Tag: Loudoun County Public Schools

Jury Trial Delayed in Loudoun County Trans Pronouns Lawsuit

Peter D'Abrosca

A trial over whether teachers will be required to use their students’ preferred gender pronouns will have to wait for now. 

“A Virginia judge postponed Tuesday a trial in a lawsuit brought by three teachers challenging Loudoun County Public Schools’ policy requiring staff to use transgender students’ chosen pronouns,” The Washington Times reported. “Loudoun County Circuit Judge James E. Plowman Jr. decided to delay the trial after he granted a motion last week to let two of the teachers join the lawsuit and allow their amended complaint. He has not yet set a new date for the trial.”

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Virginia Supreme Court Upholds Lower Court Decision to Reinstate Loudoun Teacher Tanner Cross

Eric Burk

The Virginia Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s injunction to force Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) to reinstate teacher Tanner Cross. LCPS officials had asked for a review of the decision by the Loudoun County Circuit Court, saying the court was incorrect to find a likelihood of success on the merits of the case, that Cross wasn’t likely to suffer irreparable harm without the injunction, and that the court hadn’t considered the totality of the circumstances.

“We conclude that the Defendants have not established the circuit court abused its discretion in granting Cross a temporary injunction,” the Virginia Supreme Court’s Monday order states.

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Loudoun County Teacher Resigns in Protest at School Board Meeting

Peter D'Abrosca
Laura Morris

A Loudoun County teacher resigned in protest Tuesday night after telling the School Board that its rules promoting transgender ideologies did not comport with her Christian faith. 

“School Board, I quit. I quit your policies, I quit your trainings, and I quit being a cog in a machine that tells me to push highly-politicized agendas on our most vulnerable constituents – the children,” a teacher who identified herself as Laura Morris said, fighting back tears. “I will find employment elsewhere. I encourage all parents and staff in this county to flood the private schools.”

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Loudoun County Diverts Cash from Low Income Students to ‘Racial Equity’ Training

Peter D'Abrosca

As the battle over Critical Race Theory rages on between parents and Loudoun County Public Schools, it has been revealed that that school system diverted funds from low income students for “racial equity” training. 

The school district paid The Equity Collaborative, a North Carolina-based consulting firm, $24,000 to teach six virtual training sessions on equality between February and April. 

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Involvement in Virginia Local School Board Politics Is Increasing

Eric Burk

Public comment periods at the Loudoun County School Board have repeatedly gone viral as hundreds of parents and activists speak out against new transgender policies mandated by law and Critical Race Theory (CRT) equity initiatives. There’s also an effort to recall six of the school board members. But Loudoun County Public Schools isn’t the only Virginia school district to see new growth in public involvement in school politics.

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Behind the Scenes of the Effort to Recall Six Pro-Critical Race Theory Loudoun County School Board Members

Corinne Murdock

Parents are organizing to recall six members of the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) School Board who kept schools closed and reportedly allowed and encouraged critical race theory curriculum. LCPS parent Ian Prior – one of the leaders behind Fight For Schools, the recall effort – informed The Virginia Star that they have secured more than the 10 percent of votes each member obtained during the last election – and they’ve been busy gathering more. 

“At last count last Sunday, we were at 60 percent for Beth Barts, 54 percent for Ian Serotkin, 42 percent for Denise Corbo, 27 percent for Leslee King, 24 percent for Brenda Sheridan, and 20 percent for Atoosa Reaser. That was 10 days ago. People are out there collecting signatures: going door-to-door and attending events,” explained Prior. “We want to make sure that we have more signatures than required, which will obviously protect us from any challenges or whatnot. We’re still determining the best way forward.”

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Court Approves Emergency Injunction Reinstating Tanner Cross in Loudoun School Board Lawsuit

Eric Burk

The Loudoun County Circuit Court ordered Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) to reinstate teacher Tanner Cross in a decision Tuesday. Cross is suing the Loudoun County School Board after he spoke at a school board meeting saying he would not use students’ preferred pronouns.

On Friday, the case had a lengthy hearing in the court where the defendants asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit; Cross’ team asked the court to issue a temporary injunction to allow him to return to work while the case proceeds.

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Glenn Youngkin Calls for Reinstatement of Loudoun Teacher Placed on Leave for Opposing Use of Preferred Pronouns in School

Eric Burk

GOP gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin has called for Loudoun County Public Schools to reinstate a teacher who was placed on leave after opposing a potential policy requiring staff to use students’ preferred pronouns.

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New Method Allows Loudoun County Students to Make False Hate Reports, Parents Warn

Chris Butler

Administrators within the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) are calling on students to report — anonymously — any acts of bias, discrimination, harassment, or intimidation motivated by prejudice. LCPS spokesman Wayde Byard told The Virginia Star Wednesday that students may use what they call the Share, Speak Up, Speak Out: Bias Reporting Form to report instances of prejudice or bias.

