PURVES: Return the Surplus, Don’t Reward Failed Schools
Virginia ended Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 with a record-breaking budget surplus of $2.6 billion. (Virginia’s budget year, or fiscal year, is from July 1 to June 30.) Virginia Governor Ralph Northam stated that the surplus was due to Virginia’s great business climate, pointing out that CNBC ranked Virginia as the #1 state for being business friendly. Not everyone agrees with CNBC. The Virginia Industry Foundation last November ranked Virginia as #11.
Northam’s DOE to VA Schools: No “American Exceptionalism” on 9/11
On Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, the Virginia Department of Education posted a webinar in which a speaker trains teachers not to discuss Islamic extremism or “American exceptionalism” while teaching about the 9/11 attacks, guiding them instead to focus on “anti-Muslim racism.” Parents in Virginia shared the video with Parents Defending Education, expressing deep concern about the revision of historical facts in the lesson guidelines and the insensitivity of the speaker and the state agency to the trauma and facts of the 9/11 attacks.
Mediocrity for All
The month of May represents Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This month we celebrate the culture and achievements of Asian Pacific Americans, but as a Chinese American myself, I’d also like to focus on a key issue facing our community: our public schools.
I live in Northern Virginia. It’s the wealthiest area in the entire country, yet our schools are failing us. Not because of a lack of funding, and not only because they aren’t open, but because of a perverse idea of equity that punishes success in order to make everyone equal.
New “Equity” Plan Would Scrap Advanced Diplomas
Republicans have criticized the Virginia Department of Education for considering a plan to end advanced high school diplomas because of the lack of racial equity in students receiving the higher tiered diploma.
Current policy allows a Virginia student to earn an advanced degree…
Draft “Transgender Guidelines” Would Undermine Family Rights and Values
The Arlington Parent Coalition’s Kristen Allen joined WMAL’s Mornings on the Mall radio program to break down Virginia’s new, draft guidelines for transgender ideology in government-run “public” schools.
“In 2018, the chair of an advocacy group for transgenders (GLSEN) told the Washington Post that Virginia and California were going to be laboratories in which they tested fairly radical policies,” Allen noted.
Fairfax GOP: Virginia’s Education Secretary Must Go
Fairfax GOP Chairman Steve Knotts is calling for the resignation of Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni, in a blistering statement issued today. “With Atif Qarni, the special interests always come first,” Knotts lamented. “Now more than ever, we need a Secretary of Education who is laser-focused on serving the needs of Virginia’s students.”
“Secretary Qarni cruelly and baselessly defamed Asra Nomani — a devoted single mother, renowned investigative journalist and tireless human rights advocate,” Knotts said.