News & Updates for Parents

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The Office of Parental Engagement is committed to providing families across the Commonwealth with information about educational opportunities, the latest resources, and updates from the VDOE.

AP/IB/Cambridge Exam Fee Reduction Program

Is your child planning to take an Advanced Placement, International
Baccalaureate, or Cambridge course this year? You may be eligible for a reduced fee.

Please see this flyer for more information.

2025 Special Education Parent Involvement Survey

Each school year, the Virginia Department of Education is required to report to the United States Department of Education the “percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities.” All families of children who receive special education services through Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) in Virginia’s public schools are asked to complete this short survey.

When completing this survey, you will answer questions designed to cause you to reflect upon your experiences during the past school year. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Dr. Chiquita Seaborne, VDOE Family Engagement Specialist/Special Projects Coordinator, via telephone, at (804) 418-4672, or via email, at Chiquita.Seaborne@doe.virginia.gov.

To take the survey, please visit https://t.co/JEAfXCftUy.

Note: A Spanish translation is available on the survey.

School Performance & Support Framework Resource Hub

Virginia’s new accountability system, the School Performance and Support Framework, builds trust among schools, parents, and communities through transparent, easy-to-understand reporting on a school’s performance. The Framework shows how students are mastering grade level content, whether each student is growing, and how the school is preparing students for their next phase of their education. Parents are a child’s first teacher and the most important partners in a child’s success in school and life. The Virginia Department of Education has gathered a collection of resources to help parents with important aspects of supporting their child’s learning from home in math, reading, and science.

Virginia Launches Online VQB5 Portal to Help Families Learn about Early Childhood Options

Virginia Quality Birth to Five (VQB5) is a nation-leading statewide quality measurement and improvement system providing information about child care, family child care, Head Start, and preschool. VQB5, created by state law in 2020, includes all public and private programs that use public funds to serve children from birth to age five.

The VQB5 portal includes information on all publicly-funded sites and any non-publicly-funded sites who opt-in. It enables families to:

Easily find out whether a site has chosen a quality curriculum and access links to health and safety inspections.

View sites’ quality rating and performance information.

Review up-to-date data and information. The VQB5 portal will be updated annually and shared publicly each fall.

Easily search for a site or program by program name, address, city, or zip code.

Check out this page to learn more.

All In Lexia Parent and Family Sessions

Lexia

Lexia^® has partnered with families and the Virginia Department of Education to help fulfill the state’s ALL In Tutoring priority! Lexia has announces they are now offering information sessions specifically designed for Virginia families. In these sessions, you can expect to learn how Lexia will accelerate your child’s literacy growth and how you can be ALL in with at-home strategies to support your learner!

Register for an upcoming session by creating an account. View the calendar for all upcoming sessions.

For more Lexia Family resources, please visit the Lexia Help Center.

School Safety Resources

Executive Directive 6: Student Safety Resources Considerations for Schools and Families: VDOE published safety resources designed to promote the safety of Virginia’s religious and ethnic communities and help combat incidents of antisemitism, anti-religious bigotry, and ethnic-based violence.

Level Up Virginia: Postsecondary Readiness

Level Up Virginia is a statewide initiative led by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the VDOE to increase postsecondary readiness, enrollment, and completion for all students in the Commonwealth. The Level Up Virginia website provides information on various educational options, including certificate programs, apprenticeships, the military, trade schools, two-year and four-year colleges, and universities. It also offers guidance on how to prepare, apply, finance, and decide on postsecondary pathways. The website now features Spanish and Arabic translations to assist students and families.

Special Populations

Parents and families of students with disabilities receiving services through an individualized education program may not be aware of available services and eligibility of students for various waiver programs in Virginia designed to provide resources to support students and their families.

The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services administers the three available developmental disabilities waivers jointly with the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. There is a waiting list for these waivers, and the slots are assigned based on urgency of need. Additional information regarding waivers is available on the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services website.

Families can apply for a waiver by contacting their local Community Services Board (CSB) or by visiting the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards website to locate the CSB in their community.