RPS Advocacy Priorities & Updates

2026 Advocacy Updates

RPS Advocacy Update - March 6, 2026

🚨 Advocacy Action Alert: Send Emails to Legislators Today 🚨

Hello Advocates! First up, if you only have 5 minutes right now, please send a quick email to legislators using our simple form. Your voices matter as state budget negotiators make final decision on Virginia’s investments in K-12 education.

We’re finishing this session by advocating for the best budget possible – please take 5 minutes to customize one final advocacy action letter to legislators:

💌 Click here to send your message! 💌

Your letters are going to the senators and delegates who are appointed as budget conferees. This conference committee of 11 senior legislators will make all final decisions on what is included in the final budget to be voted upon by all 140 members. These decisions impact all Virginians so give this message a forward to friends and family too!

🏛️ Crossover & Budget Updates 🏛️

The last few weeks flew by as the mid-point of session was marked by Crossover and Budget Sunday. The big headline is that state budget writers have proposed modest but meaningful investments in K-12 public education. The highlights (see slide 2) include:

The House proposed a 2% salary increase, $400 million in flexible funding for infrastructure and operations, a modest increase in the Special Education Add-On, and additional funding for school construction grants.
The Senate proposed a 3% salary increase, $120 million in new At-Risk Add-On Funding, $60 million in flexible funding, and additional sales tax revenue from the expiration of the data center sales tax exemption.
Overall, the House budget does the most to help RPS right now but we are also grateful to the Senate for their investments, especially the increase in At-Risk Add-On funding over both years of the budget.
We’re also very happy to see the local option for a 1% School Construction Sales Tax included in the Senate budget proposal. There were concerns because the Senate Finance Committee had previously let other legislation die at crossover.

To catch up on the details, here’s our recent statement on the chambers’ budgets, and my slides and 15-minute presentation to the Richmond City School Board last week.

🗓️ The Final Weeks of the 2026 Regular Session 🗓️

Since the budgets were released, the legislature has been finishing committee hearings on bills that have come over from the opposite chamber. They are frequently substituting entire bills with the version that already passed their chamber – this sets the legislation up for a small “conference committee” of about 6 legislators (known as “conferees” to negotiate a final version of the bill to be considered by the full chambers. Since testimony was already heard on almost all topics before crossover, most committee meetings are moving quickly, with less testimony being allowed.

With only one week of session left until the General Assembly adjourns Sine Die on Saturday, March 14, one of the major issues remaining to resolve is whether to end the tax exemption for data centers. If the budget conferees do not come to agreement, the legislature will adjourn without adopting a budget and will call a special session this spring to come back to Richmond.

📃 Bill Tracker & Governor’s Action 🗓️

Here’s the latest update on our tracked legislation. As you’ll see, many bills have now been tabled, continued, or passed by – all of which mean the bill has died. This will be the last report in which we include inactive legislation, as we’re now moving on to the Governor’s Action part of the legislative process.

Once a bill passes the General Assembly, the Governor has options! She can approve the bill, veto the bill, or recommend amendments to the bill. Vetos can be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote of each chamber. Amendments must be approved by a simple majority from each chamber. If they reject the amendments, the Governor has one final chance to veto the bill.

The General Assembly will reconvene on April 22, 2026 to consider the actions taken by the Governor, and most of the new laws will go into effect on July 1 of this year. If a law has a delayed effective date, you’ll find it in one of the final lines of the bill.

🗞️ Recent News 🗞️

Don’t forget about the VaNews from the Virginia Public Access Project, it’s a wonderful resource to keep up with all the General Assembly news. Here’s a few stories from the last week:

Virginia's House and Senate pass budget versions, reconciling them now starts (Dave Ress, Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Workers, Speaker Scott criticize plan to axe data center tax exemption as budgets advance (Shannon Heckt, Virginia Mercury)
Some rural legislators worry that ending tax incentives for data centers would also end rural Virginia’s opportunity to cash in (Dwayne Yancey, Cardinal News)
Proposal to eliminate data center tax break creates strange bedfellows in Virginia (Brad Kutner, Radio IQ)
Immigration arrests spark bills to guarantee K-12 education rights for all Va. students (Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury)
School cell phone ban bill advances again (Jonathan Scott, Richmond Capital News Service)
Lawmakers advance bills to set up child care cost-sharing pilot (Megan Pauly, VPM)

As always, thanks for advocating and staying informed!

Matthe

RPS Advocacy Update - February 15, 2026

🏛️ TOMORROW: Virginia Education Lobby Day 🏛️

Hello Advocates! We hope to see you at the General Assembly Building tomorrow, Monday, February 16, for the annual education lobby day. Here’s the schedule and other important details:

8:00 AM to 11:00 AM → Arrive at the General Assembly Building (enter at Broad and 9th) and come meet the RPS and REA team in the 2nd Floor House Atrium (outside House Rooms B and C). We’ll provide you with advocacy swag and signs, our legislative priorities handout, and legislator visit lists to drop off our handouts and signs at each office.
10:00 AM to 1:00 PM → Visit the Capitol and Visitor’s Center, stopping into the House and/or Senate galleries to observe the legislature’s floor sessions. It’s the day before crossover, so there will be many bills being debated on the floors of the House and Senate.

What to Wear: Business casual -- polished, clean, and comfortable for walking. Formal business wear is optional. Consider: collared shirts, cardigans, blouses, slacks/khakis, dresses, or skirts. Please avoid casual T-shirts, ripped denim, athletic wear, or clothing with large logos/slogans...with one exception: advocacy-based shirts (like our “Fund Schools” design) are welcome and encouraged, especially when paired with a blazer, cardigan, or jacket. Layers are also helpful as the General Assembly Building can run warm. If you have options, consider wearing red (#Red4Ed) and/or blue (RPS’s primary color).

Parking: Attendees are encouraged to carpool and park in the Capitol Visitor Parking Deck located on (9th Street between Main and Franklin. Rate: $5 per hour, $20 Daily - Credit, MasterCard and VISA accepted. If full, there are other parking decks around Capitol Square, including at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (8th & Grace) and the Truist Center (Cary & 9th).

Questions? Reply to this email or text me at 804-904-7828.

🚨 Advocacy Action Alert: Send Emails to Legislators Today 🚨

Thank you to everyone who acted on our last Advocacy Action Alert and sent emails to legislators. As of today, you’ve already sent 672 emails to Senators!!

Click this link to send a NEW Advocacy Action Alert to the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee to keep advocating for this funding.

Extra Credit Reminder! Send the link to friends across Virginia; these emails are going to statewide budget leaders and will support all schools!

We’re already working on our next Advocacy Action Alert so keep up the momentum and take 5 minutes to send a new round of emails this week.

🗓️ Crossover is this week! 🗓️

Crossover marks the mid-point of session when all legislation must have been acted upon by the chamber that introduced it, or the legislation is dead for this session. Here’s a great infographic from VPAP with stats from last year.

As of today, 536 bills have passed the House and 405 bills have passed the Senate. These numbers will swell over the next two days and then all legislation that’s still alive will be considered by the other chamber.

Stay tuned for a post-crossover bill report with updated statuses on all the legislation we’re following.

Many thanks,

Matthew

RPS Advocacy Update - February 7, 2026

🚨 Send Emails to Legislators Today 🚨

Hello RPS advocates!

Click this link to send your first advocacy action alerts to legislators! These emails to the members of the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee will ask them to support the Senate’s legislation to write student-based funding add-ons into law.

Extra Credit! Send the link to friends across Virginia; these emails are going to statewide budget leaders and will support all schools!

I’ll continue to send you new advocacy action alerts over the next few weeks. These campaigns can be very impactful, and I hope you will take 5 minutes to edit and send off each of them.

