SEE IT: Youngkin reveals proposal to stop ‘merit withholders’ from hiding awards
Julia Johnson
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Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) announced a proposal Wednesday to prevent merit awards from being withheld from students, which is alleged to have happened in three different counties in the commonwealth.
“I’m sending legislation to our General Assembly today to make it mandatory, mandatory that schools notify parents and students of awards, recognitions, and scholarship opportunities as soon as they know. This is not going to happen again,” he said on Fox News’s America Reports.
In a press release, the governor revealed that he requested state Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant (R) and Del. Nick Freitas (R-VA) to sponsor this legislation on his behalf.
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“We now know that at least 16 schools across three different school divisions in northern Virginia withheld notification of accolades from high-performing students in the name of ‘equity.’ Parents are rightfully upset and they should be,” Youngkin said. “In Virginia, parents matter, and the legislation I’ve asked Sen. Dunnavant and Del. Freitas to introduce today will ensure that merit and accolades are celebrated in the commonwealth. We will not allow our students and their parents to be left uninformed of their hard-earned recognition in what we now know was widespread across more than a dozen schools in multiple school divisions.”
If the districts indeed withheld the notifications of the awards, which is being looked into by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Youngkin said it “is a relentless pursuit of equity that would damage the prospects of students.”
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The governor reminded viewers that one of the counties in question, Loudoun, was “ground zero standing up for parents’ rights and recognizing that the systematic driving of equity at all cost was damaging students.”
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His election in 2021 is largely credited to his advocacy for parental rights, particularly in the Loudoun area. In his recent State of the Commonwealth address, Youngkin reiterated his unwavering commitment to students, their families, and Virginia’s education as a whole.
After the scandal in some Virginia schools came to light, the governor warned that they could have engaged in violations of students’ human rights under Virginia law. “As the attorney general follows through on my request to investigate the matter, we will get to the bottom of this,” he said.