With the federal government attempting to shut down the Department of Education, Virginia is now considering how the move will impact operations in the commonwealth.
State Democrats and some parents and advocates have expressed concern with President Donald Trump’s signing on Thursday of the executive order directing U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to close the agency and move specific operations to other federal agencies.
However, Republicans, including Gov. Glenn Youngkin, believe Virginia is ready for the opportunity that the executive order provides, giving states control over how they run public education.
“Virginia is ready to take full responsibility for K-12 education,” said Youngkin, in a statement on Thursday, adding that the commonwealth has created a “high-expectations” agenda that sets strict standards, holds schools accountable and directs resources to those in greatest need.
“We welcome the federal government’s shift of responsibility to the states — and we are grateful that President Trump’s executive order does just that,” Youngkin stated. “The EO also makes it clear that there will be no discrimination in the classrooms. We will continue to ensure every student graduates career-, college-, or military-ready.”
Senate Democrats projected that states nationwide, including Virginia, will “suffer greatly” because of the “illegal” order. The group also said that Trump’s decision is “another check” off of his Project 2025 bucket list, referring to the proposal to shift control of education funding and oversight to states.
“When we think of Trump’s push to dismantle the Department of Education, we think of George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door, blocking Black students from entering. It brings back memories of Virginia engaging in massive resistance,” read a statement by Virginia Senate Democrats. “This effort to push education back to the states is designed to roll back all efforts at progress since the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision.
“Trump and his minions clearly want to limit educational opportunities. When will the madness end?”
Can the agency close?
Some Virginia leaders, including Del. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham, are not sold on Trump’s ability to close the agency by signing the order.
Students sat outside the U.S. Department of Education building protesting President Donald Trump’s executive order to abolish the agency on March 20, 2025. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)
Garrett said if Congress established the agency, then it would be up to Congress to abolish it. However, the delegate said that the executive order allows Trump to reform the department, downsize it, and redefine it within the context of the law.
“It relinquishes a great deal of federal control over education and relinquishes that control to the respective states, which is where that control was until the Carter Administration. Frankly, if student achievement versus the world is the benchmark, the DOE has been an abject failure and is in dire need of reform,” Garrett said. “To that end, I applaud the [Trump] Administration, as perhaps now our student achievement versus the world will once again improve instead of declining.”
Matt Hurt, director of the Comprehensive Instructional Program consortium, which is geared to improve student achievement in Virginia, also questioned if the public is falling for “political theater,” considering Congress, not a presidential order, would be responsible for dissolving the federal agency.
One thing that should be clear, Hurt said, is that federal funding and the U.S. Department of Education should be considered separate from one another.
“The U.S. Department of Education does not create or levy or bring to the table funds in and of themselves. All they do is distribute the funds that have been allocated by Congress,” Hurt said.
Looking ahead
Pending the litigation and Congressional battle expected to result from Trump’s order, Virginia could likely need additional support to continue providing the services and resources the federal agency has since its establishment in 1979, including ensuring equal educational opportunity and supporting schools, teachers, and research to improve learning outcomes.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told reporters on a March 6 call that the Virginia Department of Education is not equipped to take on the responsibilities of a dismantled federal education agency — particularly when it comes to one notable area: special education.
Virginia’s education department has a blemished history concerning special education and has weathered claims that the agency failed to meet requirements to support students with disabilities.
The department, however, turned things around after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights investigated and concluded that the state agency met all of its findings and recommendations. However, some advocates still believe there are unresolved issues.
Questions are also being raised about what Virginia will do if it receives a federal block grant and how it will appropriately distribute those funds to schools, including for at-risk students. The block grant is a large sum of federal funds used primarily for programs that support students that come from low-income families and English learners.
A dozen education leaders nationwide have recently urged McMahon to distribute federal dollars through block grants rather than funding streams with strict spending requirements. They argue that giving states more flexibility would help address issues like rural school funding, achievement gaps and workforce readiness.
Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera said in a statement that while Trump’s order will ensure federal funding will arrive with fewer restrictions, it will also allow the commonwealth to “invest those resources in the most efficient and effective ways that lead to the ultimate goal of improving student outcomes.”
