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Part 1 of this 2-part series, introduced Governor Youngkin’s attack on public education during and after his campaign. This second part focuses on recent Honest Conversations among legislators hosted by the former Virginia Secretary of Education, Atif Qarni, that debunked the Governor’s lies. The legislators are on legislative committees that consider public education bills including: Senators Louise Lucas, Mamie Locke, and Ghazala Hashmi who serve on the Senate Education and Health Committee; and Delegate Elizabeth Guzman who serves on the House Education Committee. All agreed that Youngkin’s attack on public education helped him win the Governorship in 2021, and his administration continues the attacks using misinformation to mislead Virginia’s voters. The four legislators described how damaging those attacks are to Virginia’s students and the public school system in general. Thankfully, they promised to fight the Governor’s attempt to divert funding away from public schools by offering firm intentions to continue to fight for public education resources in the Commonwealth. Senator Lucas, Chair of the Senate Committee, charged the Governor with focusing his attacks on the previous administration’s successes and using misinformation to stir outrage in the voting public. The erroneous claims have reduced the public’s confidence in public schools and are employed to make the case for privatizing public schools. Senator Lucas promised “We are not going to let the Governor do that. We will expose his attempts to defund our public schools. We cannot divert money from public education on the backs of poor children… we must fully fund all [public] schools, and provide more funding to schools in low-income communities… We need to call [the Governor] out on this nonsense" We cannot divert money from public education on the backs of poor children… we must fully fund all [public] schools, and provide more funding to schools in low-income communities… We need to call [the Governor] out on this nonsense. Senator Locke shared that she is a product of an unequal public school system; however, she “found education to be the great equalizer.” Locke stated, “Our students deserve to know the diverse and complex world in which we live in order to build the communities we want to see…We should not have to fight this battle [for inclusive history but] we must fight, because we must not allow the whitewashing of Virginia history…We can’t [accomplish our education goals] if we have an administration that does not believe in diversity, equity and inclusion… It is my hope that we can weather this storm … until such time that we can ensure that we can go back to a sense of reasonableness…and provide the diversity and equity that we need for the education of our children.” We should not have to fight this battle [for inclusive history but] we must fight, because we must not allow the whitewashing of Virginia history. Senator Hashmi said “Public education is the cornerstone of public good. Children must be able to work and communicate across culture, racial and ethnic lines and we must provide that context in our public schools [with] a broad and inclusive history curriculum.” She reported “Currently teachers are demoralized… they are concerned about the [Governor’s] ‘tipline’ and feel constantly under attack.” Referring to the Governor calling his plan for education ‘innovative’, the senator reminded us “We already know how to provide a quality education [and we] must rely on that information instead of falling for buzzwords used by the Youngkin administration…We must focus on the students, ensure small class sizes, provide individual attention, repair the teacher retention issue by paying teachers well… We must step back from the culture wars.” Senator Hashmi reminded us that when public school funds are diverted to corporations, K-12 education suffers, as has happened in other states. “This is the direction that this administration wants to take public education in Virginia. And we have every responsibility to fight back against that.” We must focus on the students, ensure small class sizes, provide individual attention, repair the teacher retention issue by paying teachers well… We must step back from the culture wars. Delegate Guzman pointed out that “Governor Youngkin is not here for students, teachers, or most parents, and that his policies and agenda target only a small but vocal group of parents…Parents are not a homogeneous group and that the Governor does not listen to the many parents who are upset with his policies and the inaccurate information he shares.” One example of the Governor’s problematic policies: his attempt to delay the approval of the revised History and Social Studies Standards of Learning (SOL) that has already gone through a time-consuming revision and review by historians, educators, administrators, and parents. Guzman states that, “Any further delay in approving [the revised SOL] is not necessary or warranted. Most parents and teachers want the Governor to honor the constitution, adopt the standards and do what is best for the students.” Instead, the governor is trying to silence the voices of many Virginians by removing references to African American and other minority groups from the document. “[He is] trying to suppress the history that students need to know” while also stimulating outrage among the electorate by removing the parts of history he claims to be divisive. He’s tone deaf on the needs of Virginians and what we need in public education…We have one of the best public education systems in the world…and we will fight tooth and nail to protect what we’ve accomplished so far. Secretary Qarni offered a historical perspective explaining that “ historical backlash [sometimes occurs] after significant social justice progress has been made.” For example, after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Virginia responded with Massive Resistance which closed public schools rather than allow integration of the public schools. 4PublicEducation.org agrees that we need to resist the backlash against the progress we made in Virginia. We need to continue to have honest conversations about Virginia's history and our public schools.

