Welcome to our Resources page, where you can find information to support your advocacy for increased school funding and resource equity. As Fund Our Schools continues to fight, we will update our resources, so check in with us often!
Resources
Fully Funding the Revised Standards of Quality
The Virginia Board of Education recently sent their recommendations to lawmakers for updating our Standards of Quality — the minimum funding standards to provide K-12 students an adequate education. These updates include nearly $813 million in new state spending for essential positions like school counselors, social workers, instructors of English learners, reading specialists, funding for high-poverty divisions, and much more. It’s now up to lawmakers to fund these recommendations, which they failed to do for far too long.
Local-Level Advocacy Guide for Making the Most of New Federal School Funding
The new COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan (ARP), contains the largest single investment in K-12 education ever by the federal government, on top of what prior relief packages provid- ed. Most of this money is going directly to local divisions. This means that local school boards will be deciding how to use these funds to benefit their schools.
Virginia’s Moonshot Moment to Modernize Schools
Virginia’s dilapidated and outdated school infrastructure hampers student achievement and health, teacher retention, school overhead costs, and local property values. Since at least the 1980s, Virginia supported schools directly with tens of millions of dollars in state aid for school construction grants and subsidized financing.
Making the Most of Recent K-12 Federal Aid in Your Community
A video recording of a webinar talking about the best ways to advocate for school funding in the 2021 legislative session and how to fight for federal funds to be used for schools.
Budget Response
It’s been a high-stakes time for K-12 funding in Virginia as state lawmakers have gotten together to decide how to spend the $4.3 billion from the American Rescue Plan. Thanks to the countless advocates who took the time to email and call lawmakers to lift up our collective priorities, we had some important wins for Virginia students and families.