Youngkin rips Fairfax schools for merit scandal, warns of ‘human rights violation’
Jeremiah Poff
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) has reiterated his criticisms of Fairfax County Public Schools, calling the withholding of National Merit awards from Virginia students a possible “human rights violation.”
“This overarching effort for equal outcomes is hurting Virginia’s children and their future,” Youngkin said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “The failure of numerous Fairfax County schools to inform students of their national merit awards could serve as a Virginia human rights violation. As the attorney general follows through on my request to investigate the matter, we will get to the bottom of this.”
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VIRGINIA AG EXPANDS CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATION INTO FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The Virginia governor, who has made education a focal point of his tenure, has been harshly critical of Fairfax County Public Schools after reports emerged over recent weeks that several high schools in the district admitted that they failed to notify students who had received commended student awards from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation in a prompt manner.
The school district says it is investigating but has initially chalked up the fiasco to human error. But some reports have indicated the schools did not notify the students out of concern it would have a negative impact on students who did not receive the same commendation.
At Youngkin’s behest, Attorney General Jason Miyares (R-VA) launched a state civil rights investigation into the school district. In an interview with WJLA over the weekend, Youngkin blasted what he said was “a maniacal focus on equal outcomes for all students at all costs.”
“This overarching effort for equal outcomes is hurting Virginia’s children, and it’s hurting, even worse, the children that they aspire to help — children in the black community and children in the Hispanic community and children who are in the socioeconomically challenged community and Virginia’s kids with disabilities. They have, in fact, suffered even more,” the governor said.
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He added: “This is a moment where we have to recognize that educating our children so that they are equipped to take on not just the challenges, but to take on confidently the pursuit of their dreams is at the heart of education and equal outcomes for all students at any cost is a cost too much for Virginia.”
The controversy first centered on Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a magnet school in Alexandria, Virginia, for not properly notifying students of their awards. In the following days, however, Edison High School, Annandale High School, John R. Lewis High School, Westfield High School, West Potomac High School, and Langley High School all admitted they had done the same.