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Schools
Stafford County voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to authorize a local sales tax of up to 1 percent dedicated to school capital projects, a question now on the ballot as the school division faces separate questions about how it accounts for staff events and related spending.
The Board of Supervisors approved placing the measure on the ballot July 7. Stafford Circuit Court entered the order July 20. The option became available after a late addition to the state budget following June 29, when the General Assembly extended to all Virginia localities the power to seek voter approval for an extra sales-and-use tax limited to school construction and major renovations.
Prince William County Public Schools has expanded public access to high school running tracks after a successful pilot program, allowing community members to walk, jog, or run at most high schools during designated hours.
According to Meghan Silas, a spokeswoman for the school division, PWCS traditionally kept high school tracks closed to the public outside of school activities and formal community rentals. Limited access began at Colgan High School and Forest Park High School roughly five years ago.
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The University of Mary Washington will open its Fall 2027 application on Aug. 1 through its website or the Common App and has joined the Common App Direct Admissions program for eligible Virginia students, the University of Mary Washington reported. Direct admission offers are non-binding, waive the application fee and give students an early indication of acceptance along with details on more than 100 majors, scholarships, the new Piscopo Rodgers Science Fellows program, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and other pathways.
The Fredericksburg-based public liberal arts university said the initiative reduces barriers in the college search process and aligns with its longstanding focus on access and student success for Virginia applicants, who can activate it simply by adding UMW to their Common App list.
The Manassas City School Board on Tuesday, July 28, approved the 2026-27 Student Code of Conduct on a 6-1 vote, choosing a version with no explicit reference to artificial intelligence. The decision capped two weeks of discussion that began when Board Member Sara Brescia proposed clear language banning unauthorized use of tools such as ChatGPT.
Two options were presented:
Stafford County Public Schools has announced which schools will provide free breakfast and lunch to all students under the Community Eligibility Provision this school year.
Participating schools include Anne E. Moncure, Kate Waller Barrett, Widewater, Falmouth, Rocky Run and Falls Run elementary schools, Edward E. Drew Middle School, and the North Star and Rising Star Head Start programs. Students at these schools get meals at no cost with no application required.
“Spotsylvania School Board member Jennifer Craig-Ford is seeking an opinion from the Virginia attorney general on whether local school boards can require suspicion-less pre-employment drug testing of teachers and other staff with direct student contact,” Fredericksburg Free Press reported. Craig-Ford, who voted with the board majority earlier this month against implementing such testing, has asked local legislators to request formal guidance on four questions involving state law, constitutional limits under the Fourth Amendment and Virginia Constitution, and whether rules differ for new hires or specific employee categories.
The school division already conducts federally required testing for commercial driver’s license bus drivers and suspicion-based testing for other employees; no other Virginia school division currently mandates pre-employment drug screens for classroom staff. Delegates Nicole Cole and Josh Cole said they will send a joint letter to Attorney General Jay Jones seeking the opinion.
Fairfax County Public Schools is rolling out card readers on school buses that students will tap as they board and exit beginning this fall, WTOP reported. New student ID cards will be distributed for the 2026-27 school year as part of a transportation modernization effort; the taps will allow the district to know which students are on each bus for improved safety and efficiency, while buses receive mobile tablets showing turn-by-turn routes and student information as they board.
The system tracks only the bus location, not individual students’ locations. Cards will be color-coded by school and include a QR code plus the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number required by Virginia law. A family app with real-time bus location and boarding updates is planned for later in the fall, and the cards will eventually support other uses such as school meals and field trips. Families with questions can contact the Fairfax County Public Schools Office of Transportation.
