When Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin assumed office in January, he issued an executive order banning the teaching of “inherently divisive concepts” and created an email tip line for parents to report if those were being discussed in their child’s school.
Now, a watchdog organization wants to know how Youngkin’s office is using the information submitted through the tip line.
American Oversight and law firm Ballard Spahr filed a lawsuit on Monday asking for the release of the records related to the tip line.
“The lawsuit seeks to uncover documents that could reveal how Youngkin and his staff used the tip line and what, if anything, officials did in response to tips that were submitted,” a news release from the organization said.
The lawsuit is the latest in the demand for the records of the controversial teacher tip line. Last April, several news outlets filed a lawsuit accusing Youngkin of violating the state’s public records law by refusing to turn over emails sent to the tip line, The Associated Press, one of the outlets who filed the lawsuit, reported.
American Oversight said that Youngkin had denied the news outlets’ requests, claiming that documents related to the executive order may be withheld under existing exemptions protecting the governor’s “working papers and correspondence.”
“From the start, this tip line has been criticized as a political ploy that puts teachers and public education at risk. The secrecy makes matters worse,” American Oversight Executive Director Heather Sawyer said in the statement.
Sawyer, too, had submitted requests to overturn emails related to the tip line but was told by the Youngkin administration that some of the requested records were exempt and some “do not exist.”
The Youngkin administration says it does not comment on pending litigation.
In March, an organization representing Virginia’s public school superintendents called on Youngkin to shut down the tip line, saying that members of the group disagreed with the assumption that discriminatory and divisive concepts had become widespread in the schools.
When news of the tip line’s creation became known, educators encouraged the community to send an email, using #ThankATeacher, with information about favorite teachers, how children feel about their current teachers and fond school memories.
Since taking office, the Youngkin administration has rescinded a series of policies, memos and other resources related to diversity, equity and inclusion that it has labeled “discriminatory and divisive concepts” in the state’s public education system, The Associated Press reported.
It comes after an interim report, which Youngkin requested, outlining the initial findings of a search for “divisive concepts,” including critical race theory. The report did not identify any instance of critical race theory being taught in the classroom.
Critical race theory, or CRT, is a way of thinking about America’s history through the lens of racism.
During his campaign, Youngkin said he would ban the teaching of critical race theory in public schools.
There is no evidence that CRT has been formally adopted into state curricula. Democrats say the concept simply isn’t taught in Virginia schools, while Republicans insist it is widespread and part of a broad, liberal indoctrination of students, The Associated Press reported.
WTOP’s Scott Gelman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
