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History of No Kings in the United States If you grew up in U.S. public schools (or watched Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton ), you were taught about the American Revolution wherein the colonies rejected the inherited power of King George to rule over the citizens and “taxation without representation.” Revolutionaries wanted self-determination and self-rule replacing an inherited monarchy with a representative government: a constitutional representative democracy. These were the O.G. No Kings rallies. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other. - Thomas Paine, In Common Sense (1776) Unlike the present day No Kings rallies, the eighteenth century demonstrations during the fight for independence were not non-violent. They were political, armed conflicts against a brutal monarch. Their strength and success was so powerful that the American Revolution inspired an even bloodier revolution in France a few years later. These revolutionaries developed state and federal constitutions so that power would come from the citizens, but would be exercised through elected representatives governed by a constitution, and these powers would be countered by checks and balances offered by separating the government into three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The U.S. Constitution was developed during the Philadelphia 1787 Constitutional Convention. To appease those that feared that federal power would be too great, the first 10 Amendments of the Bill of Rights were ratified in 1791 to protect fundamental individual liberties and civil rights by limiting the power of the federal government.  Of course, the Constitution detailed how the three branches of government would work to govern without overburdening civil liberties. However, in the shadow of a monarch, the Framers “were particularly focused on constraining presidents," says Professor Mark Tushnet (a researcher of legal history, constitutional law, and theory). The starting point was that we’d gone through a revolution against monarchical power…. Nobody wanted the chief executive to have the kinds of power the British monarch had. - Professor Mark Tushnet To ensure that a President would not have unchecked power, the Framers included limitations like the need to be re-elected, four-year terms, impeachment, and Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8 (a.k.a., the Emoluments Clause), which states: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. Today’s No Kings rallies are not expressing “ hate for America ” as  has been claimed ; rather, they are celebrating the best of what the U.S. has to offer: revolution against tyranny, albeit this time bloodless and civil, and often with costumes. They are following in the footsteps of our country’s first revolutionaries by: Returning to our country’s roots of opposing monarchy or a singular power without strong and vibrant checks and balances. Opposing perceived authoritarianism in how current justice issues are being handled more like they would be under a monarchy or fascist government than under a democratic presidency. Taking a pro-democracy stance to ensure that democratic processes and constitutional limits remain in this country. Restoring “We the People” as the power from which the government derives its power and legitimacy. Reminding the current Administration that dividing the country into those who blindly support his every move and those who are his “enemies” is against the very foundation of this nation. As Abraham Lincoln  said when he oversaw a divided nation over enslavement, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." “We” are the free United States, and we stand for liberty.  We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Click to read the Constitution

March 28th No Kings Rallies Across the United States The  Guinness (Book of) World Records  is watching the progress of the No Kings movement and anticipating that the upcoming nationwide protest may set a new record for the size of protests. Virginia is part of this massive but peaceful movement with a message to President Trump that the power belongs to the people and that "We the People" will not tolerate kings.  Since April 5, 2025, when three million people participated in a day of defiance at the   Hands Off!  protest, resistance to Trump’s attack on democracy has grown. On June 14, 2025, five million protesters attended the first   No Kings protest  at 2,000 locations.   No Kings 2.0,  on October 18, 2025, attracted seven million protesters  at 2600 locations, and Virginia alone had 67 locations and 100,000 attendees according to Denis Orsinger, Lead for Viva la Resistance Indivisible from Vienna, Virginia. The No Kings 3.0 protest on March 28, 2026 has   more than 3,000 events planned   and is expected to attract nine million people. Virginia has about 200 protest events scheduled for No Kings 3. Readers may wonder why so many people are protesting. Most Americans are appalled at Trump’s rush to destroy our democracy by trying to consolidate power in an authoritarian regime while breaking laws, ignoring the Constitution, and building personal wealth through  graft . Click to learn more Others, like this author, will not stand for the administration taking a wrecking ball to our federal agencies. My particular concern is what he is doing to the  Department of Education.  Public education is the right of every child in the United States, citizen or not, and education is a cornerstone of our democracy. As part of his effort to consolidate power in an authoritarian regime he is trying to close down the Department of Education and is attempting to control what students learn and believe .  Leah Greenberg, Co-Director of  Indivisible,  said that this is an  urgent moment , with the Iran war and other outrageous actions committed by the administration on an almost daily basis.  Bob Fasick, from Springfield Virginia, a No Kings 3 organizer and member of THIRD ACT! Virginia is protesting Trump’s “unjust policies, denial of rights and due process, abuses of power, demonstrable corruption, atrocities by I.C.E. and Trump’s refusal to release the Epstein files. “ But Bob and his fellow activists don’t wait for designated dates to protest. They populate a pedestrian bridge over I-95 three or four times a week with banners and signs to remind passing traffic about the outrages.  