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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:

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

I’ve struggled to write about Black History Month when we have a President dedicating his Administration to erasing American history, with a maniacal focus on our shared American Black history. At the same time, I’ve been seeking out Black creators, many of whom have focused purely on the positive by sharing the glories of Black history and culture that Jim Crow (and modern Jane Crow) tried to stamp out. Click for More Sonja Norwood One example is Sonja Norwood who tried lost Black recipes every day of February. It was almost like she was channeling Carter G. Woodson, the father of Black History Month, as she revisited historic and beloved Black recipes that seemed lost to this modern world that often overlooked historic contributions by Black Americans. Her calm, beautiful narrative cooking style is easy to follow while she describes the history and context of these lost Black American recipes that were created by necessity, many of which originate from enslaved people who needed to be creative with minimal resources. From Vinegar Pie (also known as Desperation pie) to Cherry Brown Betty, Ms. Norwood combines history, culture, and food to empower the viewer to want to learn more…and eat more. Many of her recipes remind me of my own great-grandmother’s Crazy Cake recipe that is also a Depression-era “make do” recipe which allowed my great-grandmother to create celebratory food when money and fresh groceries were scarce. Crazy Cake is a single pan recipe that begs for children’s little fingers to sift flour and measure out vanilla, vinegar, and oil. Not only that, but Crazy Cake uses no dairy, eggs, or nuts, so I’ve been able to bring a delicious allergen-free dessert to many a school function. In this winter of disruption and violence, try to find power in the everyday celebration of Black history, culture, and people. When the President is trying to erase Black history from our books and monuments, we need to preserve that history every day by reading, learning, and celebrating Black American accomplishments. Note: Many apologies for the lateness of this blog, but family emergencies delayed all blogs in the month of February. I hope that you can watch all of Sonja Norwood's videos and enjoy her recipes and history lessons in the months ahead. As consolation for my lateness, here is my great-grandmother's Crazy Cake recipe. It is child-friendly recipe that permits hands-on measuring and baking. It is even a great opportunity to teach measuring conversions (e.g., 4 tablespoons equals 1/4 cup). This is a five generation recipe handed down from my great-grandma to my grandmother to my mother to me to my kids. Remember: no dairy, eggs, or nuts! I hope you enjoy it with your family and friends as much as my family has. Crazy Cake from Great Grandma P Sift the following dry ingredients onto wax paper (or into a bowl) and then sift into an ungreased 9x13" cake pan: 3 cups flour 2 cups sugar 6 tablespoons cocoa 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt Make three (3) holes in the mixture and divide the following wet ingredients into the three holes: 12 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons white vinegar 2 tablespoons vanilla Mix together with a fork until uniformly crumbly Pour 2 cups of cold water over mixture and lightly mix with a fork. Bake at (preheated) 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Before serving (when cooled), lightly sprinkle confectioners sugar over top. Chocolatey Crazy Cake on an Ikea plate, baked by my son

Back to School Night Shouldn't Be a Battlefield When Doris Evens volunteered to hand out flyers at Back to School Night in the Woodson High School pyramid on September 3, 2025, she never imagined that she would end up “going viral,” being ridiculed on WMAL, or having her entire personal life exposed by the Fairfax Times.  Unfortunately, Republican operatives and Fairfax GOP candidate Saundra Davis had a different plan. Thus, within 36 hours of an interaction with GOP candidate Davis at Olde Creeke Elementary School, Evens's life was turned upside down as the Fairfax GOP and MAGA declared open season on a beloved grandma who just so happened to be an incredible volunteer for Moms Demand and the local Fairfax Dems. On September 3rd at Back to School Night, Evens, a private citizen, handed out the Democratic Party flyer which contained a calendar and voting information. Across from her, GOP candidate Davis was handing out a primary-colored Republican Party flyer on “parents’ rights”. At the time, Evens had no idea that Davis was the Fairfax GOP candidate running to unseat incumbent democratic delegate Laura Jane Cohen  in the November 2025 election. Nor did Evens know that Davis had lost her 2023 campaign for Fairfax County School Board by a huge margin, or that Davis had appeared in a Youngkin campaign ad as a self-described “former democrat.”   