Superintendent unsure about Youngkin’s ‘divisive concepts’ tip line, prefers local solutions

Rappahannock County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Shannon Grimsley sided with a letter, written by an organization that represents all 144 public school superintendents in the state, that urged Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration to terminate the tip line created for parents to report what they believe to be “divisive concepts” being taught in schools.

The letter, sent March 10 to Youngkin’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Ballow by the The Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS), takes aim at the tip line and the administration’s more broad claims that “discriminatory and divisise concepts” have become widespread in Virginia’s public schools and that schools should strive to provide “equitable opportunities” rather than “equitable outcomes.”

“Division superintendents disagree with your using ‘equitable outcomes’ as the basis for determining what divisive concepts are and unilaterally suggesting that this approach is discriminatory,” the letter, written by VASS Executive Director Howard B. Kiser, said.

Grimsley, in an interview, said she’s unsure whether the tip line “will yield the results that the administration is looking for … I don't know that that's the best system.” She would prefer that local school systems work to address allegations of divisiveness in classrooms, rather than the state government.

“I think it’s really important that we continue the very important work we’ve been doing to improve student outcomes,” Grimsley said. “This community has always had a really good handle on that and provided great opportunities for all the students to succeed.”

Grimsley noted that while the letter did capture much of what her colleagues in education are opposed to, she had no part in cra ing it and didn’t receive a copy until a er it was sent to state o cials.

“Anything that doesn't involve collaboration among state o cials and educators and those of us who are leading education is problematic, and hopefully everybody can reach a consensus where we have a system in place to work together for some of these big issues because there's a lot of facets to all of it and more complexity than I think is on the surface,” Grimsley said.

Youngkin’s tip line was created in an e ort to crack down in schools on what his administration dubbed “divisive” subjects, including critical race theory, an academic framework that analyzes the role of racism in institutions, which is not taught within the state’s curriculum.