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HB 500

Standards of Learning; Board of Education to develop all assessments using UDL principles.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Laura Jane Cohen

Virginia's Board of Education must redesign all Standards of Learning assessments using Universal Design for Learning principles to improve accessibility for students with disabilities and diverse learning needs.

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Bill Summary · HB 500

Legislative bill overview

HB 500 requires Virginia's Board of Education to develop all Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. UDL is an educational framework designed to make learning accessible to students with diverse abilities, learning styles, and disabilities from the outset rather than through retrofitted accommodations.

Why is this important

This bill addresses educational equity by potentially improving assessment accessibility for students with disabilities, English language learners, and those with diverse learning needs. Better-designed assessments could provide more accurate measurements of student knowledge while reducing barriers that may obscure what students actually understand.

Potential points of contention

  • Implementation costs and timeline: Redesigning all SOL assessments using UDL principles would require significant investment in staff training, assessment development, and testing—expenses the bill does not specify funding for
  • Definition and consistency concerns: UDL principles can be interpreted broadly; without clear standards, implementation could vary widely across districts and create inconsistency in assessment rigor
  • Transition challenges: Moving to UDL-based assessments statewide requires coordination with test vendors, teacher training, and piloting; the bill provides no implementation roadmap or timeline
  • Accountability trade-offs: Critics may argue that accommodating diverse design needs could dilute assessment specificity or make it harder to compare student performance across cohorts

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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