STATEMENT OF 4 PUBLIC EDUCATION REGARDING GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN’S ACTION AGAINST TRANSGENDER YOUTH AND FAMILIES We strongly condemn the recent policy directive of Governor Youngkin’s Department of Education to reverse guidelines to protect and respect transgender youth. The new mandatory policy is designed to interfere with family dynamics, further harass, intimidate and undermine teachers and staff, and to place some of our most vulnerable children at greater risk. It is anti-family, anti-children, and anti-public school. This policy has the potential to damage long-developed relationships between families and schools during times when families and students need support. This is done to further the false narrative that schools are trying to take away parents’ rights. The proposed policy follows a dangerous authoritarian pattern of this administration of seeking out potential conflicts in school communities, sensationalizing them, and then exploiting conflict to sow distrust and discord in our public school communities. This pattern is clearly aimed at popularizing Youngkin’s overarching mission to promote religious and secular charter and private schools at the expense of public education. The proposed policy will significantly damage the relationship between teachers and vulnerable transgender youth, some of whom have no other adult in whom they can confide. The new regulations not only crush sensitive relationships within the school setting, but they pit students against teachers and teachers against parents. These model policies trammel on the personal rights of students while nullifying the legally protected gender identity rights of students, even if they have parental consent, absent a decision by a court. Any teacher who objects to the decision of a transgender student to be addressed by their chosen name or gender identity, is allowed to ignore the wishes of that student and their parents. Further, parents have no power to control the name requested of the transgender student, absent a court order. This is not a “parents’ rights” issue as it is being advertised, but rather the extreme over-reach of an authoritarian governmental entity without the skills, training or empathy necessary to appropriately determine the best course of policies to protect and support children and their families. This is clear, since research consistently finds that affirming transgender student identity improves both their mental and academic outcomes. This model policy is designed to stigmatize transgender and non-binary students; rather than protecting parents rights; otherwise, it would not actively violate the rights of most parents of transgender students while endangering the smaller number of transgender students whose parents ignore or reject their gender identity. Research shows that rejection at home increases the rate of a transgender adolescent of suicidal ideation and homelessness. We urge the public’s participation in condemning this action through the public comment period that begins on September 26th. However, of significant note is that the policy requires all school divisions to comply with the directive one month later, regardless of any information received during the comment period. This effectively eviscerates the value of public participation in our democracy. This bald-faced attempt to override the legislation of a duly-elected General Assembly will not be tolerated in the Commonwealth of Virginia. DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION HERE:

50 years ago, Title IX created a revolution in women's education and sports, transforming college campuses and K-12 school grounds. Today, it is impossible to count the opportunities available to women and girls who otherwise would not have seen a basketball court or attained a postgraduate degree. Nonetheless, our fight for equal rights and protections for girls and women is not finished. Inequality continues unabated in high school and college sports; however, more importantly, the protections provided by Title IX are under attack in the same culture wars over libraries, education, and elections. Before Title IX was passed, there were few opportunities for girls and women in sports, college, and the working world, but the passage of Title IX changed that by working to eliminate sex-based discrimination , ensuring that all students have equal access and opportunity in education–covering athletics, housing, and scholarships–while providing protections from sexual harassment and assault. An Association of American Universities report finds that nearly 26% of college women report nonconsensual sexual contact, so sexual assault protections were critical to ensuring safety and opportunity. In 2020, the Secretary of the US Department of Education Betsy Devos implemented changes to Title IX that reduced protections of Title IX based on significant input from “men's rights” groups . These changes had profound effects reducing the number of sexual assault claims , narrowing definitions of sexual harassment, and reducing the rights of sexual assault survivors. Critics of the Trump administration changes highlight their failure to adequately protect those who have suffered sexual assault , including outsized effects students of color . Northern Virginia was rocked by local repercussions of the Devos Title IX changes. In case of two 2021 Loudoun sexual assaults, Devos Title IX changes excluded the accused from any discipline in the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) until the the entire investigation and grievance process was completed. Thus, the accused remained in LCPS while the Loudoun Sheriff’s office conducted their investigation after a June 2021 sexual assault, thereby permitting a second sexual assault by the same accused perpetrator on LCPS grounds. As a result, LCPS is implementing Policy 805 to bridge the gap left by the weakening of sexual assault protections in Title IX under the Trump administration. Other discriminatory changes to the implementation of Title IX by the Trump administration included “dismantling long-standing protections and opening the door to sex-based discrimination against LGBTQ+ students.” This contradicted federal case precedent that found that protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is included in Title IX protections from discrimination on the basis of sex. The governing U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling in Bostock v Clayton determines that discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation and transgender status “ is by its very nature “discrimination based on sex” and thus violates both Title IX and the constitution. Therefore, current Title IX changes are the result of the U.S. Department of Education under the Biden Administration literally bringing Title IX in line with current SCOTUS rulings on the law and the constitution. If it is not clear, Title IX has far reaching consequences that reduce discrimination for ALL students, which is why the Biden Administration is acting to modify Title IX to amend the harmful changes made under the Trump Administration, while simultaneously codifying protections for all students, including LGBTQIA students, into law. This will enable the Biden administration to combat “Don’t Say Gay” laws and intentionally discriminatory bathroom bills passed in a number of states. The public supports nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people , so the Biden Administration is implementing the will of the American People, despite the loudest voices to the contrary. A number of groups, many of which are funded by dark money to push a right-wing agenda, are conducting widespread disinformation campaigns about the new Title IX legislation under the guise of “protecting women's sports.” Don’t be fooled , because most these groups have historically pushed anti-woman campaigns against the Equal Rights Amendment , paid maternity leave , Violence Against Women Act , and so much more. They are using both women and women’s sports as a pawn to push an anti-LGBTQIA agenda, but also to undermine all protections in a revised Title IX. By focusing on the extremely rare occurrence of trans women in elite sports, they are fomenting a fake crisis to pass dangerous bills enabling “genital inspections” on school-aged athletes to verify the gender of the athlete. Regarding multiple such Ohio bills, Ohio Representative Rich Brown says , “This is not a real problem. This is a made-up, ‘ let’s feed red meat to the base’ issue.” Similarly, Maria Bruno of Equality Ohio says that people in the LGBTQIA community are asking, “‘What did I do to them? because they keep coming after me…But the answer is nothing, just existing.” I am a woman and a mother whose entire lifetime of opportunities was vastly improved by the support and protections that Title IX gave me. I had an equal opportunity to education, which meant that no one could prohibit me from pursuing a masters degree at Duke University. Equal access to sports meant that I was team captain and ran track for all four years of high school which gave me strength, confidence, and friends who will last a lifetime. I want the same for my daughter and her friends, none of whom should be discriminated against based on their gender or gender identity. I want less discrimination and dehumanization in our community and more love, support, and safety for all of our students in our publicly supported schools. Please stand with me by providing comment by September 12, 2022 on Title IX to support changes that benefit all students .

