A Virginia coalition of educators, administrators, policymakers, and cybersecurity professionals united around one goal: making cybersecurity and AI literacy a required part of K–12 education in the Commonwealth.
We teach kids how to drive. Then we send them into the most dangerous environment on earth, the internet, with zero training.
Students graduate unprepared. Most K–12 students receive zero formal Cyber Education before entering the workforce or college.
Schools are prime targets. K–12 institutions are among the most ransomware-attacked organizations in the country, because the people inside lack cyber awareness.
AI is accelerating the threat. Adversaries are already using AI to craft convincing phishing, deepfakes, and automated attacks. Students face threats they've never been taught to recognize.
The pipeline is broken. Without K–12 exposure, the cybersecurity workforce shortage will only deepen, leaving critical infrastructure vulnerable for decades.
Virginia can lead. With its defense contractor base, federal workforce, and active legislature, Virginia is positioned to be the model for the nation, if we act now.
Cyber Literacy Virginia is an independent, vendor-neutral advocacy coalition. We don't sell curriculum. We don't endorse products. We advocate for policy: specifically, for required, standards-aligned cybersecurity and AI literacy in every K–12 school in the Commonwealth. Virginia already offers the courses. They are optional. That is the problem.
"Be a conduit, not a container. The knowledge exists. The threat is real. The time to act is now."
Romeo Gardner III, CISSP • Founding Director, Cyber Literacy Virginia • TEDx Speaker • Host, CyberGov PodcastAdministratively supported by Nehlos Cybersecurity, a CISSP-led training, consulting, and compliance firm based in Stafford, Virginia. Nehlos holds no voting authority over Coalition policy positions and receives no preferential commercial benefit from Coalition activities.
We advocate for specific, enforceable policy, not general awareness. Here's what we're pushing for at the state and federal level.
Adversaries are already using AI to craft more convincing phishing campaigns, deepfakes, and automated social engineering attacks at scale. Our students are targets in a conflict they don't know is happening.
Teaching cybersecurity and AI safety are not separate priorities. They are the same imperative. A student who can't recognize an AI-generated phishing email is a liability to every organization they ever join.
This framing also unlocks funding. State and federal grants increasingly fund AI education initiatives. Positioning Cyber Education as AI literacy expands the funding pool dramatically.
▸ Responsible. Critical. Empowered digital citizens, that's the goal.
A mandate is only as good as its implementation path. Here is the one we are proposing, modeled on the only state that has done it.
VDOE convenes a working group of educators, division IT leaders, higher education partners, and industry. It produces grade-band cybersecurity and AI literacy standards. North Dakota was the first state to adopt cybersecurity and computer science standards for every grade level. Virginia starts from an easier place: the CTE courses and competencies already exist.
Each school division files a plan showing how it will introduce foundational cybersecurity and AI literacy. Districts choose the delivery: a standalone course, or standards embedded into existing coursework. North Dakota required these plans by July 1, 2024, roughly fifteen months after signing. Virginia should allow a comparable runway.
The infrastructure is already built and mostly free: the Virginia Cyber Range, the no-cost Intro to Cybersecurity course through Virtual Virginia, CCI teacher bootcamps, and Cyber Range teacher camps. What is missing is not tools. It is release time, stipends, and a reason for divisions to send teachers. The bill supplies the reason. Appropriation supplies the rest.
Students take at least one cybersecurity or computer science course to graduate, phased in by cohort so no student in the pipeline is caught mid-stream. North Dakota paired its requirement with a grant program for course delivery. Virginia can route existing CTE and workforce funding the same way.
On licensure. Virginia will not conjure endorsed teachers by statute, and we are not pretending otherwise. Three pathways already exist: the Computer Science add-on endorsement, which requires 18 semester hours for an already licensed teacher; the provisional license, which the Board may issue at a division's request to give a CTE teacher time to earn an industry credential; and the Technical Professional License, the route by which a working cybersecurity professional can enter the classroom. The mandate should be phased to match how fast these pathways can realistically fill seats. That number belongs in the fiscal impact statement, and we intend to help produce it.
No cost. No dues. Only a commitment to the mission. We welcome anyone who believes every student deserves to graduate cyber literate.
What members receive:
Add your name to the coalition. We are building the case for the 2027 General Assembly session.
No spam. No dues. We'll only contact you about coalition activities.
Welcome to Cyber Literacy Virginia. Romeo will follow up personally this week.
If you know a district IT leader, a teacher, or anyone at VDOE who should be part of this, forward them the site. That is the single most useful thing you can do right now.
Whether you're a legislator, educator, journalist, or potential partner, we want to hear from you.
Questions about the coalition, membership, or our policy positions
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