The Virginia Education Association criticizes the Department of Education's new school accountability system, arguing it measures demographics and privilege rather than educational effectiveness.

The comments come after Gov. Glenn Youngkin said the new pay raises in the budget will lead to Virginia eventually meeting the national average for teacher pay.

Education is top of mind for lawmakers as they make changes to the Virginia budget.

They are calling it an “assault on equity in schools,” so the Virginia Education Association held a news conference Tuesday to ”put Governor Glenn Youngkin on notice.”

Both Lynchburg City Schools and Pulaski County have schools reverting to online lessons.

Virginia lawmakers and educators are demanding the Virginia General Assembly ‘Fund our Future,’ calling for more money and resources. In a virtual press briefing on Monday, officials from the Virginia Education Association and Virginia PTA were joined by Sen. Jennifer McClellan and Del. Lashrecse Aird to ask the General Assembly to pass House Bill 1929, known as the School Equity and Staffing Act. It would provide more funding for high poverty schools and increase funding for school counselors and support staff. The bill would also give money to English-learning students and provide mentoring opportunities to new teachers.

With COVID-19 cases surging, Virginia Education Association President James J. Fedderman called for public schools, that have not already done so, to shift to all-virtual instruction until school staff members have been vaccinated. “Governor Northam this week said that getting Virginians vaccinated against COVID-19 is the best way to end this pandemic, rebuild our economy, and move the Commonwealth forward,” Fedderman said. “We commend Governor Northam for that, and we call upon the Governor, school boards, and school superintendents to keep all students and staff safe with virtual instruction until staff are vaccinated.”Some Giles County Public School employees got the vaccine last week and Pulaski County school staff will start getting the vaccine this week. Schools were shut down in March when Virginia as a whole averaged 80 new cases per day. View Dr. Fedderman’s video statement sent to VEA members: https://vimeo.com/498439915/b8ac9fc0a2

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – Roanoke County Public Schools gave its students the choice to learn all-online this semester. Director of Secondary Instruction Mike Riley said that will not become mandatory for all students, despite other school districts switching to all-virtual learning. Their decisions follow the Virginia Education Association’s request for all school districts in the commonwealth to go online until mid-January. In a video posted to the organization’s page, VEA president James Fedderman said he wants school districts to take extra measures for safety during the holidays. Roanoke County reports 10% of all-online middle school students and 14% of all-online high school students are failing classes, compared to 5% of in-person middle school students and 6% of in-person high school students.

ROANOKE, Va. Heres a shocking statistic: some students may return in the fall a full year behind compared to what teachers see in a normal year according to the Virginia Department of Education. 10 News is working for you, investigating the issue and what local school systems are doing to make sure all students can access learning. Paper packets or internet access. Equity is about access, making sure all students have access that all students have opportunity. A group at Virginia Tech was contracted to map all the Public WI-FI Hotspots around the commonwealth to help students and people that dont have access outside of school.