The joint committee reached out to Dr. Elgart upon the recommendation of the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals (VASSP) , Virginia’s professional organization for middle and high school administrators. “It is not only the mission of AdvancED to determine whether or not to accredit a school, but also promote student learning and help schools establish a goal of continuous improvement through state-of-the-art tools, research and professional services,” explained Dr. Randy D. Barrack, executive director of VASSP and president of the Virginia Foundation for Educational Leadership. “The legislators were receptive to Dr. Elgart’s message, which mirrored the committee’s goal to improve the state accountability system of continuous school improvement.” Dr. Barrack has been a member of the AdvancED Accreditation Commission since 2014. The Commission reviews and ratifies the accreditation actions taken by AdvancED Councils for all schools and school systems within its authority.

AdvancED has deep roots in the accreditation of public schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. A 1903 act of the Virginia General Assembly established the minimum requirements for high school teachers, the first step in developing standards for high school accreditation. Nearly a decade later in 1912, a comprehensive program of high school accreditation began when the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (a forerunner of AdvancED) established the Virginia Commission on Accred ited Schools. For over 80 years, SACS-CASI was authorized by the Virginia Board of Education to accredit public schools in the Commonwealth. The Virginia State Board of Education revised its Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia in 1997 to strengthen the Standards of Learning, which were adopted in 1995 and first administered in 1998.  

The Joint Committee to Study the Future of Public Elementary and Secondary Education in the Commonwealth was established in March 2016 to focus on Virginia standards of quality (SOQs), education technology, and emerging and future issues facing public education. The committee seeks to provide a "deliberate, thoughtful and year-round approach to legislative education refor m." The legislation that led to the creation of the joint committee ( HJR No. 112 and SJR No. 85 ) included that a VASSP representative, along with other education association representatives, be appointed to serve as a member of one of the committee’s work groups. VASSP is represented by Dr. Barrack and VASSP Director of Government Relations Elizabeth “Bet” Neale on the Subcommittee on School Leadership and Student Outcomes.