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Loudoun Parents Group Forms Fight for Schools PAC to Recall Most of the Loudoun School Board

Eric Burk

Loudoun Parents for Education (LPE) is launching a recall effort targeting six out of nine school board members as the latest in a conflict between parents and school leadership. On Tuesday, LPE launched the Fight for Schools PAC to engage in campaign-style efforts to change the school district, according to Fox News.

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GoFundMe Pulls Parents Against Critical Theory Page

Eric Burk

GoFundMe has taken down Parents Against Critical Theory (PACT) Founder Scott Mineo’s page, meant to help fund his efforts to fight critical race theory implementation in Loudoun County Public Schools. He said that GoFundMe didn’t say why it were removed his posts, but he has a guess.

“Because I’m anti-[critical race theory], that’s it,” he said.

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Facebook Group Allegedly Calls for Infiltrating, Exposing Members of Loudoun Group Parents Against Critical Theory

Eric Burk

A northern Virginia Facebook group is under investigation after members of the group allegedly called for volunteers to infiltrate and hack internet groups of parents who are opposed to critical racism theory initiatives in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), according to reporting by The Daily Wire.

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Educator/Reporter Blasts Loudoun County Public School Board During Public Comments

Eric Burk

A northern Virginia educator and Right Side Broadcasting Network reporter attracted attention this week after blasting the Loudoun County Public School (LCPS) Board during a public comments period on Tuesday.

“I’m a teacher speaking on behalf of every fed-up teacher in this nation,” Lilit Vanetsyan said. “This school district continues to show up on national news and it is absolutely embarrassing to see what once used to be the nations’ leading school district has [descended] to.”

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Governor Northam Approves Cultural Competency Requirement for Teacher’s Licenses

Eric Burk

Governor Ralph Northam approved legislation on Thursday to require cultural competency training for educators to be licensed by the Virginia Board of Education. HB 1904, introduced by Delegate Clinton Jenkins (D-Suffolk), and companion SB 1196, introduced by Senator Mamie Locke (D-Hampton,) require that anyone seeking licensure or re-licensure must complete cultural competency training by the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year. Licenses with social science or history endorsements require additional training in African American history.

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Falls Church City Public Schools Plans to Have All Students Back In-Person by End of January

Eric Burk

Falls Church City Public Schools plans to have all students back to in-person classes by the end of January, according to a notice from Superintendent Peter Noonan.

“ALL students are slated to return in the month of January,” Noonan said on Monday. “We plan to return students in phases beginning on January 5, 2021, consistent with employee capacity to clean our buildings. We will open, starting with the smallest cohort and lead up to the largest cohort.”

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Falls Church City Public Schools Plans to Have All Students Back In-Person by End of January

Eric Burk

Falls Church City Public Schools plans to have all students back to in-person classes by the end of January, according to a notice from Superintendent Peter Noonan.

“ALL students are slated to return in the month of January,” Noonan said on Monday. “We plan to return students in phases beginning on January 5, 2021, consistent with employee capacity to clean our buildings. We will open, starting with the smallest cohort and lead up to the largest cohort.”

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Some Districts Opt for Virtual Learning Instead of Snow Days

Eric Burk

Northern Virginia received a range of less than an inch up to eight inches of snow, according to WUSA9.

As a result, Loudoun County and Prince William County declared snow days. But Arlington Public Schools and Fairfax County said classes would still be held online. That means that for some students, snow days are another casualty of COVID-19 precautions.

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Parent Whistleblower Shares Loudoun County Public School Persists in Virtual Political Indoctrination

Corinne Murdock

A Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) parent discovered that nearly half of their child’s English grade relied on learning social justice material. Students were expected to review news coverage on the beginnings of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) following the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, read and write about the Michael Brown-inspired, police violence-centered novel “All American Boys.”

The parent, Matt D., submitted a letter to the LCPS teacher requesting any alternative assignments for their child, and criticizing the material offered to students. 

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Dunnavant: Lack of State Leadership Leads to Bad School Closure Decisions

Eric Burk

As the 2020 elections fade into the background, Governor Ralph Northam has re-instituted capacity limits and restaurant curfews, but unlike in spring 2020, the governor has not closed schools back down. He has also not called for schools to open back up, leaving local districts to make their own decisions.

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Loudoun County Schools Superintendent Announced Sudden Departure for Texas Superintendent Position, Parents in New District React

Corinne Murdock

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Superintendent Eric Williams announced his departure last week without warning. The Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD) in Houston, Texas selected Williams as their sole finalist for superintendent in a nationwide search.

LCPS parents and concerned CCISD parents flooded the comments of the official CCISD Facebook page announcement on Williams’ new position. LCPS parents warned CCISD parents that Williams would impose the same social justice initiatives that he’d done while overseeing LCPS, such as through the Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee (MSAAC).

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Parents and Members of Loudoun County Republican Women’s Club Protest Distance Learning

Corinne Murdock

A gathering of parked cars blared their horns as dusk fell over the parking lot. Parents arrived once more on a Tuesday evening to protest against distance learning at the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) board meeting.

