| Non-Technical | |
| • | Continue Chapter 1 funding changes: Direct Aid Base amount Provides for the ongoing impact of appropriation changes included in Chapter 1, 2023 Special Session I by updating the Direct Aid base to the Chapter 1 Fiscal Year 2024 amount, which is the base year for rebenchmarking. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $559,157,349 | $559,157,349 | | Nongeneral Fund | $86,170,708 | $86,170,708 | |
|
| |
| • | Provide Literary Fund support for school employee retirement contributions Supports a portion of public school employee retirement contributions with funds derived from the principal of the Literary Fund, in accordance with Article VIII, Section 8 of the Constitution of Virginia. The amount of support each year is based on the latest Literary Fund forecast provided by the Department of Treasury. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($150,000,000) | ($150,000,000) | | Nongeneral Fund | $150,000,000 | $150,000,000 | |
|
| |
| • | Reduce unfunded liabilities of the Teacher Retirement Plan Provides funding for a one-time payment of $350 million to address unfunded liabilities of the Virginia Retirement System public school teacher plan. Includes $115 million general fund and $235 million from the Literary Fund. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $115,000,000 | $0 | | Nongeneral Fund | $235,000,000 | $0 | |
|
| |
| • | Eliminate Supplemental General Fund Payment in Lieu of Sales Tax on Food and Personal Hygiene Products Eliminates the Supplemental General Fund Payment in Lieu of Sales Tax on Food and Personal Hygiene Products. The net reduction accounts for the offsetting increase to the state share of Basic Aid. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($114,475,083) | ($114,475,094) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Rebenchmark the cost of Direct Aid to Public Education Updates the state cost of Direct Aid to Public Education for the 2024-2026 biennium to reflect changes in enrollment, funded instructional salaries, school instructional and support expenditures, and other technical factors. These adjustments address the cost of continuing the current Direct Aid programs with the required data revisions and do not reflect changes in policy. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $72,623,293 | $87,938,503 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Appropriate School Construction Fund revenue Appropriates revenues deposited into the School Construction Fund from Casino Gambling Proceeds to be used on the School Construction Assistance Program. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | |
| Nongeneral Fund | $80,000,000 | $80,000,000 | |
|
| |
| • | Provide a two percent compensation supplement for instructional and support positions in FY 2026 Provides funding for the state share of a two percent salary increase, effective July 1, 2025, for funded Standards of Quality, Academic Year Governor's School Program, and Regional Alternative Education Program instructional and support positions. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $0 | $122,755,950 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Adjust funding for retirement Adjusts funding to reflect a change in the employer contribution rates for teacher retirement to 15.23 percent, reflecting the defined benefit contribution rate certified by the Virginia Retirement System Board of Trustees and the estimated employer contributions for the hybrid retirement program's defined contribution component. Contribution rates for group life insurance and retiree health insurance credit programs are maintained at their existing level, which are higher contribution rates than what was certified by the Board of Trustees. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($59,830,887) | ($59,800,462) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Redirect Virginia Preschool Initiative and Early Childhood Expansion nonparticipation savings to other early childhood programs Realizes $80 million in state savings from the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) Program and the Early Childhood Expansion (ECE) Program, and redirects those savings to meet actual demand for early childcare and education services under the Mixed-Delivery Program and the Child Care Subsidy Program. State savings are the result of projected nonparticipation under VPI and ECE based on actual historical participation, and eliminating the Local Composite Index cap under these programs. Of that amount, $26.8 million is directed to the Mixed-Delivery Program under Direct Aid, and the balance is directed to the Child Care Subsidy Program under the Department of Education. A corresponding adjustment under the Department of Education includes this amount as additional support for the Child Care Subsidy Program. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($53,016,078) | ($53,711,109) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update Average Daily Membership projections Updates Average Daily Membership projections based on actual Fall Membership data submitted by local school divisions in fall 2023, which is lower than the enrollment assumed for the 2024-2026 biennium rebenchmarking. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($34,728,390) | ($53,087,668) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update sales tax revenues for base expansion Recognizes additional sales and use tax revenues dedicated to public education resulting from additional revenue generated by taxable services and digital personal property. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $23,856,394 | $61,821,891 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update sales tax revenues for public education Updates funding provided to local school divisions based on the November 2023 sales tax forecast. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($47,041,201) | ($16,065,471) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update composite index of local ability-to-pay Updates accounts in Direct Aid for Public Education based on a biennial recalculation of the composite index, a measure of local ability-to-pay used to distribute funding to local school divisions. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($30,768,348) | ($30,514,611) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Support expanded reading specialist staffing standard Provides funding for the state share of one reading specialist position per 550 students in grades 4-5 and one reading specialist position per 1,100 students in grades 6-8, per Chapter 646, 2023 Acts of Assembly. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $30,467,962 | $30,713,413 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Provide reliable funding for College Partnership Laboratory Schools Provides recurring deposits to the College Partnership Laboratory School Fund to be awarded pursuant to the guidelines established by the Board of Education. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $30,000,000 | $30,000,000 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Provide a one percent bonus for instructional and support positions in FY 2025 Provides the state share of a one percent bonus, effective July 1, 2024, for funded Standards of Quality, Academic Year Governor's School Program, and Regional Alternative Education Program instructional and support positions. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $53,012,815 | $0 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Support attainment of industry recognized credentials through Diploma Plus grants Establishes the Diploma Plus program, which provides grants of up to $2,000 per student to support attainment of high-demand industry-recognized credentials. The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) will select fields eligible for the grant based on the Virginia Office of Education Economics' (VOEE) biennially-updated Top Jobs List as approved by the Virginia Board of Workforce Development. Funds may be used for costs associated with VDOE approved programs including tuition, fees, materials, transportation, or other associated costs for completing high-demand industry recognized credential pathway training courses and credential examinations. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $20,000,000 | $20,000,000 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update inflation for non-personal costs Updates non-personal support cost inflation factors based on Fall 2023 data from the Department of Taxation. The Department of Education's 2024-2026 Rebenchmarking cost included an initial update to these factors based on Spring 2023 data. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($16,528,285) | ($16,716,981) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update Career and Technical Education data Updates funding for programs based on Fall 2023 data for enrollment in Career and Technical Education programs. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $13,044,051 | $13,097,702 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update Lottery supported programs Adjusts state support for Lottery-funded programs based on actual participation and updated projections. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($8,739,913) | ($3,481,870) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update Incentive programs Adjusts funding for certain educational programs that exceed the foundation of the Standards of Quality. These programs are designed to address educational needs of specific targeted student populations. Funding for these programs is primarily formula-driven and subject to changes in membership, participation rates, and test scores. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($5,463,372) | ($6,379,309) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update English as a Second Language enrollment projections Updates the cost of the English as a Second Language Standards of Quality program to reflect the number of students with limited English proficiency reported by local school divisions. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($4,009,815) | ($6,648,302) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update Lottery proceeds for public education Adjusts funding to reflect a decrease in the estimate of Lottery proceeds to support K-12 Public Education from $855.2 million in the base budget to $852.9 million in FY 2025 and $852.9 million in FY 2026. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $2,254,048 | $2,254,046 | | Nongeneral Fund | ($2,254,052) | ($2,254,052) | |
|
| |
| • | Update Virginia Retirement System (VRS) rates for non-professional employees Updates the non-professional retirement and health insurance credit for applicable local school division employees based on the VRS 2023 rates for political subdivisions. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $2,664,106 | $2,626,324 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update Standards of Learning Test score data Updates funding for programs based on Spring 2023 Standards of Learning pass rates. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $2,102,728 | $2,131,165 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update Remedial Summer School projections Updates the cost of the Remedial Summer School Standards of Quality program to reflect projected participation in the 2024-2026 biennium. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($758,164) | ($3,453,188) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Remove cap on Supplemental Basic Aid payments Removes the cap on supplemental basic aid payments made to a division pursuant to Section 22.1-98.2, Code of Virginia, notwithstanding the third enactment of Chapter 589, 2008 Acts of Assembly. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $1,779,201 | $1,740,790 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update Fall Membership data in Direct Aid program formulas Updates the Fall Membership data used in certain Direct Aid to Public Education program funding formulas based on actual data submitted by school divisions in fall 2023. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($1,232,393) | ($1,592,408) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update Categorical programs Adjusts funding for certain educational programs that exceed the foundation of the Standards of Quality. State or federal statutes or regulations mandate most categorical programs. These adjustments update the cost of continuing the current programs with the required data revisions. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $864,944 | $900,696 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Provide supplemental support for Accomack and Northampton Provides supplemental support for Accomack and Northampton school divisions for teacher recruitment and retention efforts, including adjustments to salary scales to minimize the misalignment to salary scales of adjacent counties. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $800,003 | $799,997 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update supplemental education programs Updates state support for National Board Certified Teacher bonuses based on the projected number of teachers eligible for this bonus in the 2024-2026 biennium. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | ($537,500) | ($537,500) | |
|
|
| |
| • | Increase funding for Communities in Schools Increases support for Communities in Schools to strengthen and sustain existing programming and expand programming to new schools. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Update distributions for school age population Updates distributions to local school divisions based on the latest yearly estimate of school age population from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $387,033 | $387,035 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Provide funding for Reach Virginia Provides funding for Reach Virginia to provide teacher retention services to Virginia public school divisions. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $630,000 | $0 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Transfer appropriation for Grow Your Own Teacher program Transfers appropriation from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to Direct Aid to Public Education for the Grow Your Own Teacher grant program. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $240,000 | $240,000 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Increase funding for vision screening grants Increases appropriation provided for school divisions to pay for a portion of the vision screening of students in kindergarten, grade two or three, and grades seven and ten. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $200,000 | $200,000 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Provide funding for the Virginia Holocaust Museum Provides funding to the Virginia Holocaust Museum for experiential learning opportunities for K-12 students. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $250,000 | $125,000 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Transfer appropriation for Dual Enrollment Credentials Transfers appropriation from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to Direct Aid to Public Education for a grant program to assist public school teachers taking college courses to be credentialed to teach dual-enrollment high school courses. This appropriation is consolidated with an existing grant program for this purpose under Direct Aid. | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | | General Fund | $100,000 | $100,000 | |
|
|
| |
| • | Align teacher requirements for community providers of early childhood learning Continues language authorized in Chapter 1, 2023 Acts of Assembly, Special Session I, to align teacher requirements for Virginia Preschool Initiative Community Provider programs to the Mixed Delivery program. |
| |
| • | Clarify language directing allocation of Alternative Education slots Clarifies that the Department of Education should prorate application requests for alternative education slots based on the total number of slots available. |
| |
| • | Increase utilization of teacher scholarship funds supporting dual enrollment credentialing Increases attractiveness of an underutilized grant program by increasing the maximum award and expanding eligibility to teachers pursing a credential to teach career and technical education courses. |
| |
|