Despite the issue no longer making headlines, Republicans across the country are still targeting school boards and education. Most recently, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed new standards that, if adopted by the Virginia Board of Education, would be effective for at least seven years starting in the 2024-2025 school year.
According to a document obtained by ABC 7News, the Governor’s 53-page proposal would focus on history, eliminate “critical race theory,” and implement lessons on patriotism. The proposal overhauls former Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration’s proposal that would have set history and social science standards in Virginia schools.
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According to 7News, the move comes after Youngkin appointed new members to the Virginia Board of Education this year. The board delayed adopting Northam’s history curriculum proposal. By law, Virginia is required to update its "History and Social Science Standards of Learning" every seven years.
Under Youngkin’s proposal, children as young as kindergarteners would be required to learn patriotism, including pledging allegiance to the American flag.
Additionally, starting in 4th grade, students would learn about the Civil Rights movement in Virginia, why James Madison is called the “Father of the U.S. Constitution,” why George Washington is called the “Father of our Country,” and about Reconstruction and the Civil War. By 11th grade, students would learn about Christopher Columbus and the race-based enslavement of Africans and more.
Youngkin’s proposal removes content regarding Martin Luther King, Jr. and LGBTQ histories, in addition to not acknowledging Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples’ Day. According to The Washington Post, the new guidelines only mention learning about Presidents’ Day. It also deletes a suggestion from the previous version that kindergartners be taught “respect for diversity” by learning how to work collaboratively with “people of diverse backgrounds, viewpoints, and experiences.”
On the other hand, Northam’s proposed revisions to the history curriculum were more in line with the current political and social occurrences. His proposed curriculum included lessons on racism and discrimination, the LGTBQ+ community, gender equality, and climate change.
While recognizing Juneteeth as a holiday, Northam’s proposed curriculum would have removed lessons on Christopher Columbus and Benjamin Franklin as mandatory, and removed the requirement of understanding why George Washington is called the “Father of our Country” and why James Madison is called the “Father of the Constitution.”
In a statement to 7News, Youngkin said his proposal clears up issues in the previous proposal—he also previously criticized Northam’s proposal and suggested the removal of understanding why George Washington and James Madison were considered historic “fathers.”
“I disagree with the removing of the nomenclature of George Washington as the father of our country, because of course he was and, of course, James Madison as the father of our Constitution. So all these standards still need significant work," Youngkin told 7News. "And we're going to reinforce, as part of our curriculum, the role of our founding fathers in our country, we're not going to erode it.”
"I believe that we should tell our history accurately, the good and the bad. And part of the history we're going to tell is that our Founding Fathers, including George Washington, and James Madison, let's not forget about Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry and the others played an extraordinary role in the founding of our nation," Youngkin added.
Due to the nature of his proposal, it's obvious Youngkin is "politically motivated" as he eliminates difficult parts of American history that shed light on the realities of genocide, slavery, and other atrocities.
"It's just another attack on trying to make history what they want it to be," James Fedderman, President of the Virginia Education Association, told 13News Now. "The resulting standards right now are racist. They are factually incorrect. They are not age-appropriate, and they reflect explicit political bias."
The Board of Education is set to review the draft policy by Thursday, Nov. 17. After that initial policy hearing, the State Board of Education will hold public engagement sessions.
We're now in the second week of election overtime and there are still plenty of major races yet to be decided—as well as tons more great news for Democrats to exult over on this week's episode of The Downballot. On the uncalled races front, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard dive into a pair of House races in California and several legislatures that could flip from red to blue, including the Pennsylvania House. Speaking of legislatures, the Davids also go deep on what the astonishing flips in Michigan will mean for progressives and particularly organized labor.
