State education officials have begun rolling back statewide equity initiatives aimed at fulfilling Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s pledge to stop schools from teaching “inherently divisive concepts.” But the rollback won’t have any impact on Fauquier County schools, according to Superintendent David Jeck.
“It doesn't change anything that we're doing here,” Jeck told the Fauquier Times, adding that the school division’s focus on equitable instruction will continue unabated. “I read the memo from the new state superintendent, and it's tinged with this political element. And for us, it has zero to do with politics,” Jeck said.
Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillan Balow issued a report on Feb. 23 rescinding eight statewide equity policies she said fell under the definition of an “inherently divisive concept” – a broad term defined by the Youngkin administration as any idea that violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Among the policies that Balow said fall under into the category of “divisive concepts” was Virginia’s EdEquity website and the “Roadmap to Equity,” developed by the Department of Education under former Gov. Ralph Northam; both are focused on closing student achievement gaps in public schools.
The rollback followed Youngkin’s first executive order directing state education officials to review and end “all policies within the Department of Education that promote inherently divisive concepts” including "critical race theory," an academic subject not taught in K to 12 public schools that some believe has been used to guide state education policies.
Jeck has been a long-time proponent of equitable instruction in K to 12 schools. But he said the Virginia Department of Education’s policy changes, while “far-reaching,” have not yet trickled down to the local level and will not impact Fauquier County schools.
Most decisions about local programs and curriculum remain the purview of local school boards. Jeck said that, in Virginia, local school divisions and school boards have lots of autonomy and “can essentially do what they want.”
“We're trying to take kids who have not traditionally been successful and give them what they need to be successful. We're trying to take kids who are English as a Second Language students, students of color, students of poverty and disabled students and offer them programs to make sure that they're successful. Because ultimately, if they're successful, that helps the community,” Jeck said.
Fauquier County schools' equity initiatives, Jeck said, include alternative programming options such as the Southeastern Alternative School’s project-based learning, the Environmental Sciences Academy at Fauquier High School, the Cybersecurity Academy at Liberty High School and the school division’s new Virtual Academy. All of those programs will continue.
It is unclear whether more changes will be made to state educational equity policies that could eventually impact the local school division. Youngkin’s office declined to respond to questions about whether the administration would seek to reign in local school division policies; the office of the Virginia Department of Education also chose not to comment.
Educational equity has traditionally been defined as providing equal access and opportunities for all students. The Virginia Department of Education defines it as “eliminating the predictability of student outcomes based on race, gender, zip code, ability, socioeconomic status or languages spoken at home.”
It has largely avoided the controversy that has surrounded the debate about critical race theory and school mask requirements. But Balow’s report vaulted the word “equity” into the midst of a heated political debate in Virginia by appearing to link equity initiatives to "critical race theory."
In her report, Balow referenced reading lists on the EdEquity website that included “critical race theory authors ... who have moved CRT into education” and highlighted “a sampling of critical race theory-based materials.”
Jeck, however, said the two ideas are unrelated.
“Unfortunately, what some folks have done is they've tried to connect CRT with providing equity to kids, and they're not even closely related,” Jeck said. “It’s just about serving kids.”
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March 10, 2022 at 11:00PM
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School superintendent: Local schools won't be impacted by state's slashing of equity initiatives - Fauquier Times
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