We applaud the conference budget for fully lifting the support cap, expanding special education funding, and prioritizing public schools.
We are happy to see the passage of a historic state budget that includes long-overdue investments in Virginia’s public schools. Thanks to the tireless advocacy of parents, educators, students, and community leaders, this budget takes a major step toward fully and fairly funded schools by lifting the harmful support cap, creating a new add-on for students with disabilities, and directing hundreds of millions of dollars toward strengthening public education.
“For years, Virginia’s public schools have been underfunded by the state, leaving many communities with insufficient resources to fill the gap,” said Alexander Blocker, Senior Organizer at the Legal Aid Justice Center. “This budget represents a clear victory for students and families across the commonwealth, and it would not have been possible without the advocacy of educators, parents, and students demanding better from our state leaders.”
Key K-12 investments in the conference budget:
- Fully Lifting the Support Cap: An additional $223 million lifts the arbitrary cap that has limited funding for essential support staff such as instructional aides, nurses, and custodians. We have been fighting for this since our founding in 2019, and many of our member orgs have opposed the cap since its creation. This marks a major victory towards ensuring every student has the resources they need to succeed.
- Special Education Add-On: The budget includes $53 million for a new state add-on for students with disabilities. Virginia has long underfunded special education compared to other states, and this new flexible funding mechanism will provide direct support for students with disabilities while laying the groundwork for future investment.
- Teacher and Staff Bonuses: The budget provides one-time $1,000 bonuses for SOQ-funded school employees with no local match required. While this is an important step in recognizing educators and staff, it appears inflation may meet or exceed the 3% salary increases that are funded in the budget, reinforcing the need in the next biennium budget for long-term salary increases to address staffing shortages.
- Family and Community Engagement in Schools: Provides an additional $2.5 million to support community school grants for integrated student supports, enriched learning opportunities, family engagement, and more.
- Protecting Public Education Funding: The conference budget removes a proposed $50 million private school voucher program, preventing public dollars from being diverted away from the students and schools in our communities.
- Safer Schools and Communities Grants: Directs $5.9 million this year and next to Newport News, Chesapeake, and Hampton to support violence prevention initiatives, community-led safety programs, and other efforts to create safer communities, which is an important part of creating safer schools.
“Parents, teachers, administrators, and education advocates have spent years working to win-back critical funding for our students,” said Jenna Alexander, President of Virginia Parent Teacher Association. “Lifting the cap on support staff, and creating targeted funding for special education students prioritizes ensuring that our students have academic support in the classroom, and a healthy, safe learning environment.”
Acknowledging areas for future improvement
While this budget includes major victories for public education, some concerns remain:
- Some K-12 school construction funding was reduced compared to the introduced budget, which could slow efforts to modernize aging school buildings across the state.
- One-time bonuses do not address long-term teacher salary gaps, which remain among the least competitive in the country.
- Lottery funding once again supplanting to reduce the general funds for K-12, rather than increased lottery profits being used to enhance resources for our local schools. This long-standing budget gimmick undermines Virginia’s commitment to use lottery proceeds to support public education.
- Virginia’s highest-need school divisions require additional targeted investments to close funding gaps and make sure students can overcome barriers to learning.
- No funding for school-based restorative practice programs was provided in the budget, representing a missed opportunity to seriously address student behavioral challenges in an evidence-based and holistic way.
“This budget is a down payment on the future of our students, and we must build on this momentum in the years ahead,” said Monica Hutchinson, Policy Director at RISE for Youth, “Education helps create opportunities which helps reduce the likelihood of our most vulnerable youth ending up in our juvenile justice system. We must Reinvest In Supportive Environments and provide all youth in Virginia a chance to grow into productive and contributing citizens.”
Looking ahead: the fight for fully and fairly funded schools continues
While this budget makes significant progress, Virginia must continue to move toward fully funding public education in the years ahead. Over the next year, the state will review its K-12 funding formula—a process that will determine how schools are funded for years to come. We will be actively engaged to ensure that this process leads to meaningful, fair funding reforms that provide every child with the resources they need to thrive.
Additionally, proposed federal education funding cuts could pose serious challenges for Virginia’s schools, particularly for students in high-poverty communities and those receiving special education services. While this budget makes crucial investments, Virginia must remain vigilant in ensuring that public schools receive the funding they need.
“We’ve taken a massive step forward, but we must continue to push for long-term solutions that holistically support our students,” said Cat Atkinson, Mental Health Policy Analyst with Voices for Virginia’s Children. “Our students deserve more than just the basics—they deserve a sustained commitment to breaking down barriers and building resilience so they all have the opportunity to achieve in school and in life.”