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Getting Virginia K-12 Education
Back on Track

For Rockingham County School Board Meeting Schedule - Click HERE

To speak at a School Board Meeting, sign up on the list at the door before the meeting starts. The school board generally meets twice a month, except for June, July, and December when it meets once.

News About Educating Our Children, K-12

Education News 2021 to March 2022

Education News April to December 2022

May 29, 2023, Comment at Virginia Beach School Board Meeting over Transgender Policy Sparks Question About FOIA, WTKR 3 Hampton Roads

May 28, 2023, The Great American School Bus Boondoggle, Daily Caller

May 28, 2023, 'Unprecedented Push': Here Are the Red States that Have Enacted Sweeping School Choice Legislation in 2023, Daily Caller

May 28, 2023, US High School Student Defies Court and Wears Mexican Flag Sash at Graduation, Business Insider

May 26, 2023, Larry Shifflett To Serve as Next Rockingham County Superintendent, Daily News Record

May 4, 2023,  Gov Youngkin Signs 'Swatting' Bill at E.C. Glass High School, WDBJ CBS 7

Apr 26, 2023, Vermont School District Removes Male and Female From Reproductive Lesson, Fox News

Apr 26, 2023, Resident Ask Schools Where Is the Outrage, Will Revise Agreement with Forsyth Tech Over Drag Shows, Winston-Salem Journal

Apr 26, 2023, Schools Are Ditching Homework, Deadlines in Favor of Equitable Grading, Wall Street Journal

Apr 25, 2023, College Board to Revise African American Studies Program Under Pressure from Critical Rights Theorists, Washington Free Beacon

Apr 18, 2023, 2 Iowa Teens Plead Guilty in Spanish Teacher's Beating Death, Associated Press

[Killed 66-year-old high school teacher because of bad grade while she was on regular after school walk in park. Killing had been planned over two weeks. One of the students had talked with her about grade afternoon before murder.]

Apr 17, 2023, Trans Florida Teacher Worked for Weeks After She Said She Wanted to Shoot Some Students, New York Post

Apr 17, 2023, How Walmart Pushed Arkansas Public Schools to Go Woke, Washington Free Beacon

Apr 16, 2023, School Staffer, Director of Child Development Busted in Child Sex Sting in Washington County, Oregon, Truth Press

Apr 12, 2023, Loudoun County Public Schools Bans Teacher From Including Bible Verse in Email Signature, WJLA ABC 7

Apr 10, 2023, Tallahassee, Florida Middle School Teacher Accused of Organizing Fights In Her Classroom, Washington Examiner

Mar 24, 2023, NM School Boards Assn Educator: Parents Have No Rights in Public Education, The Federalist

Mar 24, 2023, Parents Groups Says Pornographic Materials Available to Minnesota Students, Star News Network

Mar 22, 2023, FBI Investigated Dozens of Parents Who Criticized School Boards, Found No Legitimate Threats, Washington Free Beacon

Mar 22, 2023, Gov. Youngkin Appoints New Superintendent for Virginia Board of Education, WRIC ABC8 News

Mar 21, 2023, Poll: Most Americans Want Schools to Inform Parents When Students Change Identity, Washington Free Beacon

[71% want legislation to inform parents, 75% want legislation to inform parents before schools assist children in the change]

Mar 20, 2023, Feds Identify 'Significant' Ongoing Concerns with Special Education, Virginia Mercury

Mar 16, 2023, In Virginia, School Boards Will Be The Primary Deciders on AP African American Studies, Virginia Mercury

Mar 11, 2023, NY State Test Scores Worse Than They Seem Analysis Finds, New York Post

[20% of students did not take test which lowers results, in schools that were highlighted by NY educators as "successful" large proportions of the students did not take the test skewing results]

 

Mar 10, 2023, San Diego 'Teacher of the Year' Arrested at School Charged with Child Sex Abuse, Child Pornography, Western Journal

Mar 10, 2023, Arizona High School's Policy Tells Girls to Leave their Locker Room If They Are Uncomfortable with Trans Students, Daily Caller

Mar 10, 2023, Kearney, Nebraska School Board Moving Forward with Transgender Policy Despite Overwhelming Opposition, Fox News

Mar 4, 2023, Poudre Colorado Elementary School's Private Emails Show Secret Plans to Defy Parents' Wishes on Transitioning Their Child, Fox News

[Parents told school to not use child's preferred pronouns]