Position of 4 Public Education and a Call To Action Governor Glenn Youngkin, and his Department of Education, are attempting to quietly white wash Virginia history and subvert the will of the people of Virginia to provide an honest and balanced curriculum for our public school students. His regressive agenda rejects already approved content in revised educational policies in which African American history is equitably represented in our school materials. In 2020, the Virginian Department of Education (DOE) approved content that was added to the revised Virginia History and Social Studies Standards of Learning (SOL) . That content was designed to give Virginia public school students a more equitable representation of the history of all Virginians. The public comment period for the revised SOL was held January 28 - March 1, 2021, and the revised SOL is scheduled to be finalized in Fall 2022. However, in contravention of the already approved content in the SOL, and the will of the people expressed during the public comment period in 2021, in 2022 Governor Youngkin issued Executive Order No. 1 , calling for the end of “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) education in Virginia’s K-12 Public Schools. His intent was to prohibit teaching the history of every Virginian, specifically evidence-based history related to the periods of Slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, civil rights struggles and more recent history that influenced and continues to influence our laws. Then, in July 2022 his administration opened a second, unscheduled public comment period on the revised SOL when the official schedule called instead for “at least five” public hearings to be taking place in July and August 2022. These SOLs are to be finalized this November, and there is no logic behind these Youngkin administration decisions to request additional pubic comment other than he is attempting to whitewash Virginia’s history, as stated in his Executive Order No. 1 . We have analyzed the process and the already approved content to the Virginia History and Social Studies SOLs and find that: Many of the changes made in the 2020 revision were based on recommendations made by the Commission on African American History Education , intending to ensure that the history of ALL Virginians is covered in Virginia public schools including a “ comprehensive understanding of the African American history and voices that contribute to Virginia’s [true history and] story.” The public had ample opportunity to review and comment on the revised SOL during the public comment period from January 28 - March 1, 2021. Numerous community members and educators approved of the revisions made to the SOL , and many felt the revisions to the curriculum were “ a long time coming ” and long overdue. Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order No, 1 misuses the term ‘CRT’ by describing the study of African American history as racist and divisive and based on that falsehood forbids the teaching of that topic in Virginia’s Public Schools. The truth is that the revised version of the SOL includes evidence-based information on African American history to ensure that students learn that a fundamental part of American and Virginian history is the life and experiences of enslaved and formerly enslaved Virginians. This information is part of what is needed to help Virginia’s students to develop an understanding of our history and the cultural competency skills necessary for success in school and beyond. All teachers need to be equipped for culturally competent fact-based instruction, and we agree with the text based on the Commission’s recommendations in the revised document. Those interested in a fact check on the content should know that between August and November of 2022 the BOE is required to “Convene [a] Historian Committee meeting to verify the historical accuracy of all K-12 content suggestions.” By opening the SOL to another public comment period rather than continuing with the officially scheduled approval process, 4PE concludes that the Youngkin administration is attempting to remove references to the African American history curriculum as explained in Executive Order 1. Because this SOL will remain in effect for seven years, (the next revision is scheduled for 2029), it is important that we get this revision right. This is why 4 Public Education encourages commenters to tell the Youngkin administration’s Board of Education that: We want retained in the revised SOL the content that was approved in 2020 by the BOE and that was retained after the official public comment period in 2021. We stand for including a true and complete accounting of our Commonwealth’s history in our History and Social Studies curricula, and African American history is not divisive content , it is part of our history. Instructions on how to make public commenting easier : Review section by section the revised SOL and take notes on the points you want to make for each section. e.g. “Kindergarten”. On the website find the “Public Comment Google Form” link that corresponds to each section you are addressing and one by one fill out the form for that section. e.g. “Kindergarten”. Helpful hint: If you are interested in a specific topic you can search for a keyword in the revised SOL by using the ‘find’ feature in Word (the revised SOL document is a Word document). For example, if you search for the word “African” you will see 174 locations in the document where that word is highlighted. Remember - In the revised document, the underlined text is what was added to the 2015 SOL version to create the 2022 version. Much of what was added was based on recommendations by the Commission on African American History Education, and that content was approved by the Virginia Board of Education in 2020. 4 Public Education encourages commenters to advocate for the underlined text to be retained in the SOL document when it is implemented. While individual specific comments may carry more weight, you may also simply write: “I strongly support the SOL for history and social studies, with the revised content that was approved by the DOE in 2020 and reject any attempt to perpetuate the mythology that the history of enslaved and formerly enslaved Virginians is either divisive or lacking in historical significance.”

