Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed a bill that would have allowed African American history courses to count toward high school graduation requirements.
The measure, which was introduced in the House by Loudoun County Del. David Reid, would have allowed students and parents to choose African American History or AP African American Studies as substitutes for either World History I or World Geography that satisfy the history and social studies credit that students must complete.
Reid said he introduced the legislation after discussions with Loudoun County Public Schools and the NAACP. It would have applied to school districts where those classes are already being taught, and was not “forcing any school district to take this on as a new requirement, because we were really very sensitive about not levying an unfunded mandate,” he told WTOP.
“This would have been about allowing students and parents to have a choice about what they were going to be able to learn for their high school graduation requirements,” Reid said.
Youngkin initially amended the bill with a reenactment clause, meaning it would have had to be passed again next year. After the proposal cleared both chambers, Youngkin opted to veto it.
In a statement, Youngkin spokesman Peter Finocchio said the proposal would “replace a critical course in World History, of which (Youngkin) believes every student deserves foundational knowledge. There is nothing limiting any student from taking African American history.”
Currently, African American history classes can be taken as electives.
Finocchio said four electives are required for a standard diploma, “which allows students to choose any class that they are interested in, which can include African American history or Advanced Placement African American Studies.”
The bill, Reid said, was crafted after consulting with educational professionals. He said Youngkin’s veto contradicts his first executive order, which called for teaching students the entirety of history.
“We put a whole lot of effort into this,” Reid said. “We followed the educational type of protocols, and those folks that are saying that they don’t want to give the parents and the students the choice to be able to select which history, in these two choices, then I think sometimes that’s a little bit hypocritical coming from those particular individuals.”
Reid said he’s planning to try and get the same measure passed again next year.
“It’s been almost a year that we have been working on this, but we’ve laid the foundation for being able to try this again next year,” Reid said. “There’s nothing that I feel that really needs to change in the legislation, because again, it was permissive in nature that allowed parents and students to make a choice, and it allowed them to be able to recognize that Virginia history is African American history.”
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