RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — People can share their thoughts on Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration’s proposed rewrite of the state’s K-12 history learning standards in a series of hearings across Virginia that start this week and online.
The Virginia Board of Education will hold the first of six public hearings on the revised K-12 history and social science learning standards in Williamsburg Monday, with the last coming on March 21 in Farmville.
After multiple delays and despite heavy criticism over the draft, the state Board of Education voted in early February to move forward with the education department’s second rewrite for the public feedback hearings.
The learning standards, reviewed every seven years, will set the bar on what K-12 students should learn during each grade as early as the 2024-2025 school year.
The Virginia Department of Education’s revision process stalled for months and critics have decried its second revision, claiming that Youngkin’s administration politicized the effort and draft with the help of right-wing organizations.
Each public hearing starts at 7 p.m., with the registration of speakers open at 6:30 p.m. Speakers will be limited to three minutes and should bring copies of their remarks for the state board. The Board of Education is expected to give final approval of the standards on April 20.
People — even those who don’t live in Virginia — can also share their input online. Here are the public hearing locations:
March 13: Jamestown Settlement, 2110 Jamestown Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23185
March 14: George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon, VA 22121
March 15: Piedmont Virginia Community College, 501 College Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22902
March 16: O. Winston Link & History Museum of Western Virginia, 101 Shenandoah Ave NE, Roanoke, VA 24016
March 20: Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, 1 Partnership Circle, Abingdon, VA 24210
March 21: Robert Russa Moton Museum, 900 Griffin Blvd, Farmville, VA 23901
