Rockingham County Republican Committee
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 28, 2023, The Great American School Bus Boondoggle, Daily Caller
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 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, How Walmart Pushed Arkansas Public Schools to Go Woke, 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 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]
[Parents told school to not use child's preferred pronouns]
[Video was released by WKEF Television]
[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 23, 2023, What the Push for Parents' rights Means for Schools, Education Week
[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.]
[Lane Cogdill teaches at Silver Spring Intl Middle School in Montgomery County, Maryland]
Feb 9, 2023, Yes to Broadway High School Addition on County School Board Agenda, Daily News Record
Jan 25, 2023, Dan Breeden Won't Seek Another Term on Rockingham School Board, Daily News Record
Jan 17, 2023, Threat Made to Harrisonburg High School, WHSV3
[Rick Zbur headed the LGBTQ right group Equality California from 2014 to 2021 encouraging teachers to lies to parents.]
[Board banned DEI at its first meeting]
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)
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 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]
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
June 9, 2021, Children Protected by 'Reasonable Independence' Laws in Three States, Treehugger
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 25, 2021, High School Coach Fired For Using Audible Anti-Semitic Football Calls, Yahoo News
[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 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
Dec 19, 2020, School Choice Lowers Teenage Suicide: Study, Washington Examiner
2020 Demographic Report on America's 4 Million Teachers, USA Facts
Dec 4, 2020, San Diego Required Anti-Racism Training for Teachers, Washington Free Beacon
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
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
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)
May 3, 2020, Hiring Expectations for Recent College Graduates, The Strategic CFO
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