Search Results

Experts have warned about the deleterious mental health  and educational impact of cell phones on students, and school districts across the nation are implementing sweeping policies to ban cell phones from classrooms and some school grounds. For the most part, students, teachers, administrators, and parents and caregivers approve of these plans, with some reservations and a lot of questions. Even the Governor of Virginia has jumped on the cell phone banned-wagon with his recent Executive Order for phone free K-12 education zones . Local Cell-Phone Program Example In Fairfax County Over the summer, Fairfax County School Board (FCSB) approved a proposal  for a pilot program involving a system-wide student cell phone storage solution, in addition to changes to the Students Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R). Their vote required a presentation of recommendations in July from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid. Per the FCPS description of the pilot program , about one-third of middle and high middle schools are participating in this program which is hoped to “limit classroom disruptions and improve student engagement and learning.”  Starting on September 3, 2024, the program will be implemented in select middle and high school, as follows: Middle School: Participating students will receive a “special cell phone storage pouch, called a Yondr pouch.” Students will bring their own pouch each day to lock up phones after placing them in silent or airplane mode. They will unlock the pouches at the end of the day before leaving school. If a student forgets their Yondr pouch, then they are expected to bring their phone to the front office at the beginning of the day for storage. Lost or damaged Yondr pouches will result in a $18 assessment.  High School: Students are expected to place their cell phones into a storage unit at the beginning of each class. The current version of SR&R regulation 2601  prohibits all students from using phones in class, but HS students can use their phones in between periods.  All pilot programs:  To reach your child in the case of an emergency, call the front office. There is no change in the cell phone policy for students with medical accomodations. Other Cell Phone Accessories: All phone accessories (e.g., air pods) are to be silenced and put away. Smart watches may be worn, but phone features (e.g, texting, internet, calls) are to be silenced. These are big changes; however, the guidance indicates no change in the cell phone policy for students with medical accommodations, which is a relief for many parents. Nevertheless, we all have a lot of questions, including How much time will this take out of each day? Who will supervise whether students are complying? What are the consequences for failure to comply (i.e., not putting a phone away) or using the phone in class? Will teachers support the change and respect students’ medical accommodations? Hopeful for this Change and It's Success Honestly, I’m hoping this pilot program is successful, despite sharing some strong opinions in May . I’ve talked to a number of teachers from Virginia and other districts who are hopeful regarding these cell phone changes, as well.  Many caregivers are on-board, as well. However, there are still outstanding concerns about being able to contact students during emergencies. Most parents I’ve spoken to are concerned about being able to be in contact with their student(s) during school shootings, as highlighted by students texting with their parents during the devastating attack at Apalachee High School in Georgia  yesterday. FCPS also asks for your feedback on the pilot program here . We at 4 Public Education would love to hear your thoughts and experiences, as well.  Please  share here .   In the future, we hope to share additional perspectives from teachers and students as the year progresses.

Disease, Disruption, and Disinformation You may not know but today is the five-year anniversary of regular life ending as we knew it. Kids stayed home from school, many adults began working from home, people pulled out sewing machines to make masks for their neighbors, and the world suddenly became much smaller and scarier than it had been only months before. And people got sick and died.  To me, the signs were obvious in January 2020 that something bad was coming, so my household had masks, wipes, flour, cleaning supplies, and other essentials just in case when the world shut down seemingly overnight. Honestly, every time Trump said “everything is fine” from January to March 2020, I went out to purchase more toilet paper or shelf stable goods. I felt like Chicken Little at the time, but during the pandemic, it meant that I could share with my neighbors and friends when they and the stores ran low on flour, yeast, and tp. I will admit that at the beginning, it felt good to finally have an excuse not to go anywhere, to bond with my family, and to be quiet. It was still scary because people were sick, but it was doable. We banded together and connected remotely. The longer the pandemic lasted, the harder it was, especially for those with in-person jobs, unstable housing, small children, and/or solitary living conditions. Over the years, I’ve always wondered why many people immediately became angry at the schools and teachers–so angry that they formed loud, aggressive groups to hound elected officials, teachers, and other parents. It seemed odd that those Open School groups never voiced discontent with the Trump administration’s bungling of the COVID response. However, their support for him despite his lack of leadership made more sense once you realized how many political operatives and candidates founded those groups. It made even more sense when you realized those Open School URLs were purchased simultaneously with Trump April 2020 tweets about opening schools , and there is a clear intersection of the Open School groups (including COVID-denial and anti-mask groups) and Ammon Bundy’s People’s Rights Networks . Many progressives joined them because they thought the Open Schoolers intended to work to open schools through advocacy, science, and masking. They were sorely disappointed, as the Open School groups were right-wing echo chambers of disinformation, complaints, and harassment of teachers and other parents. Progressive parents quickly left realizing that open conversation was as unwelcome as science or empathy in the Open School groups. Honestly, it has been funny to watch those groups rebrand themselves as “parents rights groups” despite the fact that they were obviously always extensions of the local Republican party and their screams have been memorialized in School Board videos, but I digress...  To me, it was obvious that the first Trump Administration was ill-equipped to handle the pandemic, much less work to address the pandemic. They ignored that people were dying, masks helped, and the U.S. needed a real plan and leadership to protect Americans and people around the world. It never felt like the Trump administration took COVID seriously when they called it a “flu.” So by the time the Biden Administration arrived, there were already a million dead, and mask and vaccine hesitancy were encouraged by the previous administration to such an extent that many American bought the lies wholesale. Nevertheless, I’m eternally thankful to those scientists and leaders that did their work to research, correct misinformation, and develop a vaccine that saved lives.  