Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Photo by Demure Storyteller on Unsplash.
Virginia's House Bill 1037, introduced on January 14, 2026, by Betsy B. Carr (D-District 78), would, if enacted, require the state board of education to aid local school boards with instructional materials on climate change and environmental literacy.
Specifically, the board would be required to "make available to each local school board instructional materials on climate change and environmental literacy that are based on and include peer-reviewed scientific sources" and also to "develop, adopt, and make available to each model school board model policies and procedures ... pertaining to the selection of instructional materials on climate change and environmental literacy."
The bill is identical to House Bill 1088 from 2024, which passed the legislature but was vetoed by then-Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) on April 2, 2024, as NCSE previously reported. Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) took office on January 17, 2026.
