Roanoke City Public Schools strives to ensure students have access and opportunity to fully participate in their education, allowing them to reach their full potential. This includes advocating for our students, families, and staff with legislators and policymakers. Each year, the General Assembly considers numerous issues of importance to the Commonwealth’s public-school students and to the school employees who deliver the promise of a high-quality public education.  

The Priorities presented here are the Board’s primary areas of legislative focus and advocacy in the form of brief summaries. The following dropdown menu includes Position Papers that provide additional local context and recommendations on select topics. We urge legislators to contact the School Board or Superintendent whenever local data and insight may inform policymaking in Richmond.

• Local Control – Teaching and learning are complex processes. Public education is a national priority and a state responsibility, but it is ultimately a local function.  The Roanoke City School Board urges elected representatives to facilitate innovation and responsiveness to unique community needs by supporting local School Board authority. This priority includes expecting full funding of all legislative mandates and facilitating, not discouraging, the appropriate use of virtual meetings to better engage constituents.
• School Safety & Security – Schools are accountable for student outcomes, teachers are accountable for student progress, and students are accountable for their decisions, but outdated language in the Code of Virginia limits holding adults accountable for failing to prevent access to weapons by children and making verbal threats against school employees.
• Commitment to Serving All Students – RCPS’ core beliefs include putting students first, celebrating diversity, valuing high-quality instruction, and valuing our community. Improving outcomes for all students requires a deep understanding of the diverse families that make up our community and intentional efforts to optimize each individual student’s educational experience. RCPS urges legislators to share in this commitment to serving all students with actions that support the unique needs of various student populations.
• Governance and Budget – RCPS supports many of the recommendations of the 2023 JLARC report on the SOQ funding formula, specifically: 1) elimination of the support staff cap on positions; 2) calculation of salary and other cost assumptions using the division average rather than the linear weighted average; 3) designation of the At-Risk Add-On as a SOQ funded program, 4) Adjust SOQ formula to remove cap on non-personnel costs assumptions to account for facility staff costs; and 5) discontinue the use of decades-old data to determine the number of students who qualify as at-risk in favor of more timely and accurate measures.
• Employee Compensation – There was a significant need for the investments made in K-12 employee compensation this biennium by the General Assembly, and we appreciate that commitment greatly. However, the harsh reality is that Roanoke City teachers starting out in the profession today have $1,381 less buying power than new teachers did 15 years ago. There are many factors related to the teacher shortage, but compensation remains chief among them. 
• Assessment & Accountability Modernization – Efforts to increase the availability and use of growth measures by the Commonwealth were appreciated, but SY 22-23 proved that the current “through year growth assessments” did not achieve the objectives of HB 2027. The measures did not impact accountability as purported, the reports were of limited usefulness, and the impact on instructional time far too great. RCPS is following the work of the HB 585 Workgroup on Assessment closely and division staff are available to assist and inform needed modernization of Assessment in the Commonwealth and the expected efforts to revise the Accreditation and Accountability systems.

The one-page white papers below provide a quick glimpse at select educational priorities, providing a local perspective, allowing you to better understand the impact on your constituents.

• School Safety and Security: BB and Pellet Guns are Weapons
• School Safety and Security: Preventing Access to Weapons by Children
• School Safety and Security: Threats Against Teachers and Staff
• All Students: Increase Support for School Divisions Serving Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)
• All Students: Implement 2023 JLARC Recommendation to Adjust the SOQ Formula to Appropriately Increase EL Funding
• Assessment Modernization: Amend Current DOE Through-Year Growth Assessment Requirements
• Employee Compensation
• Governance and Finance: Improve Citizen Engagement and Organizational Responsiveness by Increasing Virtual Meeting Flexibility
• Governance and Finance: K-12 Education Funding Controlled for Inflation

For information on how RCPS has used pandemic relief funding, download this information packet.