COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Department of Education

April 22, 2011

TO: Division Superintendents

FROM: Patricia I. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT: Collection of Data Relative to Compliance with the Standards of Quality and Other Miscellaneous Reporting Requirements – 2010-2011 Data Collection

Each year as a part of the annual report to the General Assembly on the condition and needs of public education in Virginia, the Board of Education is required to report the level of compliance by local school boards with the requirements of the Standards of Quality (SOQ). This requirement is in response to § 22.1-18 of the Code of Virginia. The information required to prepare the majority of this report is not available to the Department of Education from other sources. The complete text of the current standards can be found on our Web site at:  http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?000+cod+TOC22010000013000020000000.

Not only does the Department collect data related to the Standards of Quality in this submission, but the Department also collects data related to other miscellaneous reporting requirements and certifications.

As was the case with the prior submissions, the Department will use the Single Sign-On for Web-based Systems (SSWS) to collect your compliance data. The Standards of Quality Compliance application will be available in SSWS beginning at noon on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

Please note that substantive changes have been made to the 2010-2011 submission. The changes include:

Section 1 – SOQ Compliance

• Data entered relative to compliance with the SOQ only is labeled as Section 1 of the submission. For section 1, a separate verification report is available with a signature page that must be signed by the division superintendent and school board chair.
• Within the SOQ section, divisions will now see the addition of language from the Appropriation Act that pertains directly to the staffing standard (Standard 2) of the SOQ. New questions are included within section 1 related to the temporary flexibility language included in Item 132 of the Appropriation Act.
• Please see Attachment A for a comprehensive listing of all the elements contained in this section.

Please note that any legislative changes to the Standards of Quality approved by the 2011 General Assembly will be included in the 2011-2012 submission. More information regarding these changes will be transmitted through another superintendent’s memorandum to be issued at a later date.

Section 2 – Other Miscellaneous Reporting Requirements

• Data entered relative to compliance with other reporting requirements that are not part of the SOQ (Nonstandards) are labeled as Section 2 of the submission. For section 2, there is also a separate verification report that must be signed by the division superintendent and school board chair. In total, this data collection will have two separate verification reports that must be submitted to the Department.
• Within Section 2 of the submission, you will be required to provide information for the following:
• Pre-Labor openings for the 2011-2012 school year.  (If this does not apply to your division, you will need to answer “Not Applicable” to the related questions.)
• Miscellaneous Certifications – This section covers issues such as teacher evaluation certifications (contained in the Code of Virginia), compulsory school attendance certifications, and a tuition certification for the 2011-2012 school year for Governor’s schools and foreign language academies. (The tuition certification is a new element that was not included in prior year submissions.)
• Certifications for the Early Reading Intervention and Algebra Readiness Initiatives for the 2011-2012 school year. (These certifications are new elements that were not included in prior year submissions.)
• Certification related to Temporary Flexibility Language in the Appropriation Act. (This certification is a new element that was not included in prior year submissions.)
• State Textbooks – School divisions will report to the Department a listing of all textbooks approved by the Virginia Board of Education that the school division has adopted in the 2010-2011 school year. (This certification is a new element that was not included in prior year submissions.)
• Local Textbooks - School divisions will report to the Department a listing of all textbooks adopted in the 2010-2011 school year that are not on the Board-approved list. Local school boards may adopt textbooks that are not on the Board-approved list provided the school board selects such books in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Board. (This certification is a new element that was not included in prior year submissions.)
  
  Superintendent’s Memorandum #305-10, dated December 10, 2010, requested that school divisions report to the Department a listing of textbooks for K-12 History and Social Sciences. For this year only, school divisions are asked to provide this same information as well as information for textbooks in other subject areas in this SSWS submission. 
• Please see Attachment B for a comprehensive listing of all the elements contained in this section.

Additional information related to entering data in the SSWS:

• Information is entered through the SSWS “SOQ Compliance” application.
• Instructions for answering questions are within the SSWS application, on the right-hand side of the screen. These instructions also provide information on all changes to the application for the 2010-2011 data collection and should be read before any information is entered. 
• In all instances, corrective action plans that may be required for issues of noncompliance with the SOQ (Section 1) are embedded in the application.
• The division’s data must be submitted via SSWS to the Department of Education no later than June 3, 2011, in the manner prescribed by the directions on the Web site.
• After the division submits its data, the application window will lock.  Superintendents needing to enter or correct data beyond that date must contact the Policy Office at policydata@doe.virginia.gov or at (804) 225-2092, to regain access to the SOQ Compliance application. After all data have been entered, the system will generate reports of your responses that you may print and keep for your records or that you may save for future reference.
• In the event that your division is unable to submit its data by the June 3, 2011 deadline, you will receive an e-mail notification asking that this data collection be completed as soon as possible.
• Only the signature page of each report must be signed by the division superintendent and chairman of the school board, and submitted to the Office of Policy no later than June 10, 2011. Please do not send entire reports to the Department. 

If you have questions regarding the 2010-2011 compliance submission, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Policy and Communications at (804) 225-2092 or by e-mail at policydata@doe.virginia.gov. We strongly encourage you to submit your signed submissions by fax to (804) 530-4502 or by e-mail to policydata@doe.virginia.gov. An original form is not required.

PIW/MMV/kfg

Attachments:

1. Simplified Listing of Requirements in the Standards of Quality (Section 1) (Word)
2. Nonstandards Report (Section 2)  (Word)