#2025-36 | Update for October 27, 2025

The Virginia Department of Education, in collaboration with its state-funded partners and James Madison University, will host a two-day conference on December 9-10, 2025, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for principals and assistant principals in the Commonwealth's public schools. Priority registration will be given to school-based administrators who lead federally identified schools (Comprehensive Support and Improvement, Targeted Support and Improvement, or Additional Targeted Support and Improvement) with continuous improvement needs in special education.  

The Department will roll out tiered supports for local school divisions to help implement high-quality instruction for students with disabilities. These supports will align with the School Performance and Support Framework and focus on instructional practices to support specially designed instruction in inclusive settings. Educational leaders have a critical role in developing and supporting inclusive schools to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Instructional leadership and administration are essential to creating high-quality teaching and learning environments. General and special education teachers contribute to this by implementing evidence-based practices that enhance student achievement. Students with disabilities require specially designed instruction, delivered in their least restrictive environment, to access the general curriculum and prepare for successful coursework, graduation, and meaningful postsecondary outcomes.

School principals and assistant principals are encouraged to attend to maximize their leadership roles as driversof inclusive and high-achieving schools. The School-Based Instructional Leadership and Administration in Special Education Conference Registration closes Friday, November 7, 2025, at 4 p.m., or until the event reaches capacity limits.

In partnership with the Virginia Commission on Civic Education,the Virginia Department of Education is proud to announce the 2025 Annual Teacher Summit on Civic Education. The Summit will be held onTuesday, November 18, 2025, at the John Marshall Center at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond, Virginia, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

The purpose of the Commission on Civic Education includes educating students on the importance of citizen involvement in a representative democracy, the promotion of the study of state and local government among the commonwealth's citizenry, and the enhancement of communication and collaboration among organizations in the commonwealth that conduct civics education programs.

The deadline to register is Friday, November 7, 2025. Lunch will be provided, and parking is free. Interested educators teaching civics and government are encouraged to attend and can use this form to register for the event. Space is limited.

Visit the History and Social Science | Virginia Department of Education webpage for helpful resources for civic and government instruction. All registered participants will receive a confirmation email the week of November 10, 2025.

In partnership with World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA), the Virginia Department of Education will offer four webinars designed for individuals who administer the WIDA suite of assessments, including the WIDA Accessibility and Accommodations (WIDA ACCESS). WIDA ACCESSis the collective name for WIDA's suite of summative English language proficiency assessments. WIDA ACCESS is given annually to English learners in kindergarten through grade 12 in WIDA Consortium member states to monitor students' progress in learning academic English.

Webinar1: Exploring WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten
November 19, 2025, 3-4:30 p.m.

This supplemental, virtually facilitatedworkshopisdesigned to explore some of the features of the assessmentand support preparation for administration. By engaging in this supplemental assessment workshop, participants will be able toexplain assessment design and purpose, analyze rubricsand expect boxes for scoring, and create a plan for a positive testing experience.

Webinar2: WIDA ACCESS Online for Test Administrators
December 3, 2025, 10-11:30 a.m.

This virtually facilitatedoffering is an overview that highlights features of WIDA ACCESS Online requirements and resources for training and identifiesthe responsibilities of a test administrator. This is not a replacement for the WIDA ACCESS Online test administrator training.

Webinar 3: Understanding WIDA Alternate ACCESS Score Reports
April 15, 2026, 3-4:30 p.m.

Identifies the components of the WIDA Alternate ACCESS score reports and how to interpret information they contain.

Webinar 4: WIDA ACCESS Score Reports for Instruction
April 22, 2026, 3-4:30 p.m.

Provides an overview of WIDA ACCESS score reports for educators.

Interested educators must registerby no later than November 7, 2025.

School counselors, fine arts curriculum leaders, principals and assistant principals are invited to join the Virginia Department of Education for a webinar on Supporting Fine Arts Coursework and Pathways. The session will provide practical strategies and best practices to help students balance their schedules while sustaining participation in music, art, theatre, or dance fine arts programs. Participants will explore ways to align scheduling practices with student interests and graduation needs, learn strategies to sustain enrollment through intentional pathways, and share and hear best practices.

The webinar will take place on Monday, November 10, 2025, from 9-10 a.m. Registration is requiredin advance.

The General Assembly and Governor Youngkin created the School Construction Assistance Program. An additional $170 million in funding was appropriated for the program in FY 2025. SCAP FY25.2 Grants will be awarded by the Virginia Board of Education on a competitive basis to local school boards and regional Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that demonstrate poor building conditions, commitment, and need to fund the construction, expansion, or modernization of public school buildings. The Virginia Board of Education recently updated the Board's guidelines to support more innovative and flexible spaces so you won't want to miss the upcoming informational webinars. The Board will award $170 million of the total $250 million in available funding this fall grant award cycle.

School divisions or regional CTE programs (with alignment to the VOEE high-demand occupation list and evidence of analysis with regional workforce and higher-education strategies) requesting funding may apply for up to three school projectsduring the open application period. Individual capital projects of a minimum $500,000 cost are eligible for grant awards. Capital projects for similar work at more than one school are eligible for funding with the project cost minimum set at $1.0 million.

As directed by the Board, school projects achieving the qualifying score of 65 points will be eligible for funding based on updated Amended Guidelines for Implementing the school Construction Assistance Program in the 2024-2026 Biennium.

