Virginia Rules curriculum has recently been revised to reflect law changes in 2025. All topic materials have been updated – with new law changes and with updated statistics, as available. Current materials are posted to the Virginia Rules Instructor Dashboard; register for your instructor account at VirginiaRules.org.
Special Instructional Supplement
Antisemitism: We’ve added an instructional supplement to help students understand what antisemitism is and learn when it constitutes punishable harassment, discrimination, or a hate crime. It is intended for high school students.
Selected Law Changes
This is not a comprehensive list, but highlights some of the recent law updates that affect the Virginia Rules curriculum.
- HB 2393/SB 1460 – Human trafficking; allows a victim of human trafficking to potentially vacate a previous criminal charge and expunge it from their record, provided that the crime fits under certain crimes listed in the code, and was a direct result of being a victim of human trafficking. (Human Trafficking)
- HB 2401/SB 998 – Child labor content creation; engaging in content creation that is not hazardous does not require a work certificate; requires that a child under the age of 16 be compensated by the content creator. (Teens and Employment)
- HB 1667/SB 1228 – Child labor barbershop and cosmetology; minors 16 and older may serve as registered apprentices, in training programs, etc. in a licensed shop or salon. (Teens and Employment)
- HB 1727 – Establishment of parent and child relationship; if a male becomes a biological father resulting from rape and he is convicted of the crime, no parent and child relationship will be established. (Dating Violence)
- HB 2130 – Services for juvenile; if a juvenile is the respondent in a protective order court proceeding, they or their family may receive services from the local board of social services. (Dating Violence)
- HB 1961/SB 738 – Bell-to-bell student cell phone and smart device possession; to protect students from cyberbullying, harassment, sexting, and other distractions at school, this law requires each school board to create age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate policies relating to student cell phone and smart device possession and use on school property from bell to bell. (Tech and You)
- SB 1361/HB 2308 – Nitrous oxide; makes it unlawful to sell, give, or offer gas containing nitrous oxide to any person under 18. (Drugs Overview)
- HB 2774/SB 1240 – School-connected overdoses; requires schools to notify parents within 24 hours if an overdose happens or is suspected to have happened at the school. (Opioids)
For More Information
To see a full list of each year’s legislative changes, you can view them online:
