It was the second annual such event organized by the Northern Virginia chapter of Our Community Salutes, a group that puts together independent graduation ceremonies to recognize enlistees and their parents.

Urbanksi suggested that the two sides might consider removing the four commandments that refer directly to God, according to the Lynchburg News & Advance.

If Virginia wants permission to opt out of the most vexing parts of the federal No Child Left Behind law, it must produce a more rigorous accountability plan of its own.

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A verdict is expected Thursday in a Loudoun County court case that has raised questions about whether parents should be criminally prosecuted for frequently failing to get their kids to school on time.

That was the message the Department of Education delivered in an April 17 letter in response to Virginia’s request for relief from the federal education law, which requires that all students demonstrate proficiency in math and reading by 2014.

Now the proposal will be considered by the Fairfax School Board, which under state law has ultimate authority to approve or deny charter applications.

The Fairfax County Federation of Teachers on Thursday sent Fairfax school board members a “letter of no confidence” in Chairwoman Jane K. Strauss, citing her “misrepresentation of the approved budget” during a presentation before the Board of Supervisors last week.

The new requirement will apply to students who enter ninth grade in 2013-14, said Charles Pyle, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education. Current high school students are not affected.

A memorandum of understanding was signed during a Monday ceremony in Richmond by Philippe-Pierre Cabourdin, chief of the large Academie de Reims school district in northeastern France, and Patricia I. Wright, Virginia state superintendent.