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CVIA Youth Literacy Education Bill Signed Into Virginia Law

  • info44995776
  • Mar 25
  • 2 min read

Updated: 5 hours ago

Governor Glenn Youngkin signs bills into law in Richmond, Virginia, including the Centre for Voters Initiative & Action's state bill HB 2460 to incorporate media literacy into the standards of education in public schools. This law was championed by Aidan McIntosh and Samad Quraishi in a bipartisan effort, receiving overwhelming support from Virginia's House and Senate. The bill was created as a result of CVIA's dialogue efforts between young changemakers and seasoned policymakers, hoping to ensure youths can properly engage and participate in the civic political process.
Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia signed 599 bills into law on Monday, including the Centre's bill.

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA – Yesterday, Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, USA, signed HB 2460 into state law. The signing of the Governor's law was a culmination of the Centre's monthslong advocacy efforts to ensure youth are properly educated in primary school, so they may properly understand current affairs topics.


In a bipartisan effort between conservative and progressive youths, the Centre bridged together more than 20 high schoolers across eight counties of Virginia to create a movement unified in support of the bill. The law requires the state to incorporate media literacy and digital citizenship into the statewide curriculum at each grade level.


In July 2024, the Centre began holding dialogue with young changemakers across Virginia about issues that mattered to them. Subsequently, in October, the Centre organised an interactive forum between secondary students and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine. A common issue discussed was the lack of media literacy; in the emergence of the digital age, many youths cannot properly identify misinformation or false news.


Indeed, poor media literacy undermines the capacity of civil societies to engage in politics. Thus, intergovernmental affairs staff member Aidan McIntosh was inspired by our dialogue efforts to begin drafting and advocating a change into law.


Throughout the process, McIntosh's work in legislative drafting, consulting youths, and interacting with policymakers resulted in positive interest. There were no opposition votes during any part of the vote, with overwhelming bipartisan passage through Committee, both House and Senate, and eventually into law.


The law will take effect across all Virginia public schools the following school year. The allocated amount of this bill includes USD 54,738 in FY26, with USD 42,738 as supporting costs over the succeeding four years. Read the bill and statement of fiscal impact. 

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