Dennis Atwood, from Shenandoah County and Lead for ShenCo Indivisible, is another No Kings 3 organizer who protests against “Trump’s attacks on the First amendment and the MAGA majority in Congress that refuses to hold the administration accountable.” Dennis reminds us that: We the People must continue to show up, speak out, and vote big to restrain the regime. Leah Greenberg explained that the underlying  logic of authoritarianism  is to make people feel that it is futile to resist and that it is inevitable that the regime will have unlimited power indefinitely. Authoritarian regimes gain and keep power by making people feel isolated. The No Kings protests counter this by “leaning into fun” and creating joyful defiance, thereby developing a strong sense of community. Jen Strozier, spokesperson for Indivisible Lynchburg and No Kings 3 organizer from Lynchburg Virginia, noted that “showing up in public places to celebrate, connect, and commit to continuing this work together” helps to grow the movement and empower people.  Barbara Silversmith, a leader with Fairfax Indivisible and the organizer of No Kings 3 events at four locations in Northeastern Virginia pointed out that her earlier No Kings events produced contagious excitement. “We had barely gotten our message of No Kings up [on a pedestrian bridge over Interstate 495 in Annandale] before cars below us started honking in support. Their enthusiastic response thrilled us! We all realized at that moment we weren't alone, and that sense of solidarity was addictive.” Now Barb hosts frequent protests on the pedestrian bridge, with families, pets, and people in costumes joining and creating a festive atmosphere. She is excited to see what will happen on March 28. Organizers of these protests have come to realize that wannabe dictators try to make people feel isolated and fearful, and these protests create safe spaces where people can oppose attempted authoritarian rule and gain courage from their fellow protestors. Trump does not have the people on his side but people must develop the courage to stand up to his regime. Indivisible NOVA West’s steering committee explained it best: Authoritarian regimes require fear and isolation but No Kings 3 creates joyful defiance and a strong sense of community. This instills courage, courage is contagious, and the sense of a shared identity among pro-democracy people lets them know they are part of something bigger than their parts.  Diana Smith, another organizer and lead for Defend Democracy Indivisible, pointed out that “we must do as Americans did in 1776 when they stood up for a democratic republic. Now we have a tyrant who is trying to turn our American dream into the same nightmare faced by Germans nearly 100 years ago.”  With these protests we are showing society and this administration that there is movement against the rogue Trump administration.  Dale Wimberly, Lead for New River Valley Indivisible in Blacksburg VA, noted that many protests are planned in small towns away from the urban centers that are usually considered the centers for protests. He pointed out “many of the No Kings 3 protests are planned in Southwest Virginia, including those in Abingdon, Bristol, Galax, Hillsville, Floyd, Marion, and some in Virginia coal country including Russell County, Scott County, Clintwood. ”  Readers can find information about events in Virginia at this link and events elsewhere at this   link . They can bring friends and family to one of these peaceful events and not only benefit from the sense of community and infectious courage, but they can help give the message to the Trump administration that in America we will tolerate NO KINGS .  We must do as Americans did in 1776 when they stood up for a democratic republic. Now we have a tyrant who is trying to turn our American dream into the same nightmare faced by Germans nearly 100 years ago. Click to find the time and location of a No Kings event near you!

Data Busting Project 2025's Daily Signal When 4 Public Education began, we knew that one major effort would be dispelling disinformation, but we had no idea how much disinformation would be churned by those whose interests were aligned with school privatization and/or who were intent on undermining the reputation of one of the best school districts in the nation, Fairfax County. But here we are. The latest of thousands of disinformation pieces about Fairfax County is one by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora published in Project 2025’s Daily Signal . She has authored over 100 hit-pieces about Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), and has appeared on Fox and other conservative media shows multiple times.  On March 2, she published commentary that “Virginia’s Largest Public School District Is Unraveling” using many recycled talking points of her previous pieces; however, this time she added new “data.” Unfortunately, since she didn’t actually source any of her statistics, we are left to assume she is citing data from multiple studies by UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, specifically: school enrollment projections  and Virginia School data .  But, as the phrase goes: show us the data, or it didn’t happen. In other words, we can’t tell if she made up her numbers, and in fact, careful evaluation found serious flaws in her analysis, as identified in Marianne Burke’s analysis .  Click to learn more By all accounts, Lundquist-Arora is an employee of Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), so her constantly published opinions about public schools should be placed in the context of her employer’s political agenda which includes privatizing public funds for private education. In fact, her employer is known as an “anti-feminist” group  that is committed to a war on public schools, which you can learn more about in Vanessa Hall’s analysis .  If Lundquist-Arora feels so negatively about FCPS that she thinks it is “unraveling” despite increasing scores, one might ask:  Why is Lundquist-Arora committed to educating her three children in FCPS if she feels so strongly that FCPS is “unraveling”?  Why are parents of more than 180,000 other students continuing to send their kids to FCPS year after year?  Why are FCPS test scores some of the highest in the country? Why are FCPS students courted by universities around the country? The answer: her commentary is part of a complicated disinformation campaign about public schools with the end goal to privatize public education funding. As the Intercept noted in 2022 , Lundquist-Arora’s group, IWF, represents another “set of special interests: billionaire donors.” Learn more in Hall’s analysis .  