Five Year Anniversary: The Gift of Would The fifth anniversary gift is wood. That won’t transfer very well in a blog, but I will ask you: What would  you have done differently during the pandemic? What do you wish we would have learned and implemented post-pandemic? I will share a very personal “would have done.” I wish we would have spent more time with my parents when we were isolating to try to reduce the spread of COVID. There was so little information about COVID that we isolated our households from each other, which was not healthy for my elderly parents or for my family, particularly since my mother received a dementia diagnosis on March 12, 2020. The isolation was not good for her or my dad. I think her dementia wouldn’t have progressed as fast if we had been able to spend more time together, and kept her connected to us.  Otherwise, I think we would have done everything pretty much the same: online school, masking, getting the vaccine, and isolating when we had a cold, as one should. Does it mean that my kids learned as much as they would have in person? Yes, because they wouldn’t have been able to learn anything fearing that their classmates’ coughs or sniffles could kill their parents.  Post-pandemic, I have a list of things that I wish our communities would be doing or have already done, including: Improving overcrowded, underfunded schools that end up being the educator, health care, counselor, and mentor to our children. Rethinking health care to ensure that those who cannot afford it can still have access to basic preventative and health care so they can keep themselves and their families healthy for work, school, and life. Silencing the wheels of disinformation that have infected our country so that half of it doesn't even know the truth anymore. Making a plan for the next pandemic or global crisis so that the fear of death does not derail people from living life. Obviously, there is more I could say, but this seems enough when the world feels like it is on fire and our country is threatening its allies while siding with oligarchs and dictators. Like we did during the COVID pandemic, we will continue to work, learn, and try to make the world a better place. We must live, thrive, and support others, as we did during the COVID pandemic, only now we can do it in person…unless you have a cold, and then please stay home until you are better.

Reproduction of the West Springfield Women's History Display, "G is for Gaslight." Project 2025 Attacks West Springfield High School (Part II) Women’s History Month is over, but the effect of Project 2025’s attacks on Fairfax County Public Schools are still ringing through the halls of one local high school. West Springfield High School (HS) became the center of far right enraged attention after a self proclaimed “boy mom”  found a students’ Women’s History display to be “highly inappropriate,” “leftist” propaganda and her views were amplified quickly across far right, dark money media from the Daily Signal to Ingraham Angle to Fox News. Learn more about this in Part 1: Project 2025 and IWF, Don’t Censor Our Students . The Women’s History Display was taken down one week after Stephanie Lundquist-Arora published her opinion piece attacking the girl students who created the unique, thought-provoking display. Was it taken down because boys were repeatedly tearing down the display? Was it removed because Project 2025’s disinformation campaign was interfering with education at West Springfield HS? Or, was it because Women’s History Month was coming to an end?  The truth is likely somewhere among those possibilities. Nonetheless, the display is now empty, girls have been silenced and threatened by Project 2025 activities, and FCPS had to spend more money and time on culture wars started by paid operatives in our schools.  The Project 2025 disinformation campaign attacked students, their free speech, their teacher, and their school. Ultimately West Springfield HS girls were silenced when their display was taken down, while Lundquist-Arora and her coworkers  at Independent Women’s Forum (IWF)  were invited to the White House to witness the signing  of Trump’s Executive Order to dissolve the U.S. Department of Education. Of course, eliminating an entire agency would still require full approval of congress .  “I am honored to be attending this historic event at the White House to witness President Trump sign the executive order to direct the elimination of the Department of Education.” – Lundquist-Arora At West Springfield, there was violence as boys repeatedly ripped down the girls' Women’s History display following the Project 2025 media onslaught. Meanwhile Project 2025’s mouthpiece, Lundquist-Arora, seemed to celebrate this violence on the Larry O’Connor show on WMAL  where she showed greater empathy for boys violently ripping down the display than she did for the West Springfield HS girls whose work was being destroyed. In fact, Lundquist-Arora, O’Connor, and Julie Gunlock all seemed to think that the school counseling these boys who broke the rules was akin to telling an assault victim that their “skirt was too short.” Astonishing. Imagine how unsafe that made girls at West Springfield High School feel. Imagine other vulnerable communities who feared they could be next.  For those who do not know O’Connor and Gunlock, here are their affiliations with Project 2025’s IWF: O’Connor is the host of a radio show on WMAL which seems to run on disinformation and political grievances, and platforms to far right operatives, candidates, and elected officials. O’Connor is a regular at CPAC  and host of Republican events. Two days after the January 6th violent insurrection on the nation’s capital, he stated his view that there was “widespread fraud”  in the election. He gave the 2023 IWF Resilience Award  to the queen of stochastic terrorism , Chaya Raichick who runs the Libs of Tiktok . Her tweets have been linked to threats against individuals, as well as bomb threats, and even attacks againstFCPS teachers. In 2024, Raichick was added to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) hate watchlist . Gunlock is one of two IWF co hosts added in 2022  to the O’Connor and Company show on WMAL. She is program manager of IWF and director of Independent Women’s Network (IWN), a paid nationwide network for conservative women founded in 2021. She hosts the IWF Bespoke Parenting Podcast, and has even interviewed O’Connor to discuss how to “raise patriotic kids.” She uses the r-word . She is one of many “right-wing media figures [who] immediately claimed the student protesters were exploited” after nationwide walkouts one month after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, when hundreds of thousands of students walked out of their classrooms for 17 minutes, demanding stronger gun safety laws. ( Note:  Gunlock has falsely accused the author of abusing her own children and being a “complete mental case.” ) Because of Project 2025’s stochastic terrorism and media megaphone, students were deprived of their civil rights because of threats and disruption wrought by Project 2025 operatives. Student rights do not end at the schoolhouse door, but Project 2025’s influence should. By the way, the total 2023 revenues of the dark money Project 2025 groups and affiliates who attacked the West Springfield HS Women's History students are $113 million (tax-free). To learn more about how Project 2025’s IWF and their operatives are attacking free speech, read on. Is this Advocacy or Terrorism?   