Schools, Mandates, and Money: Education in the 2009 Session of the Virginia General Assembly

This article will recount the development of this year\u27s revisions to the 2008-2010 budget, examine the long-term implications of budgetary decisions affecting public education, and review notable pieces of substantive education legislation. It will also highlight the major features of the new Standards of Accreditation-implementing graduation rate accountability-and special education regulations. Finally, this article will offer a framework for analyzing the critical education-funding decisions likely to come before the 2010 General Assembly as Virginia continues to feel the effects of a global economic crisis