Menu

State Budget

2025 Session

Budget Amendments - HB1600 (Member Request)

View Budget Item
View Budget Item amendments

Chief Patron: Rasoul
Revised Accountability System - Delayed Implementation and Review (language only)

Item 120 #2h

Item 120 #2h
Education: Elementary and Secondary
Department of Education, Central Office Operations

Language

Page 148, after line 56, insert:

"F. The provisions of (i) 8 VAC 20-131, Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia, as they were in effect prior to their repeal on September 25, 2024 shall remain in effect and (ii) 8 VAC 20-132, Virginia Standards of Accreditation, shall not become effective until the school year following the completion of these actions by the Department:

1. Within 30 days of the passage of this act, submission of a request to the U.S. Department of Education to revise Virginia's Consolidated State Plan pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Pub. L. No. 89-10) to reverse the plan amendment that was approved by the U.S. Department of Education in January 2025.

2. A comprehensive review of the revised public school accountability system for the purpose of ensuring that such system is designed to achieve fair, transparent, and actionable results aimed at improving student growth and learning outcomes across the Commonwealth. In conducting such comprehensive review, the Department shall:

a. Focus on (i) prioritizing enhancing measures of student growth over other performance metrics; (ii) ensuring the fair and reasonable inclusion of English language learners at various stages of English proficiency in the accountability metrics; (iii) assessing how the four school performance categories proposed pursuant to subsection E of 8VAC20-132-270 would impact any school that, under such performance categories, would be placed in the "off track" or "needs intensive support" categories; (iv) reviewing the impact of requiring the administration of additional standardized assessments at grade levels five and eight on such students and incorporating feedback from the parents of such students relating to the administration of such additional standardized assessments; (v) considering proposals for additional state resources and increased support for schools placed in the "off track" or "needs intensive support" performance categories; and (vi) developing a clear articulation of the Board of Education's theory of change detailing how the new accountability system would incentivize and drive behaviors in public schools aimed at improving student outcomes.

b. Establish a stakeholder advisory committee consisting of representatives of school boards from each superintendent's region in the Commonwealth, public school teachers, students enrolled in public schools in the Commonwealth, parents of students enrolled in public schools in the Commonwealth, education associations, and English language learner advocacy groups for the purpose of (i) conducting at least one public forum in each Superintendent's Region and (ii) at each forum, soliciting written and oral testimony from a variety of stakeholders, including representatives from school divisions that would be disproportionately impacted by the school performance score measurement indicators and associated school performance categories proposed pursuant to 8VAC20-132-270 and schools serving high proportions of economically disadvantaged, racially diverse, and rural populations.

c. Publish by April 1, 2026, a report on the review process and findings.

d. Submit to the Governor, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the House Committee on Education by April 1, 2026, a plan for revising the public school accountability system, incorporating its findings from the review required pursuant to subdivision 1 and from the stakeholder advisory committee established pursuant to subdivision 2 that shall:

i. Include a predictive model of how each public school would be placed into each school performance category proposed in such plan using current data;

ii. Include a new timeline for implementation of the revised public school accountability system providing for implementation no earlier than the 2026–2027 school year; and

iii. Propose a new or revised public school accountability system that shall (a) prioritize measures of student academic growth over absolute performance on standardized assessments; (b) ensure the inclusion of English language learners in accountability metrics aligned with the various stages of English language proficiency that are aimed at ensuring fairness and reasonableness; (c) consider the socioeconomic and other contextual or systemic factors with which schools across the Commonwealth are faced when assigning school performance scores and associated school performance categories under the revised public school accountability system; and (d) minimize the time and burden of standardized assessments on students, teachers, and other instructional personnel."

Explanation

(This amendment delays implementation of Virginia's new school accountability and accreditation system and provides that the prior accountability and accreditation system shall remain in effect until a comprehensive public review process of the new system has occurred.)

The Budget Process

Amendment Resources

Committee Resources

  • Committee Website HAC | SFAC 
  • Legislation in Committee HAC | SFAC 

Budget Resources

virginia general assembly seal