Hundreds of email complaints have surfaced, exposing parent and student attitudes to the Critical Race Theory (CRT), the Covid-19 mask rules and other intrusions into Virginia’s school system.
The roughly 350 emails released by Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office following a legal battle with the media show parents expressing anger and frustration with teachers, administrators and school policies.
They were directed to the address [email protected], which Youngkin created to fulfill his campaign pledge to give parents more say in their children’s schools, particularly over “divisive practices” such as CRT classes.
However, only a small part of the complaints focused on the teaching work. Parents and activists also praised the teachers, calling for more access for disabled students and even the maintenance of an algebra class.
One parent, whose name was removed from files released by Youngkin’s colleagues, complained about distance learning during the pandemic and wanted copies of her child’s 7th grade lesson plans.
“As a parent, I have the right to acknowledge this (through the lesson plans). [my child] are NOT taught divisive concepts (nor are divisive LGBT campaigns with overly sexualized lesson content taught in biology),” the parent wrote.
Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin takes photos with students at Colonial Forge High School in Stafford. He struggled with promises to give parents more say in schools
WHAT IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY?
Prof. William Jacobson of Cornell Law School started a CRT database CriticalRace.org
Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a way of looking at American history through the lens of racism. Scholars developed it in the 1970s and 1980s in response to what they saw as a lack of racial progress after the civil rights legislation of the 1960s.
It focuses on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions and that they serve to perpetuate white dominance in society.
The architects of the theory argue that the US was founded on the theft of land and labor and that federal law preserved discrimination against people based on race. Proponents also believe that race is culturally invented, not biological.
Kimberlé Crenshaw, executive director of the African American Policy Forum, a social justice think tank based in New York City, was one of the early advocates. Initially, she says, it was “just about telling a more complete story about who we are.”
While most Americans support teaching high school students about slavery and racism in US history, many oppose CRT, which many conservatives see as a rewrite of history to indoctrinate children with “awakened” ideology.
The parent also accused the school board of a “secret left-leaning, politically motivated agenda and brainwashing with Critical Race Theory-CRT.”
A complaint about the teaching came from a student who complained about how the Old English epic Beowulf, set in the sixth century, had been awkwardly used to explore modern issues such as sexism.
“To my great dismay, my teacher based the entire curriculum on critical theory,” wrote the Montgomery County senior.
“All my teacher wants to talk about is that the book is sexist because it depicts the warriors as men and not women.”
Another shared excerpts from seven books in their school libraries, including George M Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue – one of several titles about gay or transgender lifestyles some conservatives want removed from schools.
“These books distort what healthy relationships are and rob our children of their innocence,” the person wrote.
Another parent complained about a reading text that migrants “liked”.
About 10 people sent emails to the tip hotline complaining about mask requirements.
A Spotsylvania County parent complained in February about the number of distance learning days at their child’s high school, saying the students were “not being taught any new material.”
Another in Fairfax County complained about a free online tutoring program that parents said offered “no control over what these (alleged) tutors might tell our kids.”
“This appears to be just another potential avenue for unknown perverts to gain 1-on-1 access to our children,” they wrote.
Mital Gandhi, a father of two in Loudoun County, used the Tipp line to successfully push for more algebra instruction in the 6th grade. He commended Youngkin for a process that “gives more power to parents.”
Others sought to undermine the intent of the tip line, some by praising the state’s teachers.
One user urged the Republican governor not to ban CRT or controversial books, or to turn the state of some 8.6 million people “from progress by supporting these backward ideas.”
About half of the 350 emails released were from Kandise Lucas, a disability advocate who represents families of special needs students in disputes with school officials, who wrote that she was urging “real — not sidetracked” issues.
Youngkin, who won his November 2021 election by a razor-thin margin after campaigning for education and promising parents more power, introduced the tip-off program shortly after his inauguration in January.
He announced this in an interview to ensure his administration is aware of what is happening in Virginia’s schools and to allow it to take action against divisive practices in classrooms.
A teachers’ union, Virginia Democrats in the General Assembly, some parents, and other observers have criticized the Tipp line as divisive, illiberal, and unfairly focused on teachers.
News outlets made requests for records of the tip line, but the governor’s office declined to provide them, saying they were “working papers and correspondence” of a private nature.
Parents and community members at a June 2021 school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia. The academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory was on the agenda
A coalition of 13 news organizations including The Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, NPR and The Associated Press filed suit in April, alleging that Youngkin violated public records laws.
They reached an agreement with Youngkin last month, which required officials to produce around 350 documents, including complaints about tipping dating back to the early months of 2022. They are believed to account for only a small fraction of tipping.
The release of the files comes amid debates about teaching CRT and gender identity that have erupted in angry arguments between parents and teachers at school board meetings across the country.
CRT rests on the premise that racial prejudice is – intentionally or not – ingrained in US laws and institutions, and that the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow’s racial segregation laws continue to create an unequal playing field for non-white Americans.
While most Americans support teaching high school students about slavery and racism in US history, many oppose CRT, which some conservatives see as a rewrite of history to indoctrinate children with “awakened” dogmas.