Democratic lawmakers have defeated key elements of Gov. Youngkin’s education agenda.
For the moment anyway.
Within the bills that died in the Virginia Senate were provisions that supported making it easier to open charter schools, assigning more police officers to schools and banning divisive topics.
As Hampton Roads’ WAVY-TV reports:
RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — A Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate committee on Thursday killed bills that would have prohibited the teaching of “inherently divisive concepts” in Virginia schools and banned transgender students from participating in sports that align with their gender identity.
The “divisive concepts” bill, sponsored by Hampton Roads Sen. Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia Beach/Norfolk), was backed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. It stems from Youngkin’s promise to end the teaching of concepts deemed to be “critical race theory.”
Democrats in the committee joined together in a 9-4 vote to pass by indefinitely, killing the bill.
The transgender ban bill was also sponsored by Kiggans. It too died in a 9-4 vote.