The Fairfax County School Board wants Richmond to fund universal Pre-K, and it wants Congress to restore food assistance benefits cut in 2025.

Those asks topped a list of 19 legislative priorities the board adopted unanimously on Oct. 8, with one member absent, as first reported by FFXnow. The vote sets the board's lobbying agenda ahead of the Virginia General Assembly session starting in January and ongoing federal budget debates.

Eight priorities target state lawmakers. Eleven address Congress and the federal government.

Pre-K and school meals

On the state side, the board is asking Virginia to fund universal pre-kindergarten for all children who turn four by Sept. 30. During the 2024-2025 school year, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) served only 80% of income-eligible three- and four-year-olds who completed pre-K applications, according to board documents. That left almost 500 eligible students without a spot.

The board also wants the state to expand access to free school meals. When federal funding covered meals for all students in 2022, FCPS served more than 30,000 additional lunches and 20,000 additional breakfasts each day compared with 2023, after that universal reimbursement ended.

SNAP and federal funding

At the federal level, the board is pushing to restore Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits cut by the budget reconciliation bill President Donald Trump signed on July 4, 2025. That law changed eligibility criteria and shifted more administrative costs to states, FFXnow reported in June. Nationwide, SNAP enrollment dropped by 3.5 million people, according to that report.

SNAP connects eligible students to free or reduced-price school meals through direct certification. In fiscal year 2027, FCPS expects more than 64,000 students, nearly 37% of enrollment, to qualify for free or reduced-price meals, according to the board's federal priorities document.

Other federal priorities include increasing Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding. FCPS projects more than 31,000 students will receive special education services in fiscal year 2027, but federal IDEA money covers less than 8% of those costs. Full funding at the promised 40% level would bring an estimated $165.4 million more to the district.

The board also wants to protect Head Start programs, preserve the E-Rate technology discount for schools, and reduce the impact of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) expirations. FCPS estimates 840 employees could lose work authorization by 2030 if TPS designations end without transition pathways.

State funding gap and FOIA

State aid and sales tax cover only 27.4% of the FCPS fiscal year 2027 operating budget, board documents show. The board is asking the General Assembly to implement funding formula changes recommended by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission in 2023, including one that could bring FCPS an estimated $187 million by creating a labor cost index reflecting regional cost-of-living differences.

FCPS also faces more than $2 billion in unfunded long-term capital needs and wants more state money for school facilities.

On transparency, the board is seeking reforms to Virginia's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that address how open-meeting requirements affect large public bodies and provide state relief from compliance costs.

What's next

Ricardy Anderson, the board's legislative chair, said during an Oct. 20 work session that the program will evolve. "This program, it's not a one-and-done because that is not how the work is done," Anderson said.

The board discussed additional secondary positions at that session, including requests for state funding for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure near schools and more flexibility over the school calendar. Those positions go to a vote on Nov. 12.