diff --git a/util/jenkins/virtualenv_python_tools.sh b/util/jenkins/virtualenv_python_tools.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f7dea6300
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/jenkins/virtualenv_python_tools.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# function to create a virtual environment using python's built-in venv module
+# instead of the virtualenv command. This is useful for Python 3.12+ where
+# distutils has been removed and older versions of pip/setuptools may fail.
+#
+# Usage:
+# . /edx/var/jenkins/jobvenvs/virtualenv_python_tools.sh
+# create_virtualenv_python python3.12 --clear
+# . "$venvpath/bin/activate"
+#
+# Arguments:
+#   python_bin - Path to or name of the python executable (mandatory)
+#   additional args - Any additional arguments to pass to venv module
+#
+# Optional Environmental Variables:
+# 
+# JOBVENVDIR - where on the system to create the virtualenv
+#            - e.g. /edx/var/jenkins/jobvenvs
+#
+# Reason for existence: The original virtualenv_tools.sh uses the 'virtualenv'
+# command which doesn't work well with Python 3.12+ due to distutils removal.
+# This script uses python's built-in venv module directly, allowing us to
+# specify exact python binary paths and avoid compatibility issues.
+#
+# Why not create virtual environments right in the jenkins workspace
+# where the job is run? Because workspaces are so deep in the filesystem
+# that the autogenerated shebang line created by virtualenv on things in
+# the virtualenv's bin directory will often be too long for the OS to
+# parse.
+
+function create_virtualenv_python () {
+    if [ -z "${JOBVENVDIR:-}" ]
+    then
+        echo "No JOBVENVDIR found. Using default value." >&2
+        JOBVENVDIR="/edx/var/jenkins/jobvenvs"
+    fi
+
+    # First argument is the python executable
+    local python_bin="$1"
+    shift
+
+    # create a unique hash for the job based location of where job is run
+    # and the python binary used
+    venvname="$( (echo "$python_bin"; pwd) | md5sum | cut -d' ' -f1 )"
+    venvpath="$JOBVENVDIR/$venvname"
+
+    # create the virtualenv using python's venv module
+    # Pass any additional arguments directly to venv
+    "$python_bin" -m venv "$venvpath" "$@"
+
+    # Upgrade pip to avoid distutils issues with Python 3.12+
+    "$venvpath/bin/python" -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
+
+    # This variable is created in global scope if function is sourced
+    # so we can access it after running this function.
+}