Common tactics for spreading disinformation for political purposes include cherry-picking data or selectively reporting information, failing to put the information into context, suggesting cause and effect relationship using spurious correlations , biased polling or sampling, visual manipulation of graphs, etc. and gaslighting  to try to convince people to believe misinformation. In this Daily Signal piece, a number of these tactics are fully evident. Selective Reporting (Cherry-picking):  Including only data that supports a specific, often partisan, viewpoint while ignoring contradictory evidence. For example, her commentary ignores the key component of the study: birth rates have been declining for the last 18 years. Additionally, it misrepresents another trend cited by the Cooper Center  that enrollment numbers have recovered somewhat since the great pandemic decline. In fact, there were about 500 more students enrolled in FCPS  in 2024 compared to 2023. Other specific issues:  Why choose Loudoun and Arlington as comparisons? Is it because both have seen increases in population in the last 10 years due to demographic changes? Public School enrollment across Virginia is expected to decline in coming years, mainly due to the declining birth rate.  Lundquist-Arora conveniently ignores that Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, and Virginia are all projected to have declining enrollment in the next 5 years.  It is easy to see by using another graph from this group that Fairfax County  has a larger aging population than either Loudoun or Arlington, and a larger share of Fairfax residents being past their childbearing years can lead to lower enrollment in public schools. Lack of Context: Presenting numbers without historical or background data, such as failing to adjust financial figures for inflation. In this case, Lundquist-Arora fails to compare FCPS to Virginia as a whole where FCPS continues to outshine other schools, as shown here in Burke’s analysis . Spurious correlations (i.e., All correlation is not causation):  This occurs when two trends happen at the same time and they are incorrectly considered to be cause and effect. Casting all blame for school enrollment changes (or county demographic changes) on management or policies of a school district is old news and such a tired complaint as it is surprising that people still believe it. For example, increasing populations may be indicative of growth unrelated areas such as industry, housing development, etc. Not everything is related to or caused by school districts. Gaslighting :  This is the deliberate sharing of misinformation to deceive the public, often for political advantage. This tactic was used by the Youngkin administration in their quest to privatize Virginia’s public schools but their radical claims were exposed by 4 Public Education in 2023 . It seems that Lundquist-Arora is employing the same tactic in her commentary to help lobby for privatization (see Burke’s analysis ) and push for radical right policies that restrict trans student rights, inclusion, and the teaching of truthful history.  It bears repeating, “If FCPS is “unraveling” why is Lundquist-Arora so committed to educating her three children in it, much less why are parents of more than 180,000 other students doing the same?” If one were making a nonpartisan point, one might suggest ways to improve schools and then offer to work with the schools to implement improvement. On the other hand, if one were committed to partisan politics, then one might offer only one solution, like vouchers, and spend inordinate time writing biased commentary supporting that point. Of course, in this case, Lundquist-Arora is a proponent of vouchers. In contrast, many Virginians are concerned that the voucher scheme  initiated last summer as part of HR1  will harm public schools  by diverting public education funding and undermining public education as a public good.  credit: Vanessa Hall In Virginia and the nation, there is a broad commitment to public education, limited support for school vouchers, and significant opposition to school privatization from educators, parents, and the public. This is not the first , nor will it be the last, time that 4 Public Education felt compelled to address disinformation spread by dark money bad actors. No matter what, we are honest about our agenda, and will say it with our whole chest: We support public schools! Please find companion pieces here by Marianne Burke and Vanessa Hall:

The Stealth Anti-Women’s Group that Despises Your Public Schools (and Possibly your Children) Nowhere are disinformation campaigns more common than from Project 2025 groups like Independent Women’s Forum  (IWF), an anti-feminist group that partners with other hate groups  to conduct well-funded disinformation campaigns against: LGBTQIA rights, masks and school closures during COVID, food safety, gun control, global climate change, paid parental leave, and women’s rights. It receives significant funding from far right individuals and organizations, including Leonard Leo, Koch, Scaife, Bradley Foundation , and Lambe Foundation. It has also received funding from Altria, Phillip Morris International, and vaping giant Juul. As Sourcewatch points out , “IWF has defended the vaping industry using Juul's own talking points” without disclosing its funding sources. In fact, IWF's Senior Policy Advisor Julie Gunlock (who also works for WMAL) has written opinion pieces , devoted podcasts , and testified before Congress in 2025 to "dispel myths" about e-cigarettes and Juul products, specifically. IWF is a known signatory of Project 2025 whose alliances and goals mirror those of known SPLC hate groups like Parents Defending Education (PDE) and Moms for Liberty . In some cases, they even shared employees, executives, and board members.  IWF Culture Warriors The name “Independent Women” helps IWF and its sister organization (Independent Women’s Voice) fly under the radar, because who would suspect independent women–empowered, independent women–to support issues that harm children? As usual, dark money created another stealth moniker because “Independent Women” makes IWF sound like a feminist, woman-positive movement; rather than a movement that works against the Equal Rights Amendment, gun safety, public schools, unions, etc.  In a wildly ironic turn of events, IWF was spawned in 1991 by "Women for Judge Thomas,"  created to defend Clarence Thomas against allegations of sexual harassment and other improprieties, while casting the victimized Anita Hill  as an angry, lying, Black woman, during Thomas’s Supreme Court nomination.  