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Virginia’s latest history and social science standards have been adopted by the state’s Board of Education, to go into effect in the 2025-26 school year. The next steps are to approve textbooks and create curriculum frameworks detailing necessary subject-specific knowledge and skills. Andy Rotherham, board member and appointee of Governor Glenn Youngkin, noted the substantial content knowledge required in the new standards, and emphasised the need to support teachers in adapting. The standards underwent two years of debate and recommendations to determine what to include or omit. Revisions to the November draft mean sixth graders must now describe the major features of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, and juniors must evaluate the Progressive Movement and the Chinese Exclusion Act’s impact on immigrants. Some groups advocated the inclusion of more labour history content.
