Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction

Superintendent of Public Instruction of Virginia
Incumbent
Lisa Coons
since March 22, 2023
Term lengthCoincident with the Governor
WebsiteState Website

In Virginia, the Superintendent of Public Instruction is the chief executive of the Virginia Department of Education and also serves as the Secretary of the Virginia Board of Education. Lisa Coons was appointed Virginia's 27th Superintendent of Public Instruction by Governor Glenn Youngkin, effective March 22, 2023.[1] The former state superintendent, Jillian Balow, resigned in March 2023.

Role

The Virginia Constitution[2] states that the Superintendent be “an experienced educator.”[3] The Superintendent of Public Instruction serves for a term coincident with the Governor making the appointment. The duties of the Superintendent of Public Instruction are addressed in Title 22.1, Chapter 3 of the Code of Virginia.[4]

The duties of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction include:[4]

  1. Serve as secretary of the Board of Education;
  2. Provide such assistance in his office as shall be necessary for the proper and uniform enforcement of the provisions of the school laws in cooperation with the local school authorities;
  3. Prepare and furnish such forms for attendance officers, teachers and other school officials as are required by law;
  4. (Expires July 1, 2025) At least annually, survey all local school divisions to identify critical shortages of (i) teachers and administrative personnel by geographic area, by school division, or by subject matter and (ii) school bus drivers by geographic area and local school division and report such critical shortages to each local school division and to the Virginia Retirement System.

List of Superintendents of Public Instruction

  Denotes acting/interim role before appointment or after resignation
List of Virginia superintendents of public instruction from 1870 – till date.
No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term Governor
1 William Henry Ruffner
(1824–1908) 		March 5, 1870
–
March 15, 1882[5]
2 Richard Ratcliffe Farr
(1845–1892) 		March 15, 1882
–
March 15, 1886 		William E. Cameron
3 John L. Buchanan March 15, 1886
–
January 1, 1890 		Fitzhugh Lee
4 John E. Massey
(1819–1901) 		January 1, 1890
–
March 15, 1898 		Philip W. McKinney

Charles Triplett O'Ferrall

5 Joseph W. Southall
(1833–1909) 		March 15, 1898
–
February 1, 1906 		James Hoge Tyler

Andrew Jackson Montague

6 Joseph D. Eggleston II
(1867–1953) 		February 1, 1906
–
January 1, 1912
7 Reaumur C. Stearnes
(1866–1945) 		January 1, 1912
–
February 1, 1918
8 Harris Hart
(1877–1962) 		February 1, 1918
–
January 1, 1931
9 Sidney B. Hall January 1, 1931
–
August 31, 1941
10 Dabney S. Lancaster
(1889–1975) 		September 1, 1941
–
June 15, 1946
11 Black-and-white photographic portrait of G. Tyler Miller G. Tyler Miller
(1902–1988) 		June 15, 1946
–
August 31, 1949[a]
– Dowell J. Howard[b]
(1897–1957) 		September 1, 1949
–
May 12, 1950
12 May 12, 1950
–
February 23, 1957[c]
13 Davis Young Paschall
(1911–2001) 		March 13, 1957
–
August 15, 1960
14 Woodrow W. Wilkerson
(1914–1986) 		August 16, 1960
–
1975[5]
15 Walter Eugene Campbell
(1916–1980) 		1975
–
1979[6]
16 Spear John Davis
(1928–2009) 		1979
–
1990[7]
17 Joseph A. Spagnolo
(1943–2020) 		1990
–
1994 		Douglas Wilder
18 William C. Bosher Jr.
(1946–2014) 		1994
–
1996[8]
19 Richard T. LaPointe 1996
–
1998
20 Paul D. Stapleton 1998
–
1999[9]
21 Jo Lynne DeMary 2000
–
2006[10]
– Patricia I. Wright 2006
–
2006[11]
22 Billy K. Cannaday Jr. 2006
–
2008[11]
23 Patricia I. Wright 2008
–
2014
24 Steven R. Staples 2014
–
2018[12] 		Terry McAuliffe
– Steven M. Constantino 2018
–
2018[13]
25 James F. Lane 2018
–
2022[14] 		Ralph Northam
26 Jillian Balow
(born 1970) 		2022
–
2023 		Glenn Youngkin
27 Lisa Coons March 22, 2023
–
Incumbent

Notes

  1. ^ Resigned
  2. ^ Served as acting superintendent until his appointment on May 12, 1950
  3. ^ Died in office

References

  1. ^ "Superintendent of Public Instruction". Virginia Dept of Education. State of Virginia. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "Constitution of Virginia". Virginia Law. State of Virginia. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "Superintendent of Public Instruction". Virginia Law. Virginia Department of Education. Retrieved January 12, 2021..
  4. ^ a b "Title 22.1. Education » Chapter 3. Superintendent of Public Instruction » § 22.1-23". Virginia Law. State of Virginia. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Annual report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the Commonwealth of Virginia : with accompanying documents". archive.org. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  6. ^ "Some prominent Lee County Educators". rootsweb.org. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  7. ^ "Va. Chief of Schools to Resign". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  8. ^ "Longtime educator William C. Bosher Jr. dies at 68". richmond.com. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  9. ^ "Virginia School Chief to Resign". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  10. ^ "Superintendent of Public Instruction Jo Lynne DeMary Announces Retirement Effective January 1, 2006". doe.virginia.gov. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Ex-Hampton School Chief Gets State Post". dailypress.com. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  12. ^ "Steve Staples named new Virginia superintendent of public instruction". richmond.com. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  13. ^ "Governor Northam Appoints Dr. James Lane as State Superintendent of Public Instruction". doe.virginia.gov. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  14. ^ "Superintendent of Public Instruction". doe.virginia.gov. Retrieved January 12, 2021..