The House Appropriations Committee ensures public schools in Virginia receive adequate state support to meet the state’s constitutional expectations for public schools that are codified in the Standards of Quality (SOQ).
The Committee exceeds its obligation to K-12 education by funding initiatives to increase teacher pay, improve student outcomes, and make capital improvements. In recent years, the Committee has focused on teacher retention, student performance, and chronic absenteeism.
Budget Overview
More general funds are appropriated to K-12 education than any other state government area. In FY 2026, $9.8 billion in general funds supported K-12, or 29.9% of all general funds.
The K-12 system is funded through a mix of local, state, and federal funds:
State
- General Funds. Most K-12 operations are supported through these revenues. $8.0 billion provided in FY 2026 (Ch 725)
- Sales Tax. A 1 1/8% dedicated state sales tax is distributed to school divisions based on the distribution of school age children in Virginia. These are also classified as General Funds. $1.8 billion provided in FY 2026 (Ch 725)
- Lottery Proceeds Fund. Proceeds are constitutionally required to be distributed to school divisions. $899.3 million provided in FY 2026 (Ch 725)
- Literary Fund. Constitutionally-restricted fund to support K-12; consists of fines, fees, forfeitures and unclaimed lottery prizes. $175.0 million provided in FY 2026 (Ch 725)
- School Construction Fund. A portion of casino gaming revenues support this fund. $110.0 million provided in FY 2026 (Ch 725).
- Other State Sources. $22.3 million provided in FY 2026 (Ch 725).
Local Funding
- Required Local Effort/Match. Localities are required to raise a specified amount of revenue to support their constituent school divisions. In FY 2026, localities are required to contribute at least $6.8 million in local matching funds
- Additional Local Support. Localities usually exceed the minimum level of support. In FY 24, localities exceeded the minimum contribution of $5.7 billion, by $4.5 billion
Federal
- Several federal funding sources are directed to public education, most are programmed to support struggling schools, school breakfast and lunch, and special education. $1.7 billion provided in FY 2026 (Ch 725).
About 98% of the appropriated public education funds are distributed to each school division, remaining amounts support the Department of Education and other statewide education initiatives. The total estimated costs are based on prevailing statewide salaries and per pupil costs, and are updated biennially during rebenchmarking. Each school division receives its portion of the 1-1/8 cent K-12 sales tax based on the number of school age children in the jurisdiction. Remaining costs are then shared between the state and localities, with the state and local shares determined by the Local Composite Index (LCI), a measure comparing each locality’s ability to raise revenue.
Most other distributed funds are targeted to support specific initiatives or student groups, such as reduced class sizes in high-poverty schools, intensive special education services, and school breakfast.
Program / Policy Highlights
- Standards of Quality
Establishes minimum staffing standards, which are used along with prevailing salary and cost data, to determine the minimum amount of funding needed for each school division to provide a quality education for Virginia students
- Salary Increases for Teachers and Support Staff
Supports incentives for school divisions to increase employee salaries by providing state matching funds
- School Construction Assistance Grants
Awards need-based grants to school divisions to cover up to 30% of the cost of capital improvement projects, funded with a portion of casino gaming revenue
- College Partnership Laboratory Schools
Supports collaboration between public schools and higher education institutions to create laboratory schools with one-time funding awarded during the 2022-2024 biennium. Schools established with these funds are expected to be self-supporting within five years.
- Standards of Learning Assessments
Virginia’s standardized testing system for public school students costs about $40 million annually. Efforts are underway to modernize the system that was implemented nearly 20 years ago.
Reports and Presentations
K-12 Budget 101
Resources and Deep Dives
Staff Contact
