Although nothing in Northern Virginia’s public schools should be shocking, the outrage over the revelation that some districts withheld information about the National Merit Awards from students and their families for many years – allegedly because they didn’t want other students to feel hurt – was so strong that the Youngkin administration quickly reacted.
As we reported previously, Jason Miyares, Virginia Attorney General, has opened an investigation to investigate the matter to determine what happened. He also wants to know if the school systems in question have violated the Virginia Human Rights Act. This law states that “it’s the policy of Virginia to”.
“Protect all citizens of the Commonwealth against unlawful discrimination based on race, color or religion, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Age, marital status. Sexual orientation, gender identity. military status. Disability in places of public accommodation. This includes educational institutions and real estate transactions.
Multiple reports indicate that many of those affected were Asian-American students.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin spoke out about the controversy in an interview with 7News, a local television news station. Youngkin also attacked Democratic state legislators who called the Youngkin administration’s investigation into the matter a “fake inquiry” during the interview.
Youngkin also called Fairfax County Public Schools out for the amount of money they spent hiring so-called equity consultants:
Youngkin stated, “The truth is that Fairfax Schools has a superintendent who has made it clear that her top goal is equal outcomes for all students regardless of their price.” We now know that the cost includes $450,000 for a liberal consultant to teach Fairfax County administrators how to do this. It appears that school principals decided to withhold praises and offer scholarships and pathways to college for high-performing students.
Youngkin also attacked the school system’s “maniacal emphasis” on equity-based policy over merit-based education.
Virginia Governor. In a one-on-1 interview, Glenn Youngkin spoke to Nick Minock of 7News Reporter. “And at its core, the American dream is excelling, advancing, and stretching. Recognizing that students have different abilities. While some students are able to perform at a certain level, others require more assistance. We need to let students run as fast and as far as possible, to achieve their greatest dreams and then to go after them.
Virginia’s Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears also condemned the actions of northern Virginia’s public school “leaders”, telling Fox News that “this was not the way.” This is not America.
Youngkin’s victory over former Virginia Governor and Democratic nominee, Terry McAuliffe, was based on the Democrat push against “woke” education standards. Terry McAuliffe.
We are seeing parents again in this latest controversy involving several Virginia public schools districts. They have the ability to raise awareness, initiate state-level actions, and get results when they don’t get satisfaction at local level. Youngkin and his officials are continuing to live up to their campaign promise to put students and parents first in education.
Florida is the state where “woke” goes to die, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis often stated that Florida is the state where “woke” goes to death. Virginia, however, isn’t far behind. We can thank Youngkin, his team, and vigilant parents for their courage to speak up.