More recently, IWF has helped foment culture wars and fund right-wing candidates  and in 2021 IWF and IWV created the ToxicSchools.org website to target Virginia  schools in advance of the 2021 gubernatorial election. Since then, IWF employees, including IWF president   Carrie Lukas , Julie Gunlock on WMAL , and others have been laser-focused on Fairfax County Schools, so it is no surprise that the Daily Signal opinion piece by IWF’s IWN Chapter Lead Stephanie Lundquist-Arora is targeting FCPS for the more than one hundredth time in the last three years. Maybe it's time? In 2022, in front of the School Board, IWF President Lukas stated, “It’s time for Virginia to give parents like me the ability to just leave this school system.” Of course with her six-figure IWF salary , one would think she could afford to leave FCPS if that was what she really wanted. IWF’s War on Public Schools: School Choice Week In 2022 IWF launched the Education Freedom Center (IWF-EFC) with the primary goal to advance School Choice, or as True North Research  states, IWF-EFC “is used to peddle the majority of IWF’s anti-public school, pro-school privatization content.” Of course, this includes privatizing public funds to be used by private groups with little to no oversight, accountability, or track record. IWF-EFC has received grants  from the notorious Donors Trust. Brinkman, Gunlock (WMAL and IWF), Mosely, and Gentles Initially, IWF-EFC was led by  Ginny Gentles,  lobbyist and former IWF president, who was also a senior political appointee in the U.S. Department of Education under President George W. Bush. Formerly, she both led Florida's school privatization programs and formed her own school privatization consulting firm, so no conflict of interest there….  Much of their website leverages culture war fearmongering about CRT, trans kids, and indoctrination to discourage public education with little facts or expertise. Gentles hosts a “Students over Systems” podcast for IWF-EFC. She also hosts events on Capitol Hill to “educate” lawmakers on how to reduce power of school districts, and tries to influence lawmakers, including handing out nifty awards .  Since 2023, they have hosted National Choice Week events, advertised on WMAL, where IWN Chapter representatives like Stephanie Lundquist-Arora and Harry Jackson (see right) would “stand up” for school choice while sending their kids to public school. Lundquist-Arora and Jackson collaborated on many actions in 2022 and 2023, most notably the Shadow Board Youtube videos funded by unknown sources where they mocked an autistic student, ridiculed parent speakers, misrepresented school policies, and endorsed IWF/IWN to their double digit viewers. Lundquist-Arora supported Jacksons failed 2023 Fairfax County School Board campaign even after astonishing revelations about him in local media (e.g.,  history of spousal abuse , known association with  Christian Nationalist Groypers , vicious  attacks on local parents , sending controversial  mailers to homes depicting sex acts , etc.). Web of Paid Parents and Dark Money What was initially confusing was the timing of this recent hit-piece by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora: why go all out on March 2nd when school choice week is typically held the last week of January ? Well, this year, due to inclement weather, school choice week was rescheduled for March 7th with special guest Winsome Sears, Virginia’s unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate. Of course, the timing and amplification of her commentary had nothing to do with the event emceed by Larry O’Connor , an IWF regular whose morning WMAL show has two IWF cohosts , at the Leadership Institute , an organization that trains conservative activists. Before going much further, it is necessary to share the web of organizations that work together to create news and disseminate propaganda. As in March 2025 when Project 2025 groups decided to attack a Women’s History display  created by students at West Springfield High School in Fairfax County, the same actors are involved in this disinformation piece. In short: March 2, Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, a IWF (a tax-free anti-feminist charity with over  $7 million 2023 revenue ) employee, wrote (yet) another opinion piece that targeted the FCPS . It was published in The Daily Signal, run by the  Heritage Foundation  (a.k.a., author of Project 2025), a tax-free charity with over  $100 million 2023 revenue . March 3, WMAL advertised the Education Choice event . March 3, Real Clear Politics republished  Lundquist-Arora’s commentary, along with other pro-privatization media. Real Clear Politics, was once a trusted source, but has aligned itself with President Trump and “rag[es] against the left.” March 4, EdReformVA , a “school choice” group (tax free charity with unknown revenue) run by Nathan Brinkman and former IWF President Ginny Gentles, and likely extension of IWF,  amplified  Lundquist-Arora’s opinion piece. See more about them below. On March 4, Fairfax GOP republished Lundquist-Arora’s commentary , almost as if it was written for them. March 7, the Education “Freedom” event  was held at the Leadership Institute with Winsome Sears and O’Connor. On March 7, EdReformVA held an open house event for Fairfax County Republicans in Arlington at the Leadership Institute with speakers Larry O’Connor and Winsome Sears and a lovely barbeque for the 100 or so attendees. Lundquist-Arora was there with a table to hand out IWN Fairfax Chapter literature; however, it is unknown whether this chapter has more than one active member. Brinkman’s EdReformVA  seems little more than a pass-through organization for IWF-EFC that began in 2021, but without financials, it is hard to be sure. It also runs EdNews Virginia, a Twitter handle that reposts IWF opinions and a website that aggregates school privatization ‘’news.” However, EdReform Virginia’s board is a who’s who of far right politicos, PACs, and anti-public school culture warriors: from its Executive Director Nathan Brinkman who is a communications coordinator at ALEC  (a “corporate bill mill”) and has earned more than $160,000  from the Fairfax County GOP, to one of its most powerful trustees, Ginny Gentles, the former IWF and IWV President, who is a lobbyist for American Federation for Children (AFC)  which promotes school privatization.  