Youngkin taps critical race theory opponents to lead public education in VirginiaVirginia Mercury, Jan 14, 2022
Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin has named two women with track records of opposing “critical race theory” — a once obscure collegiate field that’s become a conservative catch-all term for racial equity and diversity initiatives in public schools — to top posts at the Virginia Department of Education.
Jillian Balow, formerly Wyoming’s elected superintendent of public instruction, will take on the same job in Virginia, Youngkin announced in a news release Thursday.
Jillian Balow, Virginia’s incoming superintendent of public instruction. (Wyoming Department of Education) Before stepping down to join Youngkin’s administration, Balow supported a proposed Wyoming bill that would require K-12 schools to publish lists of instructional materials, among other provisions. According to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Balow endorsed the bill alongside its patrons, one of whom described the legislation as an effort to prevent “the indoctrination found in the critical race theory curriculum that has been pushed by the far-left and has found its way into some classrooms.”
The draft bill would modify the state’s civics education, mandating that the history of slavery and race-based discrimination also include the end of slavery and “efforts to end discrimination in accordance with the founding principles of the United States.” Schools would also be required to teach that “it is wrong to be unfair to anyone or treat anyone differently due to their race or ethnicity,” according to the language of the bill.
https://www.virginiamercury.com/2022/01/13/youngkin-taps-critical-race-theory-opponents-to-lead-public-education-in-virginia/