💪 Virtual Advocacy Training 💪

This week, we flexed our Zoom muscles and held our first Virtual Advocacy Day because of icy conditions. Over 60 of you showed up ready to advocate safely from home – thank you! While in-person advocacy is encouraged during the General Assembly sessions, we maximized our advocacy opportunities and had a packed morning – meeting virtually with our Richmond legislators, reviewing RPS advocacy priorities and building our advocacy skills.

Check out our slides for more info on what we’re following and how to send effective advocacy emails.

Advocacy is always team sport so let’s send a huge thank you to the team who showed up and slam dunked our virtual event: Senator Lamont Bagby, Senator Mike Jones, Delegate Rae Cousins, Nigel Hawkins, Shavonda Dixon-Fernandez, Katie Ricard, Jason Kamras, Emma Clark, Victoria Gochez, and Nannette Bailey…thank you! These incredible people are pouring their hearts into RPS and RVA all day, every day. Please join me in thanking them!

🏛️ Legislative Reports & Positions 🏛️

Some quick session stats:

2688 total bills and resolutions introduced as of today
Almost 1000 pages of budget amendments were introduced for the state budget bills
- The introduced budget totals $188.7 billion over two years
We’re tracking over 243 bills and budget amendments covering everything that impacts early childhood and K-12 education

Legislative Tracking and Positions:

For updates on the bills and budget amendments that advance our RPS legislative priorities, review my recent update to the Richmond City School Board.
You can also review legislation that RPS is tracking – this list includes notations about bills that we prioritize, support, or are monitoring closely. If you have any questions about how a bill could impact RPS or would like to provide feedback to inform an RPS position, please contact me.

🗓️ Stay tuned for more advocacy alerts and advocacy day info 🗓️

Over the next three weeks, we’ll have several more updates for how to get involved during this year’s session. Plan to come downtown on Monday, February 16th for the annual education lobby day – we’ll share all the details later this week.

Before I sign off, I hope you will join me to acknowledge the weight of the world around us. It is heavy yet I know Richmond remains strong and that lightens my heart. Our new Lieutenant Governor recently shared some poems with us and I’ll leave you with this one for a moment of weekend reflection:

Make your wit a guard and cover.
Sing low, sing high, sing wide.
Let your laughter come free
remembering looking toward peace:
“We must disenthrall ourselves.”

Be well and warm!

Matthe

RPS State Advocacy Update - January 27, 2026

Fun Fact! In recent decades, the General Assembly has never called off floor sessions due to weather. In the modern era, there have been only a few true “snow day” disruptions, including major winter storms in 2010 and 2016. Even with this week’s storm impacts, the General Assembly has continued convening, with some meeting schedules adjusted for safety.

Since our last update, the General Assembly is in full swing, and Virginia’s new statewide leaders were sworn in on January 17, 2026: Governor Abigail Spanberger, Lt. Governor Ghazala Hashmi, and Attorney General Jay Jones. We’ve begun meeting with members of the Richmond delegation and look forward to working with them throughout the session, including Richmond’s newest delegate, Charlie Schmidt, who won the special election for the House seat vacated by now-Senator Mike Jones.

📋 This Week At-a-Glance 📋

This week, subcommittees are continuing to hold hearings on introduced legislation. If you are interested in a particular bill, now is the time to learn more about it and engage with legislators about your position. If you want to come testify, note which subcommittee it has been assigned to and when that subcommittee meets. You can find all this information through Virginia’s Legislative Information System (LIS) or reach out to me directly for assistance. I would love to accompany you to the General Assembly!

On Monday, RPS is hosting our annual advocacy day at the General Assembly! If you would like to join us, please see more information and register here.

And finally, at this Thursday’s RPS Legislative Committee (see below for details), we’ll be reviewing tracked legislation and an update will be shared out via email afterwards with an updated bill list. Stay tuned for more updates and letter-writing campaigns in our next update!

Thank you for following along and supporting RPS students and staff!

Matthew

🚨 What can you do today? 🚨

RSVP to attend Virginia’s biggest rally to support public education, the Virginia Education Association Lobby Day on Monday, February 16. Show up on this holiday to amplify Virginia’s collective voice to fund school!
Read more from The Commonwealth Institute about current legislation being considered by the legislature that would fund additional per-pupil add-ons for students with the highest needs.
Print a copy of our Fund Schools advocacy poster and hang it in your window, on community boards, or anywhere else where people will see it!