Gentles is also the current Education Freedom and Parental Rights Director at the Defense of Freedom Institute , and works directly with the U.S. Department of Education to host events on the Hill. In fact, On January 29, Gentles held school choice events, a briefing, and award ceremony in the Capitol building for hill staff and with the Secretary of Education. Fake Grassroots Events for Paid Astroturf Operatives All in all, these were fake grassroots (i.e., astroturf) events held by paid political operatives, who work together on a regular basis, to disrupt and harm the reputation of our schools. These astroturf groups and their surrogates do this with minimal transparency and absolutely no accountability to the parents of FCPS students. And yet, they are successful in pushing legislation through their movement that works to tear down our public schools. And right now, they have a direct line to the U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Lundquist-Arora and Gentles are among the mostly Project 2025 parents meeting with Secretary McMahon They use flashy events and opinion pieces to encourage like-minded conservatives to be the mouthpieces for the movement. For example, Lundquist-Arora has written over 100 negative opinion pieces about LGBTQIA and immigrant students, parents, teachers, administrators, school board, and the superintendent of FCPS. These opinion pieces rarely include sources, but as Marianne Burke points out in her associated analysis , IWF-driven opinions often use common disinformation tactics like cherry-picking data and gas-lighting. Each opinion piece by Lundquist-Arora seeks to persuade the reader that FCPS is failing in a myriad of ways; however, if she really thinks that FCPS is that terrible, why does she keep her three children in "unraveling" schools? If she is so worried about the “ alphabet mafia ,” indoctrination , “failing” scores , immigrants , masks , and equity why does she send her kids to FCPS day after day? Or, does she stick with FCPS to continue to have content for writing gigs on behalf of the IWF school privatization agenda? One can't help but wonder: if this is what she says in public, what is she saying in private to her school administrators and teachers? How much time are her kids' schools spending dealing with her and her complaints or IWF research projects? Ultimately, if Fairfax County taxpayers are in any way supporting paid operative activities, including lawsuits, is that a good use of taxpayer funds? Someone should FOIA that kind of information, because there are a lot of paid operatives in Northern Virginia. Additionally, why are these far right media sources so opaque about who Lundquist-Arora is and who she works for? Lundquist-Arora has been involved in at least two Project 2025 lawsuits against FCPS (COVID masking with IWF President Lukas and about misgendering students, represented by America First Legal), been a controversial   Fairfax GOP School Board candidate , and worked with Sebastian Gorka , House Freedom Caucus , and Lauren Broebert . Yet, she is regularly quoted merely as a “concerned parent” or a "IWN Chapter Lead" on Fox News, NewsMax, and Fairfax Times? It seems like common sense that one is more than just a “parent” if one is paid for one's input or role, especially when one's role is more mouthpiece or agitator than parent. Finally, it is concerning that neither she nor IWF, or other Project 2025 groups, are accountable to the parents and taxpayers of FCPS, most of whom are unaware of their pro-privatization, anti-public school parent agenda. Thankfully, more and more parents are questioning IWF's and Lundquist-Arora’s scathing criticisms of the school district where they send their kids. On the other hand, here at 4 Public Education, we are grassroots parents, teachers, grandparents, and citizens. We are NOT paid, and we decide what we will write, say, and do. Although our goals may align with other groups, most notably civil rights groups, we are guided by the belief that quality public schools are the right of the families in the community.  We are honest about our agenda and we say it with our whole chest: We support public schools!   Please find companion pieces here by Marianne Burke and Vanessa Hall.

Stephanie Lundquist-Arora ’s recent  gloomy commentary about Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal is large on hysterical arm-waving, but is short on facts, as has been the case with over 100 of her previous anti-FCPS commentaries. It is yet another attempt by those trying to privatize public schools to gaslight or misinform the public with claims that public schools are failing. As is often the case with gaslighting, the claims are easy to refute.  Without providing a source, Lundquist-Arora  erroneously described FCPS as being on a ‘downward trajectory’. In fact, “ FCPS made gains in all three federally reported subject areas in the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests in 2025 compared to 2024, with improvements for most students across subjects. These consistent improvements were in spite of the fact that both reading and mathematics saw new, more rigorous SOL tests [in 2025].”  Also, FCPS test scores continue to surpass state average scores . Click to read about debunked Youngkin claims One can only assume that Lundquist-Arora  is recycling erroneous information from 2023 when the Youngkin administration tried to gaslight the public about the supposed failure of Virginia's public schools. Those claims were debunked by 4 Public Education based on factual interpretations of results for Scholastic Assessment Test ( SAT ), SOL and National Assessment of Education Progress ( NAEP ) tests.  Lundquist-Arora claimed that 20% of the schools in the FCPS district are underperforming, without providing any source so it is hard to know where she found support for that claim. In fact, according to the VDOE,  only 5.50% of FCPS schools are “off track” and 10% need “intensive support” based on the revised school accreditation data. Many if not all of these schools have a high number of low income students. Since Lundquist-Arora likes to compare Fairfax and Loudoun School districts, the latter district has a larger proportion of schools that are “off track” (13%) but a slightly lower percentage of schools that need “intensive support” (3%) than FCPS. Of course, both of these school districts contrast with the statewide ratings  where 27.7% of the schools are rated off track and 17.2% need intensive support. In similarly erroneous analyses, Lundquist-Arora  claimed high SOL test failure rates for FCPS students. But failure rates in that school system are well  below  those for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Lu ndquist-Arora  doesn’t account for the high number of economically disadvantaged students in the FCPS district, a population that tends to score substantially lower  on SOL tests than the general student population.  