The technique described above used by the Project 2025 groups is called “ stochastic terrorism ” which is “ political violence instigated  by hostile public rhetoric directed at a group or an individual.” Often the rhetoric involves dog whistles or codes in order to grant “the instigator plausible deniability for any associated violence.” They 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.”  Scientific American  provides many examples of this, including: 1) the Qanon Pizzagate conspiracy theory  that Democratic leaders, including a former first lady, were running a child trafficking ring out of a Washington, DC pizza restaurant basement when Comet Ping Pong, the pizza parlor in question, didn’t even have a basement, and 2) Chris Rufo who has repeatedly stated that drag queen story times were intended to sexualize children. Pizzagate led to threats against democrats and a man traveling from North Carolina to open fire at Comet Ping Pong . Rufo’s grooming accusations  have led to violence at drag shows and library events. Mother Jones  uses Donald Trump’s rhetoric as a prime example of stochastic terrorism in action where he encourages political violence against those he dislikes by “pinning a bull’s-eye on the back of an opponent in a volatile situation—perhaps suggesting the world would be safer without this supposed threat—knowing this could lead to violence against that target. It’s indirect incitement, inspiring someone else to do the dirty work.”  In 2022, Axios compiled a list of Trump statements  encouraging violence: by police when handling suspects, shooting migrants in the legs to slow them down, and using the military to quell peaceful protests. ABC News , Vox , and the New York Times  have similar lists. Essentially, Trump has avoided consequences for his speech because he is not the one lighting the match, but he has been pouring gasoline for those who intend to start a fire.  Who is IWF? IWF’s funding is murky, but their far right politics are clearly political, despite their classification as a 501(c)(3), tax deductible charity. The tax code restricts organizations from qualifying as a tax deductible charity if they “ directly or indirectly participating in , or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.” The Heritage Foundation  has been reported for violations of its 501(c)(3) status. IWF has been identified as anti-feminist  due to their advocacy against  women’s rights and issues, including on their stances on the subjects of contraception, abortion, women’s sports, transgender women, domestic violence, violence against women, government funded healthcare, sexual harassment, income equality, gun control, chemical regulation, etc. A 2013 New York Times editorial  described the IWF as "a right-wing public policy group that provides pseudo feminist support for extreme positions that are in fact dangerous to women." Of course, IWF is well-funded by some of the same dark money that funds other Project 2025 advisory board members like the Heritage Foundation and America First Legal. The latter of which is bankrolling Lundquist-Arora’s lawsuit against FCPS for the ability to deadname and misgender other FCPS students.  Ms. Magazine  notes that “IWF/ V  has received money from the Koch network, Leonard Leo’s network and funds from secretive donor-advised funds, like the Bradley Impact Fund , the National Christian Charitable Foundation  and DonorsTrust .” In Fiscal Year 2023, IWF received at least $439,000 from Donors Trust and $175,000 from the Bradley Foundation. In 2023, IWF had $7.1 million in revenues and spent over $2.5 million on salaries and wages above and beyond their leaders’ salaries ($245,951 for President Carrie Lukas and $116,403 for Executive Vice President Amber Schwartz). This means that their scholars and spokeswomen earned an average of about $60,000, up to $100,000 in compensation in 2023.  IWF is a known signatory of Project 2025 whose alliances and goals mirror those of known SPLC hate groups like Parents Defending Education (PDE) and Moms for Liberty . In some cases, they even shared employees, executives, and board members.  Local Coalition for TJ parents, Harry Jackson and Asra Nomani, were employed by PDE  until their “antics” in 2022 (Nomani’s meltdown at the school board  and Jackson’s online mocking of an autistic student ) led them to be fired by PDE and hired by IWF. Similarly, current leaders of PDE and Moms for Liberty are directly connected to IWF and the Heritage Foundation as employees and frequent collaborators. Project 2025’s Mom/Messenger It is not often that just any mom gets the kind amplification that Lundquist-Arora has enjoyed. Most parents have opinions, but rarely are any listened to by the media, much less do any parents have a red carpet rolled out for half-baked political ideas.  Click here for Part 1 Well, this is not just any mom, Lundquist-Arora is one mom among a network of moms on contract with a Project 2025 group, IWF, whose opinions were posted in the Daily Signal, which is produced by none other than Project 2025’s Heritage Foundation. IWF is a tax-free anti-feminist charity with over $7 million 2023 revenue , and the Heritage Foundation , a tax-free charity with over $100 million 2023 revenue ! (Learn more about the other groups involved here .) Never mind that both of these groups have tax-free designations and millions at their disposal from dark money donors like Koch Foundation, Bradley Foundation, Devos family, Adolph Coors, and Donors Trust.  It is unknown how much a IWN Fairfax Chapter Lead like Lundquist-Arora makes or how she fulfills IWF’s stated goal of “improving communities and our country” by writing media pieces for the Daily Signal and appearing on the Laura Ingraham Angle to attack the hard work of young women at West Springfield HS. It is also unknown how many actual members besides her are in the Fairfax chapter. Funding for IWN activities falls under IWF, per their tax forms , but it is entirely possible that Lundquist-Arora also receives payment from other associated organizations. This is common, for example in Lundquist-Arora’s most recent lawsuit against FCPS, her lawyer (Ian Prior) was compensated handsomely (nearly $400,000)  by both America First Legal  and Citizens for Sanity  in FY 2023. However, it is known that Lundquist-Arora and her children, along with a host of other IWF employees, were invited to witness President Trump signing the Executive Order  to abolish the U.S. ED. While nearly all parents, educators, and school districts decried the move to abolish the U.S. ED. IWF refers to removing 45 years of centralized oversight of the nation’s schools as “The Beginning of The End of An Error.” Locally, Lundquist-Arora has been busy over the last three years, popping up publicly in 2022 when in she hosted a July rally  for GOP candidates with special guest  Sebastian Gorka  (known America First provocateur,  podcaster ,  Trump advisor , and  anti-trans activist ) where she advocated for the right to bully trans students because she felt that the anti-bullying language in the SR&R was “compelled speech.”  