Virginia Law

The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be appointed by the Governor, after consultation with the Board of Education among others, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, for a term coincident with that of the Governor making the appointment. Any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be an experienced educator.

Code 1950, § 22-22; 1977, c. 542; 1980, c. 559.

Before entering upon the duties of his office, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall take and subscribe the oath prescribed for an officer of this Commonwealth as provided in Chapter 1 (§ 49-1 et seq.) of Title 49.

Code 1950, § 22-24; 1980, c. 559.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall:

1. Serve as secretary of the Board of Education;

2. Provide such assistance in his office as shall be necessary for the proper and uniform enforcement of the provisions of the school laws in cooperation with the local school authorities;

3. Prepare and furnish such forms for attendance officers, teachers and other school officials as are required by law;

4. (Expires July 1, 2028) At least annually, survey all local school divisions to identify critical shortages of (i) teachers and administrative personnel by geographic area, by school division, or by subject matter; (ii) specialized student support positions as that term is described in subsection O of § 22.1-253.13:2; and (iii) school bus drivers by geographic area and local school division and report such critical shortages to each local school division and to the Virginia Retirement System;

5. Develop and provide to local school divisions a model exit questionnaire for teachers;

6. Along with the State Health Commissioner, work to combat childhood obesity and other chronic health conditions that affect school-age children;

7. Designate an employee of the Department of Education to serve as its liaison to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the State Board for Community Colleges; and

8. Perform such other duties as the Board of Education may prescribe.

Code 1950, §§ 22-25, 22-26, 22-28; 1980, c. 559; 2001, cc. 689, 700; 2007, cc. 43, 55; 2015, c. 140; 2016, c. 594; 2020, cc. 379, 437; 2023, cc. 690, 707, 708.

The Department shall develop and oversee a pilot program to administer across five geographically and demographically diverse school divisions the model exit questionnaire for teachers developed by the Superintendent pursuant to § 22.1-23, analyze the results of each such questionnaire, and include such results and analysis in the Superintendent's annual report. The Department shall (i) administer such questionnaire to each teacher who ceases to be employed by the relevant school board for any reason and (ii) collect, maintain, and report on the results of each such questionnaire in a manner that ensures the confidentiality of each teacher's name and other personally identifying information.

2017, cc. 234, 308; 2022, c. 355.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall identify any survey, questionnaire, inquiry, or other communication that requires a response from a school board or division superintendent as required by this title, Board regulations, the Superintendent, the Department, or other state agencies and shall, in collaboration with any identified requesting entity, work to consolidate, as much as practicable, all such surveys, questionnaires, inquiries, and other communications in order to reduce the administrative burden of such response.

2019, c. 768.

A. The Department of Education shall develop and make available to each school board model policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools that address common issues regarding transgender students in accordance with evidence-based best practices and include information, guidance, procedures, and standards relating to:

1. Compliance with applicable nondiscrimination laws;

2. Maintenance of a safe and supportive learning environment free from discrimination and harassment for all students;

3. Prevention of and response to bullying and harassment;

4. Maintenance of student records;

5. Identification of students;

6. Protection of student privacy and the confidentiality of sensitive information;

7. Enforcement of sex-based dress codes; and

8. Student participation in sex-specific school activities and events and use of school facilities. Activities and events do not include athletics.

B. Each school board shall adopt policies that are consistent with but may be more comprehensive than the model policies developed by the Department of Education pursuant to subsection A.

2020, cc. 153, 154.

A. As used in this section, "farm to school program" means any program (i) whereby public schools purchase and feature prominently in school meals locally produced food or (ii) that involves experiential student learning opportunities relating to local food and agriculture, including school and community garden programs and local farm visits.

B. The Department shall establish and appoint such members as it deems necessary or appropriate to the Farm to School Program Task Force (the Task Force) for the purpose of increasing student access to high-quality farm to school programs throughout the Commonwealth.

C. The Task Force shall collaborate with local school boards, community-based organizations, farmers, relevant state and local agencies, and other relevant stakeholders to (i) assess existing farm to school programs within the Commonwealth to identify and disseminate to each local school board best practices for implementing and sustaining such programs, (ii) establish and distribute to each local school board a guidance document for the establishment and operation of school garden programs, (iii) provide information and resources to each local school board to assist it in leveraging grant funds to support farm to school programs, and (iv) collect such data and make such policy recommendations to local school boards, the Board, and the General Assembly as it deems appropriate.

2024, cc. 398, 399.

A. As used in this section, "sexual harassment" has the same meaning as described in 34 C.F.R. § 106.30(a) and includes sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, and other gender or sex-based verbal or physical misconduct.

B. The Department shall develop, in collaboration with organizations that serve sexual harassment victims, culturally appropriate, age-appropriate, and trauma-informed Title IX and sexual harassment prevention training modules and shall make such training modules available to each school board for the education of students in the ninth and tenth grades. Such training modules shall discuss:

1. Title IX (20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.) rights and protections;

2. The law and meaning of consent;

3. Prevention of sexual harassment; and

4. Reporting of sexual harassment.

C. The Department shall revise the Title IX and sexual harassment prevention training modules developed pursuant to subsection B and make such revised modules available to each school board no later than December 31 of each year to ensure that the such training modules conform to the standards pursuant to subsection B and comply with applicable state and federal law.

D. Each school board may adopt policies to require all students in the ninth and tenth grades to complete the sexual harassment modules developed by the Department pursuant to subsection B. Each school board shall also:

1. Allow all such students to opt-out of participating in the completion of such training modules by request of the student's parents if such student is under the age of 18, or by request of the student if such student is 18 years of age or older; and

2. Ensure that all such students are provided information about school counseling services and the supportive measures and formal complaint procedures available to them, as required under Title IX (20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.), in the school they attend as part of the training modules developed pursuant to subsection B.

2024, c. 805.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction is hereby designated as the "State Educational Agency" for the disbursement of funds received by the Commonwealth of Virginia under the provisions of Public Law 396, 79th Congress, known as the "National School Lunch Act" and any successor act or amendment thereto; and as such is authorized, empowered and directed to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred and imposed by such act of Congress.

Code 1950, § 22-27; 1980, c. 559.

Expired July 1, 2024, pursuant to Acts 2022, c. 776, cl. 2.