(HB2244)

GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 2244, which directs the State Board of Education to establish standards for recognizing student educational performance addressing disparities in access to educational resources across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups in public schools in the Commonwealth.

Ensuring Virginia schools are adequately reviewed to ensure student success has been a top priority of my administration, with the State Board of Education recently implementing the School Performance and Support Framework. This system is providing new insight that addresses the support needed for students struggling the most.

The changes in the bill would violate federal law and accountability requirements, possibly leading to Virginia’s state plans being denied by the U.S Department of Education. Further, the bill would unfairly punish schools based on things outside their direct control and could push schools to focus on increasing this metric instead of addressing student needs in the classroom.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.