Item 124 Q.2. (Chapter 725, 2025 Acts of Assembly) directs the Virginia Department of Education (the Department) to issue grants for teacher residency partnerships between university teacher preparation programs and the Petersburg, Norfolk, and Richmond City school divisions, and any other university teacher preparation programs and hard-to-staff school divisions to help improve new teacher training and retention for hard-to-staff schools. The budget language also directs the Department to consolidate all annual reports and submit to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees no later than November 1 each year.

Teacher residency programs are intensive experiences in which residents complete a year-long clinical placement under the supervision of a mentor-teacher in a partner school division while completing the required coursework needed to become licensed teachers. Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia State University partnered with 30 school divisions across the Commonwealth to prepare 90 teachers in identified critical shortage teaching endorsements who were subsequently hired in a hard-to-staff school division.