"College partnership laboratory schools could open in Virginia as early as next fall, the state’s secretary of education said Wednesday, as she laid out plans for how colleges can apply, receive approval and launch their schools all within the next year.

The urgency reflects the importance of lab schools to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Secretary Aimee Guidera told the state Board of Education.

'This is a really fast timeline,' board member Andy Rotherham said. 'It can be done, but it’s an ambitious timeline,'" reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Photo: Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera spoke at the Patrick Henry Building in Richmond in May as Gov. Glenn Youngkin (left) looked on. ALEXA WELCH EDLUND/TIMES-DISPATCH