A heated battle in Virginia's largest school district tests the strength of 'parent rights' activism

Glenn Youngkin’s election as governor two years ago was supposed to spell the end of so-called woke ideology in Virginia’s public schools.

But halfway through his term, his policy changes have met resistance in Fairfax County, the state’s largest school district and one of its most racially diverse communities.

After Youngkin, a Republican, signed an executive order that prohibits teaching “divisive concepts” or critical race theory, Fairfax County Public Schools adopted an equity policy that commits to creating a “culturally responsive environment” and surveyed students about how well their schools help them “speak out against racism.”

The Democratic-led district also pushed back against the Youngkin administration’s proposed social studies standards, saying, in part, that they focused on white men at the expense of women and people of color. The state rewrote the standards to address the criticisms.

And this summer, the district announced it wouldn’t follow the Youngkin administration’s guidance to require students to use bathrooms and play on sports teams aligned with their sexes assigned at birth.

Now, conservatives in the district hope to end the Democratic blockade, with all 12 school board seats in this suburban Washington, D.C., community on the Nov. 7 ballot.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/glenn-youngkin-virginia-policy-fairfax-county-school-board-rcna122754