Lundquist-Arora  is currently involved in the  America First legal lawsuit against FCPS  on that subject and the issue of excluding transgender and non-binary students from FCPS rest rooms, and she has written numerous anti-trans opinion pieces, some of which criticize FCPS for refusing to comply with Youngkins anti-trans model policies . In fact, she asked Youngkin to fine school districts like FCPS for failure to comply. In 2022, she, Harry Jackson, and Jeff Hoffmann (all 2023 Fairfax County school board candidates) openly  mocked a talented autistic musician  at a School Board meeting. She dropped out of the 2023 school board race, but proceeded to regularly campaign with/for Jackson even after astonishing revelations about him in local media (e.g.,  history of spousal abuse , known association with  Christian Nationalist Groypers , vicious  attacks on local parents , sending controversial  mailers to homes depicting sex acts , etc.). In the last two years, she has written dozens of opinion pieces for the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, and Fairfax County Times. Unsurprisingly, most of those media sites coordinate with and/or are funded by Project 2025 and their funders. For example, The Federalist , is a conservative online magazine known to publish pseudoscience. Although it has been cagey about its funders, the New York Times has identified one funder as Dick Uihlein , a long-time source of dark money for nonprofits like IWF, the Heritage Foundation, and support for far-right candidates. The New York Times also identified that Conservative Partnership Institute  provides funding to the Federalist, as well. It doesn’t take much review of any of these media sites to know who and what they politically support. (Hint: MAGA and support for the radical far right agenda.) Of course Lundquist-Arora has the right to write whatever she wants and to say whatever she wants on the myriad of interviews on WMAL, Fox News, Ingraham Angle, and NewsMax. However, Lundquist-Arora’s opinion matters about as much as any parent’s opinion, which means that it does matter, but only as much as one voice in an entire community of hundreds of thousands of voices. However, if someone is advocating to violate the free speech rights of other students and families, every parent in FCPS should be concerned, particularly when that person has been handed a large platform by her employers.  Project 2025 Gaslighting Free Speech One panel of the students’ Women’s History display was “G is for Gaslight,” something far too many women experience at work, at home, and in the community. Ironically, Lundquist-Arora was guilty of gaslighting when she redefined mansplaining as a “derogatory term to indicate when men try to explain things to women.” Weird. Why redefine a word that has inspired countless memes  and charts , and  when every woman, whether she has a PhD  or is a high school student, has experienced a man with far less knowledge than her condescendingly explaining something to her? To gaslight us all, of course. Oddly, Lundquist-Arora frequently advocates for free speech absolutism , which seems to be a component of her lawsuit against FCPS for supposed “compelled speech”  regarding dead-naming and using anti-trans slurs against transgender students. Does she find it a bridge too far when young women are expressing honest fears and concerns about womanhood?  Lundquist-Arora’s attempts to gaslight her audience to think it is acceptable to curb young women’s free speech is astonishing, considering her long history (and lawsuits!) advocating for free speech. Where is the author who wrote an “An ode to the comedians who fight for free speech”  this past January? Or do free speech protections only apply to comedians who have been lambasted for cruel jokes at the expense of transgender people? Do students and young women not have the right of free speech? Or, must they suffer the consequences when paid activists use them as a punching bag for far right messaging? Where is the author who asked in 2022 “ Why can’t we all get along? ” Does Lundquist-Arora not really want to “live a peaceful life free of discord” while opposing “bullying”? It is a wonder because her constant conflict at her sons’ schools and attacks on the Women’s History students at West Springfield HS, seem to suggest otherwise. Using platforms provided by Project 2025 to attack the hard work of young high school women would fall under the definition of bullying, which is to “seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce (someone perceived as vulnerable).” Where is the author who complained about school codes of conduct that enable students and staff to anonymously report violations of civil rights ? Does she dislike civil rights or anonymity? If Lundquist-Arora was so concerned that a “tattling line”  would end K-12 student speech, why does she suddenly find it acceptable to “prohibit not only free speech but free thought” for high school girls? In her own words, why is the author and IWF “spending its resources monitoring our children to shape them ideologically”? What is IWF’s purpose? Stochastic terrorism? Indoctrination of future students? Unfortunately, Lundquist-Arora's anti-feminist musings were shared in the Daily Signal and on the Laura Ingraham Angle. It is truly odd that the Daily Signal, known for “free speech absolutism” ran this obvious attempt to intimidate students and silence their free speech and creative expression. However, once one realizes that Project 2025’s Heritage Foundation runs the Daily Signal, it makes more sense that it would run Lundquist-Arora’s opinion piece targeting young women’s free speech. On the other hand, this is not the first time that Ingraham has celebrated “free speech for we” but not for “thee” when it comes to non-right-wing speech. She is known to support free speech only if it is her kind of speech , so it is unsurprising that she would support the suppression of student free speech while amplifying the free speech of an IWF employee.  Source: Fox News Ironically, Lundquist-Arora is the same mom who dismissed concerns about toxic masculinity in a recent Fox News opinion piece . One can’t help but wonder if she considers women’s rights to be bad and toxic men to be good? She sounds a bit like a modern day Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative activist, commentator, and author, who successfully campaigned against the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. Which students have the right to speak in Lundquist-Arora’s opinion? Does she think that female students do not have the right to share non-political speech in schools? Does she believe that “discomfort” should squash free speech while at the same time suing the schools about “compelled speech” that violates the civil rights of another student? Does she believe that when boys want to exercise their rights , their rights should supersede anyone else’s rights? Does she believe boys are allowed to resort to violence because they cannot control their emotions? Lundquist-Arora should not be in control of picking and choosing which students “deserve” to be heard, because “Public schools are for everyone.” Not just boys. Not just girls. Not just cisgender people. PUBLIC. SCHOOLS. ARE. FOR. EVERYONE. Her employers have put a target on the back of public education; however, FCPS, is the only school district targeted for elimination  by the architect of Project 2025, Kevin Roberts (President of Heritage Foundation) in his recent book . Thus, we must be vigilant and raise our hundreds of thousands of parent and guardian voices to advocate for the civil rights of our students in FCPS and beyond.

Students arrive for first day of school at Bailey's Upper Elementary For the caretakers of public education, Summer 2025 has been a speeding roller coaster of ups and downs at all three levels of government. From threats to close the US Department of Education and dismantle IDEA, to the Big Ugly Bill with cuts and federal vouchers; to state  Accountability and Accreditation Frameworks with new SOL cut scores; and finally surprise budget cuts and lawsuits at district levels: The chaos has seemed pervasive.  Even with all that, it is August and a little over 1,250,000  Virginia school children are going back to school. For students the questions are simple and immediate. “Will I like my classmates?” “Will my teacher be nice?” “Will my classes be interesting?”  For parents, it all boils down to “Will my child thrive and be happy?” and yes, “Will they learn what they need?”  For the more than 90,000 educators in Virginia, the looming, “How can I best help my students learn and thrive?” is always the central question, and the answer to it is currently highly influenced by, “Will circumstances outside my control help or hinder that purpose?”  Like all of us, teachers also deal with personal things like family life, commutes, and child-care, while also adjusting to course assignments, class sizes, and autonomy and instructional support from their districts.  Once children are in the room, concerns about governmental cuts and political scandals give way to issues like supplies and materials and classroom dynamics, “How do I physically and psychologically protect these children and meet their needs.” As everyone resumes the rhythms of the school year, may all your questions be met with good answers. May 2025-26 be a surprise year, not for its problems, but for its successes. May 2025-26 be one we remember for engaged and thriving children, for contented parents, and for fulfilled staff people. - And maybe even a new and less chaotic normal.  Here at 4 Public Education we will be preoccupied with clearing the way for those more immediate conditions to be addressed.  Join us in that work. Welcome back everybody!

The Situation August 19, 2025 the US Department of Education announced they would withhold $50 million in Title IX funding from five of the largest school districts in Virginia if the districts did not change their Title IX regulations to conform to recent presidential executive orders. The Department of Education labeled the five districts as “high risk”, and is  demanding that the localities pre-pay for all Title IX expenses and apply for reimbursement item by item. The penalty will harm women's sports teams throughout the region. The only way to avoid the funding restrictions and loss is for the districts to alter their Title IX and gender policies to strictly define all students as male or female with no exceptions, and not provide gender neutral bathrooms or locker rooms. At this time, all five districts have refused to alter their policies, which they maintain conform to the actual laws, not un-legislated executive orders.  Rather than supporting their districts, the Virginia Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General are turning the issue into a battle in the political culture wars and the impending November state elections. In the recent week they have made speeches and statements attacking the school boards of their own five largest and most successful school systems, and in response internet social media platforms have erupted in a raging culture war outbreak. 4 Public Education’s Position When 4 Public Education formed, it was because we believed in the critical importance of high quality public schools that are inclusive of all students. We saw that public schools were under attack from radical ideologues who sought to destroy the idea of schools for all, and destroy the chances to be and become for all sorts of kids in the process.  Across the last five years, we have seen many attacks against our democratically elected school boards and the locally run schools they administer. The attacks have been rooted in the idea of exceptionalism: the idea that some kids are better than others, that some are more worthy, while others are of less human value.  The attacks have been against truthful history that reflects many voices, against programs and materials that reflect multiple perspectives, against teachers who dare to teach ideas like All Are Welcome Here , indeed, against anyone who challenged their beliefs of special status and rightful privilege. The attacks have intensified and taken many forms from name calling to physical threats, to legal actions and threats against people’s livelihoods. People in 4 Public Education have been recipients of these kinds of attacks.  Though they come from multiple levels of government and widespread media outlets, the source actually is a relatively small enclave of well financed extremists who see an opportunity to normalize and capitalize on an assumed superiority. Though their number is not large, their reach is far due to powerful connections, even to the highest levels of government. The transgender debate, like all biases, is filled with simplistic lies that sound plausible but are not true. It is based on false dichotomies of either/or which are not the whole reality. It practices a circular reasoning that relies on reasoning from a falsehood to validate that falsehood. “You are not like me, therefore you are less.”  It may seem evident when the Lieutenant Governor declares, “there are only two genders,” but scientifically we know that gender is much more complex than that. There are many elements that go into making gender, many genes, many individual traits, both physiological and psychological. Even beyond physiology, what “makes” gender differences changes across time. What was considered “feminine” in one generation is considered gender neutral in another. What is “manly” can be very different depending on the time period, class, and culture.  Whether it be based on ethnic heritage, neurological conformity, or gender characteristics, defining difference as damning is wrong. Every major religion declares it so, and science confirms it.  Let us be clear: anti-transgender rhetoric is bigotry, based in bias born out of ignorance; no different from the other isms that hold anyone different from me is not as worthy as me.  Let us also be clear: every child deserves the chance to learn and thrive. Every child deserves to live their days with dignity and kindness. There are no exceptions. EVERY CHILD. 4 Public Education will continue to support locally selected leaders and schools which provide a strong and generative education for all students without exception.  Cheryl Binkley President 4 Public Education

