Virginia RULES

Welcome to the Instructors' Portal

Your job just got easier. Here you will find the curriculum you need to teach accurate, current legal information. You can view statistical data which may help you prioritize your instruction. You can even download lesson plans by subject. Best of all, you can be proud of your contribution to reducing criminal and behavioral problems in schools and communities statewide.

News and Notes for Instructors

OAG Gang Videos Available

The Office of the Attorney General has produced two anti-gang videos. The Wrong Family: Virginia Fights Back Against Gangs was created for law enforcement and criminal justice professionals and has been a successful tool for many years. The OAG's most recent video was created for kids. After careful collaboration with law enforcement, school educators and psychologists, The Big Lie: Unmasking the Truth Behind Gangs was produced to expose the dark reality of gangs preying upon our children through lies and manipulation.

The video is a frank and unscripted documentary and presents an extraordinary opportunity for pre- and early teens to learn about the false promises gang members make to lure them into their ranks. The video features gang members, law enforcement, and children who speak directly to the audience about gang recruiting methods, specific ways kids can avoid joining a gang, and most importantly, lifestyle choices to help them stay away from gangs.

Watch a trailer for The Big Lie:

Educating our youth about the ugly truth behind gangs and ways to stay away from gang life, gives them the tools necessary to make positive choices. The The Big Lie can be used in conjunction with the Virginia Rules Gangs curriculum as an effective tool to reduce gang involvement and violence amount middle and high school kids. The video was produced with a grant from Safe and Drug Free Schools.

To request gang awareness training in your area, please feel free to contact our Public Safety Initiatives Coordinator Jessica Smith at 804-786-7584 or jcsmith@oag.state.va.us. Submit The Big Lie Video request form (PDF) to request the video to show to your students. Submit The Wrong Family Video request form (PDF) to request the video to show fellow law enforcement personnel.

For more information on the Gang Prevention Program Resources, visit the OAG website.

Teacher info and reporting

Your information and your students' test results are crucial to the success of Virginia Rules. Please help keep the program growing by sending us information when requested, and by submitting pre- and post-test scores.

Outstanding Instructors

We hear a lot about the wonderful work our instructors are doing, and we'd love to highlight it here. If you or a colleague have a Virginia Rules success story or have developed a unique or compelling way to present the material, let us know. We'll feature outstanding instructors here as space allows. Contact us.

Virginia Rules Website Goals

• Deliver accurate, current law education curriculum for instructors of teens with the goal of reducing criminal and behavioral problems in schools and communities.
• Provide a central resource for all agencies of the Commonwealth for teen and family law related education. 
• Be a resource for teens and their parents for applicable law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
• Encourage instructors to prioritize their instruction by viewing data available which will show statistics by school and student of behavioral and criminal problems.
• Provide downloadable work book information and lesson plans by subject to address individual instructor, school, school district and community priorities for targeted behaviors and crimes. 
• Provide a means of reviewing instruction which over time may have changed statistics reported by student, school district, and community.
• Provide a resource which will encourage a community of adults and teens committed to positive character building across the Commonwealth.