Virginia has the 12th largest rural enrollment in the U.S. (over 327,000), and more than one-fourth of all students attend rural schools. Socioeconomic challenges are critically important for policy consideration, with rural adult educational attainment among the nation’s lowest. Student diversity rates are relatively high, with a sizable rural minority population and a high percentage of students receiving special education services. Schools and districts are large, transportation costs are proportionally high compared to instructional spending, and educational outcomes are mediocre at best. All of this ranks Virginia 18th in the country in need of rural education attention and improvement.