November’s election put issues such as teacher pay, critical race theory (which is not taught in Virginia public schools), and the role of parents in their children’s education front and center in the minds of Virginia voters. Signaling how critical of an issue education is in Virginia right now, Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin has already vowed to deliver the largest education budget in state history. 

With the General Assembly set to begin its 2022 session just weeks from now, here’s what you need to know about some key education policies that Virginians can expect to hear more about in the weeks and months to come. 

School Modernization

Half of public schools in Virginia are more than 50 years old. With a growing population and the increasing presence of technology in the classroom, Virginia schools are in need of major modernization efforts. The cost of replacing old schools would cost up to $25 billion; recognizing that this is a tremendously high cost, the Virginia Department of Education has identified 322 projects that could help modernize the schools most in need. These projects will cost a more reasonable $3.2 billion. 

How could the state pay for these modernization efforts? Last month, the bipartisan Commission on School Construction and Modernization proposed several recommendations for the General Assembly to consider during the upcoming session. One of those recommendations called for allowing localities to impose a 1% sales tax increase that could be used solely to help pay for school construction and renovation.

The commission also recommended making changes to the state Literary Fund, which was established by the state constitution and provides low-interest loans to school divisions for school construction, among other things. The commission proposed increasing the minimum size of the Literary Fund from $80 million to $250 million and raising the maximum loan from $7.5 million to $25 million. 

Teacher Pay

A report released earlier this year ranked Virginia 50th in the country when it comes to teacher pay. Teachers in the state make an average of $53,000 per year, which is significantly less than the $65,000 national average. This is despite a 5% pay raise approved by the General Assembly and signed into law by the governor earlier this year. 

In his outgoing budget, Gov. Ralph Northam proposed to increase teacher pay by slightly over 5% each year for the next two years. That makes for a total increase of 10.25%. If enacted, the proposal would bring teacher’s salaries in Virginia above the national average. 

Youngkin has also promised to raise teacher pay during his time as governor, although specifics of his proposal have not yet been released. 

Charter Schools

During his campaign for governor, Youngkin promised to bring innovation to Virginia schools. This includes expanding career technical education into all public schools, as well as plans to build a minimum of 20 new charter schools throughout the state. For a candidate who ran on giving parents a say in their children’s education, building more charter schools seems like an obvious policy to implement. Charter schools operate autonomously of school boards, and can allow parent input into how students are taught. 

Despite being publicly funded, charter schools operate independently of the school divisions in which they are located. The parents of any student can elect to send their child to a charter school, and tuition is free. There are currently seven public charter schools operating in Virginia.

Northam has said that increasing pay for public school teachers should be more of a priority than establishing new charter schools. With Democrats still in control of the state Senate, the debate over the role of charter schools in Virginia’s education system could become one of the more contentious issues shaping the upcoming legislative session.