Virginia State Requirements for Reopening (Senate Bill 1303 - 5/30/2021

Virginia State Requirements for Reopening

On March 12, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced a state of emergency due to COVID19. Subsequently, Governor Northam and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. James F. Lane provided reopening guidance for all school divisions in the Commonwealth. School divisions were required to develop school reopening plans, as outlined in Recover, Redesign, Restart 2020 (PDF) and Forward Virginia (PDF). The guidance included the recommendation that school divisions would offer a combination of in-person and virtual instruction during the year because local communities and their school divisions would have unique needs and different instructional timelines.

As of March 30, 2021, the guidance is to reopen schools in the fall with in-person learning available for all students. The following timeline provides a history of the school closing and reopening guidance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Table 1

Timeline for School Closing and Reopening Guidance

Timeline for School Closing and Reopening Guidance

● On March 23, 2020, Governor Northam issued Executive Order Number Fifty-Three (PDF), closing all K–12 schools in Virginia for the remainder of the academic year.

● On June 9, 2020, Governor Northam announced a phased reopening of Pre-K–12 schools outlining guidance on instructional and service delivery for SY 2020–2021.

● On July 6, 2020, the state released updated phase guidance (PDF) as Virginia entered Phase Three of reopening for Virginia Public schools.

● On January 14, 2021, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) released the Interim Guidance: Operational Strategy and Phased Prevention for Virginia Pre-K-12 Schools.

● On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued the Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing

Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers.

● On February 5, 2021, Governor Northam directed school superintendents to provide options for in-person learning by March 15, 2021, in accordance with the latest guidance. His office also released a letter that elaborated further on the reasoning.

● On March 30, 2021, Governor Northam signed a bill (SB 1303) approved by the General Assembly of Virginia requiring all schools to offer in-person instruction for at least the minimum number of required instructional hours (180 days/990 hours) to any enrolled student during SY 2021–2022. School divisions may also offer a virtual option. ● The bill further states: “Any local school board may, for any period during which the Governor's declaration of a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic is in effect, provide fully remote virtual instruction to any enrolled student upon the request of such student's parent, guardian, or legal custodian.”