After parents finished honking, they joined the meeting so that they can speak to the board directly. November 10th marked the fourth “Honk for Back-to-School” that parents and community members have attended. These individuals continue to protest the total distance learning at LCPS. 

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Loudoun County Schools Clarifies to Parents That White Children Can Participate, But Not Speak as Equity Ambassadors

Corinne Murdock

A Loudoun County Public Schools Equity Advisor told parents that White students may only become equity ambassadors to “amplify the voice of Students of Color.” When the parent asked for in a followup email if their child could discuss the personal accounts of White students, the advisor said no.

“This LCPS endeavor is specific to amplifying the voice of Students of Color by engaging in discussions about their experiences regarding issues of racism, injustice, and inequity. Though all students (white or otherwise) are more than welcome to potentially serve as ambassadors, their focus would be to raise the voice of their classmates of color during these meetings.”

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Parents Submit Letter to Betsy DeVos Requesting Civil Rights Investigation into Loudoun Schools

Corinne Murdock

Parents have submitted a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos requesting a civil rights investigation into Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). These parents requested that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to determine whether LCPS violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution, as well as President Donald Trump’s “Executive Order on Combatting Race and Sex Stereotyping.” 
The letter alleged that LCPS engaged in discrimination when it excluded non-Hispanic and non-Black parents from federally-funded focus groups; mandated staff training on “implicit bias,” including white privilege, white supremacy, and unconscious bias; restricted disciplinary action on minority students to make data proportional; and excluded staff and student members from opportunities based on race.

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Non-Colored Students Need Not Apply: Loudoun County Public Schools Initially Barred White Students from Equity Ambassador Program

Corinne Murdock

In the initial draft of a student equity ambassador program informational packet, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) barred students who weren’t colored from admission into the program.

Under “III. Process for Selecting Student Equity Ambassadors” the second process listing guidelines specifically mentioned students’ skin color as a qualifying factor.

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The Committee Shaping Policy and Curriculum at Loudoun County Public Schools

Corinne Murdock

Behind the scenes at Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), many of the policy and curriculum changes reflecting social justice initiatives are driven by the Minority Achievement Advisory Committee (MSAAC). MSAAC is an advisory committee under Superintendent Eric Williams and the LCPS School Board.

MSAAC was formed in 1994 to advise and discuss LCPS board and administration on minority student achievement. MSAAC was designed to ensure “advantages in academic, vocational, physical, cultural, and social education” for all students.

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Virtual Learning Workload Overwhelms Loudoun County Students

Eric Burk

Citing overwhelming virtual education workloads, over 13,000 people have signed a change.org petition asking Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) to reduce the amount of work the students have to do. Unlike school districts in other parts of the states, LCPS is still using a fully virtual model, driving some parents to private schools.

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Loudoun County Schools Turn to Black Lives Matter for Curriculum, Tries to Hide It

Corinne Murdock

Several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests reveal Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) reliance on material from Black Lives Matter (BLM) and other similar organizations.
One parent issued a FOIA request to LCPS Public Information Officer Wayde Byard. Specifically, the FOIA request concerned any LCPS collaboration with Southern Poverty Law Center and BLM.

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More Madness in Virginia’s School Systems: Free Speech… Unless We Disagree

Corinne Murdock

The Loudoun County School Board will vote on a policy silencing employees who disagree with racial equity practices. The proposal would extend the school’s jurisdiction over off-campus speech, including social media, speeches, and any written forms of communication.
The new policy would govern employee speech “during and after school or work hours, whether on or off school board property, including the property of any school, office, or facility.”

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Loudon County Does The Obama Apology Tour Rendition on Race

Eric Burk

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) issued an apology for operating segregated schools and for resisting efforts to integrate their schools for over a decade after the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education that made segregated schools illegal. The apology is part of the district’s “Action Plans to Combat Systemic Racism.” The apology coincides with the 57th anniversary of the 1963 march where Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, “I have a dream.”

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Zoom Wars: Loudoun, Fairfax County Public Schools Battling Internet Security Attacks, Including Porn

Eric Burk

Two northern Virginia school districts struggled with internet security problems in their first week.

Loudoun County Public Schools’  LCPS) virtual learning was interrupted by ten cases of people logging into classes and using racial slurs or displaying pornographic and racist imagery, according to reporting by WUSA 9.  Also last week, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) announced that they are the victims of a ransomware attack.

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Virtual Learning Outages Hit Many Virginia School Districts on First Day

Eric Burk

School districts across Virginia struggled to cope with increased demand Tuesday, as thousands of virtual learning students logged on for their first day of classes. Districts including Chesterfield County Public Schools(CCPS), Virginia Beach City Public Schools(VBCPS), and Arlington Public Schools (APS) all suffered major system outages. Other districts reported a high volume of callers.

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Loudoun County Decides to Turn Libraries Into Child Care Centers Without Consulting Library Staff

Eric Burk

Loudoun County is closing two libraries to create space for child care centers for county employees. The move is a response to child care needs caused by the 100 percent virtual learning model embraced by the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). On Monday, the Ashburn and Rust Libraries began curbside pickup only operations.

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