Regarding Lundquist-Arora’s concern that enrollment in public schools will continue to ‘fail’ without a course correction, we wonder what her proposed course correction is? Does she want FCPS to veer from its  commitment  to deliver excellence, equity, and opportunity in education and ensure that each and every student reaches their greatest potential? Or is this her way of expressing her dissatisfaction that FCPS is not bowing to political pressure by groups such as hers to discriminate against members of its student body and censor the truth ? Paid spokespeople, who are parents like Lundquist-Arora with children in FCPS, should be transparent that some of their claims may be attempts to undermine public education by the school privatization lobby. Learn more here in Vanessa Hall's analysis . Families that are successfully convinced to leave their public schools may find the  less regulation and accountability and variable performance in their new school unacceptable. Private schools are free to reject or expel any student because they are free to discriminate without accountability. Private schools do not have to follow civil rights and other laws that are requirements for public schools. Parents may find that it is the private schools and not the parents who have the “school choice”.  Parents are encouraged to evaluate for themselves the advantages and disadvantages of each school setting and they should not just believe the politically motivated and often erroneous claims made by those who have a school privatization agenda. Please find companion pieces here by Marianne Burke and Vanessa Hall.

The 2027 session of the Virginia General Assembly ended on Saturday, March 14th. The deadline for action by legislative committees was March 9th, with 141 education bills  still listed and thirteen education bills now in conference. These conference committees are temporary legislative panels that are formed to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill that ensure both chambers agree on the final text before it becomes law.  Click to Take Action for SNAP Thirty-three education bills have been continued and consideration of those bills is postponed until 2027. One of those bills was the proposal to provide free breakfasts to public school students in all of Virginia. This is unfortunate in light of the federal cuts to the SNAP program  that will result in more students going hungry.  Fifty three education bills have passed bo th chambers and are awaiting the Governor’s action, while six are awaiting her signature. Thirty five bills have passed both chambers but their status has not yet advanced. The rest of the original education bills either passed in only one chamber, were defeated, were incorporated into other bills, or were left in committee, which ends their consideration unless they are reintroduced in a future year.  Of the seven education bills that were considered priorities  by 4 Public Education and the Virginia Grassroots Coalition, four are no longer being considered. Governor Spanberger has an April 13th deadline to decide on three other bills that passed both chambers. They are HB199  ( Improving Transparency in College Partnership Laboratory schools, HB206 (Delaying for a year the start of the new growth assessment system until deficiencies are resolved), and SB33  ( Allowing at-risk funding to pay for medical staff in schools). The 2026 General Assembly session will end with the goal of having a unified budget for the conference committee  to present to the Governor. The committee members appear to be close to agreement on some but not all items  being discussed in the Conference. Both chambers agreed to raise salaries for educators and state employees, although the chambers differ in their proposed amounts: the House called for a 2% annual increase while the Senate called for a 3% annual increase. Also, both chambers agreed to reverse some previous budget cuts. Neither chamber proposed increasing taxes. However, even though a bill was continued that would have given each locality permission to vote on a local sales tax to fund school construction, both chambers favored giving permission for local referendums in the budget bill. Also, both chambers proposed increasing funds for the education of students with disabilities, and the amount was substantially greater in the House than the Senate.  There is a major issue that must be resolved before the conference committee can submit a unified budget to the Governor, which involves the data center tax exemptions . According to Delegate Torian who is a co-chair of the Budget Conference, the chambers are having a hard time reaching an agreement on the Senate's proposal to eliminate the ‘sales tax and use’ exemption  for data centers.  The Senate has voted to end the tax break for data centers that would require them to pay a 5.3% sales tax . The senators argued that revenue raised by eliminating the exemption should be redirected to more important priorities such as public education, and they noted that other states are considering similar proposals. However opponents in the conference and elsewhere warn that elimination of the tax exemption could drive the data center industry away from Virginia. Both Governor Spanberger and Delegate Torian are against eliminating the exemption because the promise of tax exemption was made to these businesses to lure them to Virginia and removing the exemption would break a promise. However, most involved agree that data centers should pay their fair share of taxes. The debate on data centers is taking place while Virginians are beginning to realize there are many negative impacts of data centers  on their communities, including skyrocketing water and power bills for citizens, irreparable changes to land use, and deleterious impacts on water quality and power grids. As a result, not everyone believes that luring data centers to our Commonwealth was a good idea.  It was in the evening on Saturday, March 14th, the last day of the session, that the General Assembly gaveled out without a unified budget agreement . As a result a special session will begin on April 23rd   to finish the business of the General Assembly. The absolute deadline for a unified budget is July 1st, which designates the beginning of FY2027.

