Virginia’s Standards of Quality are constitutionally mandated, minimum requirements governing all public school divisions in the commonwealth. As the statutory base used to determine state funding, SOQs are enforceable law, not just recommendations.

They’re also quite specific about the maximum class size allowed under the Virginia Code: “24 [students] to one [teacher] in kindergarten, with no class being larger than 29 students … 24 to one in grades one, two, and three with no class being larger than 30 students … 25 to one in grades four through six, with no class being larger than 35 students.”