Application for funding must be submitted in SSWS no later than Monday November 24, 2025.School divisions applying for a new school project in the planning or in the document preparation phase that have not yet obtained a VDOE school project number must complete a Planned School Form to be identified as an eligible school project in SSWS.  

VDOE will host SCAP FY25.2 informational webinars on Tuesday, October 28, Noon- 1:00 p.m. and Friday, October 31, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. A webinar link will be emailed to all school divisions.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is pleased to announce the 2025-2026 STEM Event Grant. This one-time grant provides funds to Virginia school divisions to conduct STEM Events which cultivate student, educator, parent, and community awareness of STEM academic and career opportunities, while also supporting STEM Competitions.

This grant is made possible by a federal appropriation specifically allocated to Virginia to advance STEM Education in the Commonwealth. The STEM Event Grant aligns with the Virginia Performance and Support Framework, ensuring students are exposed to high-demand STEM careers and academic pathways in Virginia. Furthermore, the grant facilitates opportunities for students to engage in concrete exploratory activities, utilizing the iterative engineering design process.

Applicants are encouraged to registerfor the 2025-2026 STEM Event Grant Information Session on October 29, 2025, 3-4 p.m. Information concerning the STEM Event Grant can be found on the STEM website. During this time, Department staff will review the application requirements and provide information for successful application submissions. Applications are due November 14, 2025, 5:00 p.m.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is requesting a Tydings waiver for FY2022 Title I, Part A 1003 funding of the ESEA (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Education Agencies), to carry out section 1003 school improvement.

This request to extend the obligation period is submitted pursuant to section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act(GEPA). This permits the VDOE under the criteria it develops, to expend the remaining FY2022 awarded balances related to this waiver request.  

The VDOE is seeking public comment to provide notice to the public of the intention to submit a waiver that would extend 1003 Funding (as indicated above) to allow Local Education Agencies (LEAs) with unexpended funds to fully reimburse on these funds and this will provide the SEA additional time to use state set aside funds to provide supplemental support to divisions and maximize student performance in the Commonwealth.  

Public comment on this waiver is open. Any individual or organization may submit written comments on the proposed waiver available on the VDOE Every Student Succeeds Act | Virginia Department of Educationwebpage. Written comments must be submitted to [email protected] by November 21, 2025.   

This information is requested to be shared with members within the education community and local boards of education. 

The Revised Final 2024-2025 Title I, Part C, federal allocations(XLSX) for each school division or regional program that qualifies based on their enrollment of migratory students are now available on the VDOE website. Also available on the Title I, Part C webpage isthe Additional Required Special Terms and Conditions for Grant Awards or Cooperative Agreements(DOCX).

The revised final FY24 Title I, Part C allocations are a result of the U.S. Department of Education (USED) not using the full $10,000,000 reserve for coordination activities. USED determined it needed $8,737,755 of the $10,000,000 initially reserved.

Title I, Part C coordinators must submitan applicationamendment based on the revised final FY24 allocation through the Online Management of Education Grants Award (OMEGA) application in the Virginia Department of Education's Single Sign-On Web Systems (SSWS).

The revised 2024-2025Title II, Part A federal allocations(XLSX) for each school division and the Additional Required Special Terms and Conditions for Grant Awards(DOCX) and Cooperative Agreements(DOCX) are now available on the VDOE Title II, Part A website.

Section 8601 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) authorizes the Department of Education (USED) to reserve up to 0.5 percent of funds from some ESEA programs, including Title II, Part A, for evaluation. The final allocations provided in June 2024 were based on reserving $1,067,699 for evaluation. USED has determinedthat it needed $656,646 from the $1,067,699 initially reserved under ESEA section 8601 for evaluation.

This change increases the total amount of FY 2024 Title II, Part A funds available to SEAs. Consequently, USED issuedsupplemental FY 2024 Title II, Part A grant awards to reflect the revised final FY 2024 allocations.

Title II, Part A coordinators should submitan application amendment based on the revised FY 2024 allocation through the Online Management of Education Grants Award (OMEGA) application in the Virginia Department of Education's Single Sign-On Web Systems (SSWS).

Certain school divisions will receive federal program monitoring of Title IX, Part A, the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program (McKinney-Vento), during the 2025-2026 school year. Access the McKinney-Vento Monitoring Schedulefor school divisions scheduled to receive monitoring in the spring of 2026.

To prepare for monitoring, Project HOPE-Virginia has scheduled a webinar on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 10 a.m.The webinar will be recorded for those unable to participate at that time. Additional resources are posted to the Project HOPE-Virginia Federal Program Monitoringwebpage.  

Directions for the webinar and the monitoring protocol will be sent directly to all McKinney-Vento liaisons in school divisions scheduled for monitoring. If you are not the liaison or not being monitored and would like to receive this information, contact Patricia Popp at [email protected]. 

Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) Reporting Requirements for Fiscal Year 2025 - due November 7

Divisions participatingin the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) will be reporting program and budget data for school year 2025-2026 through the Fall Verification Report, which is due on November 7, 2025. Please take time to thoroughly review this memo(PDF) before submittingyour division's VPI Fall Verification Report via the Single Sign-On for Web Systems(SSWS) portal.  

Through a focus on advancing effective interactions and instruction, VPI programs help ensure all Virginia children enter school fully prepared for success. The VPI Guidelines(PDF) describe all programmatic requirements for VPI, and are available on the VDOE website.