Mar 3, 2023, NC High School Student Told She Is Ineligible to Play Soccer Because She Attends AP Class, Calls for Rules Change, CBS 17

Mar 3, 2023, Cat-ears-clad Washington Elementary School Board Member in Phoenix Says District Should Not Hire Teachers From Arizona Christian University, NY Post

Mar 3, 2023,  Not One Student Proficient in Math in 10 Minneapolis, St. Paul Public Schools: Report, Star News Network

Mar 3, 2023, Shocking Video Shows Multiple Violent Incidents of Black Kids Forcing White Kids to Say 'Black Lives Matter', at Springfield Ohio Elementary School, Truth Press

[Video was released by WKEF Television]

Mar 2, 2023, Community Perspective: Debbie Figliola, Lawsuit Over Keeping Harrisonburg Parents in the Dark Very Much Alive, Harrisonburg Citizen

Mar 2, 2023, Virginia K-12 Enrollment, Teacher Vacancies Increase; Homeschool Numbers Dip, Virginia Mercury

Mar 2, 2023, Ontario, Canada Trans Teacher Kayla Lemieux with Giant Prosthetic Breasts Placed on Leave, Daily Caller

[NY Post published photo showing same teacher dressed as male without breasts. Lemieux denies photo in male dress is her. NY Post stands behind story and photo]

Mar 1, 2023, School Choice Argument Greatly Misrepresented in Ohio, American Liberty

Feb 28, 2023, Group of Teachers' Complaint Against Harrisonburg City Schools Can Proceed Judge Rules, Harrisonburg Citizen

Feb 23, 2023, What the Push for Parents' rights Means for Schools, Education Week

Feb 23, 2023, Instead of Getting Non White Students Up to Speed for Honors Classes, 'Equity'-Obsessed Schools Give Up on Kids Entirely, The Federalist

Feb 19, 2023,  Stockton California School District Exemplifies Bureaucratic Waste, American Liberty News

[It should be noted that a majority of conferences are held in Las Vegas because there is a lot of conference space, airline tickets are cheaper, and it is close to California. The more accurate question is could the training be accomplished in house or more cheaply, and how would it improve education in the classroom.]

Feb 14, 2023, Minnesota Gov Waltz' Officials Pull Homeschool Reporting Requirement After Parents Complaint, The Star News Network

Feb 14, 2023, The Goldwater Institute Refutes Gov Katie Hobbs Claim that Universal ESA Will Bankrupt Arizona, The Star News Network

Feb 10, 2023, Non-binary Teacher has 'good laughs' About Hiding Kids' Gender Changes From Parents, Claims Support From Administration, Fox News

[Lane Cogdill teaches at Silver Spring Intl Middle School in Montgomery County, Maryland]

Feb 10, 2023, Controversial Utah School Training Video Removed After Substitute Teacher Raises Questions, KATU 2 ABC

Feb 9, 2023, Yes to Broadway High School Addition on County School Board Agenda, Daily News Record

Feb 8, 2023, Prominent Transgender Psychologist Backs Parents Rights in Wisconsin School Case, The Star News Network

Feb 8, 2023, Teachers Share Haunting Stories Following Shooting of Teacher by 6 year-old in Virginia, Today

Feb 7, 2023, Community Tortured by Prostitutes Soliciting Sex Outside California Catholic Elementary School, Star News Network

Feb 6, 2023, Maine Mom Demands Investigation Into School Hid Her Daughter's Gender Transition, Provided Chest Binders, Daily Caller

Feb 6, 2023, California School Club to Host Lunchtime Screening of Trans Documentary with Full Frontal Nudity, Daily Caller

Jan 25, 2023, Dan Breeden Won't Seek Another Term on Rockingham School Board, Daily News Record

Jan 23, 2023, Florida AP Teacher's Guide Proves DeSantis Right in African-American Studies Clash, National Review

Jan 17, 2023, Threat Made to Harrisonburg High School, WHSV3

Jan 11, 2023, Paris, Maine Community Ousts School Board Members For Backing Policy to Hid Kids Gender Transitions, Daily Signal

Jan 11, 2023, There's Been A Disturbing Development in the Shooting of the Richneck Elementary School Teacher in Newport News, Truth Press

Jan 9, 2023, Virginia Attorney General Extends TJ Investigation to All Fairfax Schools, Virginia Mercury

Jan 4, 2023, Meet The California Assemblyman Who Wants to Help Students Get Sex Change Operations, Washington Free Beacon

[Rick Zbur headed the LGBTQ right group Equality California from 2014 to 2021 encouraging teachers to lies to parents.]