The state education department is also undergoing leadership changes, after Lisa Coons recently resigned as superintendent of public instruction.
Emily Anne Gullickson, former chief deputy secretary of education, will address the public for the first time as the interim superintendent at the Board of Education’s work session on Wednesday.
Board of Education President Grace Creasey said Trump’s move to shut down the nation’s education department “empowers” parents and reduces federal overreach.
“For too long, bureaucrats in Washington have dictated one-size-fits-all policies that fail to address the unique needs of the commonwealth’s students and schools,” Creasey said in a statement. “Returning decision-making authority and funding to the states can foster innovation, accountability, and better educational outcomes. This is about putting parents and state and local leaders back in charge of education.”
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From last year to now, Virginia raised teacher pay by an average of $3,000. Still, the commonwealth’s average pay rate for educators remains stagnant compared to other states, according to the latest salary report published by the National Education Association.
The commonwealth dropped by one spot to 26th, paying teachers an average of $66,327, an increase from a year ago. Virginia’s average teacher pay is $5,703 below the national average of $72,030, the NEA report states.
Education leaders and lawmakers in the commonwealth said inflation and investments are some of the factors contributing to mixed results in the national salary report.
“Clearly (the report) shows that we have made good improvement in recent years, and we have a long way to go,” said House Education Committee Chair Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke.
Rasoul admitted that the commonwealth is thousands of dollars below the national teacher pay average, “but when we started this journey a few years ago, we were in the bottom third of states, and so we’re approaching where we need to be.”
The Virginia Education Association (VEA), representing the largest group of K-12 teachers in the commonwealth, said that while the national data shows gains have been made in Virginia, pre-kindergarten to higher education teachers are still not making enough to support themselves after being adjusted for inflation.
According to VEA, the average public school teacher salary increased by 3% from the previous year, but when adjusted for inflation, teachers made only $108 more.
“While it might look like teachers are getting support, they are actually losing money, which has a direct impact on student learning,” VEA said.
While recognizing recent gains, VEA president Carol Bauer said Virginia’s teachers are “still losing economic ground” while schools continue weathering the state’s education staffing shortages.
“True historic investment means decisively closing salary gaps, adequately funding schools, and ensuring every classroom has a qualified teacher. Virginia must commit to real, sustained investments to attract and retain educators, rather than relying on incremental gains that barely keep pace with inflation,” Bauer said.
What can Virginia do now?
Virginia has an opportunity to boost educator pay even more, after the General Assembly recommended changes to the state budget.
This week, Gov. Glenn Youngkin will decide whether to support lawmakers’ budget proposal to provide bonuses to teachers and lift a cap on state funding for non-instructional school staff positions. This would give school divisions greater flexibility to hire the staff they need without being “restricted” by outdated student-to-staff ratios.
In 2009, during the Great Recession, lawmakers initiated the cap to reduce state spending on non-instructional school staff positions, including central office and administrative, technical, clerical, maintenance, and instructional support positions.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to comment on the report. However, in the governor’s budget recommendations in March, Youngkin wrote that Virginia has raised teacher pay by 18% over the last three years.
The budget amendments now being considered by the governor contain $166 million more for public education, including $84.7 million to raise the cap.
Last year, state lawmakers formed a joint committee to work on overhauling the Standards of Quality (SOQ), the state’s funding formula determining the financial needs of school divisions, after a state study group found local governments have been shouldering a disproportionate share of K-12 education costs compared to the state’s contributions.
Lawmakers arranged for the state and localities to pay an even split of contributions in 1972, but they changed it in 1993, urging localities to start paying for K-12 fringe benefits.
According to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the state’s share was established at 55%, while localities paid 45%.
What’s next?
House Education Committee Vice Chair Shelly Simonds, D-Newport News, carried the support cap bill and budget language to support non-instructional positions.
As a former teacher and school board member, Simonds said a core issue her legislation will address is the administration’s prioritized focus on overhauling testing and accountability measures — part of the administration’s efforts to combat learning loss and raise student testing scores — instead of recruiting and maintaining teachers.
