Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Legislative Program topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fairfax board reviews 2026 legislative program draft, asks staff for mapping, SOL fixes and JLARC follow‑up
Summary
At a Sept. 9 work session, the Fairfax County School Board reviewed staff recommendations for its 2026 legislative program, requested a mapping of 2025 priorities to legislative outcomes, and asked staff for suggested language and impact statements—particularly to address recent SOL assessment changes and potential federal funding shortfalls.
Fairfax County School Board members spent the latter portion of their Sept. 9 work session reviewing staff recommendations for the board’s 2026 legislative program and discussing how to coordinate advocacy with the county Board of Supervisors and the school division’s state and federal partners.
Michael Malloy, representing division government relations staff, briefed the board on the 2025 General Assembly session and on committees working year‑round, and presented staff recommendations for edits to the board’s standing state and federal positions. Malloy described a busy policy landscape: "This promises to be one of the more complicated General Assembly sessions that we've had in a while," he said, noting delayed enactment provisions, ongoing work groups at the Virginia Department of Education and potential budget pressures tied to federal actions.
Board members pressed staff for clearer prioritization and a mapping of what the board’s 2025 priorities produced in Richmond. "It would be helpful if we had some prioritization within these priorities," said Board Member Rachna Sizemore Heizer, asking staff to show which items were resolved, partially addressed or still outstanding so the board can pick the highest‑priority follow‑ups.
Several board members focused on specific policy items. Members raised changes to SOL assessments passed during the 2025 session—particularly timing and administration that could affect graduation and military‑connected students—and asked staff for suggested language to address those issues. "We gotta fix that," said Chair Sizemore Heizer, urging clear examples staff could take to legislators.
Board Member Andrew Frisch proposed federal priorities that he said he would like the board to pursue, including support for Medicaid, SNAP, McKinney‑Vento and Title IV funding, a reversal of recent FAFSA changes and protection of Public Service Loan Forgiveness. "These changes to FAFSA greatly limit their ability to succeed in the future," Frisch said of students facing constrained federal supports.
Board members also discussed timing: staff and members noted the county Board of Supervisors typically finalizes its legislative program in December, and suggested adopting Fairfax’s program after that date to avoid later addenda. Staff proposed a schedule that would allow the board to present a concise set of priority asks at the Oct. 7 legislative breakfast with local lawmakers and then finalize the formal program in November–December.
No formal votes on the legislative program were taken at the session; staff called the meeting an informational work session and asked members to submit edits and priority requests by an internal deadline. Malloy and staff will produce a mapping of 2025 priorities to legislative outcomes, suggested bill language or impact statements for high‑priority items, and a timeline for October outreach and December adoption.
What’s next: staff will return suggested bill language and a priority mapping; board members asked staff to prepare one‑page priority briefs for the Oct. 7 legislative breakfast and to outline procedures for submitting board‑sponsored bills or budget amendments to Richmond.
