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_ 195 Item Details($) Appropriations($) ITEM 125. First Year Second Year First Year Second Year FY2025 FY2026 FY2025 FY2026 a. An additional payment shall be disbursed by the Department of Education to the local school divisions to support the state share of the number of Special Education instructors required by the Standards of Quality. These funds shall be disbursed on the same basis as the payment is calculated. b. Out of the amounts for special education payments, general fund support is provided to fund the caseload standards for speech pathologists at 68 students for each year of the biennium. c. In addition to the funds provided to support the state share of Special Education instructors in paragraphs a and b, an add-on payment shall be provided to support each special education student, based on a 4.75 percent add-on to basic aid per service Level I students and a 5.25 percent add-on to basic aid for Service Level II students, as defined in 8VAC20-81-10. 9. At Risk Add-On a. Out of this appropriation, $616,036,160$566,390,188 the first year and $648,037,570$628,692,979 the second year from the general fund and $225,180,150$274,024,247 the first year and $192,396,464$242,477,896 the second year from the Lottery Proceeds Fund is provided to distribute the state share of funds for the At-Risk Program. These payments shall be distributed based on the estimated number of At-Risk students, based on (1) the most recent three-year average Identified Student Percentage, applying a 1.25 multiplier factor , and (2) including one quarter of students identified as English language learners. b. The At-Risk Program shall provide each school division the state share of an 11.0 percent basic-aid add-on per estimated At-Risk student. In addition, the program shall provide each school division the state share of a payment equal to a 0.0 to 37.0 percent basic-aid add-on per estimated At-Risk student, with each school division's add-on percentage determined based upon the school division's concentration of At-Risk students relative to all other school divisions. Funding shall be matched by the local government based on the composite index of local ability-to-pay. c. These funds may be used for the purposes established in general law, including supporting programs and services for students who are educationally at risk, including prevention, intervention, or remediation activities required pursuant to Standard 1 (§ 22.1- 253.13:1); teacher recruitment programs and incentives; targeted compensation adjustments to assist in recruiting and retaining experienced teachers in high poverty schools; Dropout Prevention; community and school-based truancy officer programs; Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID); Project Discovery; programs for English language learners; the hiring of additional school counselors, testing coordinators, and licensed behavior analysts; programs relating to increasing the success of disadvantaged students in completing a high school degree and providing opportunities to encourage further education and training; and programs designed to reduce chronic absenteeism. d. If the Board of Education has required a local school board to submit a corrective action plan pursuant to § 22.1-253.13:3, Code of Virginia, either for the school division pursuant to a division level review, or for any schools within its division that have been designated as not meeting the standards as approved by the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall determine and report to the Board of Education whether each such local school board has met its obligation to develop and submit such corrective action plan(s) and is making adequate and timely progress in implementing the plan(s). Additionally, if an academic or other review process undertaken pursuant to § 22.1- 253.13:3, Code of Virginia, has identified actions for a local school board to implement, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall determine and report to the Board of Education whether the local school board has implemented required actions. If the Superintendent certifies that a local school board has failed or refused to meet any of those obligations as referenced in a memorandum of understanding between the local school board and the Board of Education, the Board of Education shall withhold payment of some or all At-Risk Add-On funds otherwise allocated to the affected division pursuant to this allocation for the pending fiscal year. In determining the amount of At-Risk Add-On funds to be withheld, the Board of Education shall take into consideration the extent to