VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In a 7-1 vote, the Virginia Board of Education voted to implement a new accreditation policy that could add a rating, or ranking, to all public schools
Under Virginia's current system, there are three categories a school could be placed in: accredited, accredited with conditions, and not accredited.
A presentation made to board members stated the current model does not consider several factors, like recent test scores.
"The regulation provides a framework, it provides a lot of flexibility for this board and future boards to add new indicators and adjust the weights," said the presenter.
However, some school board members, like Anne Holton, said the proposed accreditation system would only target minority schools.
"As research shows it will likely exacerbate school segregation, which will in turn make our achievement gaps worse directly counter to this board's stated goals," said Holton.
Other board members fought back against this claim, calling the segregation claim "offensive" and the new accreditation is knowledge parents need to know.
"You can call it a blow, but Miss Holton, respectfully, telling the truth is not a blow. It is our obligation and it is an obligation we have failed at for far too long," said Andy Rotherham, a Youngkin appointee on the Virginia Board of Education.
If finalized, it would not be the first time Virginia has had a grading system. In 2015, Governor Terry McAuliffe repealed an "A to F" grading system that never went into effect for primary schools.
In Hampton Roads, parents seemed split on the new possible measure.
"My question is, who would determine the ranking?" asked Jennie Rice. "What kind of categories are we looking at? Seems like important information to know."
"I think it's a great idea," said Jay Valencia. "Parents should know what kind of school they are sending their kids to."
The proposal now enters a 60-day comment period for concerned parents and citizens to give feedback to the Virginia Board of Education.
There are also several listening sessions scheduled to hear in person from families. The closest one scheduled for Hampton Roads is April 9 at the Torggler Fine Arts Center at Christopher Newport University, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.