Upcoming Advocacy Events 🗓️

RPS Legislative Committee Meeting
Thursday, January 29 | 6:00 p.m.
Watch virtually on YouTube at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SKD2R9RYRE

To learn more about the legislation that RPS is following, watch our School Board Legislative Committee meeting on Thursday night! If you have questions about any legislation, please feel free to send questions to Matthew Stanley (mstanley@rvaschools.net) in advance and we will try to address them during the meeting.

RPS Advocacy Day
Monday, February 2 | 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Richmond City Hall & Virginia General Assembly Building
Register at: https://forms.gle/ecGfTr1hH7Z7u1kB9

Join RPS students, staff, parents, caregivers, and leaders for this year’s RPS Advocacy Day! This year’s advocacy day will include a legislative briefing, visits with General Assembly members, and visits to the House and Senate chambers in the Capitol. Space is limited so please RSVP today.

Fund Our Schools Advocacy Day
Tuesday, February 3 | 8:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Virginia General Assembly Building
Register at: www.fundourschoolsva.org/2026-advocacy-day

Join the Fund Our Schools coalition for their advocacy day! The day will kick off at 8:45am with breakfast at the General Assembly building and wrap up around 1pm with floor introductions. Advocated will spend most of their time meeting with legislators to urge them to support increased funding for our public schools.

Bonus! To get ready for Advocacy Day, Fund Our Schools is hosting virtual training sessions for participants to learn more about the General Assembly process, how to advocate effectively, and FOS’s priorities for the 2026 session.

Training dates:

(TODAY!) Tuesday, January 27, at 2pm – register here!
Thursday, January 29, at 6:30pm – register here!

Virginia Education Association Lobby Day
Monday, February 16 | 7:30 a.m.
Virginia General Assembly Building
Register at: www.mobilize.us/vea/event/851111

Come join education associations from around the Commonwealth for the biggest education advocacy event of the General Assembly session! The VEA Lobby Day is the day to show up in big numbers, wearing red to support public education. Visit their website to register and learn more. Events include:

Lobby Day (Monday, February 16 — Presidents’ Day): All participants will meet at 7:30 a.m. in House Room 3 inside the Virginia State Capitol for a 30-minute briefing before proceeding to the General Assembly Building to begin lobbying visits.
Pre–Lobby Day Briefing (Sunday, February 15): VEA will host an in-person briefing beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the Omni Richmond Downtown (100 S. 12th St., Richmond, VA 23219) in Salon D (2nd Floor).
Legislative Reception (Sunday, February 15): Following the briefing, VEA will host a legislative reception at 6:30 p.m.

Looking Ahead 👀

February 2 – RPS Advocacy Day
February 3 – Fund Our Schools Advocacy Day
February 16 – Virginia Education Association Lobby Day and Rally
February 17 – Crossover (the deadline for all legislation to pass from one chamber to the other)
February 22 – Budget Sunday (when the House and Senate release their respective budget proposals)
March 14 – Expected adjournment (Sine Die) of the 2026 Regular Session

RPS State Advocacy Update - January 9, 2026

Happy Friday and welcome to all the new folks on our mailing list! Today, I am resending our update from Wednesday and sharing two events happening in the next few days that we hope you can join us for! Have a great weekend!

🗓️Events on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday!

We want YOU for the Light Brigade!
Sunday, January 11 | 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Bellevue Overpass (I-95) and Skipwith Overpass (I-64)
Register at: bit.ly/lightbrigade3

Join the Richmond Education Association and RPS staff to welcome our legislators back to Richmond for the 2026 General Assembly session with one of our two overpass light brigades! Our signs will spell out "FUND OUR SCHOOLS". We need at least 14 people for each bridge – I’ll be helping out at the Skipwith bridge if you want to come and chat legislation and policy while we welcome legislators to town! Please sign up at bit.ly/lightbrigade3 – more details below!