Before handing out her GOP flyers, Davis had placed GOP candidate signs on Olde Creek ES property. All hell broke loose when Evens used a calm teacher voice  to patiently explain that regulations forbid politics signs on school property. In response, Davis emphatically asserted her rights to place signs on school property and began filming and threatening Evens. The interaction is documented in this viral video posted by Davis on Twitter, which has been annotated to explain what actually happened .  In the short, tense 60 seconds of the video , GOP candidate Davis berated volunteer Evens, and refused to answer basic questions, much less calmly discuss the rules and regulations of sign placement. Instead, she was evasive, verging on inarticulate, repeating that “every school across Fairfax County has political signs up” and that she had the right to have her signs there.  Of course, neither statement by Davis was true. The rules forbidding political signs are outlined in FCPS Regulation 4426  which states, “ nor shall campaign posters be displayed at or within the schools. ” Furthermore, FCPS Regulation 3240  provides that “ The principal shall determine the appropriate time, place, and manner for distribution and/or display of materials about controversial issues, including political literature. ”  Clearly, Evens was correct: campaign signs are forbidden on school property except on election day and/or at the discretion of the principal. Back to School night is not an election day, nor had Davis asked for permission from the principal of Olde Creek ES; therefore, she did not have the right to place political signs on school property.  In a normal world, Davis would have engaged in a good faith conversation, where she would have listened to Evens’s expertise, as a former school employee. Instead of engaging in calm, good faith conversation, the video shows that candidate Davis was belligerent and aggressive, and threatened Evens by saying, “I’m about to make you famous if you touch that sign.”  Unfortunately, Davis followed through on that threat. Within hours of this interaction, Davis turned to social media to whine about being told to follow school rules. Davis claimed that the interaction with Evens was an example of “what happens when the Left can’t win on ideas–they resort to intimidation”--an ironic statement considering the intimidation campaign Davis incited against a blameless volunteer who was merely following the rules.  Davis Makes Doris Famous Davis shared her version of the events and a video on Twitter  and multiple Facebook forums, including her official campaign page and the Fairfax County Parents Association (FCPA) Facebook forum (formerly, OpenFCPS a group which advocated to open schools without masks or vaccines; targeted parents and teachers; and facilitated failed recall efforts on school board members during COVID). Specifically, Davis announced that “a Democrat screamed at me and even tried to rip my campaign signs out of the ground,” all of which is so hyperbolic as to be factually questionable, when the video  shows that Evens spoke calmly and gently pulled the sign from the ground. All in all, Davis, whose vast reach and media allies, managed to present herself as a victim, meanwhile harming the actual  victim in the interaction. On these FB pages, Davis and friends marveled at the viral nature of the video, excitedly counting the number of Twitter views as they increased into the thousands. One even exclaimed, “[Doris Evens] got the fame she wanted”, as if anyone would want to be attacked or forced into fame in this way. In the FCPA FB group, parents made nasty comments, calling Evens “uneducated,” “unhinged,” and “psycho.”  Davis’s Twitter video quickly gained traction and went “viral”--just as Davis had threatened–over 76,000 views, but barely 800 likes. The comments about Evens on twitter were far worse and cannot be repeated here. Unfortunately, Evens’ address was shared several times, which Twitter (actually) removed after it was reported. Sharing a person’s address on social media is known as doxing, which is illegal. Unfortunately, it is difficult to prove; therefore, it is a standard strategy used to intimidate by bots, trolls, and MAGA. MAGA Media Attack As if this wasn’t enough, within hours of the incident, the Fairfax Times  reproduced GOP candidate Davis’s false narrative in an article, as if the tense interaction between Davis and Evens was real news and not merely political gossip. The Fairfax Times shared an extraordinary amount of personal information about an unimpeachable private citizen, including Evens’s donation history, volunteer history, social media posts, photos of her family, and her Twitter handle, @screaminglibral, which has some fun content. Of course, this is a standard republican strategy used to intimidate democratic volunteers, school board speakers, civil rights activists, and progressive activists. Besides being profoundly invasive, the Fairfax Times’ article completely misrepresented the interaction between Davis and Evens: it used pejorative language to describe Evens’s behavior while presenting Davis as a victim. The Fairfax Times “reporting” may have inspired even further dangerous rhetoric about and further doxing of Evens, who received hate mail, in addition to all of the repulsive social media comments incited by Davis’s twitter post, local GOP’s amplification of that post, and the Fairfax Times article. Less than 36 hours after Davis yelled at Evens, WMAL hosted Matthew Hurtt, chair of the Arlington Republicans, and Stewart Whitson, GOP candidate for the special election for Gerry Connolly’s congressional seat against James Walkinshaw. WMAL and Hurtt used Davis’s version of the incident to hype the “sign stealing” as one more example of “dirty democrats” furthering WMAL’s incessant mantra that “all democrats are evil.”  