Bullying prevention, most recently addressed through HB1592, now mandates each local school board to require the principal or designee of each public school to notify the parent of any student involved in an alleged bullying incident within 24 hours of learning of such allegation. This new law took effect July 1, 2023.  

HB1871, enacted by the 2013 General Assembly, required the Virginia Board of Education to develop model policies and procedures for use by each school board regarding bullying prevention in their schools. The Model Policy to Address Bullying in Virginia’s Public Schools, released October 2013, defines bullying behavior and provides strategies around prevention, intervention, reporting, investigation, and recording incidents. 

As these model policies are now 10 years old and much has changed since this time, we will begin the process of making revisions. Updates will be available this coming fall. Anyone interested in being a part of this work, sharing feedback, topics, or resources may email the Office of Specialized Student Services. This article first ran in edition #2023-02.

The Virginia Department of Education Science Instructional Team is excited to announce a professional development opportunity to support school and division administrators in the use of the VDOE Science Classroom Observation Tool (SCOT). The 90-minute, virtual, professional development will include the “look-fors” in effective science instruction, a review of the 2018 Science Standards of Learning with a focus on standards alignment, an introduction to the SCOT, and resources to use when providing teacher feedback on science classroom observations.   

The session will be offered multiple times to provide flexibility to school and division leaders as follows: 

Enrollment requirements for the 2023-2024 school year are provided on the Enrollment in Virginia Public Schools webpage. Please ensure that all appropriate school division employees are aware of this webpage and the enrollment requirements. 

New for 2023-2024: HB1929 (2023) provides flexibilities for school enrollment of school-age children who are dependents of federal employees serving under orders pursuant to Title 22 or 50 of the United States Code. Please see the Enrollment webpage for additional information. This article first ran in edition #2023-02.

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Proposed Changes to Certain Testing Requirements for Writing 

Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers, Supervisors of English/Language Arts
Contact: Dr. Sarah Susbury, Director of Student Assessment

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is sponsoring a professional development event that will allow Virginia educators to build a data literacy community using Virginia Visualization and Analytics Solution (VVAAS). The event is called VVAAS University and will be held on the SAS Corporation headquarters campus in Cary, North Carolina.  

This opportunity is ideal for division or school leadership positions involved in instructional decisions. Participants are expected to share information gleaned from the university experience back in their division. The VDOE suggests sending a participant who focuses on division data and another that focuses on instructional strategies. Divisions are allowed to register up to three participants. Limited spots are available, view the flyer for registration and additional details. This article first ran in edition #2023-02.

 

The final number of allocated VPI slots, expansions and enhancements including redistribution of slots, wait list slots, 3-year-olds, and community provider add-on slots are now available online. All requests have been approved, resulting in more children than ever before accessing quality preschool experiences through VPI. Note that slots for 4-year-olds and 3-year-olds are funded and awarded separately and cannot be exchanged for each other.   

As a reminder, VPI programs are funded based on student enrollment on October 1, 2023 as reported in the fall 2023 Student Record Collection (SRC). Prorated funding for slots filled for the first time between October 2, 2023 and December 31, 2023 may also be requested in the fall. This article first ran in edition #2023-01.

The 2023-2024 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B (Sections 611 and 619) Flow-Through federal allocations, for school divisions and state operated programs (SOPs) that qualify based on submission of an approvable 2023-2024 annual plan, are now available. The allocation for Section 619 Flow-Through funds is available as of July 1, 2023, through the reimbursement process to school divisions and SOPs that have submitted an approvable annual plan. 

The 2023-2024 IDEA Part B Flow-Through Funding document includes comprehensive details about funding allocations, reimbursement procedures, and additional required special terms and conditions for grant awards or cooperative agreements. 

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The Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia has prepared the July 1, 2022, school-age population estimates to be used to update the fiscal year (FY) 2025 sales tax revenue distribution estimates to school divisions in the Governor’s introduced 2024-2026 biennial budget. 

The July 1, 2022, school-age population estimates are open to review and inquiry until September 30, 2023, at which time they become final. School divisions and localities may inquire about a revision to their estimates provided certain criteria as established by the Weldon Cooper Center are met.  To participate in the review process, division and locality representatives should review their school-age population estimates, the methodology documents, and the Review/Inquiry Process description, available on the Weldon Cooper Center website. 

Please carefully review the proposed estimates of your school-age population and keep in mind the end of the review process on September 30, 2023, at which time the estimates become final. This article first ran in edition #2023-02.

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Reminders About Expiring Federal Funds

Audience: Superintendents, Directors, Federal Programs Coordinators
Contact: Carol Sylvester, Director of Office of Pandemic Relief Programs

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School Security Equipment Grants Program Application Available

Audience: Superintendents, Directors
Contact: Office of Support Services (email)

Call for Nominations to Board of Education Advisory Committee

Audience: All
Contact: Jim Chapman, Director of Board Relations

The Virginia Board of Education (Board) is seeking nominees for several vacancies on its advisory committees. A full list of vacancies is available on the Board’s Advisory Committee webpage. Nominations may be made by completing the Board’s Nomination Form for Advisory Committees by August 11, 2023. Self-nominations are accepted. 

Members of advisory committees do not receive compensation for their service but may be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with state travel guidelines set forth by the Department of Accounts. Some of the vacancies on advisory committees require specific categories of expertise, qualifications, or geographic representation. This article first ran in edition #2023-02.