Get the Knowledge to Impact Education: A Regional Conversation Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Richmond Metro Area
Monday, January 12 | 6–7 pm
Register at: www.lwv-rva.org/ed_advocacy2025

The League of Women Voters of the Richmond Metro Area is hosting a virtual panel featuring the legislative directors for Richmond Public Schools, Chesterfield County Schools, and Henrico County Schools to discuss Virginia’s 2026 legislative and public education landscape. Join us to learn more about what’s ahead and how you can shape it. Everyone is welcome!

LWVRMAEducationAdvocacyConversationJan122025 (PDF)

RPS State Advocacy Update - January 7, 2026

Hello RPS advocates!

The Virginia General Assembly will convene its 2026 Regular Session on Wednesday, January 14, kicking off a long session that is expected to run through March 14 (Sine Die). Over the next two months, legislators will debate thousands of bills and make critical decisions about the state budget — including how Virginia funds public education.

As the session unfolds, I’ll be sharing weekly advocacy updates highlighting key legislative developments, important opportunities to engage, and concrete ways to support Richmond Public Schools’ state advocacy priorities. If you’re receiving this email, you’re already on our list — please feel free to share it with others who may want to stay informed. New subscribers can sign up using our email update form.

We’ll share more about specific legislation and budget developments in future updates. For now, I hope you’ll join us for a few upcoming opportunities to learn more and get involved early in the session.

With appreciation,

Matthew

🚨 What can you do today? 🚨

Read our 2026 Legislative Priorities to learn more about what RPS will be advocating for during this General Assembly session.
Sign up to receive RPS state advocacy updates so you don’t miss important developments, action alerts, and upcoming events throughout the General Assembly session.
Register to attend one of our upcoming advocacy events below!

Upcoming Advocacy Events 🗓️

State Advocacy 101: Get Involved During the General Assembly Session
Join RPS and the Richmond Education Association for an advocacy training focused on RPS state priorities and practical ways to engage during the legislative session. Participants will leave with concrete tools and next steps for effective advocacy. Light refreshments provided!

Monday, January 12 | 4–5:30 p.m.
G.H. Reid Elementary School (1301 Whitehead Road)
Tuesday, January 13 | 5–6:30 p.m.
Dogwood Middle School (1701 Floyd Avenue)

Community Screenprinting in Support of Education Justice
Friday, January 16 | 2–5 p.m.
Studio Two Three (109 W. 15th Street, Richmond)
Register at: bit.ly/rps-printing

Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of organized, people-powered advocacy, this hands-on event brings together art, advocacy, and community action. Participants will screen-print advocacy posters that will be displayed throughout downtown Richmond during the legislative session to raise awareness and encourage lawmakers to prioritize funding for public schools.

Materials and light refreshments will be provided. Participants are welcome to bring their own blank t-shirts, tote bags, or other printable materials.

Looking Ahead 👀

January 14 – Session begins!
February 2 – RPS State Advocacy Day / Lobby Day
(Details and registration coming next week)
February 16 – Virginia Education Association Advocacy Day - Register here!
March 14 – Expected adjournment (Sine Die) of the 2026 Regular Session

RPS 2026 Legislative Advocacy Priorities

Our Most Recent Update on RPS Legislative Priorities

LegislativeAdvocacyUpdatefor3-2-26WorkSession (PDF)

More Advocacy Resources & Archive

RPS Tracked Legislation - March 5 2026

Legislative Advocacy Update for 3-2-26 School Board WorkSession

RPS Tracked Legislation - 2/7/26

RPSLegislativeTrackingReport-2026-02-07 (PDF)

Legislative Advocacy Update for 2-2-26 School Board Work Session

LegislativeAdvocacyUpdatefor2-2-26WorkSession (PDF)

RPS 2026 Virtual Advocacy Day Slides

RPS Tracked Legislation - 1/30/26

RPSTrackedLegislation-January302026 (PDF)