As if there isn’t enough to worry about with our children returning to school this fall, a new law in Virginia has many parents worried and upset. This law can give primary and secondary school students rap sheets for misconduct at school. Decades of research have shown such zero tolerance laws harm students. Despite this, Virginia passed a law in 2022 that requires that even small infractions be reported to law enforcement. The zero tolerance strategies in this law were used previously in Virginia but were legally abandoned in 2020 as ineffective at improving student safety and damaging to too many students and their families. Gone are the days when principals had discretion over whether to report a student’s conduct to the police. Now, school principals are required to report to the police acts that may qualify as misdemeanors, and penalties for not reporting those incidents are severe. School superintendents and principals who do not report potential misdemeanors are subject to demotion or dismissal. Previously principals had discretion to work with a child and their family as they felt best for the child, family and community, as the law required only felonies committed on school grounds to be reported to law enforcement. Zero tolerance laws similar to the one recently passed in Virginia gained popularity in the 1990’s when there was a perceived need to protect students from other violent students. In 1994, a federal law, the Improving America’s Schools Act , initiated the use of tough punishment for even low-level offenses. Since then, the impact of those laws have been studied and researchers have concluded that subjecting students to severe forms of discipline for misdemeanors is ineffective in stopping unwanted behavior and does little to enhance student safety. The strategy was denounced by psychologists, physicians, and teachers’ unions because severe discipline harms students socially and academically. Also, the policy was found to be disproportionately applied , with the greatest impact being on students who had disabilities, or were black or Latino. The damage to students does not stop with an arrest. Children who enter the legal system may graduate to more serious ‘crimes’ – in part from meeting other criminals as they navigate the legal system. The phenomenon associated with criminalizing children is referred to as the school-to-prison pipeline . In 2013 an alternative form of discipline was shown to be more effective. Schools initiated Restorative justice as an alternative to zero tolerance . It required students to repair the harm they caused with their action. Because this practice had such encouraging results, by 2014 states began to reexamine their discipline policies and many ended their damaging and ineffective discipline methods. However, Virginia continued to keep zero tolerance laws in effect. As a result, in 2015, Virginia had the dubious honor of being the top state in the nation for referring students to law enforcement at about three times the national rate. Black students and those with disabilities were referred at the highest rates. In 2016, Virginia Senator Jennifer McClellan introduced a bill that would give school administrators and resource officers more flexibility as to whether to involve police when school rules are violated. That bill didn’t pass, but in 2020, a similar bill by Senator McClellan was signed into law after passing with bipartisan support. That law prohibited schools from charging students with criminal disorderly conduct on public school property and restored the ability of school principals to practic e discretion regarding contacting police . Under that law only felonies were required to be reported to law enforcement. Senator McClellan’s law was in effect only two years before the Virginia General Assembly reversed it, enacting the law that again criminalizes our children, as of July 1, 2022. Parents who believe in a fair and equitable society understand that children are not capable of recognizing “criminal” behavior in the same way as an adult. Neuroscience supports that adolescent developing brains do not have the same ability as adults to judge repercussions, risks, and consequences of their actions due to developmental limits and impulse control. Children will make mistakes and they need an opportunity to learn from those mistakes. Zero tolerance involves immediate punishment, even for minor offenses, which may create a situation where a child may never learn and never recover from the consequences of an impulsive ill-thought-out mistake. Understandably, parents are looking for guidance on how to prepare their child for this new law. On August 17, 2022, 4 Public Education appealed to the Virginia Board of Education to ameliorate the potential harm this law can cause students. Meanwhile, parents may want to be sure their children understand that the law has changed and that now students may be referred to law enforcement for small infractions and at a very young age. In addition, parents should insist that schools (administrators and law enforcement) never question students about violations without a parent's presence or permission. At the same time, Virginia law enforcement has the discretion to make informed decisions on how and to what extent it chooses to enforce laws when it comes to minors. We ask that law enforcement and the Commonwealth Attorney offices throughout the Commonwealth listen to our trained school professionals when making decisions about whether to criminalize our children.