Before you read , if you are from Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun or Prince William, click here  to sign a petition to tell your School Board that they must fight back to protect the safety and wellbeing of transgender youth! Last week, the US Department of Education (US ED) informed five Northern Virginia school districts (Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William) that the US ED investigation  found that the school districts’ policies “violated Title IX”  due to inclusive policies for transgender students. The US ED threatened "imminent enforcement action" and possible referral to the US Department of Justice, if the districts don't comply in 10 days.  According to the US ED, compliance requires the school districts to: Redefine “male” and “female” vis-a-vis Title IX to represent the newspeak  from Trump Executive Orders which redefined male and female . Use the US ED “novel” interpretation of Title IX that essentially excludes transgender students from sports and bathrooms. Write memos to all of their schools reflecting this new, upside-down interpretation of Title IX by the Trump US ED. The five school districts offered initial responses  acknowledging receipt of the letter and their intent to determine next steps. Loudoun  (and Alexandria) confirmed their commitment to students, “LCPS will continue to ensure full compliance with state and federal laws. LCPS remains committed to maintaining a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment where every student can thrive and reach their fullest potential." It has been reported  that the school districts have asked for a 90 day extension.  It will surprise no one that this US ED investigation was triggered by demands from America First Legal  (AF Legal), a Project 2025 group founded by Stephen Miller  who is President Trump’s Chief of Staff and architect of Trump’s immigration policies). AF Legal has filed unsuccessful lawsuits  against Fairfax County over bathroom access for transgender students and the right of Christian students  to misgender other students. It feels painfully ironic that the US ED has been weaponized against blue, progressive school districts after Trump announced its elimination. He needs to make consistent decisions: Is he planning on eliminating it or have it do his culture war bidding?  Is he going to conduct lawfare against school districts at the federal level after complaining for months about the importance of state and local government rights? Is he going to support parents’ rights to ensure public education access for transgender students, or will he violate those rights? That being said, this overreach violates the civil rights of our students and violates Virginia law. Our school boards  are tasked with policy and running public schools at the local level. The Commonwealth Virginia Human Rights Act  prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in places of public accommodation, including educational institutions like our public schools. Also, the US ED order is discriminatory and flies in the face of human and civil rights.  Of course, we are well aware that this President flagrantly violates the rule of law and balance of powers, so we shouldn’t be surprised that his US ED would misinterpret Title IX to violate the civil rights of transgender, intersex, and gender non-conforming students. Honestly, I just don’t understand what the fuss is about bathrooms, since most students just want to go to the bathroom as quickly as possible and then get back to class. Whether a student is transgender or not, no one wants to linger in a public restroom–they just want to go to the bathroom and wash their hands in peace before going back to class to engage in learning, hang out with friends, and go to afterschool activities. There is no room for compromise here. These five school districts should just say NO to these threats from Trump's US ED, as their demands are unlawful and violate human rights. Students have the right to their names, pronouns, and access to restroom facilities that align with their gender identity, which applies to transgender, gender nonconforming, and intersex students. As co-leader of FCPS Pride, I urge families and the five Northern Virginia school districts to stand their ground and ensure that “Schools must be safe places where all students—regardless of gender identity—can thrive without fear of discrimination, harassment, or violence. FCPS‘s current policies, such as R2603.24 , are vital for affirming the identities of all youth and fostering a safe learning environment.” No matter how this falls out, it is obvious that this will be costly to taxpayers of Virginia and the nation, as anti-LGBTQIA legislative and lawfare  efforts have proven to cost millions  in direct and indirect costs . The economic impact  should not be discounted by anyone. As I said during the Transgender Day of Visibility Rally to Micheal O’Connell of The Patch , “Civil rights are under attack for so many groups, but particularly, really, in the transgender community.” We all need to stand up and fight back, because they will not stop with segregating bathrooms and school rooms for transgender students.  FCPS Pride is working in cooperation with partners in Arlington, Alexandria, Loudon, and Prince William. Transgender students in Northern Virginia are under attack from the Trump Administration. If you live in Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, or Prince William, sign one of these petitions today to tell your School Board that they must fight back to protect the safety and wellbeing of transgender youth! Arlington -   https://tinyurl.com/ArlingtonStudents Alexandria -   https://tinyurl.com/AlexandriaStudents Fairfax County -   https://tinyurl.com/FairfaxStudents Loudoun -   https://tinyurl.com/Loudounstudents Prince William -   https://tinyurl.com/PrinceWilliamStuden

By Passing Reconciliation Bill (H.R.1), Congress Made the Fight to Fund Public Education Even Harder The furious battle between Democratic and Republican senators and House members ended with the passage of the reconciliation bill (H.R.1) on July 2, 2025. The bill was highly unpopular  for a number of reasons, including its addition of at least $3.3 trillion to the federal deficit.  In addition to being a budget-buster, the bill includes countless provisions that harm both individuals and communities. One dangerous provision establishes a national school voucher program using tax credits converted to scholarship donations. The net result will be a drastic reduction in funding for public education. The original version of the provision was truly horrendous, making it mandatory for every state to participate in the voucher/tax credit program. Thankfully, the Senate parliamentarian forced changes to that provision, making it optional  for each state. Residents in states that don’t opt in will not have access to the program. The final provision   provides a 100% tax credit for contributions up to $1,700 (joint filers $3,400) to private scholarship organizations. Those organizations can then award potentially unlimited private school scholarships  to families, based on generous income guidelines. The Virginia Education Association (VEA) warns  “ This means students attending expensive private schools in Virginia could have potentially all of their tuition covered by these new vouchers at taxpayer expense. That could be over $50,000 for each eligible student, per year, in backdoor public funding for some elite private schools in Northern Virginia."  The school choice lobby will undoubtedly be energized by these financial incentives.  T here are many reasons for states to resist voucher programs.  