Virginia

Virginia is one of the few states that offer little in the way of choices, public or private. The state nonetheless gets into the top five in digital learning so that school districts at least can keep up with technological innovations for students.

To be eligible for the tax credit scholarship students must come from a family with an income of less than 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and be enrolled in K-12, be a previous scholarship recipient, or a new resident. The state does not permit parents to choose among traditional schools either.

SOURCE: The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice

Virginia has one of the weakest charter school laws in the country because the power rests solely in the hands of school boards. Despite the continued animosity of these boards to charters, the state’s elected leaders have failed to makes meaningful changes to the charter law.

SOURCE: The Essential Guide to Charter School Law 2013 National Ranking and Scorecard

Virginia is one of a few states requiring an online class for graduation beginning in the 2013-2014 school year. But caps on virtual school enrollment and boundary restrictions limit student access to online learning opportunities.

SOURCE: Digital Learning Now!

Virginia has established teacher evaluation guidelines to be used by districts, but they are not mandatory. The guidelines suggest levels of effectiveness, and using student growth as one of multiple measures. Neither tenure decisions nor licensure advancement and renewal are based on teacher effectiveness. There is no assurance that tenured teachers who receive unsatisfactory evaluations will be eligible for dismissal if they fail to improve. Ineffective classroom performance is not grounds for dismissal.

Virginia created a performance pay initiative, and in order for schools to participate, they must use student growth in their teacher evaluations.

SOURCE: National Council on Teacher Quality

School report cards are available and parent-friendly on the state’s website. Parents can compare data at the school, district and state level. There are 143 school boards in Virginia. Many members are appointed depending on the governance structure of each locale, i.e., county supervisors or selection commissions. Elections for jurisdictions that have elected boards typically are held in November.