Jan 3, 2023, Blue State Temecula Valley School Board Makes a 3-2 Decision -  They Just Banned Woke Holy Grail in California County, Patriot Journal

[Board banned DEI at its first meeting]

Jan 3, 2023, Las Vegas Nevada Parents Sue School Over Daughter's Pornographic Assignment, Daily Caller

Jan 2, 2023, The CDC - Yes, The Health Agency - Is Pushing Trans Activism on Teachers, Daily Caller

Let the Parents Decide

The Republican Party believes in sensible, cost-effective policies that respect your family's and our community's values and priorities. The educational environment and practices should be conducive to learning. Parental involvement is associated with successful student achievement and schools. 

 

Our children's futures depend upon their receiving a full education. Our expectation is that our children will receive a full education for the generous funding that the taxpayers have provided for education. The educational achievements and outcomes should be reflective of the community's expectations. Transparency in making school policy, selecting curriculum, setting instructional goals, and providing educational opportunity should be a given. 

 

2022 Virginia Legislative Update on School Bills

 

During his campaign, Governor Youngkin pledged to promote school safety and give parents more of a voice in educational decisions. Working with the House and Senate, Governor Youngkin has kept these promises by signing the following bills into law:

  • SB 656: Will require schools to notify parents when a school assignment includes sexually explicit content and will allow parents to review it and request an alternative assignment. A summary article is here. (A similar bill was previously vetoed by Governor McAuliffe, who later remarked in debate "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.")

  • HB 4: Will require schools to report crimes like sexual battery and stalking to law enforcement. This law will reverse the worst parts of a bill that was passed over Republican objections in 2020 when Democrats were in the majority.

  • HB741: This was my school safety bill, and will require each school to prepare a detailed floor plan for use by responders in the event of an emergency.

Resources on Education

Misinterpretation of SB1303 Regarding Mandate for Children To Wear Masks in School

Virginia for Education Freedom (School Choice)

What to do if your school celebrates a holiday that your family doesn't - Noah Webster Educational Foundation

How Many High Schoolers Carry a Gun? USA FACTS (Apr 2023)

May 25, 2022, Four Steps Every School Can Take to Help Prevent Shootings, Daily Signal

Dec 23, 2021, We are Doctors. Here's the Truth About Transgender Females' Bodies and Athleticism, Daily Signal

Dec 17, 2021, Biden Education Department Will Keep Trump Era Effort to Catalog Teacher Sex Crimes, Washington Free Beacon

Dec 10, 2021, Most Commonly Spoken Language in the US After English and Spanish, Visual Capitalist

[Mandarin and Cantonese in many states]

Dec 7, 2021, Hundreds of College Professors Blast Woke Math Movement, New York Post

Dec 7, 2021, Here is the Biggest Supreme Court Case No One Is Talking About, Washington Free Beacon

[Justices are expected to rule favorably on school vouchers for religious schools]

Dec 7, 2021, Six Hundred Scientists, Mathematicians Rip California's Math Curriculum Plans, Daily Signal

Nov 20, 2021, Leaked Audio Reveals How California Teachers Recruit Kids into LGBTQ Clubs, Team Tucker Carlson

Nov 9, 2021, My Son's Teacher Showed a Transgender Video in Class. Here's What I did Next, Daily Signal

Nov 9, 2021, A Healthier, Moral Way to Navigate Modern Dating and Sex Culture, Daily Signal

Oct 29, 2021, How a Mom's Group - Moms for Liberty - Could Shake-Up 2022 Election, Daily Caller

Oct 11, 2021, New Group Equips Parents with Seven Tools to Combat Wokeness in K-12 Education, Daily Caller

June 28, 2021, Fact Checking the Fact Checkers: What Anti-Critical Race Theory Legislation Actually Does, Daily Signal

June 22, 2021, Is Your School Hiding Its Critical Race Theory? Here's 5 Things To Ask About, Daily Signal

June 9, 2021, Children Protected by 'Reasonable Independence' Laws in Three States, Treehugger

May 11, 2021, Hoover Institution's Education Experts Provide Solutions for Schools After COVID, Hoover Institution

Apr 29, 2021, Expand School Choice and Provide Fiscal Relief to Districts, Hoover Institution

Apr 29, 2021, Don't Let Public Schools Control Students Private Speech, Washington Examiner

