2023 History and Social Science Standards of Learning Frequently Asked Questions

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Updated: February 14, 2023

Note: VDOE may update this page with new questions and responses.

Will I be able to submit comments on the 2023 History and Social Science Standards of Learning?

Yes. Public comments may be submitted through an online comment form or during public hearings. See Superintendent’s Memo 015-23 for additional information, including dates and locations of the public hearings.

Do the 2023 standards include Indigenous Peoples’ history prior to 1492?

Yes. The standards for Virginia Studies, U.S. History to 1865, and Virginia and U.S. History cover the early cultures of North America prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Virginia Studies

VS.2: The student will apply history and social science skills to describe the Indigenous Peoples’ nations of Virginia past and present.
VS.3c: The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the causes and effects of events associated with the first permanent English settlement in North America by describing the interactions between the English colonists and the Indigenous peoples, including the role of the Powhatan in the survival of the colonists.

U.S. History to 1865

USI.2: The student will apply history and social science skills to describe how early cultures developed throughout North America by:
- a. describing how archaeologists have recovered artifacts from ancient settlements, including but not limited to Cactus Hill in Virginia; and
- b. locating where Indigenous Peoples lived prior to the arrival of Europeans, with an emphasis on how the various geographic regions they inhabited influenced their daily lives.
  Virginia and U.S. History
VUS.2 The student will apply history and social science skills to describe the political, religious, social, and economic characteristics of the first thirteen colonies by:
- a. distinguishing how different Indigenous people of North America used available resources to develop their culture, language, skills and perspectives, including but not limited to the nations in the Northeast, Mississippi River Valley, along the Atlantic seaboard, the Pacific coast, and the Southwest regions of North America.

Why don’t the standards identify Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

Holidays referenced in the draft standards are consistent with the officially recognized holidays listed in §2.2-3300. of the Code of Virginia. In grades K-2 (where holidays are taught) the standards include the language “including but not limited to” before the list of holidays recognized in the Code of Virginia, encouraging school divisions to go beyond the standard.

Do the 2023 standards include Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) history?

Students have many opportunities to learn about AAPI history, key events and people, and cultural impact. For example:

Elementary School

2.10:The student will describe the contributions and roles of changemakers in United States history, including but not limited to Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu.
3.5:The student will apply history and social science skills to describe the geographic, political, economic, social structures, and innovations of ancient China.

Middle School

USII.3e:The student will apply history and social science skills to understand how industrialization changed life in rural and urban America after the Civil War by explaining how governmental actions, including but not limited to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 perpetuated challenges for workers.
USII.6g:The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the major causes, events, and effects of America’s role in World War II by evaluating the effect of the war on the home front, including but not limited to women in the workforce, American Prisoners of War, the incarceration of Japanese Americans, rationing, conservation, war bonds, and the G.I. Bill.
USII.7d:The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the transformation of the United States foreign policy between the end of World War II and leading into the new millennia by examining the role of the United States in defending freedom during the Cold War, including but not limited to the Berlin Airlift, Korea and Vietnam, the roles of John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban missile crisis, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

High School

WG.6:The student will analyze the characteristics of the Russian and Central Asian regions.
WG.8:The student will analyze the characteristics of the North African and Southwest Asian regions.
WG.9:The student will analyze the characteristics of the South Asian and Southeast Asian regions.
WG.10:The student will analyze the characteristics of the East Asian region.
WHI.3:The students will apply history and social science skills to describe ancient Asian societies.
WHI.7:The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the civilizations of China in the Middle Ages.
WHI.9:The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the civilizations of Medieval Japan.
WHII.5:The student will apply history and social science skills to understand Asia from approximately 1500 C.E. to approximately 1800 C.E.
WHII.10c: The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the significance of the Cold War during the second half of the twentieth century by describing conflicts, events, and major leaders in Asia, including Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek, Deng Xiaoping, and Ho Chi Minh, and Tiananmen Square.
WHII.12a:The student will apply history and social science skills to explain global changes during the twenty-first century by identifying modern era genocides and crimes against humanity, including but not limited to Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Stalin Regime, Armenia, Cambodia, Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Darfur, Rwanda, and China’s minority Uyghur population.
VUS.14b:The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze America’s involvement in World War II by analyzing the causes and events that lead to America’s involvement, including the attack on Pearl Harbor, United States’ response with Executive Order 9066 and the internment of Japanese Americans, and the Supreme Court case Korematsu v. United States.
VUS.15 The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze the United States’ foreign policy during the Cold War era by analyzing the changing role of the United States in Asia, including Korea, Vietnam, and China.

Is geography taught in Virginia?

Geography is taught at every grade level. In some instances, geography is embedded within other standards. There are also stand-alone geography standards. The World Geography course examines the spatial relationships between the physical and cultural within each region. Courses leading up to the World Geography course provide students an opportunity to learn foundational geography content and practice geography skills. Courses after World Geography provide students with an opportunity to apply foundational knowledge to understand human interactions with the physical and cultural.

