The Virginia Board of Education voted unanimously to not advance controversial draft guidelines for history and social science learning standards after more than three hours of pointed public comments Thursday morning.
“Does the word ‘punt’ mean anything to anybody?” Board of Education President Daniel Gecker said after the vote.
The Virginia Department of Education, at the direction of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, had proposed revisions to the learning standards that had been developed under his Democratic predecessor Ralph Northam in in consultation with museums, historians, professors, political scientists, economists, geographers, teachers, parents and students.
The revisions included removing content involving Martin Luther King Jr. from the K-5 standards, delay any teaching about lynching until the sixth grade, and only introduce the role of Christopher Columbus in the slave trade until the 11th grade.
The new standards also entirely removed LGBTQ+ history and Juneteenth and mention of gender equity and renewable energy.
The board voted to direct Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow to draft standards that incorporate elements of the draft guidelines developed under Northam and the draft guidelines proposed by Youngkin ahead of a special meeting planned for January.
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Chris Graham
