Youngkin administration ends equity initiatives at the Virginia Department of Education

[mahatmakanejeeves]

EDUCATION | GOVERNMENT + POLITICS

Youngkin administration ends equity initiatives at the Virginia Department of Education

The move comes after the release of an interim report on ‘divisive concepts’ in schools

BY: KATE MASTERS - FEBRUARY 25, 2022 2:50 PM

In a push to end “divisive concepts” in Virginia education, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration is ending virtually all equity initiatives launched by the state’s Department of Education prior to the governor’s inauguration last month.

The policy changes, announced in an interim report from the state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, hew closely to directives already issued by Youngkin in his first executive order. According to Balow, every resource listed on the department’s EdEquityVA website falls under the category of a “divisive concept,” including a 52-page “roadmap to equity” developed by the department under former Gov. Ralph Northam and Secretary of Education Atif Qarni.


Jillian Balow, Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction. (Wyoming Department of Education)

The Northam administration document details plans to “dismantle any and all forms of inequity in Virginia’s public education system,” including the disproportionate impact of disciplinary measures such as suspensions on Black students, which is well supported by state data and outside investigations. The roadmap explicitly supports concepts such as cultural competency training and anti-racism, defined as the acknowledgement “that racist beliefs and structures are pervasive in all aspects of our lives.”

The administration is also eliminating an audit tool intended to help local school divisions develop and implement their own equity initiatives. ... “All Virginia students should have the opportunity to receive an excellent education that teaches all history — the good and the bad, prioritizes academic excellence, and fosters equal opportunities for all students,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Our Virginia students should not be taught to discriminate on the basis of sex, skin color, or religion and VDOE policies should certainly not direct such concepts.”

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[underpants]

1. "Equity" is a red flag dirty word in rightwing world

They have taken its definition and swirled into a new black world order level of conspiracy

[nitpicker]

2. AGA held its conference in DC

The organization formerly known as Association of Government Accountants held a hybrid training conference in DC this week. Some of the speakers focused on equity, equality, etc. I don't think it was a total coincidence that the conference was hosted in DC instead of VA.

((The conference unveiled the new slogan "Advance Grow Acceleration", attempting to be a bigger tent covering all the greater government financial management community instead of implying it included just government accountants.))

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Virginia Education Department rescinds diversity, equity programs in response to Youngkin's order

Local Education

Virginia Education Department rescinds diversity, equity programs in response to Youngkin’s order

By Hannah Natanson and Karina Elwood
Yesterday at 6:29 p.m. EST

The Virginia Department of Education has rescinded a wide range of policies, memos and programs established to further diversity, equity and inclusion in schools in obedience to an executive order from Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). ... Jillian Balow, the Virginia superintendent of public instruction, announced the end of the initiatives in a letter sent to Youngkin and Education Secretary Aimee Guidera on Friday. Balow wrote that she was acting due to Youngkin’s Executive Order One, issued on his first day in office last month and which forbids the teaching of “inherently divisive concepts” including “critical race theory and its progeny.”

The programs Balow has rescinded or is working to rescind were established under Youngkin’s Democratic predecessor, Ralph Northam. They include a framework called “EdEquityVA” that aimed to eliminate racial and socioeconomic disparities in academic and disciplinary outcomes for students. They also include a website devoted to “culturally responsive” teaching, and a memo that ex-state superintendent James Lane published in 2019 urging teachers to “facilitate meaningful dialogue on racism and bigotry.” Nixed as well is a web seminar series called “Teaching 9/11.”

Balow wrote in the letter that her cancellations of the programs are only the first step in a wholesale overhaul of how the state education department operates. ... “Discriminatory and divisive concepts … have become widespread in the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and in Virginia school divisions,” she wrote. “We will need to proactively review policies, practices and pedagogies around the state.”

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Balow’s actions Friday come as no surprise: She is directly following Youngkin’s requests as laid out in his Executive Order One. In that document, he specifically asked her to end or curtail several of the programs she rescinded, including the EdEquityVA program and the Virginia Math Pathways Initiative. The latter program proposed rejiggering eighth-, ninth- and 10th-grade math courses and increasing students’ exposure to data analytics, but it drew heavy criticism from some who alleged it would eliminate advanced high school math classes.

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By Hannah Natanson
Hannah Natanson is a reporter covering education and K-12 schools in Virginia. Twitter https://twitter.com/hannah_natanson

By Karina Elwood
Karina Elwood is an intern covering local politics and government on the Metro desk. Twitter https://twitter.com/karina_elwood