For those worried that American public education is in crisis, stop for a moment and consider this: the international survey firm Ipsos finds that teachers are the fourth most trusted group in the US and possibly our most trusted public servants. You would not know that from the public discussions in American news and on social media that suggest that Americans have lost trust in public education and, more distressing for me as a teacher, in public school teachers. The evidence for this loss of trust takes the form of accusations that we “indoctrinate” and that we lack the requisite training and professionalism to teach effectively. More threatening is the legislation in several states - passed, pending, and defeated - that seeks to limit the ideas and materials that teachers can teach and students can study on the grounds that: 1- the instruction might make students uncomfortable; and 2- teachers cannot be trusted to teach it in age and pedagogically appropriate ways. I believe that cutting through the noise of accusations amplified in the media, requires regular, local, in-person communication by communities of parents, students, and educators. What follows are three possible actions. 1. What if PTSAs schedule into each monthly meeting a 20 minute dialog with small groups of teachers or organize regular “talk with teachers” events that occur as special events hosted by the PTSA? The dialog would follow a prescribed ethos and procedure constructed to ensure parties listen to understand the other side and speak to respond, not defend. Several constructive dialog formats exist with guidelines and opportunities to train in their use. I think it must be a dialog that invites multiple teachers to talk, though different events could invite different teachers. These dialogues would be separate from the role of a teacher representative to the PTSA who observes and reports. Teachers should have a choice to participate or not, so that it is perceived as an opportunity, not a duty. 2. Ask teachers in the school or department to organize a professional development program (PD) to share best practices about how they build trust and address concerns of parents. While teachers already share informally, an intentional workshop to share best practices is a form of PD that teachers might value, both for what they learn and the credit they can earn. Follow up PD can evaluate practices and consider adoption of what works. Teacher-directed PD has the additional benefit of building peer and institutional trust. 3. My last idea is to ask teachers, PTSAs and other groups to develop what they believe might work within their community to rebuild trust and try it with a commitment to figure out what works. Like in a classroom, engaging the stakeholders in conceiving the solution wins buy-in to support the solution. For teachers, I would encourage awarding PD credit. Trust is the glue of healthy societies, healthy relationships, and healthy schools, while apathy and accusation are powerful solvents. Schools are a ready-made place to build the social capital of trust. Trust-building is one of the first activities teachers engage in with their students, because effective learning requires that students trust their teachers as experts and guides. Trust maintenance continues throughout the year, because complacence weakens bonds of trust. Show trust in teachers by helping them rebuild trust lost during COVID rather than use threats and restrictions that question their professionalism and scare them away from being their professional best for our children. About the Author: Monte F. Bourjaily, IV teaches AP US History, AP US Government, and Law & Society in public school in Northern Virginia. He has written this essay in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this essay are his personal views and do not reflect the views of his employer.

Speech on comprehensive sex education given by Marianne Burke to the Fairfax County Public School Board, May 26, 2022. Text slightly changed to be more widely applied. Original speech is available upon request. After reviewing decades of research on the subject, adolescent psychologists have concluded that co-ed (comprehensive) sex education is beneficial to students. Nevertheless, the decision to separate students by gender in Family Life Education is often made by school systems without considering the trade-offs of doing so. This instruction separated by gender conveys to students that bodies that are different from their own should remain mysterious. The effect is to make students uncomfortable with and to stigmatize bodies that are different. When Family Life Education classes are separated by gender, students don’t have the guided experience of discussing potentially sensitive topics with peers whose bodies and gender differ from their own. This is a key skill they will need to go through life as they enter into relationships, including friendships, romantic partnerships, and parenting. With instructions integrated by gender, students can hear firsthand about the diversity of experiences individuals have. Otherwise, they can miss out on opportunities to build knowledge and develop empathy across differences. By denying our students these opportunities they may be less prepared for important interactions, Carry stereotypes into adulthood. Be limited in honest communication with potential romantic partners, which is a critical component of health. may come to believe that some topics should not be discussed with people who are different can miss out on critical information as they get older and are faced with issues such as consent, pregnancy prevention, and sexually transmitted infections, and May be forced to feel excluded because they have been placed in a space that does not reflect who they are. It is important that school boards in Virginia support comprehensive Family Life Education because our students deserve to reap the many benefits provided by comprehensive education. View the School Board meeting below. Marianne's remarks start at 1:01.