Will the new standards have a fiscal impact on the schools to provide training or buy materials?

School divisions budget for the implementation of new standards in all content areas.

Is Virginia eight months behind schedule in the standards adoption process?

Virginia will fully implement the new standards, as planned, during the 2025-2026 school year.

Are the history and cultures of Indigenous Peoples in the January 2023 standards?

The study of the history and cultures of Indigenous Peoples has been expanded beyond the 2015 standards in kindergarten, grades 1-3, Virginia Studies (grade 4), U.S, History to 1865 (grade 5), U.S. History to the Present (grade 6), World History and Geography 1500 C.E. to the Present (grade 10), and Virginia and U.S. History (grade 11). Here are examples:

Elementary/ Middle School

K.4: The student will apply history and social science skills to recognize Virginia’s earliest communities by:
- a. identifying examples of historical events, stories, and legends of the early communities, including but not limited to Indigenous Tribes, farmers, traders, early settlers;
- b. identifying early communities and contributions of leaders and changemakers, including but not limited to Indigenous Peoples, minorities, women, and children;
- c. recognizing that places change over time; and
- d. identifying people who helped establish and lead the local community over time.

2.5: The student will use history and social science skills to locate geographic location, use of resources, and identify the contributions of Indigenous Peoples past and present including:
- a. Indigenous Nations and tribes of the Eastern Woodlands;
- b. Indigenous Nations and tribes of the Plains;
- c. Indigenous Nations and tribes of the Southwest; and
- d. understanding Indigenous Sovereignty, including but not limited to the importance of land, history, and culture.
VS.2: The student will apply history and social science skills to describe the Indigenous Peoples’ nations of Virginia past and present.
USI.9f: The student will apply history and social science skills to understand the cause, major events, and effects of the Civil War by examining the experiences of Indigenous Peoples, European Americans, and enslaved and free Blacks during the war including but not limited to Clara Barton, John Brown, Robert Smalls, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Van Lew, and Mary Bowser.
USII.1d: The student will apply history and social science skills to examine westward expansion after the mid-19th century by explaining the effect that the growth of the United States had on Indigenous Peoples.

High School

WHII.3: The student will apply history and social science skills to describe European exploration by comparing and contrasting the social, political, economic and cultural effects of European colonization and the responses of indigenous peoples in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
VUS.4 a-g:The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze the cooperation and conflict between the Indigenous Peoples and the new settlers (examines resistance of native nations east of the Mississippi, including Powhatan Wars in Virginia, Pequot and King Phillip’s War in New England, Tecumseh and Indian Removal).
VUS.7b: The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze major events in Virginia and United States history during the first half of the nineteenth century by describing the political results of territorial expansion and its impact on Indigenous Peoples.
VUS.10a: The student will apply history and social science skills to analyze how the nation grew and changed from the end of Reconstruction through the early twentieth century by analyzing the effect of westward movement and the admission of new states on the Indigenous Peoples and the conflicts with the U.S. government, including but not limited to the Battle of Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee.

Do the 2023 standards “erase” or “whitewash” the African American experience?

The standards encompass more than two years of work and input. All recommendations from the African American Higher Education Commission (AAHEC) remain in the standards. The African American experience is embedded throughout the standards in the study of events and people at every grade level. Specific standards are too numerous to include in this FAQ document. Here are a few of the included topics, concepts and changes in the draft standards:

Multi-grade study of Martin Luther King Jr.
Inclusion of laws codifying race-based slavery in Virginia.
The African American experience during Reconstruction.
Slavery as the cause of the Civil War.
Inclusion of additional African American historical figures.
Build out of the Civil Rights Movement in multiple grades.

Do the 2023 standards exclude the African American History Education Committee’s recommendations?

No. Changes made to the standards in 2020 (as a result of AAHEC recommendations) are in the January 2023 draft standards. The 2020 AAHEC addition (VUS 8g) is now VUS 10.f: analyzing the effects of prejudice, discrimination, and “Jim Crow” laws including but not limited to the responses of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, lynching and racial terror, Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s anti-lynching crusade, the practice of eugenics, and the U.S. Supreme Court 1927 Buck v. Bell decision.

Is fascism included?

The concept of fascism is included in the standards in Virginia and U.S. History. The word “fascism” will be proposed as part of the final version recommended to the state Board of Education in April 2023.

Possible Recommendation:

VUS.14a: Comparing and contrasting totalitarianism and Imperial Japan, communist Soviet Union, and fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

Can teachers still create resources for their instruction?

Yes. Curriculum developed by local school boards should provide a level of consistency and comprehension. Quality curriculum materials reduce the amount of time teachers need to spend on developing additional materials. The standards document does not state that teacher-created materials are not allowed.

Does the 2023 draft include less content about civil rights and the Civil Rights Movement?

No. Content related to civil rights and the Civil Rights Movement is included (and expanded in many instances) in Virginia Studies (grade 4), U.S. History to the Present (grade 6), World History and Geography 1500 C.E. to the Present (grade 10), and Virginia and U.S. History (grade 11).