After months of debate, hearings and contentious drafts, Virginia’s Board of Education adopted new K-12 history standards Thursday.
After a 6-hour public work session Wednesday and more public comment Thursday, the board made a few final tweaks. A motion to remove a phrase in the document's introduction suggesting courses “do not imply students today are culpable for past events” was voted down. Board member Anne Holton said similar language had been used in other states to stifle the teaching of Black history.
Ultimately, the entire document was adopted. Board member Alan Seibert said the final version reflects many of the changes suggested by the public and experts. "We have listened for months," Seibert said. "We have listened for months at public comment. We have listened at our visits to the different parts of the Commonwealth."
Board vice-president Tammy Mann noted the outpouring of comments against earlier drafts that some members said had been injected with politics. "And when the process gets violated in certain ways where certain voices are elevated over others and we don’t really speak about that in plain language, people are watching."
The process to rewrite the standards was upended last fall when then-state superintendent Jillian Balow pulled an existing draft which had been developed under leadership from the previous administration. Critics said it was an attempt to inject politics into the process and superintendent Balow resigned earlier this year.
The Department of Education now has to work on the curriculum behind the new standards. One board member said that means the entire process will likely end up at least a year behind schedule.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
