Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears is renewing her call for school choice and higher academic standards. “Parents are telling us that they want school choice,” Sears told WJLA’s Nick Minock. “They want something different.”

The lieutenant governor’s comments follow more discouraging news from Virginia’s public schools. Virginia’s Advanced Placement results slipped from 9th in the country to 11th, which Sears called “disheartening.” As recently as 2015, Virginia ranked 3rd among the states.

On the state level, Sears has been a champion of education reform and school choice in particular. A bill that would have expanded educational options statewide lacked enough votes to reach the governor’s desk — underscoring the importance of this year’s legislative races.

“But I want to talk to parents directly and say, there’s a tug of war for your children, and you’ve got to win that war. And that means we’ve got to have school boards that you agree with – who agree with your idea on how to educate your children,” Sears added during her Monday interview. “We’re hearing parents just want the basics: reading, writing, arithmetic, science, technology, and they’re not getting that. Their children aren’t getting this.”

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