Dear John, 

VDOE History Standards of Learning (HSOL) Statewide Hearings

On February 2nd, the Virginia Board of Education voted 5-3 to accept the deeply flawed K-12 History Standards proposed by the Youngkin administration. These standards omit important people, places, and events in Virginia history - including Indigenous history, Black history, labor rights history, and LGBTQ+ history. If approved in their current form, the standards will be in place statewide for 7 years and will lead to drastic damage to young people’s quality of education.

Starting March 13th, the Virginia Department of Education will be hosting 6 hearings across the state to accept input and feedback on the proposed standards. The dates, times, and locations of the hearings are listed below, and the sign-up to give public comment will open 30 minutes before the start of each hearing. VDOE representatives will be in attendance at the hearings and will be making note of potential edits to make to the standards, so we need as many people as possible to show up and give public comments! 

The Virginia Education Association (VEA) will also be holding rallies at 5:45 pm before each of the hearings to show community opposition to the current proposed standards and share stories and perspectives around the state of public education in Virginia. Sign up to attend a rally near you using the links below!

Jamestown - March 13th at 7:00 PM at the Jamestown Settlement (2110 Jamestown Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185)  

• VEA Rally sign-up (at museum entrance)

Mount Vernon - March 14th at 7:00 PM at George Washington’s Mount Vernon (3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon, VA 22121)

• VEA Rally sign-up (at Presidential Library)

Charlottesville - March 15th at 7:00 PM at Piedmont Community College (501 College Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22902) 

• VEA Rally sign-up (at west entrance of main building)

Roanoke - March 16th at 7:00 PM at the O. Winston Link & History Museum of Western Virginia (101 Shenandoah Ave. NE, Roanoke, VA 24016)

• VEA Rally sign-up (at MLK statue) 

Abingdon - March 20th at 7:00 PM at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center (1 Partnership Circle, Abingdon, VA 24210)

• VEA Rally sign-up (outside building) 

Farmville - March 21st at 7:00 PM at the Robert Russa Moton Museum (900 Griffin Blvd, Farmville, VA 23901)

• VEA Rally sign-up (outside museum)

General Assembly Debrief - Wednesday, March 22nd

It’s no secret that this year’s General Assembly session was a difficult one. We saw a record number of anti-transgender bills introduced in the legislature, and advocates had to endure early committee meetings and harmful comments from anti-equality lawmakers. However, there is also a lot to celebrate. Together, we defeated all 12 anti-trans bills, sent thousands of emails and made hundreds of phone calls to lawmakers, and showed up in numbers to lobby legislators in person on these issues. It’s time to rest and celebrate what all of us have accomplished!

Join us at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, March 22nd for a General Assembly Debrief! We’ll go over the bills that were introduced and killed, highlight the work of the community at Lobby Days, and discuss what’s next for the LGBTQ+ movement in Virginia. We’d love to see you there - RSVP at the button below!

Queer 4 EVer Event - Richmond, VA - Saturday, March 25th

This year at Equality Virginia, we’re focusing on getting out into the community and meeting folks where they’re at as much as possible. As the weather is warming up, we’re excited to kickstart the season right here in Richmond, VA! 

EV will be hosting our first Queer 4 EVer event of the year on March 25th at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery (2410 Ownby Lane, Richmond, VA) from 4:00-6:00 PM! Join us for a good beverage and conversation, meet other advocates from the Richmond area, and celebrate our wins so far in 2023. Don’t miss it - click the button below to let us know you’re attending!