Network for Public Education's Statement on the Supreme Court's Decision in Carson v. Makin The ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Carson v. Makin forces taxpayers to fund religious education in states with school choice programs, a radical departure from American values and traditions. With this decision, the Court eradicated the separation between church and state when it comes to public funding for education, opening the door to future decisions that would further mandate the public funding of religious education. Prior to the ruling, states could fund religious education but were not obliged to do so. As Justice Breyer noted in his dissent, “What happens once “may” becomes “must”? Does that transformation mean that a school district that pays for public schools must pay equivalent funds to parents who wish to send their children to religious schools?” The implications of the Court’s wrong-headed decision are enormous and will certainly be seized upon by radical school privatization advocates. Privatizers have focused on capturing state legislatures and securing judicial appointments to ensure their small minority can bend public policy against high-quality and popular public schools, and today’s ruling further undermines the ability of Americans to protect public education funding. Students, families, and taxpayers have regularly been saved from problematic, unaccountable, and fraudulent voucher programs through lawsuits citing state constitutional provisions that prohibit direct government aid to educational institutions affiliated with religious organizations. The U.S. Supreme Court has demolished those protections and this will lead to additional voucher programs that will siphon taxpayer dollars from public schools. Although this case focused on a voucher program, the ruling also opens the door to allow religious institutions to overtly run charter schools, which also have their own long history of fraud, low-quality staff, poor academic performance, and general mismanagement. Given that charters are run by private boards, similar to the boards that run private schools, this precedent paves the way for later decisions for religious charters. Perhaps most disturbing, some religious schools have a long history of engaging in reprehensible discrimination in both admissions and hiring and in many cases failing to provide adequate and science-based academic instruction. This decision will embolden the creation of more schools, that receive taxpayer funding, to engage in discriminatory practices in the name of religion. Commenting on the decision, NPE President, Diane Ravitch, stated, “Maine and Vermont should only include the option of public schools in their town tuitioning programs, thus limiting public funding to public schools. Other states that subsidize any private schools should stop doing so. The path on which SCOTUS has embarked will end in publicly funded schools for every religion, of which there are scores. It threatens the principle of the common school, supported by the public and open to all children.” Carson v. Makin highlights the depth of the current assault on our public schools by a highly motivated and organized radical minority. Even with today’s devastating ruling, their assault will continue to push for even more until all public schools are closed, and every student is left behind. We will continue our advocacy efforts on behalf of democratically governed public schools opened to all. Public funds are for public schools. Used with permission from Network for Public Education.