For example, this tax shelter and voucher scheme benefits wealthy families  at the expense of working- and middle-class families. Diverting school funds to private schools via vouchers also starves public schools of the funds necessary to provide a high-quality education. In addition, these programs disproportionately impact rural communities , which tend to have small budgets for public schools, rely heavily on state and federal funds, and provide few private school options within commuting distance. The diversion of public school funding often leads to school closures and less educational opportunity in rural communities. Furthermore, private schools are not required to follow the same laws as public schools. For example, private schools may use discriminatory criteria, and they may choose to avoid supporting students with disabilities. In addition, these schools are not subject to strong accountability or standards of quality. In fact, the evidence shows that switching from public to private schools does not improve students’ academic achievement.  Organizations and individuals that advocate for public education were quick to respond to the passage of the reconciliation bill. For example, Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association (NEA) stated : “ This budget is a direct attack on the very people our public institutions are meant to lift up. Instead of investing in our children’s education, as well as their health and their future, this law hands billions in tax breaks to the ultrawealthy—while pulling the rug out from under America’s students and families. This isn’t just a policy failure—it is a moral disgrace. Trump and congressional Republicans undermined our public schools and every student in them…. They’re not just slashing budgets—they’re taking food away from hungry children by cutting SNAP. They’re stripping health care from millions by dismantling Medicaid. This isn’t just irresponsible—it’s a complete betrayal of America’s students, families, and core values.” Robert Kim, Executive Director of the Education Law Center (ELC), stated , “Study after study shows that vouchers sweep aside civil rights protections, support segregation, decimate public school budgets, and do not improve student outcomes. Vouchers undermine public education, the cornerstone of our democracy, and have no place in federal policy.” The ELC, through their anti-voucher campaign, Public Funds Public Schools , plans to continue to fight vouchers using every tool at their disposal.   Diverting public education funding is just one way this disastrous legislation hurts students in public schools. As Kim points out : “Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, the food benefits program for low-income families, will affect American students in multiple ways… hungry students have a difficult time concentrating and learning. Medicaid, for its part, funds much needed school-based health services, reimbursing schools for services provided to students with disabilities and low-income students. The loss of these critical benefits is devastating.” What can be done? You are not alone if you are wondering how to respond to this brazen attack on public education policies and funding. The pressure to privatize public education will only increase with the financial incentives this legislation creates. Taxpayers who are proponents of school choice will seize the chance to use this new dollar for dollar tax credit; why not direct their funds to scholarship organizations rather than Uncle Sam? Vouchers provided with tax-sheltered scholarship funds will tempt parents to abandon their local public schools. And the lure of potential profit will kindle investors’ interest in establishing new private schools, while existing institutions will increase their outreach. Refusing to participate in this voucher scheme is critical to protecting the availability and quality of public education in Virginia; Public school advocates realize this fight just got harder In Virginia, it is the governor who decides whether or not to opt in to the program, and 2027 is the earliest opt-in opportunity.  If Virginia wants to continue its reputation as a leader in K-12 public education, it will be absolutely essential to elect the right governor in 2025; the children of our Commonwealth deserve someone firmly committed to public education, one who will refuse to sell out, even under extraordinary pressure from lobbyists and school choice proponents. These children are Virginia’s future. It falls to us to protect them and to protect their future.

The Fourth of July commemorates the day a group of ordinary people turned radicals risked everything to break from tyranny and chart a course for a nation governed by the people . This holiday isn’t about fireworks or a barbecue; it is grounded in the audacity to declare that no ruler, no government, no oppressive hand has the right to dictate the destiny of a free people. As we mark this Independence Day, we are staring down threats to freedom that would make those early patriots’ shudder. The dangerous and destructive policies of the Trump administration are hollowing out the very promises that brought this nation into being. Across America, families live in fear of sudden detention and deportation. Women’s bodies have become battlegrounds, stripped of autonomy by politicians who see their lives as pawns in ideological wars. Members of the LGBTQ+ community — and trans people in particular — face relentless attacks on their right to live openly, safely, and with dignity. None however is as grave and intolerable as the systematic dismantling of our public education system because all the others depend on this to survive. Education is not just another social service. It is the mechanism by which a democracy sustains itself. Through education we learn not merely to read and compute, but to question, to analyze, to discern fact from propaganda. Public education provides every child, regardless of wealth or origin, the tools to participate in civic life, to hold leaders accountable, to understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Public schools are the crucibles in which democratic societies are forged. Stripping away education by starving it of funding, replacing it with innocuous sounding privatized schemes that serve sanitized myths and partisan dogma — and we undermine the very foundation upon which this country rests . An uneducated, unquestioning populace is easy to manipulate. It is ill-equipped to challenge abuses of power, and more willing to accept tyranny disguised as patriotism. That is why autocrats throughout history have feared free and robust education: because it breeds citizens, not subjects. A child who grows up curious and learning to think critically will grow into an adult who demands reproductive freedom, who stands up for immigrant neighbors, who defends the right of every person to live and love openly. On this Fourth of July, let us honor the revolutionary spirit of 1776 with a renewed commitment to safeguarding the most radical idea our founders put forth: that power derives from an informed, engaged, and empowered people. That starts — and quite literally ends — with education. Without a public education system that meets the needs of every child we are merely spectators, watching the last embers of liberty flicker out. And that is something no true patriot should ever accept.

