Virginia's new Republican governor, who banned critical race theory in schools, is launching a tip line for parents to report their kids' teachers

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Virginia's new Republican governor, who banned critical race theory in schools, is launching a tip line for parents to report their kids' teachers
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
  • Virginia's newly elected governor banned teaching critical race theory in his first month in office.
  • Gov. Glenn Youngkin promoted a government email to which parents could report teachers.
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Virginia's newly elected Republican governor, who has banned critical race theory in public schools, is launching a tip line to report teachers of "divisive subjects."

In a Monday interview with the conservative radio host John Fredericks, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said parents could email the state government to report any public-school teachers they believed to be "behaving objectionably."

Youngkin said: "We're asking for folks to send us reports and observations that they have that will help us be aware of things like privilege bingo, be aware of their child being denied their rights that parents have in Virginia. And we're going to make sure we catalog it all.

"This gives us a great insight into what's happening at a school level, and that gives us further ability to make sure we're rooting it out."

Youngkin, the first Republican to win the state in more than 10 years, was sworn into office earlier this month.

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He made critical race theory — an academic practice developed by legal scholars to examine the ongoing effects of racism in American policies and institutions — a key component of his 2021 campaign.

Youngkin banned the teaching of "inherently divisive concepts" on his first day in office. The order didn't define "divisive concepts," but it cited critical race theory as an example.

The order was issued even though critical race theory was never part of the state's public-school curriculum, The Washington Post reported.

As one of his first moves in office, Youngkin also removed school mask requirements statewide, allowing parents to opt out of compulsory mask rules in classrooms and prompting several school districts to defy the move.

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