Educators know that hungry children cannot focus on learning or engage in the classroom. But the House Agriculture Committee advanced the Farm Bill that supports the cuts made to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)  that were part of the reconciliation bill passed last summer. If these cuts are not reversed, millions more Americans - many of them children - will go hungry.  The National Education Association opposed  this bill and explained how these cuts, which are the largest in the program’s history, affect nutrition and food assistance . If not reversed, many families will lose SNAP benefits and when the family loses benefits their children’s automatic eligibility for school meals is interrupted. The family will be required to re-apply directly to the school for their child's free meals and this increases the administrative burden on schools as well as the families. Families who are already struggling will be required to complete additional complex paperwork or their children can go hungry both at home and at school. SNAP benefits, formerly called Food Stamps, were designed to increase the food purchasing power of eligible low-income households to help them buy a nutritionally adequate low-cost diet. It has been described as America’s most successful anti-hunger program . But H.R. 7567 coupled with the devastating cuts to SNAP in last summer’s reconciliation bill, now Public Law No: 119-21 (07/04/2025)  will mean more children will go hungry. You can help reverse these cuts by answering this call to action  and contacting your Congressional representatives.

The halfway mark of the Virginia General Assembly, or Crossover, happened on Tuesday, February 18 th . Crossover  is the last day for bills to pass out of the chamber of origin and cross over to the other chamber. From now on this session the Senate may only consider bills that have already passed in the House and the House may only consider bills that have already passed in the Senate. Speaking generally, more bills survived to crossover in 2026 compared to 2025 by either party that introduced bills. In the current session , 53% of the introduced bills successfully crossed from the House to the Senate and 64% of the introduced bills crossed from the Senate to the House. In both years, the bill pass rate at crossover was substantially greater for Democrats in both chambers. Click on graphic for more great Crossover 2026 coverage from VPAP.org   At the time of this writing, there were 142 education bills  still being considered by the General Assembly. Of the seven bills  that 4 Public Education and the Virginia Grassroots Coalition prioritized for 2026, one is still under consideration:  HB199 : Please answer this Call to action  and tell your Senator to Vote YES to allow for a better period of Student Assessment. This bill was passed in the House and is now being considered by the Senate.   The other bills either already passed in both chambers ( HB206 , SB33 ), were continued to the 2027 session ( HB92 , SB90 ), or were left in committee ( HB279 , SB66 )  Virginia’s Budget In addition to legislative bills, the Delegates, Senators and Governor Spanberger will have an opportunity to review and amend the enrolled budget bill for 2026  and the 2027-2028 budget bill proposed by Governor Youngkin in December 2025. On February 22 nd , the Virginia Delegates  and Senators  published their proposed amendments to Youngkin’s proposed 2027-2028 bill. The Commonwealth Institute has assembled the three proposed budgets  for easy review. The proposed amendments include : an i ncrease in overall funding for public schools, support for students with disabilities, support for students from low-income families, and support for safer communities and restorative schools. The proposed amendments will be considered by the bipartisan conference committee  that has been appointed to develop a single proposed budget for the General Assembly. Only when the House and Senate agree on a budget will they send it to Governor Spanberger who will review it and possibly amend it in light of her administration’s priorities.  Nearing the End of General Assembly Season The General Assembly will end its legislative session on March 14, 2026, and Governor Spanberger has until March 24 th  to sign, veto or make changes to the bills that have passed in both chambers as well as the budget bill. The legislators will return to Richmond on April 2 nd  for a one-day session during which they can accept her changes or override any of her vetoes with a two-thirds majority.

We cannot coverup history with an American flag President Trump’s attempt to whitewash  American history is déjà vu  for Virginians. Shortly after taking office in 2022, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin tried to whitewash Virginia’s K-12 curriculum but Virginians rebelled  and forced the Youngkin administration to give up its efforts  to deprive school children of truthful history curricula. Now a similar battle is underway  across the US as the Trump administration tries to control what can be taught in schools. But it is states that have the responsibility  to set history standards, not the federal government. The president has ordered any information that casts America’s founders and historical events in an unflattering or questionable light be removed or downplayed in history curricula under the guise of “Patriotic Education”. He wants only uplifting and positively portrayed parts of our history to be taught in schools. In this way the administration intends to force students and the public to “ love America ”. He finds it particularly objectionable to teach children about the periods of enslavement and segregation, thus Trump demands the removal of information on topics such as George Washington’s slaves , Thomas Jefferson’s fathering of six children   with enslaved Sally Hemings , and the   Tulsa Race massacre  in 1921 that decimated the successful Black-owned Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Trump blames what he sees as a lack of patriotism on the public’s exposure to factual, but less than admirable, historical events. For example, Trump labelled the Pulitzer prizewinning 1619 Project  as “ inaccurate…toxic propaganda ” because it revealed details about the slave trade and enslavement in our country. He claimed that the publication negatively  influenced patriotism  in the US. Also, he warned that protests over racial inequality were dangerous and threatened the foundations of our political system , despite the fact that the first amendment  to the Constitution protects freedom of speech, the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.  