Roanoke City Public Schools strives to ensure students have access and the opportunity to fully participate in their education, allowing them to reach their full potential. This includes advocating for our students, families, and staff with policymakers. Each year, the General Assembly considers numerous issues of importance to students and to the school employees who deliver the promise of a high-quality public education.

The priorities presented here are the Board’s primary areas of legislative focus and advocacy. RCPS also publishes position papers that provide local context and recommendations on select topics. We urge legislators to contact the School Board or Superintendent whenever local data and insight may inform efforts in Richmond. 

• Local Control – Teaching and learning are complex processes. Public education is a national priority and a state responsibility, but it is ultimately a local function. The Roanoke City School Board urges elected representatives to facilitate innovation and responsiveness to unique community needs by supporting local School Board authority. 
• School Safety & Security – Threats against schools are terrifying for communities and require the coordinated response of school leaders and law enforcement to rapidly determine the credibility of any threats. Because most threats are made by electronic means, Internet companies doing business in Virginia must be responsive to law enforcement to reduce the trauma of fear and the negative impact of lost instructional time when investigations are unnecessarily delayed waiting for records. 
• Commitment to Serving All Students – RCPS’ core beliefs include putting students first, celebrating diversity, valuing high-quality instruction, and valuing our community. RCPS urges legislators to share in this commitment to improving outcomes for all students, understanding the diverse families that make up our community, and the efforts necessary to optimize individual students' educational experience.
• Governance and Budget – RCPS concurs with concurs with one of the primary findings of the JLARC Report on Virginia’s K-12 Funding Formula, regarding the Local Composite Index (LCI) that, “despite being 50 years old, LCI formula remains a reasonable measure of local ability to pay.” Further, RCPS strongly supports many JLARC recommendations, specifically: 1) elimination of the support staff cap on positions; 2) calculation of salary and other cost assumptions using the division average rather than the linear weighted average; and 3) Adjust SOQ formula to remove the cap on non-personnel costs assumptions to account for facility staff costs. 
• Employee Compensation – RCPS appreciates the efforts of the General Assembly this biennium to persist in making necessary investments in K-12 employee compensation this biennium. However, the harsh reality is that Roanoke City teachers starting out in the profession today have $2810 less buying power than new teachers did 15 years ago. There are many factors related to the teacher shortage, but compensation remains chief among them. 
• Assessment & Accountability Modernization – The two-year flexibility on “through year growth assessments” enacted by the 2024 General Assembly was most appreciated and created a window of opportunity. RCPS staff are available to assist and inform needed modernization of assessment in the Commonwealth and legislative efforts to refine ongoing efforts to revise the accountability system. 

The one-page white papers below provide a quick glimpse at select educational priorities, providing a local perspective, allowing you to better understand the impact on your constituents.

• Assessment Modernization
• Governance & Finance: Employee Compensation 
• School Safety and Security: Internet Company Responsibilities
• Workplace Learning Experiences in the Accountability System