Glenn Youngkin Keeping his Word to Virginia Parents on Education Reforms

AMAC Exclusive – By Eleanor Vaughn

When Glenn Youngkin was swept into the Governor’s Mansion last year as the first Republican elected statewide in Virginia since 2009, it was largely thanks to parents—Republican and Democrat—who were outraged by what their children were being taught in schools. They demanded greater transparency and accountability from their public schools, and Youngkin said he would deliver it. 

So far, the new governor has made good on that promise. In the short time, he’s been in office, Youngkin has taken executive action to ban Critical Race Theory, ordered a comprehensive review of the Virginia Department of Education and worked with the Virginia General Assembly to pass legislation to lift mask mandates and limit sexually explicit material in schools. Additionally, Youngkin has filled top education posts in his administration with individuals committed to his vision for renewed accountability and focus on academic excellence within Virginia’s public school system.

By March 1^st, parents across. Virginia will be able to choose whether or not to send their children to school in a mask. Furthermore, the new law also makes in-person learning a requirement for schools. Only in extreme circumstances will remote learning be allowed to replace in-person instruction. Since the pandemic has definitively demonstrated the disadvantages of remote learning—children falling behind, parents struggling to balance work and education—the guarantee of in-person schooling is a good sign for the future of education in Virginia. The legislation Youngkin called for passed with bipartisan support in the Democratic-led Virginia Senate, where three Democratic senators crossed party lines to vote in favor of it.

Similarly, this week a judge issued a ruling against a Loudoun County mask mandate, and ordered that masks be optional immediately. Furthermore, all mask-related disciplinary action will be removed from students’ records. 

The Virginia Senate also passed a bill recently giving parents more options concerning the presentation of certain materials in schools. Under the provisions of the legislation, public schools will be required to give parents information about sexually explicit content being taught in class and then provide alternatives for students whose parents want to opt their child out of that instruction. This bill was also passed with bipartisan support, with two Democrats voting in favor of it.

The bill next goes to the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, where it is expected to pass and then be sent to Youngkin’s desk for signature. Notably, a similar bill passed in 2016, but was vetoed by then-governor Terry McAuliffe. 

At the same time as these bills were making their way through the legislature, Youngkin was busy filling his cabinet with pro-parent appointees to his departments of Education. Two of those appointments in particular—Jillian Balow and Elizabeth Schultz as the Superintendent of Public Instruction and Assistant Superintendent of Public Instruction, respectively—provide early insight into Youngkin’s plan for education in Virginia.

Both women’s credentials make clear that Youngkin’s promises to restore “excellence” to Virginia schools and root out divisive ideologies like Critical Race Theory are more than just words. Balow’s background includes having had the same job in Wyoming, where she established a track record of combatting CRT and increasing curriculum transparency for parents. For her part, Schultz has direct experience in the education fight in Virginia, having formerly served as a member of the Fairfax school board from 2012 to 2019. Schultz also served at the U.S. Department of Education under Secretary Betsy DeVos during the Trump administration.

Schultz’s commitment to parents’ rights—especially Virginia parents—appeared to be particularly important for Youngkin in selecting her to this post. As a fellow for Parents Defending Education, Schultz wrote extensively about the rise of CRT in Virginia schools, detailing how hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent on so-called “equity” and “anti-bias” training, two key concepts in the CRT worldview. 

Schultz was also a chief opponent of a proposed new system for admissions at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, widely considered to be one of the top high schools in the country. Instead of basing admissions on merit by using test scores and grades, the school began using a lottery system in October 2020 that implemented what amounted to race quotas for each incoming class. Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly have since announced their plans to challenge the admissions process with new legislation.

One of the other biggest concerns for parents all across the country is transparency, which have been top priority for Balow and Schultz. Too many parents are being shut out of their children’s education. Parents have been removed from school board meetings and widely derided as bigoted by the national media for speaking their minds. Their objections to CRT and sexually explicit reading material have been written off as censorship instead of being treated as legitimate concerns. In accepting their new positions, Balow and Schultz have promised that Virginia parents will gain more insight into what their children are learning in schools.

With appointees like Jillian Balow and Elizabeth Schultz, there’s good reason to have hope for the future of education in Virginia. In his statements on education, Governor Youngkin has emphasized excellence in the essentials—history, math, and science. He has also promised greater cooperation between parents and teachers, pay raises for teachers in addition, and appointing pro-parent personnel to the state’s education department. After the strain of the pandemic, with so many students falling behind, it is clear that Youngkin and his appointees want to get Virginia quickly moving forward on education.

Just as Youngkin’s campaign and election were an early sign of shifting attitudes in the country, his administration’s policies can influence more than just Virginia. Already, more and more states are lifting mandates and opening up. Virginia’s recent election shows the power of common-sense positions that can appeal to all voters, especially when contrasted with increasingly radical positions on the left. If successful, Virginia’s policies could serve as blueprints for dealing with educational issues that are plaguing the entire nation.

Eleanor Vaughn is a writer living in Virginia.