In response to what he called “decades of   left-wing indoctrination  in our schools” T rump’s administration released the executive order “ Ending radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling ” and a supplemental priority  that directed Department of Education (ED) Secretary Linda McMahon to develop programs on patriotic education and initiate federal funding for “civic education that teaches American history, values, and geography with [what she claimed was] an unbiased approach.” The term “patriotic education” has become   code  for teachings that omit or downplay important parts of history, such as slavery, segregation and women’s rights. Since the publication of the 1619 Project, Trump has called teachings about racism “left wing indoctrination” and “child abuse”. Until recently history textbooks   barely mentioned  African American history which caused some teachers to rebel against that   whitewashing of textbooks . Much to the credit of the 1619 Project, the truth about early African Americans became an integral part of K-12 curricula in many school systems. Trump is determined to change that, but now there is resistance to Trump’s order to end these lessons .  Trump’s executive order “ Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History ” calls for limiting what students may be taught.  The Administration used misinformation to allege that learning about ‘White Privilege’ and ‘unconscious bias’ actually promote racial discrimination and “undermine national unity.” Already some states are following the executive order. For example, in Florida new history standards contain blatant misinformation and offer that slavery should be portrayed positively  because it provided education and trades to the enslaved and gave them homes, food, and equal rights. This language is no different than much of the pro-slavery framing in 19th century U.S. that argued for the "essential" nature of enslavement.  The executive order  also prohibits federal funding for exhibits or programs that, according to Trump, “divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.” Multiple exhibits and artifacts were removed from the Smithsonian Institution and National Parks  and even from an exhibit about George Washington’s slaves at Philadelphia’s Independence Mall . Philadelphia pushed back with a   successful suit  against the Trump administration that called for restoration of the exhibit , but the Trump administration is appealing  that ruling. The president has   threatened to cut off funding from schools   that continue to teach what he considers propaganda, such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or critical Race Theory (CRT). However, in 2025, court rulings blocked some schools  from enforcing the ‘CRT’ ban. On the other hand, suits  have been filed   against schools for teaching ‘CRT. ‘ The outcome of these competing rulings and the future of African American history in K-12 is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, the Administration has   abandoned its appeal   of a court order blocking   Anti-DEI Guidance  that had required colleges to either eradicate all race-based curriculum, financial aid, and student services, or lose federal funding.  Virginians have a long history of objecting to attempts to whitewash history . In this former seat of the Confederacy, monuments to the Lost Cause  are being removed  and streets, schools, and districts have been renamed to celebrate  black history and historical figures. Virginians have thwarted attempts  by the former Youngkin Administration to replace accurate history  with revisionist propaganda in public school curricula with calls to action  and public pushbac k ,  After years of political drama  over attempts to whitewash Virginia’s history, truthful history Standards of Learning were finally approved by the Virginia Board of Education in 2023. Virginians remain vigilant as the Trump administration threatens schools with loss of federal funding if they teach what the administration calls “discriminatory equity ideologies”.  Can Virginia serve as a model for how states can reject Trump’s attempt to whitewash History? Virginians found that it takes vigorous and sustained public input to protect truthful accounts of history. Citizens of other states have a choice: they can agree to the whitewashing of History standards as Florididians did , or insist on truthful history education in their schools, as Virginians continue to do.

Congressional Appropriations Indicate they will not approve the Closure of the Department of Education Normally, federal agencies would adhere to the direction that accompanies the Congressionally mandated funding. However, these are not normal times. Instead, the Trump administration tends to ignore  direction from Congress as well as the courts. Sadly, it may not be until after the midterm elections  that Congress will be able and willing to reassert its rightful clout.  Take for example, the situation with Congress and the Department of Education (ED). Only Congress can create or close an agency  but from the first days of this administration the plan  was to close the ED. President Trump has claimed  he can do whatever he wants, but constitutional scholars disagree. In fact, currently there are 78 lawsuits  challenging changes to K-12 public education and the ED.  Congress does not agree to closing the ED. Instead they provided full funding  and then some: $79 billion which is $200 million more than in 2025 and stands in contrast to the $12 billion cut proposed by the Trump Administration. This was a clear rejection  of the administration’s plan to abolish the ED. Also, Congress rejected  the administration’s efforts to reduce or end funding for low-income and disadvantaged student programs under Title 1, services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Title III services for English learners, and Title II programs for professional development.  The six interagency agreements that the ED is using to outsource department responsibilities  were not rescinded by Congress in their Budget Bill, even after Congressional Democrats claimed the interagency agreements were illegal. Also, legislation that accompanied the ED appropriations did not limit similar actions by the ED in the future. However, Congress did require that the ED must consult more closely with Congress on new interagency agreements to outsource ED responsibilities. In addition, Congress provided almost $400 million of compensation to staff that were caught up in the department’s downsizing. Recent reductions in staff have cut the number of ED staff in half.  Although it is too early to know how closely the Trump administration will follow the rules that accompany the appropriations, all indications are that the administration will continue to gut the ED  and challenge direction from Congress and the courts. The ED lacks transparency about how they are spending Congressionally allocated funds and this lacks accountability to Congress, taxpayers, and the parents and students who are directly impacted by the administration’s decisions. Click to read more about how the Dept of Education is being stripped of funding and function by Trump