Victoria Manning, senior investigative researcher for Restoration News Media, said April 3 that a special election tied to a constitutional amendment on congressional redistricting could affect Virginia public school calendars and required instructional time.
In 2020, Virginia voters approved an independent redistricting commission that shifted congressional mapmaking away from lawmakers. However, a proposed amendment would temporarily restore legislative authority over maps ahead of the next federal census.
According to Manning, the issue centers around school closures in divisions where buildings serve as polling precincts. State law then requires districts to compensate for lost instructional time or face funding reductions. Manning made her statement in a column published by Restoration News, referencing her service on the Virginia Beach School Board and the adoption of a calendar with only the minimum number of teaching days.
“Democrats, led by their teachers’ union overlords, push to take away more learning time for students. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the teachers’ union wants to keep kids out of school after they forced long, harmful school closures during COVID,” Manning said in her column. “Students are still struggling from that lost learning time, but the union doesn’t care. Virginia Democrats and the teachers’ union created this mess with their own power plays, yet they expect students to bear the cost. School closures for partisan redistricting should not come at the expense of instructional time.” She also said, “Virginia students have already suffered enough under Democrat rule.”
According to Virginia Law, the state requires school boards to provide a minimum of 180 teaching days or 990 instructional hours each year. The Virginia Beach Education Association petitioned against extending the school day by ten minutes for six weeks following election-related closures, citing disruption to staff and family schedules. Specialty centers in the district operate at exactly 990 hours, making any reduction in makeup time a potential violation of state standards.
Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show Virginia students experienced significant learning loss in reading and math following extended school closures during the pandemic period. Statewide proficiency rates declined in multiple grade levels and have not fully recovered. School divisions across Virginia continue efforts such as extended calendars and additional instructional hours to address these gaps while facing new pressures from redistricting-related closures.
Manning previously served as an elected member of the Virginia Beach School Board. She holds a master’s degree in law and focuses her research on education policy and student outcomes.
