Governor Glenn Youngkin was elected in 2021 – running on his support of parental rights. Now, his supporters are calling on members of the General Assembly to support the rights of parents, too.
Democrats may control the House and the Senate. But a Republican sits in the Executive Mansion, which means that the minority in the General Assembly actually plays a very important role in conversations about everything from banning books to informing parents when students overdose on fentanyl.
"I'm one of the new guys here, and it hasn't taken me long to figure out that there are a lot of bad things that we gotta fight," Republican Delegate Mark Early of Chesterfield says at a press conference featuring parents visiting the Capitol to lobby their representatives.
"I don't need to tell anybody in this room that the cultural trend right now is to devalue parents and it’s to devalue families, and that is the wrong way to go. We need to empower parents, not ignore parents."
Republican Delegate Nick Freitas of Culpeper says the Democratic majority should let parents testify at committee meetings instead of holding to time limits.
"Now, some people will say, ‘Don't you think that's a little bit inappropriate to assume the intentions of others.’ Really? Because they don't seem to think it's wrong to assume our intentions because every time we bring up concerns about parental issues, it's like, ‘No, no, no you're just bigots. Right? There’s something wrong with you and now the state is going to improve that,'" he says.
Freitas says school systems are no replacement for parents, and he’s hoping the governor uses his veto pen to make sure parents remain in control of what their children are learning at schools.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
