Indigenous Peoples' Day reinstated in Virginia education standards

Education leaders in Virginia are seeking clarity about the removal and subsequent re-insertion of Indigenous Peoples' Day in the state's history standards. The Virginia Board of Education added this holiday back to its guidelines in 2023 after it had been omitted during revisions. Recently, some educators noticed that online versions of the standards for younger students were missing references to Indigenous Peoples' Day, which recognizes the culture and history of Indigenous people. Education leaders expressed concerns that other changes may also have occurred without public knowledge. Chris Jones, executive director of the Virginia Association for Teaching, Learning and Leading, wondered what other modifications might have been made. The online standards for Kindergarten through 2nd grade included Columbus Day but left out its alternative name, Indigenous Peoples' Day. This holiday became official in Virginia in 2019. After inquiries were made, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Education acknowledged the oversight and confirmed that corrections had been made to include Indigenous Peoples' Day in the online documents. However, education advocates see the initial removal as a breach of public input procedures. Danyael Graham, president of the Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium, expressed confusion over the earlier omission, indicating that educators thought it had been part of the discussions. Concerns have also arisen about a lack of instructional materials supporting the new standards amid delays in their release. In light of these issues, more than a dozen educational organizations are planning to request a one-year delay in implementing the revised history standards. A spokesperson for the Department of Education assured that creating comprehensive instructional guides for teachers is a priority and promised updates on their progress.