VDOE :: Superintendent's Memo #166-16

July 8, 2016

TO: Division Superintendents

FROM: Steven R. Staples, Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT: 2015-2016 Data Collection: Compliance with the Standards of Quality and Other Requirements

Each year, in response to § 22.1-18 of the Code of Virginia, the Virginia Board of Education’s Annual Report to the General Assembly on the Condition and Needs of Public Education in Virginia includes the level of local school board compliance with the Standards of Quality (SOQ). In addition, other legal, regulatory, and budget provisions specify required annual certifications or responses from each school division, such as certification of compliance with teacher evaluation requirements, pre-Labor Day opening waivers, conditions for specially funded initiatives. This memo describes this year’s process for collecting the information needed to fulfill these requirements.

Please be advised that, beginning this year, to help ensure the accuracy of the compliance data submitted through this data collection, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) will seek follow-up documentation from randomly selected school divisions and compare it to information contained in other VDOE databases.
The 2015-2016 data collection through the Single Sign-On for Web-based Systems (SSWS) “SOQ Compliance and Other Requirements” application will be available beginning Monday, July 11, 2016. All school divisions must complete data submission via the SSWS portal no later than August 12, 2016.

Helpful information for the 2015-2016 SOQ Compliance data collection process follows:

Before entering data in the “SOQ Compliance and Other Requirements” application in the SSWS portal, please read the instructions on the SOQ Compliance home page.
To print copies of each section as it appears on the screen, right click your mouse while on the page you would like to print. A menu will pop up, and you may select “print.”
Section One – “SOQ Compliance,” requires a written corrective action plan in the accompanying text box for any element of noncompliance.
Section Two – “Other Requirements,” does not allow empty text boxes. All text boxes must include either the information requested or the term "Not applicable."
After entering all data, the system will generate reports of your responses that you may print for your records or save for future reference.
The application window will lock after you submit all data and click the “Finish” button and/or after the submission deadline of August 12. Once locked, access to the SOQ Compliance application requires contact with the Policy Office at the phone number or email address provided below.
The division superintendent and school board chair must sign the signature page of the verification report and submit the signed copy to the Policy Office at policydata@doe.virginia.gov by August 26, 2016. Please submit the entire four-page verification report after signatures are obtained.

If you have questions regarding the 2015-2016 SOQ Compliance data collection, please contact the Policy Office at (804) 225-2092 or policydata@doe.virginia.gov.

SRS/ZLR/bj

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