Apr 27, 2021, Conclusions: How to Improve Our Schools in the Post-COVID Era, Hoover Institution

Apr 25, 2021, Some Examples of Critical Race Theory in Schools, Washington Free Beacon

Mar 30, 2021, In a Rebuke to Teacher's Unions, School Choice is Going Gangbusters in the States, Daily Signal

Mar 25, 2021, High School Coach Fired For Using Audible Anti-Semitic Football Calls, Yahoo News

Mar 19, 2021, Massachusetts School Officials Deny Firing Football Coach Over Political Differences, Washington Free Beacon

Mar 16, 2021, Minnesota Teacher-Diversity Bill Could Push Out 700 Hundred of Minority Teachers, Washington Free Beacon

Mar 8, 2021, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Student Punished for Religious Speech, Washington Free Beacon

[8-1 Ruling Strikes Blow Against Campus Policies Targeting Religious Expression, Chief Justice Roberts was the only dissenter]

Feb 24, 2021, Website Tracks Which Colleges Embrace Training in Critical Race Theory, Daily Signal

Feb 24, 2021, 'Hateful, Divisive, Manipulative Fraud': Chinese-American Organization Denounces Critical Race Theory, Washington Examiner

Feb 16, 2021, It's Time to Hold School Boards Accountable, Daily Signal

Why America is Free (Why Knowing Our History Matters)

Jan 26, 2021, Inside the 'Diversity Audit' Conducted at a Top US Prep School. Washington Free Beacon 

Jan 26, 2021, K-12 Education Was Broken Long Before the Pandemic. Let's Rethink It, Washington Examiner

Dec 19, 2020, School Choice Lowers Teenage Suicide: Study, Washington Examiner

2020 Demographic Report on America's 4 Million Teachers, USA Facts

Dec 7, 2020, The Education Exchange: How Online Learning is Unleashing Innovation, Hoover Institution

Dec 5, 2020, School Shutdowns Are Crushing Low-Income and Special Needs Students, Washington Examiner

Dec 4, 2020, San Diego Required Anti-Racism Training for Teachers, Washington Free Beacon

Dec 3, 2020, Education or Indoctrination? 'Anti-Racist' Teaching Sweeps K-12 Education Targeting Whiteness, Daily Signal

Dec 1, 2020, Toward Equitable School Choice, Hoover Education Success Initiative, Hoover Institution

Healthy Buildings Research and Guidance, Harvard T.H. Chan School for Health

Nov 13, 2020, Updated Guidance for Schools and Child Care Programs

Oct 29, 2020, Updated CDC Guidelines for Operating Schools During COVID

Oct 30, 2020,  VSHL: Releases Guidelines for High School Sports, to Resume in December, when Gov Northam Eases COVID-19 Restrictions, Richmond Times Dispatch

Fall 2020, How Family Background Influences Student Achievement, Education Next

Fall 2020, How to Reduce Racial Bias in Grading, Education Next

Fall 2020, High School Exit Exams Are Tough on Crime, Education Next

Fall 2020, How the Coronavirus Crisis May Improve Teacher Quality: The Impact of Recession Hiring, Education Next

American Education in 2030: K-12 Task Force Papers, Hoover Institution

Jun 15, 2020, The Future of School Accountability, Hoover Institution

May 28, 2020, Nine Jobs for High School Graduates, Indeed.com

Mar 7, 2020, Top Five Skills Needed When Graduating from High School, Maximum Potential (maxpt,org)

2019 Employers Ratings of Importance of Skills and Competencies College Graduates Need to Get Hired: Evidence from the New England Region of USA, ERIC-U.S. Dept. of Education

May 3, 2020, Hiring Expectations for Recent College Graduates, The Strategic CFO

Apr 3, 2018, The Skills Gap: Employers Expect More Than What College Grads Offer, The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal

Andrew Pollack and Max Eden, Why Meadow Died: The People and Policies that Created the Parkland Shooter and Endanger America's Students, New York: Post Hill Press, 2019. Andrew Pollack's Daughter Meadow was killed by the Parkland, Florida shooter at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. He describes how an avoidable shooting became inevitable when the shooter slipped through the cracks and how the policies pioneered in the Broward County School District are in wide use in other school districts.

Dec 25, 2018, Legislative Committee Releases School Safety Report, Daily News Record

Commentary and Opinion on Education

Dec 2, 2020, Walter Williams: The Tragedy of Black Education is New. Daily Signal

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