The Youngkin administration has created new rules for accreditation for our K-12 public schools. These new standards are designed to undermine our schools, and make many of them look like they are "failing" so that Youngkin can initiate state takeover and privatization.
Despite significant outcry, the board approved the new rules for schools, the School Performance and Support Framework, at their July 24 meeting. The Board projects that under the new performance plan as many as 60% of Virginia public schools will be rated as low-performing or failing, in spite of Virginia’s still high national ratings. Virginia public schools ranked 4th when Youngkin took office. Most recently they were rated best in the nation by CNBC.
The Statewide Comprehensive Support Plan will require schools in Tier 3, those in the 60% deemed low performing, to sign a custom designed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) which will in essence give Youngkin state control over the daily running and conduct of the school. Sixty percent of Virginia’s schools can, at the state’s discretion, be taken over based on the VDOE’s time-line by September 2025. According to the VDOE plan, schools will be reported for not conforming, and will be required to sign MOU’s by that date one year from now. Though take-over plans have been used in other states, they have occurred mostly where legislatures passed legislation to authorize such an invasive action. The Virginia legislature has not passed such a bill, nor has JLARC, the research arm of the legislature, recommended bills initiating such changes. The Youngkin VDOE is once again bypassing authorization from the elected legislators for enormous changes in how Virginia’s highly respected public schools will be administered.
Under the new policies, districts which have one-quarter of their schools labeled as failing under the new VDOE regulations will be required to agree to MOU which implements takeover for the entire district, not just individual “underperforming” schools."
Use these links to express your alarm about Younkin’s back-door plan to privatize our public schools:
