INFORMATIONAL

The Department of Education and all other state agencies are mandated 
by statute (Title 2.1, chapter 35.2, Article 7, Code of Virginia) to 
prepare Year 2000 plans, perform the appropriate remediation, and 
undergo rigorous certification reviews.  Our compliance includes data 
exchange, especially the data provided to our agency by school 
divisions.  I am requesting that each school division superintendent 
review the attached Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure form, evaluate the 
school division's readiness, and return the signed form by August 15, 
1999.

In previous Superintendent's memoranda (No. 172, Informational, 
November 20, 1998, and No. 17, Informational, February 5, 1999), the 
Department of Education provided a Year 2000 Checklist and requested 
monthly submission until June, 1999, or until full Year 2000 readiness 
has been achieved.  Over the last three months, approximately 60 
percent of school divisions have been providing the monthly checklist 
or have indicated they are 100 percent in compliance.  The department 
is asking for continued submission of the checklist until December 
1999, or until 100 percent complete.  There are only six months left 
until our institutions cross over into the new millennium, and it is 
imperative, to assure the continued operation of our schools and school 
administration, that January 1, 2000 passes smoothly.

One of the essential functions provided by the Department of Education 
is the collection of data from school divisions, detailing student 
counts and expenditures, which provide needed information for 
legislative and funding requirements.  It is essential that the 
computer systems that generate data files, spreadsheets, hardcopy, or 
data for transfer to manual input forms continue to be operational and 
accurate in the Year 2000 and beyond.

For further information regarding this form, you may contact Dennis 
Weiss, Y2K coordinator, Office of MIS at (804) 225-2941 or 225-2099.

PDS/djw

Attachment:     A hard copy of this memo and its attachment will be sent
                to the superintendent's office.