RICHMOND, Va. – Efforts are underway to relieve Virginia’s students, teachers and schools of education requirements that are “impossible to meet” during the school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Virginia Department of Education.
Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, James Lane, announced Friday he is promising “swift action” in granting waivers for certain requirements, including some related to graduation, SOL testing, teaching licenses, assessment and accreditation.
Additionally, Lane said students will not have to make up SOL tests in the fall that they were unable to take in the spring due to school closures.
“I believe the primary focus of schools whenever we can return to school should be on the wellness of students and reestablishing school communities and cultures, and not on preparing students for state tests immediately upon their return to school,” Lane said in a statement.
Lane said he is prepared to act as soon as Gov. Northam signs budget bills that authorize the waivers.
Here is a breakdown of the waivers from the Virginia Department of Education:
GRADUATION
- “Students graduating with the 2019-2020 cohort, including terms in spring and summer 2020, shall be relieved of the requirement to complete training in emergency first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the use of automated external defibrillator, including hands-on practice of the skills necessary to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.”
- “Students graduating with the 2019-2020 cohort, including terms in spring and summer 2020, shall be relieved of the requirement to complete a virtual course.”
ASSESSMENT + ACCREDITATION
- “The superintendent of public instruction will identify a new label for accreditation (“accreditation waived”) and thus waive accreditation for each public school for the 2020-2021 school year based on data from 2019-2020.”
- “Local school boards shall be relieved of the requirements to administer Standards of Learning end-of-course and end-of-grade assessments and the alternative assessments for students with significant cognitive disabilities for the 2019-2020 school year. No local school board shall be required to certify it has administered an alternative assessment in 2019-2020.”
- “Divisions shall be relieved from the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program spring testing requirements for the 2019-2020 school year.”
- “Divisions participating in Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening assessments, as well as divisions with waivers, shall be relieved from the spring assessment requirement for the 2019-2020 school year.”
TEACHING LICENSES + RENEWAL
- “Individuals seeking an initial license or renewal who have completed all other components of training in emergency first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the use of automated external defibrillator shall be relieved of the requirement to have hands-on practice of the skills necessary to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation for the purpose of their licensure application until January 1, 2021.”
- “Upon request, the state Board of Education shall issue a one-year license, effective July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, to individuals who have deficiencies for full licensure, including licensure assessments, but have not completed such licensure requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. VDOE will follow up in subsequent communication on the process for obtaining such a license and with details about allowable deficiencies. The one-year license is intended to be nonrenewable and shall not be extended unless the declared state of emergency due to COVID-19 continues well into 2021. An application fee shall not be required for the one-year license; however, the individual must pay applicable fees for any subsequent license.”
Lane said he will also use his emergency authority to waive a requirement that parents of home-schooled students provide evidence of academic progress to their local superintendent.