will help them think about developing policies and procedures to ensure safety in science classrooms. The Science Safety for Leaders webinar is August 4 from 9-10 a.m. Registration is required in advance. 

VDOE’s Office of Innovation invites you to share your insights as we continue strengthening the Profile of a Virginia Graduate initiative. Your experiences with implementation, instruction, and evaluation are essential to helping us understand what’s working well across the Commonwealth and where additional support can make the greatest impact. 

By taking part in this statewide survey (due August 28), you’ll contribute to a clearer picture of current practices and help guide future resources, alignment efforts, and innovation that directly support divisions like yours. We appreciate your time, expertise, and commitment to Virginia’s students. 

The Office of Advanced Learning will be offering monthly office hours to provide timely support to school division leaders in topics related to gifted education, Academic Year Governor’s Schools, Summer Residential Governor’s Schools, Summer Regional Governor’s Schools, Advanced Placement (AP) programs, International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, Cambridge, and Dual Enrollment. Registration is required. Each meeting will begin at 10 a.m. and last for 45 minutes. 

After relevant updates, new resources, and collaboration to support advanced learning, the meetings will address questions from the field. Two weeks prior to each meeting, all participants will be sent a form to submit questions. Please click the dates below to register for each meeting. 

• October 6, 2026
• November 17, 2026
• December 15, 2026
• January 19, 2027
• February 23, 2027
• March 23, 2027
• April 27, 2027 

Virginia's autoenrollment law was enacted in 2025, before the Board of Education adopted higher SOL assessment cut scores that take effect in 2026-27. As a result, VDOE recognizes that, for grades 7 and 8, the upper quartile used for autoenrollment overlaps with the revised "Approaching" performance level. School divisions should review their local autoenrollment policies to ensure they provide the academic supports and individualized considerations necessary to position students for success in advanced coursework.

The 2025-26 school year accreditation reporting cycle is now open. Division superintendents and/or their designees were notified directly on July 13 with instructions for accessing and completing the report. Submissions will be accepted through August 10 when the accreditation collection window closes. Please note that this year’s submission requires a copy of the wet ink signature of the division superintendent.  

Superintendents or their designees should access the report using their division’s link included in their emailed instructions and submit all required information before the close of the collection window. Please note that the emailed link is specific to your division and must be used to access the report.  

Each year, in accordance with § 22.1-18 of the Code of Virginia, the Board of Education is required to report on the compliance of local school boards with the Standards of Quality (SOQ). The information needed to fulfill the SOQ reporting requirements is collected through the SOQ Compliance Data Collection and included as part of the Board’s annual report to the General Assembly. 

SY2025-2026 Dates for Completion: 

• July 9 – The 2025-26 SOQ Compliance application opened in the Single Sign-On for Web-based Systems (SSWS) portal.  
• By August 13 – All school divisions must complete the data submission via the SSWS portal.   
• By August 27 – The SOQ Compliance Verification Report must be printed and signed by both the local superintendent and the school board chair. After signature, scan the verification and email it to erin.madden@doe.virginia.gov.  

Background information on SOQ compliance and additional reporting resources can be found on the VDOE SOQ Compliance Data Collection webpage.    

October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate the many ways farm to school programs make an impact. Virginians are invited to celebrate through these opportunities:  

Virginia Farm to School Week: October 5-9 

Virginia farm to school stakeholders, including Child Nutrition Programs (CNP), highlight farm to school through menu items featuring Virginia Harvest of the Month crops, farm tours, poster contests, and the Crunch Heard ’Round the Commonwealth. 

Crunch Heard ’Round the Commonwealth: October 8 

During the tenth annual Crunch, Virginians will make some noise for farm to school programs by taking a bite out of fresh, Virginia-grown apples, making the celebratory “crunch.” All Virginians are encouraged to participate. Register your Crunch celebration to receive promotional materials and the digital Crunch Celebration Toolkit.  

CNPs that register before August 28 will receive one poster per participating site and stickers for participating students. Materials will be delivered to the program’s central office.  

Virginia Farm to School Storytelling Contest 

Students and school teams are invited to participate in the Virginia Farm to School Storytelling Contest by submitting entries in any format that creatively illustrates the impact farm to school programs have on schools and communities. Selected submissions will be showcased at the 2026 Virginia Farm to School and Directors Conference, where attendees will vote for the winners. The winners will be showcased during Virginia Farm to School Week. For more information, review the contest guidelines. 

Review SCNP (Dir.) Memo #2026-2027-03 to learn more.  

Per 2 CFR §200.332, as the pass-through entity, VDOE’s Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs is providing subaward information to subrecipients of USDA Food and Nutrition Administration federal financial assistance. This assistance was disbursed to school and community nutrition sponsors through claims processed in SNPWeb as well as other grant awards for the state fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.  

School food authorities and community sponsors are encouraged to review SCNP (Dir.) Memo #2026-2027-02 for the list of FNA financial assistance by federal award number, federal award title, CFDA or assistance listing number, federal award identification number, and date of award to VDOE. 

Next week is the final week for VQB5 sites 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. The VQB5 Data Verification window will close on July 24.  

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 2026-27 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.   

Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, local school boards must comply with two new parent notification requirements under the Code of Virginia.   

Pursuant to § 22.1-79.3:2, school boards must develop and implement policies to ensure that parents of middle and high school students receive timely information about course registration. Parents must be notified at least 30 days before course enrollment deadlines and informed of the process for requesting changes to their student's course selections. Notifications may be provided by email or text message. School divisions should review their course registration timelines, communication practices, and student information systems to ensure compliance.   

Effective July 1, 2026, amendments to § 22.1-79.3 enacted through Senate Bill 109 and House Bill 201 require school boards to notify parents within 30 calendar days of the first day of each school year about the safe storage of prescription medications and firearms, firearm-related accidents, and current youth firearm fatality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or another nationally recognized source. Local school boards must make this information available in multiple languages on division websites. School divisions are encouraged to utilize resources available through VDOE’s Parent and Caregiver Resources for Self-Harm, Suicide, and Violence Prevention web page to support annual parent communications and suicide prevention efforts.