FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 6, 2025
Contact: Communications@doe.virginia.gov
Todd.reid@doe.virginia.gov
RICHMOND, VA - Completing the final step for full implementation of Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework, the United States Department of Education has approved the Virginia Department of Education’s amendments to Virginia’s consolidated State plan under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). With the Biden Administration’s final approval of the Virginia State Board of Education’s accountability reforms, the School Performance and Support Framework regulatory process is now complete.
“We are pleased that this final agreement from the Biden Administration brings certainty to Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework,” said President of the Virginia State Board of Education Grace Turner Creasey. “The federal approval of the meaningful accountability reforms we have implemented means the new Framework is fully in place and affirms our commitment to high expectations, transparency, and prioritizing resources to those students and schools most in need.
“We are especially grateful that that Biden Administration’s approval recognizes that changing the Framework mid-school year would have been especially disruptive to schools and students,” continued Creasey. “Having received this final federal approval, Virginia educators and families know the expectations set for their public schools and students remain in place and they can continue to work towards those goals without worry of the planning and preparations they have already completed being disregarded.”
Last year, following nearly a year of public hearings held across the Commonwealth, including 30 engagements bringing together more than 1,000 participants to discuss the proposed Framework, as well as multiple rounds of public review of the Framework and additional public comment periods, the Virginia Board of Education implemented the School Performance and Support Framework for Virginia schools. The Framework’s new accountability measures give parents, school leaders, and communities greater awareness of their schools’ performance through enhanced transparency and clear indicators on schools’ academic performance, as well as ensure VDOE works closely with school divisions and school principals on targeted support designed to address individual school’s specific improvement needs.
Previously, Virginia operated under two different programs for school accountability. These unaligned programs—one state and one federal—created a disconnect on expectations for schools and students, presented parents and communities a muddled picture on a school’s performance, as well as forced school divisions to manage their school performance measures under two separate criteria. Under the School Performance and Support Framework, the State Board of Education has aligned Virginia’s state and federal accountability programs to create one set of clear and straightforward expectations for schools while eliminating the redundancy of school leaders having to manage under two disjointed programs. The Biden Administration’s approval of the Framework completes that transition to one aligned state and federal system.
Since the implementation of the Framework last year, VDOE has worked closely with school divisions and educators, providing trainings, sharing best practices, and publishing resources and plans to help educators and parents aid in their students’ success.
In November 2024, Governor Glenn Youngkin launched the Road to Readiness School Performance and Support Framework Resource Hub, a comprehensive online support center providing parents, students, educators, and communities with first-time access to preliminary data on school performance and information on the support mechanisms available to enhance student and school performance. Resources are continually added to the Hub to help assist parents and educators as they prepare their students for academic success.
In fall of 2025, results will be published for the 2024-25 school year, and parents, schools, and communities will gain deeper insight as to where their schools are seeing success, as well as the areas of focus needed for improvement of their school as well as schools throughout the Commonwealth.
