How Youngkin Plans to Ban Critical Race Theory

On the campaign trail, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin told voters that he would rebuke the teaching of divisive critical race theory in schools.

Months into his administration, the Governor is now outlining how he plans to go about banning the radical ideas from Virginia’s curriculum.

ABC 7News reports:

In a newly released memo, there is a long list of instructions focused on removing ideas and concepts related to critical race theory in public schools, stemming from the governor’s first executive order.

Below are the directives in the memo to the VDOE regarding the implementation of Executive Order one, which Youngkin said would ban critical race theory in public schools:

• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review all policies within the Department of Education to identify those that promote inherently divisive concepts. Such policies shall be ended.
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall immediately review all guidelines, websites, best practices, and other materials produced by the Department of Education to identify those that promote or endorse divisive or inherently racist concepts. Such shall be removed.
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review the Department of Education’s Cultural Competency Training to determine if it or any portion promotes inherently divisive concepts, and take action consistent with the laws of Virginia to modify such training to end the use of inherently divisive concepts. In addition, the Superintendent shall make recommendations on how the Department of Education and school division can develop and make available to all teachers and school leaders model professional development and training so teachers and schools are prepared to engage students on important civics and historical issues in a fair and unbiased manner without imposing their own personal beliefs.

• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review and revise or rescind Superintendent’s Memo #050-19 to remove reference to any inherently divisive concepts.
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review all changes made to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s public education curriculum within the last 48 months to identify inherently divisive concepts, including concepts or ideas related to Critical Race Theory, and initiate, through the regular curriculum re-evaluation process, 3 changes that will replace them with concepts and lessons that ensure all Virginia students are taught to respect all individuals regardless of their race, sex, or faith. o The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review the Department of Education’s Cultural Competency Training to determine if it or any portion promotes inherently divisive concepts, and take action consistent with the laws of Virginia to modify such training to end the use of inherently divisive concepts. In addition, the Superintendent shall make recommendations on how the Department of Education and school division can develop and make available to all teachers and school leaders model professional development and training so teachers and schools are prepared to engage students on important civics and historical issues in a fair and unbiased manner without imposing their own personal beliefs
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review and revise or rescind Superintendent’s Memo #050-19 to remove reference to any inherently divisive concepts
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review all changes made to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s public education curriculum within the last 48 months to identify inherently divisive concepts, including concepts or ideas related to Critical Race Theory, and initiate, through the regular curriculum re-evaluation process, changes that will replace them with concepts and lessons that ensure all Virginia students are taught to respect all individuals regardless of their race, sex, or faith.

• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review the “EdEquityVA” program and end any portion that promotes inherently divisive concepts.
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall provide a report to me and the Secretary of Education within 30 days on any policies, programs, training, or curricula that falls within the definition of inherently divisive concepts and within 90 days identify any necessary executive and legislative actions needed to end use of all inherently divisive concepts in public education.
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review and immediately end the use of any portion of any Governor’s School program that promotes inherently divisive concepts.
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall raise standards in K-12 education and immediately take steps to:
  • Increase the transparency and honesty of performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth and ensure that such measures do not obscure or conceal disparities in performance among student groups;
  • Ensure that performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools prioritize the attainment of grade-level proficiency in reading and mathematics for all students, especially in grades K-5;
  • Ensure that the Commonwealth’s proficiency standards on Standards of Learning assessments in reading and mathematics are rigorous in comparison with assessments administered by other states and national assessments in reading; and
  • Increase the number of academic-year Governor’s Schools in the Commonwealth and maintain standards of excellence for students in all such schools.
  • Ensure that parents are empowered with open access to information on primary instructional materials utilized in any school and that fair and open policies are in place to address any concerns or complaints in a timely and respectful manner.

• The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall issue a report to the Secretary of Education and me within 90 days on the status of efforts to close the “achievement gap” in K-12 education, with recommendations for additional executive and legislative actions that should be undertaken to ensure all students are graduating high school career and college ready.
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction will initiate, through the regular curriculum re-evaluation process, changes that ensure Virginia students are given thorough and comprehensive education of the world, United States, and Virginia history without the influence of inherently divisive concepts

Youngkin vowed to mandate not teaching divisive racial concepts in Virginia schools prior to his November 2021 election: “I think these are decisions that need to be made at the local level … We will issue a mandate on what not to teach. And we are going to mandate that we are not going to teach using race as a way to divide students where we are going to bucket children into those that are privileged and those that aren’t.”