Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox proposed on Thursday raising teacher pay in Virginia to the national average and continuing the freeze on college tuition.

In a speech at the inaugural ChamberRVA Education Summit, Speaker Cox set a goal of raising teacher pay to the national average within four years. Cox also said he would prioritize freezing tuition again when the General Assembly meets in January to adopt a new two-year state budget.

“The future of education in the Commonwealth of Virginia cannot be left to chance,” said Speaker Cox, according to remarks prepared for delivery. “These two goals – freezing tuition and raising teacher pay – represent the kind of targeted, but significant investments that I think we need to make in our Commonwealth’s system of education.”

Speaker Cox’s proposal comes on top of the 5 percent pay raise funded by the General Assembly this year. The budget passed by the General Assembly this year also included $57.5 million to allow colleges and universities to freeze tuition. Every public college and university in Virginia responded, freezing tuition for the first time in 20 years.