Oddly, the WMAL interviews primarily focused on Evens’s age, race, gender, and assumed identity as “a hippy,” involving sexist comments on the show and on Twitter. Both Hurtt and Whitson echoed Stephen Miller’s complaint  about problematic “elderly white hippies.” This is such a weird and hurtful description of the septuagenarians and octogenarians who are actively supporting democracy and pushing back against authoritarianism. Their comments were dismissive and critical of Baby Boomer activists. Especially Hurtt  who seemed triggered by feminist women like Evens caring for their community and being active in politics. Hurtt dismissively called people like Evens as “Grantifa” and described them as displaying nasty, aggressive behavior, more along the lines of candidate Davis’s behavior than any behavior seen among the grandparent activists at Tesla and No Kings rallies.  Hurtt went further to describe a “catch and release program” for senior citizens where he claimed that his group, Arlington GOP, actively seeks to capture Grantifa on video and audio to expose them because they are “anti-democratic.” He echoed this idea in a tweet  at the time: Is the GOP afraid of the Golden Grantifa? The @arlingtondems and @FairfaxDems think they can allow their grand-tifa activists to act like fools without us blowing them up on social media. … Doris Ann Sprague Evens is learning today. You will be identified. You will be held accountable. - Matthew Hurtt, Arlington GOP Chair If it is not clear, the Republican Party has declared a war on grandparents. Why? Because it is our kids’ grandparents (a.k.a., our parents) who are showing up again and again to fight against an authoritarian regime, speak up for the vulnerable in our schools and life, and happily wave signs at rallies around the country. MAGA Politics in Local Elections The activities described above and associated threats are a feature, not a bug in MAGA politics–in other words, it is part of the Trumpian strategy to intimidate people into silence in order to control the nation. Often it is referred to as “ stochastic terrorism ” which is “ political violence instigated  by hostile public rhetoric directed at a group or an individual.” Often the rhetoric offers “the instigator plausible deniability for any associated violence,” while the instigators use dehumanization, disinformation, fear, hate, and conspiracies to incite violence through  “ideologically driven hate speech  [which] increases the likelihood that people will violently and unpredictably attack the targets of vicious claims.”  Unfortunately, this was not the last time that GOP candidate Davis targeted and filmed a lone senior white woman during her unsuccessful campaign to unseat Delegate Laura Jane Cohen. In this October 11, 2025 video , only a small snippet of the interaction is captured, but whatever preceded this outburst likely was heated on both sides. Why? Well, it was a beautiful October day at the Burke farmers market which is a lovely place to be on a Saturday morning. One can’t help but wonder what was said or done by Davis and her Fairfax GOP companions to elicit a “ F*** you” and “F*** ICE ” from a passerby carrying a reusable bag full of fresh produce on a beautiful fall morning. Is This What Democracy Should Look Like? Of course, anyone with eyes watching both of the videos and the media pile ons could see what was REALLY going on: media propaganda in support of one political party, gaslighting of the public, and intimidation of volunteers and voters for clicks.  Just because their lackluster candidates don’t inspire their base, and they can’t get enough volunteers to canvas doesn’t mean that you should stop showing up to rallies, school board meetings, and Back to School nights.  Keep on showing up and speaking up. Keep on doing the work supporting candidates, citizen voice, and democracy. But always bring a friend for safety and keep calm and keep receipts.  Don’t let them rile you up. Be a calm Doris Evens in the face of aggressive belligerence.  When they attack (because they will!) be sure to take video, photos, and screenshots. Document everything . Call the police when necessary. Take some time for self-care, and then head back to the bridge with your sign, to the election booth with your vote, and to the school board podium with your voice. THIS is what Democracy looks like. We cannot remain free without a fight. This includes our most local elections like the School Board, Board of Supervisors, and Mayor. Be Cool like Doris in the Face of MAGA-Goliath