SOQ Compliance Data Collection

 SOQ Compliance Data Collection

Certain provisions in the Code of Virginia, Board of Education regulations, and the Appropriation Act require school divisions to annually certify compliance.  These certifications are collected through the annual SOQ Compliance Data Collection.  This data collection begins in July of each year and must be completed by each school division by August.

School divisions use the Single Sign-On for Web-based Systems (SSWS) to complete the SOQ Compliance Data Collection.

SOQ Compliance

In accordance with § 22.1-18 of the Code of Virginia, the Board of Education is required to report the compliance of local school boards with the Standards of Quality (SOQ).  This compliance is collected through the SOQ Compliance Data Collection and included as part of the Board’s annual report to the General Assembly.

For general information on the SOQ, please see the Standards of Quality webpage.

Other Certifications

In addition to SOQ compliance, VDOE collects several other certifications and reporting requirements through the SOQ Compliance Data Collection, which are not included in the Board's annual report. These other certifications include compliance with requirements such as teacher employment, compulsory attendance and truancy, school accountability and accreditation, and others.  A complete list of all questions in the data collection, including the other certifications, is provided under “Resources” below.

Please note that Pre-Labor Day openings waivers have been eliminated for all school divisions except those offering year-round instructional programs.  For more information, please see the Pre-Labor Day Openings webpage.

SOQ Compliance Pilot Program

In October 2020, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) issued a report titled Operations and Performance of the Virginia Department of Education (PDF).  One of the recommendations included in this report was for the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to direct the creation of a pilot program to more comprehensively supervise school division compliance with a subset of key state standards.

In accordance with this recommendation, the 2021 General Assembly appropriated funds mandating the pilot program in Item 143.J of the 2021 Appropriation Act.  VDOE staff began work on the SOQ Compliance Pilot Program in spring 2021.  The following Superintendent's memos detail the ongoing work of this pilot program:

• Superintendent's Memo #173-21 (PDF) (June 2021) - Supplemental questions added to the 2020-2021 SOQ Compliance Data Collection.
• Superintendent’s Memo #305-21 (PDF) (November 2021) - Verification of SOQ Compliance began with documentation submitted by eight selected school divisions.
• Superintendent’s Memo #001-22 (PDF) (January 2022) - Verification of SOQ Compliance continued with all remaining divisions submitting documentation.

VDOE staff has also partnered with select school divisions to conduct additional auditing tasks. The agency will submit a report on the results of the SOQ Compliance Pilot Program to the Board of Education and General Assembly by November 30, 2022.

Contact

Please direct questions about the SOQ Compliance Data Collection to the Policy Office at (804) 225-2092 or policy@doe.virginia.gov.