Governor Glenn Youngkin addressed a joint meeting of Senate and House finance committees on Friday. He touched on several issues. Below is the portion of his speech that focused on education.
“Together we have fueled a historic investment for public education in the Commonwealth.
More than $3.1 billion in new investment.
A 10 percent pay raise for our teachers.
$100 million in lab school funding – to give students meaningful choice within the public school system. $1.25 billion dollars to leverage over $3 billion dollars for school construction and renovations.
But money is only one part of the equation.
We must also keep our kids in the classroom.
The learning loss apparent in yesterday’s SOLs results teaches us that closing schools and keeping kids out of the classroom did more damage than Virginia’s parents could have possibly imagined. In math, we are still 16 points behind pre-pandemic levels. Shamefully, these gaps were much wider among Black students, Hispanic students, English language learners, and students with disabilities. There is an incredible amount of work for us to do to close this gap.
For too long now, our students have been failed by a system that emphasized mediocrity instead of excellence. A system that let students fall behind instead of encouraging them to excel. Political appointees of past administrations systematically lowered accreditation standards and passing standards for schools and students and that made it easier for students to pass standardized tests, rather than teaching them to meet a high bar.
In January, I said the shell games of accountability were coming to an end. I asked this General Assembly to lock arms with me to raise standards in education.
And while I appreciate the legislation that you passed to restore merit-based admissions at our Governor’s School, the truth is, there is a lot more to do.
A lax approach towards excellence in the classroom is no way to have increasing results – and in the coming weeks, the Virginia Board of Education will begin a process to raise the Commonwealth’s accreditation and accountability standards from some of the lowest in the country to the highest.
Every child in the Commonwealth deserves the best opportunity we can provide.
Let’s just recognize that we need to raise the ceiling and the floor. And we’ve started that path with the Virginia literacy Act, setting high standards and recognizing that underserved areas need more help. I was very pleased that you approved my amendment to put in additional money for reading coaches in these underserved communities.
I will never accept the argument that says our kids cannot meet these higher standards. I believe that is the soft bigotry of low expectations. They can, and they will… and it’s up to us to set a high bar worthy of our children’s potential.
Everything we do in education, of course, remains tied to the core tenet that parents matter. When it comes to what books your kid reads… and whether your kid wears a mask to school… in Virginia that choice belongs to parents!
And I believe this can be the bipartisan basis for a much broader effort to ensure transparency in education and in the lives of their children. We can trust our teachers and local school leaders to act as partners with parents, where parents have full access and visibility.
It’s not controversial. And it shouldn’t be partisan.
With teachers leading the way at school – and parents fully empowered at home – the high standards set for all, we will make sure that Virginia’s kids have the launching pad they deserve.”
The governor’s full remarks can be viewed through this link.