My Facebook feed is full of proud parents and high school seniors in full graduation regalia, celebrating this important life passage. School is (almost)out for summer! This year is an important one as schools, and their ceremonies, are finally back to normal. However, the political backlight on our schools is anything but normal. The pro-charter, anti-public schools forces are growing—not simply with conservatives, but in progressive circles as well. The Supreme Court is likely to render a disastrous opinion funneling public funds to private religious schools. The Youngkin Department of Education is laying the groundwork to claim public schools are failing and to present the solution of more charter and private school support. The Department uses flawed and downright-wrong-headed data to support its spurious claims . The drumbeat that our schools are failing grows louder, despite the clear facts to the contrary. Like their view on politicians, many parents seem to feel that their school is great, but that the others, in some far away place, and with different teachers, staff and leadership, are failing, or worse-corrupt. The best way to help our schools is to speak up. Of course, we hope to see school advocates at school board meetings, hearings and at political events. But the most effective thing any of us can do is to simply speak to our neighbors and friends. The opposition is gaining traction not because they are right, but because parents simply aren’t paying attention to the threat. Please make a commitment today, that over these lazy, lovely days of summer you will talk to just 8 friends (one a week) and let them know: Public education is under attack. When we take money from public schools to fund private ventures: the taxpayer has no accountability for how these funds are spent our children are not necessarily learning the lessons of how to thrive in a multi-cultural democracy money spent on private schools means much less money for busses, special education and other equity needs 4 Public Education welcomes all parents and community members who want to support public education as a cornerstone of our democracy. Send them here to sign up- sign up here . To all our graduates: Congratulations! Have a great summer all.

Our hearts go out to the families who lost family and loved ones in Uvalde and the other gun shootings over the last three decades. We suffer along with them, as we feel powerless to stop school gun violence that has occurred at more than 27 schools this year. With pain and fear in our hearts, parents sent our children back to school. We don’t know when or where gun violence will strike again on school property. We just know it will happen again. What can we do to stop this? The governor wants SROs in every school in Virginia. Despite emotional support for this, there is no evidence to support that SROs make schools safer, but evidence shows SROs target some students more than others, and are associated with a school to prison pipeline. Also, such a plan will take much needed funds from somewhere else–will education or mental health support be defunded as a result? Many suggest improved mental health support in schools and community, and better gun controls. Both of these have been proven effective. Many have suggested that teachers and counselors are key to solving this problem. There is strong evidence that comprehensive teams of trained teachers, staff, and mental health care professionals can keep all kids safe and reduce school shooter threat. Clearly, this is a complicated and devastating problem that requires an immediate solution. We agree with the experts in the field who called for action after the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting that claimed 17 lives and injured 17 others: “Although security measures are important, a focus on simply preparing for shootings is insufficient. We need a change in mindset and policy from reaction to prevention. Prevention entails more than security measures and begins long before a gunman comes to school. We need a comprehensive public health approach to gun violence that is informed by scientific evidence and free from partisan politics.” The interdisciplinary group suggests proven actions to prevent gun violence at schools : Universal approaches promoting safety and well-being for everyone , including improvements in school climate to reduce bullying, discrimination, harassment, and assault; combined with bans on assault-style weapons/clips and products that modify semi-automatic firearms to enable them to function like automatic firearms. Practices for reducing risk and promoting protective factors for persons experiencing difficulties, including: staffing of coordinated school- and community-based mental health services for individuals with risk factors for violence, reform of school discipline, and universal background checks to screen out violent offenders. Interventions for individuals where violence is present or appears imminent , including threat assessment and communication program teams that include mental health and law enforcement partners; removal of legal barriers to sharing safety-related information among educational, mental health, and law enforcement agencies in cases where a person has threatened violence; and “red flag” laws. Our children are traumatized by school shootings and school shooting drills. Shouldn’t we do more to protect them, especially when we know how? If you would like to learn more about school safety, please review the following resources: Cops and No Counselors: How the Lack of School Mental Health Staff Is Harming Students He was a champion of police in schools. A year after George Floyd, he’s changed his mind Under D.C. mayor’s budget, school police program would remain intact despite strong calls for its elimination Some seek alternatives to police in schools The Presence of School Resource Officers (SROs) in America’s Schools Armored School Doors, Bulletproof Whiteboards And Secret Snipers: Billions Are Being Spent To Protect Children From School Shootings. Does Any Of It Work? Officers Had No Duty to Protect Students in Parkland Massacre, Judge Rules What Do We Know About The Effects Of School-Based Law Enforcement On School Safety? The School Shootings That Weren't Here's How To Prevent The Next School Shooting, Experts Say Call for Action from UVA after 2018 Marjory Stoneman mass shooting