Simonds said some ways to make teaching the best job in Virginia could involve creating competitive pay, treating educators as professionals in the school buildings, and offering maternity leave, professional development and planning periods to collaborate with colleagues.
“The only thing that has been really proven to improve education is highly qualified teachers,” Simonds said. “Having a highly qualified teacher in every classroom is the way we move the needle on test scores for our children.”
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Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
The content focuses on advocating for higher teacher pay and increased public school funding, highlighting the challenges teachers face with current salaries lagging behind the national average and inflation. It presents perspectives from education advocates and Democratic lawmakers supportive of investing more in public education. While recognizing some progress, the tone calls for more substantial government commitment, aligning with generally progressive stances on public education funding and labor support. The article maintains a factual and policy-oriented approach without extreme rhetoric, situating it in the center-left range.
www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-04-30 14:54:32
SUMMARY: I’m 13 News Now meteorologist Evan Stewart. It’s Wednesday, April 30th, with warm temperatures in the 80s across Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore, over 10° above average. A frontal boundary near North Carolina could trigger isolated showers and thunderstorms later today and into the evening. While severe weather is impacting Texas and nearby areas with tornado risks, Hampton Roads faces a low, level one risk for isolated strong storms. Thursday remains warm with a slight 20% rain chance, and Friday brings more late-day showers and storms. A slow-moving front will increase weekend rain chances, possibly lingering into early next week with cooler weather.
There will be several chances for rain showers and potentially even storms through the weekend.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 12:55:00
(The Center Square) – Virginia just logged one of the sharpest drops in fentanyl deaths in the country — down 44% from last year and nearly cut in half since 2021—Gov. Glenn Youngkin says it’s proof his crackdown is working.
The administration credits everything from drug seizures to tougher laws on dealers, plus a massive naloxone rollout. “Overdose deaths skyrocketed across America and in Virginia, driven primarily by illicit fentanyl flowing across our southern border. With an average of five dying Virginians each day, in 2022, we launched a comprehensive effort to stop the scourge of fentanyl, it’s working, and Virginia is leading,” said Youngkin.
He also tied the drop to border enforcement, echoing President Trump’s argument that immigration policy is key to stopping fentanyl from entering the U.S.
“Our approach stands on four principles: interrupt the drug trade, enhance penalties for drug dealers, educate people about the dangers of fentanyl, and equip them to save the life of someone in crisis,” said Youngkin in astatement.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, fatal overdoses across all substances fell by34.1% in 2024compared to the year before — the sharpest drop since the epidemic peaked in 2021.
Trump’s recent moves include a new order cracking down on sanctuary cities, more troops at the southern border and a pledge to ramp up deportations.
“We have turned the tide in this battle and must now redouble our efforts to build on our success,” said Dr. Colin Greene, Special Advisor on Opioid Response.
In Virginia, Youngkin’s team points to several key efforts behind the numbers. Operation FREE, a joint law enforcement initiative, has seized enough fentanyl to kill every Virginian ten times over, according to the administration. The commonwealth also banned pill presses, expanded penalties for dealers, and now requires schools to notify parents when student overdoses happen.
Since 2022, nearly 400,000 doses of naloxone have been distributed statewide, and almost 100,000 Virginians have been trained to use it. First Lady Suzanne Youngkin’s “It Only Takes One” campaign is also part of the strategy — aimed at raising awareness among families, schools and local communities.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article presents a clear ideological perspective, with a tone that strongly supports Governor Glenn Youngkin’s policies on combating fentanyl deaths. It emphasizes the success of Youngkin’s efforts, such as drug seizures, tougher laws, and border enforcement, which aligns with conservative viewpoints, particularly regarding immigration policy and law enforcement. The framing of the issue—highlighting Youngkin’s leadership and drawing connections to President Trump’s immigration stance—reinforces a right-leaning narrative, suggesting that tougher border control is key to solving the fentanyl crisis. The article does not present significant counterpoints or explore opposing viewpoints on these measures, which could balance the coverage. Overall, the content reflects a pro-administration stance, particularly aligning with the policies of the Republican Party.
