Author Archives: Tricia

Introduction
Below you will find links to official documents, news articles, videos, public statements, and other resources designed to help you understand the complex issues surrounding the process of revising the History and Social Science Standards of Learning in Virginia. They are arranged in chronological order to outline the sequence of events. For ease of use, links to the various drafts are linked here and in the body of this post.

• Current History and Social Science SOL (2015 version)
• August Draft – created by committees composed of various stakeholders
• Superintendent’s First November Draft
• Superintendent’s Second November Draft – “silent” revision, no date change
• December Collaborative Draft – created by VSSLC (Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium, VASCD (Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), and AHA (American Historical Association)
• Superintendent’s January Draft

What the Law Requires
Below is an excerpt from the Code of Virginia. (Read this section of the Code in its entirety.)

§ 22.1-253.13:1. (For Effective Date, see 2022 Acts cc. 549, 550, cl. 2) Standard 1. Instructional programs supporting the Standards of Learning and other educational objectives.
B. The Board of Education shall establish educational objectives known as the Standards of Learning, which shall form the core of Virginia’s educational program, and other educational objectives, which together are designed to ensure the development of the skills that are necessary for success in school and for preparation for life in the years beyond.
. . . . .
The Standards of Learning in all subject areas shall be subject to regular review and revision to maintain rigor and to reflect a balance between content knowledge and the application of knowledge in preparation for eventual employment and lifelong learning. The Board of Education shall establish a regular schedule, in a manner it deems appropriate, for the review, and revision as may be necessary, of the Standards of Learning in all subject areas. Such review of each subject area shall occur at least once every seven years. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Board from conducting such review and revision on a more frequent basis.
. . . . .
The Board of Education shall include in the Standards of Learning for history and social science the study of contributions to society of diverse people. For the purposes of this subsection, “diverse” includes consideration of disability, ethnicity, race, and gender.

Timeline of Events and Multiple Versions of Draft Standards
The first draft of the social studies SOL was developed over many months in consultation with multiple stakeholders, including “museums, historians, professors, political scientists, geographers, economists, teachers, parents, business leaders, and students.” This work was begun during the last governor’s administration (Northam). The review of the standards was held up after the installation of the new administration (Youngkin). It’s important to consider the role that Executive Order Number One may have played here.

• Executive Order Number One (2022): Ending The Use of Inherently Divisive Concepts, Including Critical Race Theory, And Restoring Excellence In K-12 Public Education In the Commonwealth

In July, the Governor appointed 5 new members to the Board of Education. Here are some varying perspectives on this.

• After nominee standoff, Youngkin is poised to appoint a majority on the Virginia Board of Education
• Youngkin’s pragmatic school board picks offer hope for reform
• Gov. Youngkin appoints ‘conservative majority’ on Virginia Board of Education
• Virginia Board Members (VDOE biographies)

The draft created by the committee was slated to be reviewed by the Board of Education on July 21st, 2022, but that meeting was postponed. Minor revisions to these standards were put forth in August. (Note that public comments for the standards are available for review on both the July and August meeting pages.) Review of the standards was subsequently postponed two more times.

• See Item K and the attachments in the July meeting agenda. (Full standards in Attachment A.)
• See Item G and the attachments in the August meeting agenda. (Full standards in Attachment A.)
• State head of public instruction wants more time for draft of history standards
• State superintendent urges board not to move forward on history standards just yet
• Virginia Board of Education delays review of history standards
• At the September Board meeting, the Superintendent provided an update on the process to review and revise the History and Social Science Standards of Learning. View the PPT at the top of the September meeting page to learn more.
• Split Va. Board of Education to vote on new history standards in 2023
• At the October Board meeting, the Board accepted a request from the Youngkin administration to delay the review of the standards until the November meeting.
• Board of Education delays review of history, social sciences standards again

In November, the Superintendent put forth a new set of standards for review. The agenda items for meetings are posted in advance, so the new draft was made public on November 10, 2022.  Very quickly, social media erupted with concerns about the draft. It quickly became apparent that important ideas were missing. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not mentioned until grade 6. The document was quietly edited (adding MLK Day to Standard K.7) without changing the date in the footer. This updated document was posted to the November meeting agenda. The “original” version was deleted.

• Read the “original” draft written by the Superintendent. (This comes from the Wayback Machine.)
• Read the draft ultimately provided to the Board for the November meeting. This is Item I on the agenda.
• Fact Sheet sent to Virginia Legislators by the Youngkin administration regarding the Superintendent’s draft
• Virginia education department proposes major changes to social studies standards
• Watch this news report which was broadcast the day before the November meeting.
• Experts raise questions over latest draft history standards
• A number of organizations responded to the new standards.
  • Virginia Legislative Black Caucus
  • American Historical Association
  • Virginia Education Association
  • Hamkae Center and Sikh Coalition
• Before the Board meeting, the Washington Post published a piece that analyzed some of the similarities and differences between the draft created by the committee (August version) and the draft presented by the Superintendent (November version).
  • Virginia is changing the way it teaches history, social studies. Here’s how.
• Public comment at the Board meeting lasted 4 hours, with the majority of comments about the proposed revisions. View the recording of that meeting.
• Va. education board delays review of new history and social studies standards
• New history standards draft planned for January or February
• Virginia Will Revise Recent SOLs After Strong Criticism
• After Anger Over ‘Whitewashing,’ Virginia Board of Education Asks For Third Rewrite Of History Standards

At the November meeting, the Board directed the Superintendent to deliver a revised set of standards that includes content from the August version. The education department was also directed to provide a document comparing the 2015 standards, August and November drafts, to the new draft to be delivered in January.

On December 20, 2022, the Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium (VSSLC), the Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (VASCD), and the American Historical Association (AHA) collaborated to develop a comprehensive set of standards to address the Board’s November request to create a document that included content from multiple drafts. The draft includes multiple colors to show the structure of the combined standards.

• VSSLC, VASCD, and AHA Respond to VBOE’s Request for Combined History and Social Science Standards

The VDOE has not responded to this proposed set of standards.

The Superintendent released a third draft of the standards on January 3, 2023, to be reviewed by the Board on February 2, 2023. Below are the draft standards and responses to date.

• January 2023 Draft Standards
• Virginia releases third version of history, social studies standards
• VSSLC, VASCD, AHA, VCSS, NCSS, & VGA Respond to the January Draft History & Social Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools (January 17, 2023)
• State seeks SOL input from college where president said teachers ‘trained in the dumbest colleges’

As you consider these issues, you should reflect on HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 474, which was offered to the General Assembly by Delegate Marie E. March (R), House District 7, on January 11, 2023. This is a Constitutional amendment that proposes to repeal the Board of Education and transfer its constitutional powers and duties to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

• HJ 474 – Proposing amendments to Sections 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8 of Article VIII of the Constitution of Virginia