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York County — The York County Board of Supervisors is considering a resolution that threatens to withhold funding from the county school system if educators teach “divisive” ideas.
Chairman Chad Green approved an amended proposal on Oct. 18 from member Walter Zaremba which says if the school division teaches materials or “ideologies” based on the state’s cultural competency training, the county will not “continue to offer taxpayers’ dollars.”
A vote is slated for Nov. 16. It will come after critics slammed school boards across the country for months for what they have claimed is the inclusion of critical race theory in K-12 classes.
At its core, Zaremba said, the resolution seeks to enforce state code that says it is a parent’s right to “make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent’s child.” It implies that Virginia’s Social and Emotional Learning curriculum isn’t of educational or academic value to students.
Additionally, the proposal criticizes state law that requires educators to complete culturally responsive training, saying the mandatory evaluations encourages “teaching of ideologies that likely contradict the social, moral, and religious beliefs of the parent’s child.” And according to the resolution, those violate state law.
“Teaching ideology that sets standards about what a child should think and feel is emotional indoctrination that must stop,” the two-page document says.
If York County School Division violates the cited law, the proposal said, municipal supervisors will not distribute local funding. Green clarified during an interview Wednesday that the board intends to continue to “fully fund” schools, but it will not pay for “divisive programs” or instructional material similar to critical race theory.
The resolution Zaremba proposed derived from a similar policy — denouncing teaching the 1619 Project and critical race theory — that was approved last month in Stafford County. Although school officials advised Stafford supervisors neither are included in the division’s curriculum, the board passed the resolution to prevent such teachings in the future.
York County intends to mirror some of the measures in Northern Virginia, including a review process that would allow supervisors to reject funding for programs parents don’t approve. When asked how the review process would work, Green said both boards would need to have a conversation.
“We want to make sure (those programs) don’t get taught or implemented,” he said. “The Board of Supervisors tries to be proactive, not reactive.”
During an interview Thursday, Zaremba said Virginia’s competency and SEL training fall under the similar sentiments associated with critical race theory.
But critical race theory is not taught in public schools across the Commonwealth and is not related to competency training for teachers, Ken Blackstone, the Virginia Department of Education’s executive communications director said in an email Thursday.
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Earlier this year, the General Assembly passed legislation mandating teacher evaluations to include training on culturally responsive and inclusive practices as part of the state’s Equity Framework. But educators are not required to implement that in the school curriculum.
“Cultural competency is important so teachers can be informed about the students that are in their classroom,” York County School Board chair Brett Higginbotham said during an interview. Cultural awareness can help educators develop equitable solutions for successful outcomes among students depending on their needs.
Zaremba’s proposed the initial draft on Oct. 5, then Green asked the school board to join the supervisors in signing the resolution. Higginbotham suggested that the two governing bodies collaborate to create a draft, but on Monday, Higginbotham said, the school board received an amended proposal that it had no part in drafting.
Zaremba told The Pilot that the board declined to sign the final draft.
“As either of the resolutions stand now, the school board cannot sign them because they align with one side political ideology and beliefs and school boards are politically neutral bodies,” Higginbotham said. “The School Board would not sign a joint resolution that they had no part in drafting.”
As of Thursday, supervisors have not “attempted to engage” the school board to amend the proposal. It can be revised and is open for discussion until the day of the vote, Green said.
Sierra Jenkins, 229-462-8896, sierra.jenkins@virginiamedia.com