By LAUREN ROTH By Lauren Roth The Virginian-Pilot After an outcry from parents, educators and advocates distressed about planned changes to special education, the state Board of Education approved a compromise set of regulations Thursday in Richmond.

By LAUREN ROTH By Lauren Roth The Virginian-Pilot VIRGINIA BEACH The vision of the school division for the next six years was outlined at Tuesday's School Board meeting, and it focuses on critical thinking over test-taking.

By LAUREN ROTH By Lauren Roth The Virginian-Pilot VIRGINIA BEACH Students at most Beach schools will struggle to get their brains back in gear when school restarts next week.

By LAUREN ROTH By Lauren Roth The Virginian-Pilot With tougher goals in place, one-fourth of the schools in South Hampton Roads failed to meet federal standards this year. That's up 71 percent from last year. Only Portsmouth showed an overall improvement. In Suffolk, failure rates tripled.

By LAUREN ROTH By Lauren Roth The Virginian-Pilot VIRGINIA BEACH To save money, the School Board on Tuesday approved the installation of low-flow urinals, a geothermal heating system and energy-efficient lights in a few pilot schools around the city.