Superintendent of Public Instruction of Virginia | |
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Term length | Coincident with the Governor |
Website | State Website |
In Virginia, the Superintendent of Public Instruction is the chief executive of the Virginia Department of Education and also serves as the Secretary of the Virginia Board of Education. Lisa Coons was appointed Virginia's 27th Superintendent of Public Instruction by Governor Glenn Youngkin, effective March 22, 2023. [1] The former state superintendent, Jillian Balow, resigned in March 2023.
The Virginia Constitution [2] states that the Superintendent be “an experienced educator.” [3] The Superintendent of Public Instruction serves for a term coincident with the Governor making the appointment. The duties of the Superintendent of Public Instruction are addressed in Title 22.1, Chapter 3 of the Code of Virginia. [4]
The duties of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction include: [4]
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term | Governor | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | William Henry Ruffner (1824–1908) | March 5, 1870 – March 15, 1882 [5] | ||
2 | Richard Ratcliffe Farr (1845–1892) | March 15, 1882 – March 15, 1886 | William E. Cameron | ||
3 | John L. Buchanan | March 15, 1886 – January 1, 1890 | Fitzhugh Lee | ||
4 | ![]() | John E. Massey (1819–1901) | January 1, 1890 – March 15, 1898 | Philip W. McKinney | |
5 | Joseph W. Southall (1833–1909) | March 15, 1898 – February 1, 1906 | James Hoge Tyler | ||
6 | ![]() | Joseph D. Eggleston II (1867–1953) | February 1, 1906 – January 1, 1912 | ||
7 | Reaumur C. Stearnes (1866–1945) | January 1, 1912 – February 1, 1918 | |||
8 | Harris Hart (1877–1962) | February 1, 1918 – January 1, 1931 | |||
9 | Sidney B. Hall | January 1, 1931 – August 31, 1941 | |||
10 | Dabney S. Lancaster (1889–1975) | September 1, 1941 – June 15, 1946 | |||
11 | ![]() | G. Tyler Miller (1902–1988) | June 15, 1946 – August 31, 1949 [a] | ||
– | Dowell J. Howard [b] (1897–1957) | September 1, 1949 – May 12, 1950 | |||
12 | May 12, 1950 – February 23, 1957 [c] | ||||
13 | Davis Young Paschall (1911–2001) | March 13, 1957 – August 15, 1960 | |||
14 | Woodrow W. Wilkerson (1914–1986) | August 16, 1960 – 1975 [5] | |||
15 | Walter Eugene Campbell (1916–1980) | 1975 – 1979 [6] | |||
16 | Spear John Davis (1928–2009) | 1979 – 1990 [7] | |||
17 | Joseph A. Spagnolo (1943–2020) | 1990 – 1994 | Douglas Wilder | ||
18 | William C. Bosher Jr. (1946–2014) | 1994 – 1996 [8] | |||
19 | Richard T. LaPointe | 1996 – 1998 | |||
20 | Paul D. Stapleton | 1998 – 1999 [9] | |||
21 | Jo Lynne DeMary | 2000 – 2006 [10] | |||
– | ![]() | Patricia I. Wright | 2006 – 2006 [11] | ||
22 | ![]() | Billy K. Cannaday Jr. | 2006 – 2008 [11] | ||
23 | ![]() | Patricia I. Wright | 2008 – 2014 | ||
24 | ![]() | Steven R. Staples | 2014 – 2018 [12] | Terry McAuliffe | |
– | Steven M. Constantino | 2018 – 2018 | |||
25 | ![]() | James F. Lane | 2018 [13] – 2022 [14] | Ralph Northam | |
26 | ![]() | Jillian Balow (born 1970) | 2022 – 2023 | Glenn Youngkin | |
27 | ![]() | Lisa Coons | March 22, 2023 – Incumbent |