Education
Elections, blue catfish, huge trees, education: The Mercury’s most-read stories of 2024
The Mercury’s top 10 most-read stories this year reflect our readers’ interests in a range of issues that most affect them and communities across the commonwealth. Since January, over 2.7 million people have visited our site and read our stories on state politics and government, local, congressional and presidential elections, Virginia’s environment and evolving energy […]
Biden admin withdraws trans student athlete proposal as Virginia continues Title IX challenge
The U.S. Department of Education on Dec. 20 signaled it would withdraw a proposed rule that would have set a regulatory standard for how schools limit or ban transgender students from competing in sports aligned with their gender identity. As President Joe Biden’s administration backtracks its efforts to maintain some protections for transgender students due […]
FAFSA form must launch by Oct. 1 every year under new law
WASHINGTON — The form to apply for federal financial student aid must roll out by Oct. 1 annually after President Joe Biden signed a bill into law Wednesday that ensures an earlier processing cycle. Though the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, typically launches in October each year, the U.S. Department of Education legally had […]
Youngkin seeks additional $290 million boost for school construction
Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday announced that he is asking the legislature for an additional $290 million to support school construction and modernization efforts across Virginia. This latest investment would bring the total funding for the current biennium to $700 million and raise the state’s overall contribution under Youngkin’s administration to nearly $2 billion. Youngkin’s […]
Feds end special education monitoring in Virginia as advocates question post-review process
After a year-long review of the Virginia Department of Education, which failed to meet federal requirements to support students with disabilities, the federal government’s watchdog for special education programs wrote in a letter that all of its findings and required actions for VDOE are now closed, although questions by education advocates linger. Each year since […]
Legislation proposes stricter penalty for Virginia vehicle owners who let unlicensed teens drive
Lawmakers will consider a bill in January that aims to stop unlicensed minors from operating a vehicle by charging the vehicle owner with a Class 1 misdemeanor. Tammy McGee, whose son died in a 2019 car crash after an unlicensed and underage teen driver crashed the car he was in, has become an outspoken advocate […]
High school exit exams dwindle to about half a dozen states, including Virginia
Jill Norton, an education policy adviser in Massachusetts, has a teenage son with dyslexia and ADHD. Shelley Scruggs, an electrical engineer in the same state, also has a teenage son with ADHD. Both students go to the same technical high school. But this fall, Norton and Scruggs advocated on opposite sides of a Massachusetts ballot […]
Board of Education plans to advance accountability framework, despite calls for delay
The Virginia Board of Education has no plans to delay the implementation of the new accountability framework to determine if students and schools are meeting state expectations, after school board chairs from Northern Virginia, representing a third of school divisions in the commonwealth, signed a letter making that request last month. “We have to do […]
Few Va. universities have studied food insecurity among students, though 80% say it’s an issue
Most of Virginia’s public universities and colleges are aware of student food insecurity at their institutions, according to a November survey conducted by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. 80% labeled on-campus food insecurity as a “somewhat” or “very problematic” issue. The total number of college students experiencing food insecurity is unclear because […]
472 Virginia schools to receive millions in safety equipment and tools grants
Virginia is handing out $12 million worth of grants to 96 school divisions and 472 schools across 96 school divisions in the commonwealth to purchase security equipment including voice and video internal communication systems and surveillance cameras. According to a Nov. 21 announcement by the Virginia Department of Education, each school division can receive grants […]
State, federal sexual assault bills to better protect students in limbo
By Anna West/VCU Capital News Service RICHMOND, Va. — Federal and state lawmakers have introduced legislation to strengthen support for and better protect sexual assault victims on college campuses, but the progress has been stagnant. A congressional bill introduced by a Virginia senator previously died and was reintroduced, but it is still in committee. […]
Va. House lawmakers lay potential legislative groundwork in response to campus protests
House lawmakers studying how some of Virginia’s universities handle campus protests and free speech policies faced criticism Wednesday after arranging a hearing that some in attendance felt leaned heavily toward institutional and pro-Israeli perspectives. However, House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, who chairs the House Select Committee tasked with reviewing campus safety and free speech […]