Explore the continued federal push to dismantle the Department of Education and its disastrous consequences for K-12 students. Learn how these changes will impact public education long after this administration is over.

Join the historic movement against creeping authoritarianism in the March 28, 2026 'We Don't Do Kings Rally.' Discover how the the communities behind the movement and how it empowers people and democracy.

The Fourth of July commemorates the day a group of ordinary people turned radicals risked everything to break from tyranny and chart a...

Fairfax NAACP Community Meeting with the Superintendent Members of the Fairfax NAACP witnessed a rare event: a school superintendent willing to have a frank conversation about the state of schools for Black students. The meeting was hosted by Fairfax NAACP’s Dr. Sujatha Hamption (first Vice President and Chair of the Education Committee) and Mike Woltz (Chair of the Legal Redress Committee). It was a tough, open discussion with Dr. Michelle Reid, Superintendent of Fairfax Cou

Last year, public education advocates were unsuccessful at getting the 2023 priority education bills passed in the General Assembly. This was because the majority party in the House (GOP) tended to be less supportive of public education than the minority party (Democratic). Although the Democratic members in the Senate were in the majority, bills could not advance that year because each bill must pass both chambers before they have a chance of being signed into law by the G

Election analysis from 4 PE Leadership continues with Public Testimony at the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) School Board meeting on Thursday, November 9th. Read the remarks and watch the video clip below: Good evening, I am Rick Clayton on behalf of 4 Public Education. I don’t need to be a fortune-teller to interpret the results of this week’s election. I can read the tea leaves. Chaos, transphobia, anti-CRT and lack of civility were trounced by the voters, by the pa

Pundits cast Virginia’s Tuesday general elections as a referendum on abortion rights. It was more than that. Further down the ballot those votes also sent a strong message to those trying to disrupt public education: listen to parents. Parents who came out to vote in Fairfax, Loudoun and even Spotsylvania, the epicenters of vitriol and fantasy, voted with a resounding “no” to candidates who focused on anti-CRT, book bans and transphobia. Parents overwhelmingly voted for moder

After a recent school board meeting, I was distracted by a Fairfax GOP-endorsed school board candidate yelling at me, when her friend joined in by yelling, “You don’t know what banned means!” as she vigorously pointed to the word “banned” on my brand new yellow t-shirt. Fortunately, her companion pulled her away while I stood there confused: what the heck was she talking about? I’ve since learned that there is an extensive public relations campaign by far right groups and me

As you may know, book bans have been on the rise with requests to ban books at record high in 2022. Like you, 4 Public Education is concerned about the attacks on the 1st Amendment through censorship, thus, we are covering Banned Books week, October 1-7th, over multiple blogs. To kick off Banned Book Week, Maryland and Virginia congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Church held a festival of banned books entitled Unstoppable Stories that covered the joy of reading challe

4PublicEducation.org champions public schools as the cornerstone of a healthy democracy and the right for every child to an exceptional education, thus we encourage all to vote before or on Election Day, November 8, 2022. Some deadlines are fast approaching, including: November 5th: Last day to apply in-person for absentee ballot AND last day to request a replacement absentee ballot. November 7th: Last day to Request an Emergency Absentee Ballot. November 8th: Election Day. O