Youngkin doesn’t want you to know what’s going on with his ‘tip line’

Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office, for some reason, doesn’t want you to know what people are emailing the tip line that the Republican has promoted to get reports on “inherently divisive practices” in Virginia schools.

The governor’s office cited an exemption from the state’s public-records law to deny a request from WRIC in Richmond seeking the messages sent to the email address, which had been promoted by Youngkin during an appearance on a conservative radio show last week.

In an interview with John Fredericks, the Virginia chair of the Trump for President campaigns in 2016 and 2020,  Youngkin called on parents to send “reports and observations” to make the state aware of any teaching concepts they consider divisive.

“We have set up a particular email address called [email protected], again, [email protected], for parents to send us any instances where they feel their fundamental rights are being violated, where their children are not being respected, where there are inherently divisive practices in their schools,” Youngkin said in the interview.

A Youngkin spokesperson tried last week to deflect criticism that the email address was meant for parents to report teachers as “misinformation,” claiming in a tweet that the email tip line was set up as a “resource for parents, teachers, & students to relay questions/concerns. Youngkin was elected to serve all Virginians & has utilized a customary constituent service to hear from Virginians.”

In the realm of “misinformation,” Youngkin, on his first day in office, Jan. 15, signed an executive order directing education officials “to end the use of inherently divisive concepts, including Critical Race Theory, and to raise academic standards.”

The Virginia Department of Education has said repeatedly that critical race theory is not part of the K-12 curriculum in the Commonwealth.

It would seem that it’s the governor who is being “inherently divisive” here.

Maybe that’s why his folks don’t want you to know what’s going on behind the scenes.

Story by Chris Graham