Starting this school year, Virginia students have more options for fulfilling certain graduation requirements and earning a standard or advanced studies high school diploma.
The expanded options come after the Virginia Board of Education updated its list of approved courses this fall and clarified some graduation rules that schools must follow.
Some of the updates are based on legislative efforts while others are informed by state education leaders’ efforts to expand how students can meet high school graduation requirements.
The board regularly considers updates as well as approved substitutions for certain courses “based on field recommendations, based on trends in education, and in some cases, on legislation,” Michelle Wallace, assistant superintendent for instruction for the Virginia Department of Education, told state board members at an August meeting.
The updated standards help local school divisions plan for courses and advise high school students on their way to earning their diploma, Wallace said.
Here are some things to know about Virginia’s high school graduation requirements.
Virginia schools offer more than one type of diploma
Most students graduate from high school with either a standard diploma or an advanced studies diploma, with other options available for adult learners and eligible students with disabilities.
In order to receive a standard diploma, students must earn at least 22 standard credits and five verified credits, which require passing an end-of-course Standards of Learning test. Some classes, such as English, math, social studies and history, are required; students may also take elective courses to fill out their credits.
To earn an advanced studies diploma, students must earn 26 standard credits and five verified credits.
African American history can now fulfill core requirements
Students taking African American History can now use the course to fulfill their World History 1 or World Geography requirement. The course launched in 2020 and previously counted as an elective credit.
In 2025, Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill that would have allowed the course to take the place of other world history courses, but lawmakers reintroduced the legislation this year, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed it into law in April.
All high school students are required to take at least three history and social science classes, including a course on Virginia and U.S. history, Virginia and U.S. government, and either world history or geography.
Students taking advanced courses have more options for satisfying core requirements
Some of this year’s updates might be especially useful for students taking Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses.
AP African American Studies, which was first offered in the 2024-25 school year, can now fulfill the World History I or World Geography requirement as well, and IB Economics or IB Business Management can also fulfill the economics and personal finance course that all students are required to complete.
Students who transfer into a Virginia public high school after 10th grade can also use International Baccalaureate classes to meet some graduation requirements, such as substitutes for Virginia and U.S. history and economics and personal finance courses.
Some students exempt from required CPR, first aid training
“Gwyneth’s Law,” passed in 2013, requires that Virginia high school students complete training in emergency first aid, CPR and the use of automated external defibrillators as part of their graduation requirements.
The law is named after Gwyneth Griffin, a 12-year-old who died after suffering cardiac arrest at a Stafford County middle school in 2012. It requires that both students and school staff receive hands-on training following current national guidelines.
But some students are now exempt from this requirement. The new standards adopted by the state board in August allow exceptions if a student’s individualized education plan or 504 plan states that they cannot complete the training.
Any student who transfers to a Virginia school after 10th grade from a school or program that did not require or provide credit for such a training is also now exempt from the requirement.
Students are required to show workplace readiness — but how might be changing
At the August meeting, as Wallace presented the recommended updates, state board member Amber Northern noted concerns with the fixed number of hours students have to spend in a traditional classroom to earn credits, especially when it comes to career and technical education courses.
For more than a decade, students have earned a career and technical education credential through either passing a course such as welding, cosmetology or carpentry or passing an approved industry or workplace readiness assessment.
For a standard diploma, students must earn two credits in the fine arts, world language or CTE, which can include approved computer science courses.
Some local school leaders, like Angilee Downing, assistant superintendent for Martinsville City Public Schools, say the option to fulfill graduation requirements with CTE course credits is extremely beneficial for students.
“It provides incredible opportunities for our students,” Downing said. “It gives our students an opportunity to get out into the workforce and into the community, and they end up with strong career pathways when they get out of high school.
But Northern worries that students don’t always take advantage of the opportunities because of the state’s “seat-time” and credit requirements.
In addition to the number of credits a student has to earn to graduate, students have traditionally been required to spend 140 hours “in a seat,” or in a traditional classroom, receiving instruction to earn a credit.
In 2024, Virginia lawmakers passed a bill that allows the state board to grant school divisions permission to show that students mastered the content in less than 140 hours, but Norton said those existing provisions, called “seat-time flexibility,” aren’t well understood.
Many schools don’t know exactly how it works, and students sometimes end up not participating in CTE or other alternative learning pathways, apprenticeships or work-based learning because they don’t have the time in their class schedules, she said.
During the board’s August meeting, Northern asked department officials to come back at a later date with clear guidance for schools.
“I think we’d do a real service to our divisions if we could supplement our graduation requirements with here’s how you can use the flexibility that you’ve been given,” she said.
Staff writer Julianna Stephenson contributed information to this report.