2026 RPS Legislative Advocacy Priorities

Fund Schools Poster

RPS State Advocacy Training Slides - 2026 Session

2026 LWV Regional Legislative Advocacy Forum Recording

Recording of 2026 LWV Regional Legislative Advocacy Forum

2026 League of Women Voters Regional Legislative Advocacy Presentation

2026LWVRegionalLegislativeAdvocacyPresentation (PDF)

REA Light Brigade

RPS State Advocacy 101 Trainings

LWV Education Advocacy Conversation

RPS Community Screenprinting Event

RPS 2026 Legislative Advocacy Priorities

2026LegislativeAdvocacyUpdatefor12-2-25BusinessMeeting1 (PDF)

2025 Legislative Advocacy Update for 4-7-25 Board Work Session

2025 Legislative Advocacy Update for 3-3-25 Board Work Session

2025 Legislative Advocacy Update for 2-3-25 School Board Meeting

2025LegislativeAdvocacyUpdatefor2-3-25WorkSession (PDF)

RPS 2025 Legislative Advocacy Priorities

RPS Public Comment on JLARC Recommendations - October 2024

RPSCommentonJLARCStudy-October2024-Final (PDF)

March 4, 2024 Crossover Letter to Budget Conferees

First page of the PDF file: FINAL-RPSCrossoverLettertoLegislators

2024 Legislative Advocacy Update for 3-4-24 Board Meeting

2024 Legislative Advocacy Update for 2-5-24 Board Meeting

2024 Legislative Advocacy Priorities

UR Law Review Article on School Construction by Matthew Stanley

First page of the PDF file: TheSuccessofEstablishingLegislativeCommissionstoAddressCo1

2023 Legislative Advocacy Update

2023 Legislative Advocacy Priorities

Advocacy Form Letters

RPS Legislative Advocacy Update - February 1 2022

First page of the PDF file: RPSLegislativeAdvocacyUpdate-February12021

RPS Legislative Advocacy Update - January 3 2022

RPS 2021 Legislative Advocacy Priorities

2021 Advocacy Form Letters

Advocacy Partners

RPS is proud to advocate alongside many organizations in our city, state, and nation that are advocating for students, teachers, and public education. Visit the organizations below to learn more about public education policy and other opportunities to get involved.

Fund Our Schools

Fund Our Schools is a statewide coalition of parents, students, teachers, and organizations who believe that every child in every zip code across the Commonwealth of Virginia should have access to a high-quality public education. The campaign officially launched in December 2019, and advocates quickly began mobilizing and organizing across the state at budget hearings and throughout the General Assembly legislative sessions.

Virginia Education Association

The VEA represents more than 40,000 teachers and school support professionals working for the betterment of public education in the Commonwealth. They have a robust legislative advocacy program and online action center.

Virginia School Boards Association

The Richmond City School Board belongs to the Virginia School Boards Association, a voluntary, nonpartisan organization of Virginia school boards, promotes excellence in public education through leadership, advocacy and services.

The Council of the Great City Schools

The Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) brings together 76 of nation’s largest urban public school systems in a coalition dedicated to the improvement of education for children in the inner cities. The Council keeps the nation’s lawmakers, the media, and the public informed about the progress and problems in big-city schools. The organization does this through legislation, communications, research, and technical assistance.

The Commonwealth Institute

The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis provides credible, independent and accessible information and analyses of fiscal and economic issues with particular attention to the impacts on low- and moderate-income persons.

Voices for Virginia's Children

Founded in 1994, Voices for Virginia’s Children is the commonwealth’s only independent, multi-issue child policy and advocacy organization.

Virginia News & Politics

The Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) is a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks, analyzes, and reports data and news related to Virginia politics.

They offer a free news aggregation service that provides daily news clips from Virginia's newspapers and media outlets.

Visit VPAP and learn more!

Matthew P. Stanley

Director of Advocacy & Outreach

(804) 904-7828
mstanley@rvaschools.net

301 North 9th Street
15th Floor
Richmond, VA 23219

LinkedIn: @matthewpstanley