VDOE cites funding carryover hurdles; Sen. Ghazala Hashmi raises alarm over missed timelines.
The Virginia Department of Education is pushing back against accusations that it failed to follow the General Assembly’s directive to create a new statewide student assessment system.
In 2022, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and lawmakers sought to build a new system with “rigorous standards” for students, “best-in-class assessments, and a transparent and meaningful accountability and support system,” according to a Jan. 9 report.
The agency suggested in a statement to The Mercury that lawmakers could have avoided delays by including “mandatory carry forward language” when appropriating $500,000 for the project, which would have allowed officials to begin soliciting proposals from qualified vendors immediately.
“No General Assembly deadlines have been missed, and the General Assembly has been steadily updated,” said Kenita Matthews, a VDOE spokeswoman, in a statement last week.
The response came after Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Richmond, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor and chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health, raised concerns about delays and risks in a letter to Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera and Superintendent of Public Instruction Emily Anne Guillickson.
In her Sept. 22 letter, Hashmi noted that no Request for Proposals (RFP) had been issued following the legislature’s authorization for the agency to extend the existing Standards of Learning assessment contract with Pearson, an educational publishing company, through Dec. 31, 2027. The intent was to ensure “continuity of testing” while a new contract is secured.
Hashmi added that lawmakers appropriated $500,000 for VDOE to hire a vendor to analyze options for an innovative new assessment system and to craft a competitive RFP with input from a work group of superintendents, teachers, principals, and assessment experts.
Under the budget language, a report with cost options and recommendations is due to the House and Senate education and appropriations committees by Nov. 1.
Hashmi wrote that the education committees were told the RFP would be issued by Sept. 1, but that deadline was missed and monthly updates had not been submitted.
Without a vendor and a project plan underway, she warned, the timeline for releasing an RFP next year “cannot be met.”
“The absence of market analysis and cost estimates will force the 2026 General Assembly to appropriate funds for a new multi-year assessment contract without the benefit of informed estimates or competitive bids, risking either underfunding the program or committing tens of millions of dollars beyond what is necessary,” Hashmi wrote. “Inaction now jeopardizes both fiscal responsibility and the quality of assessments for our students. The stakes are significant.”
Matthews countered that because the budget did not allow the funds to carry over from fiscal year 2025 to 2026, the agency needed approval before moving forward. She said there was not enough time to properly hire a consultant before June, when the governor approved VDOE’s expedited discretionary carryover request on Aug. 25.
Typically, the governor must approve leftover funding for the following year in the fall, Matthews said.
“To ensure compliance with procurement policies and procedures the department had to ensure that the carryover request was approved, and carryover funding was allotted prior to posting an RFP and approved funding/appropriation was available to support the awarding of a contract to an assessment consultant,” she wrote.
Matthews said VDOE is now finalizing the procurement process for the mandated assessment vendor and expects to issue the RFP no later than October 6.
She added that VDOE will resume providing monthly updates to lawmakers. The work group also has six meetings scheduled before the end of the year, two of them ahead of the Nov. 1 reporting deadline.
Hashmi received a response letter from Gullickson, which she is currently reviewing.
“This is a substantial undertaking by the commonwealth that will impact our school districts, educators, and students for years to come, and we have a condensed time frame to act,” Hashmi said in a statement to the Mercury. “It is time to get serious with the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, continue a transparent process with stakeholders, and ensure our students are well-positioned for success in 2026.”