Our country was founded on revolution and activism, yet for some reason the far right wants to suppress the teaching of history and civics in school that reflects the founding of this country.   Over the last five years, I have witnessed and protested the efforts of far right groups like Moms for Liberty, Parents Defending Education, and Independent Women's Organization to suppress student voices, whether those voices were at TJ, West Springfield, West Potomac, or in front of the School Board. They criticize student speech and actions, sometimes even denying that student speech was written by students! Why in the name of the founders of this great nation would they do this, all while trying to remove K-12 civics lessons that teach students how to advocate for themselves and their communities? It is because the far right fears students. They know that students are the future and Gen Alpha is not going to go quietly into the night as fascism descends. K-12 students will conduct walkouts, speak truth to power, and organize for change. However, this spark starts with schools teaching kids to advocate for themselves in class, with their peers, and in their school community. Whether it is scouting, group projects, academic competitions, or student government, kids learn to be leaders, how to organize projects, and how to be part of a team in their public school. Members of the Carter G. Woodson 2024 Government Class on their class field trip. (from woodsonhs instagram)

Trump Loses in Court but Continues to Gut Dept of Ed Trump’s 2026 budget request for the U.S. Department of Education  (ED) continued his goals to deeply cut and eventually eliminate the ED . This is even after a federal judge ruled against Trump’s attempt to dismantle the Department of Education and ordered the Department to rehire fired staff. These actions needed Congressional approval, which Trump does not have. Nevertheless, many essential programs in the Department are unfunded or severely underfunded in the budget request. Meanwhile, even though charter schools are notorious  for fraud, waste and benefiting the wealthy at the expense of those with low incomes, Trump has requested an additional $60 million for a Charter Schools Program.  McMahon Cannot Answer Basic History and Policy Questions 4 Public Education identified early on that Trump’s Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, had no idea what she was doing when she couldn’t even define one of the most critical education laws , the Individual With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which ensures that students with disabilities are educated in the least restrictive environment in public schools. However, she trumped that display of inadequacy today, June 4, 2025, when she refused to answer the most basic questions about U.S. history from U.S. senators. Senators asked clarifying questions about DEI after Secretary McMahon’s confusing anti-DEI directives  which threatened withholding of federal funds without clear definitions of what was considered to be “DEI” and what was not. ALthough judges blocked McMahon’s attempts to ban DEI in schools , many questions were left unanswered.  Today, Senator Lee pressured McMahon to clarify what is considered “illegal DEI.”  She asked McMahon specifically whether lessons on Tulsa race massacre  would be considered “illegal DEI.” Repeatedly, McMahon said would have to “get back to you on it” to Lee , making it very clear that McMahon did not know policy or American history.  Hear more of Senator Lee’s line of questioning here . McMahon left questions unanswered, including whether social studies standards could teach that Biden won the 2020 election . McMahon Gets a Failing Grade at Senate Budget Hearing   Trump’s Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, struggled and failed at this week’s June 2, 2025 Senate Appropriation hearings on budget cuts at ED. A lack of transparency and accountability in her answers and actions should be concerning to all education activists and parents. 4 Public Education will provide highlights below, but one can watch the hearings here . Office of Civil Rights (OCR): Senators voiced concern about the enforcement of civil rights in schools after ED lost more than half its staff through early retirement buyouts and other staff reductions (a.k.a., layoffs). Senators were rightfully suspicious when McMahon claimed that her staff had become more “efficient” enabling them to reduce the OCR backlog of cases by nearly 90%  in a few short months despite laying off half of OCR . Everyone should be leery of McMahon's vague claims that she has “an efficient staff that has changed programs” which enabled them to deal with the backlog. “Changed programs” sounds like it could involve violating civil rights of students and other laws. Low Income Student College Grant Program Cuts: Besides failing students by permitting cuts of $1.5 billion per year to grant programs  ( TRIO and GEAR UP ) that assist low income students to enter and graduate from college, she also failed basic math when she agreed that 10 year cuts to those programs would save over a trillion dollars when 10 years times $1.5 billion is only $15 billion. The cuts to these programs will have devastating effects on students. Senator Susan Collins of Maine shared  that she had “seen the lives of countless first-generation and low-income students, not only in Maine, but across the country… changed by the TRIO program.” Literacy Program Cuts: Senators grilled McMahon on cuts to literacy programs , despite her claims that the proposed budget would improve literacy performance with a $4.5 billion cut to K-12 education. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., questioned how the Education Department plans to make literacy a priority with a 15% cut in funding? McMahon did not have a satisfactory response, except to say, “we’ll spend it more responsibly.” Mental Health Grant Cuts:  McMahon’s budget included cutting about $1 billion in multi-year school-based mental health grants previously awarded. Sen. Chris Murphy commented , “It’s extraordinary because you didn’t cut off new grants. You cut off existing grants…. So in states all across the nation, blue and red, there are now mental health programs for kids that are shutting down.” McMahon’s response claimed that the grants weren’t cancelled, but that the recipients will need to submit new applications. ( Sounds like another way of saying the grants were cancelled, right? )