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Nearly 85% of Virginia schools fully accredited this year, a decrease from last year
Fewer schools met the state’s standards to be considered fully accredited based on 2023-24 data compared to the previous year, according to the Virginia Department of Education. A total of 84.5 % of schools in 2023-24 were fully accredited, compared to 89% in 2022-23. On the flip side, no school was denied accreditation, leading the […]
Va. school board to pay $575K to fired teacher who refused to use transgender student’s pronouns
The West Point School Board agreed to pay Peter Vlaming, a former high school French teacher, $575,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees after he declined to refer to a transgender student by his requested pronouns. The agreement came several months after the Virginia Supreme Court reinstated Vlaming’s case, which the King William Circuit Court dismissed. […]
Northern Virginia’s 10th Congressional District race pits Clancy against Subramanyam
State Sen. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Loudoun, and Republican nominee Mike Clancy are vying to represent Virginia’s 10th Congressional District and succeed Democratic U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton, who is retiring after being diagnosed with a severe neurological disorder. Subramanyam opposes Project 2025 — a proposed conservative plan to change how the federal government operates — and said […]
Northern Virginia counselors challenge Virginia’s ban on conversion therapy
Two counselors from Northern Virginia, backed by lawyers with the conservative group The Family Foundation, are seeking to overturn the commonwealth’s ban on conversion therapy, a practice that attempts to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. On Thursday, the Founding Freedoms Law Center, the legal division of the Family Foundation, announced it filed a […]
Virginia weighs in as Metro area task force considers solutions to support region’s transit network
More than 80% of people surveyed in the National Capital Region said they “support more and better transit services, even if it requires higher investment by the region,” according to a survey conducted by two advisory groups associated with a regional task group’s effort to create a new funding plan for the Washington Metropolitan Area […]
In Va., electric vehicle infrastructure development is underway. Incentives could spur growth.
This is part three of a five-part series about Virginia’s transition to electric vehicles that examines the government’s role in the process, the private industry’s status, the development of charging infrastructure in the state, EVs’ impact on the electric grid, and how the commonwealth’s workforce may be influenced by the growing industry. Searching for a […]
Senate hearing over campus protests to Israel-Hamas war draws criticism from Republicans
A Senate committee meeting in Richmond focused on investigating the wave of Israel-Hamas war protests at several Virginia colleges and universities turned intense on Tuesday, as public testimonies extended beyond the scope of the events last spring and some Republican lawmakers accused the committee of excluding law enforcement officials from the dialogue. Republicans on the […]
Virginia Department of Education releases final cellphone-free school guidelines
The Virginia Department of Education announced on Tuesday that it has published its final cellphone-free education guidelines. Two months ago, the governor directed the department to develop them to limit students’ time using “addictive” cellphones in schools and eliminate “clear distractions” in the classroom. Va. plans to create cell phone-free education guidelines. Developing them will […]
Va. lawmakers prepare to overhaul decades-old school funding formula
Virginia lawmakers are carefully examining the state’s 52-year-old funding formula, which determines the funding level for public schools. During its first meeting in Richmond on Monday, a small subcommittee of lawmakers faced the reality that the transformation could take a while, with members of the public in attendance and watching online. Lawmakers said they hope […]
Virginia businesses weigh benefits of electrification as leaders review policies
This is part two of a five-part series about Virginia’s transition to electric vehicles that examines the government’s role in the process, the private industry’s status, the development of charging infrastructure in the state, EVs’ impact on the electric grid, and how the commonwealth’s workforce may be influenced by the growing industry. Amid the commonwealth’s […]
Virginia’s teacher vacancy rate shows slight improvement ahead of annual report
Statewide, the teacher vacancy rate was down to 3.4% at the start of the school year after hovering at 4.7% in July, according to data provided by the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Licensure during an advisory meeting on Monday. Virginia’s teacher vacancy rate was 3.9% last October. The agency’s annual vacancy report, which […]
Virginia’s future concerning vehicle electrification is bright, but costs are a challenge
This is part two of a five-part series about Virginia’s transition to electric vehicles that examines the government’s role in the process, the private industry’s status, the development of charging infrastructure in the state, EVs’ impact on the electric grid, and how the commonwealth’s workforce may be influenced by the growing industry. In one sense, […]