Glenn Youngkin, the Republican governor of Virginia and an outspoken critic of progressive school boards, has appointed Suparna Dutta as the newest member of the Virginia Board of Education. Dutta has expressed her disapproval for how the Fairfax County School Board of Education operates, especially regarding their newest admission process.
“As my kids were in elementary school and middle school and high school, I found the level of education somewhat lacking compared to what I had got in India and I went to government schools in India,” Dutta told 7News. Dutta moved from India to the United States when she was 23 years old.
“Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology is touted as the number one public school in America by U.S. News,” said Dutta. “Students work hard – get in by hard work, merit, and there was an effort by the school board and some FCPS school officials, they said that the race-blind merit-based standardized test was somehow racist.”
Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed one of the biggest critics of the Fairfax County School Board to the Virginia Board of Education @7NewsDC https://t.co/0RAEOFf6nF
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) July 7, 2022
Dutta has voiced for concerns about Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) suspending students as young as 4th grade for “deadnaming or maliciously misgendering” fellow students.
“I think instead of addressing our children’s needs, and ensuring that children can read and write and do math, what some people are doing is inserting their own ideology ahead of our children’s needs,” said Dutta.
“This is extremely confusing for our children. And it doesn’t serve any purpose. This is really not education. This is their version of what reality is or however they choose. Parents don’t want indoctrination. Parents good education. And that’s it. Leave everything else to parents because parents are the primary educators. Let’s remember.”
Gov. Glenn Youngkin now has a majority on the Virginia Board of Education @7NewsDC https://t.co/sBIqdJCDZV
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) July 7, 2022
Governor Youngkin, who appointed Dutta this week, ran his campaign for more parental control in school boards. He recently signed a bill that requires schools to notify parents about any sexually explicit material in class assignments. Parents are allowed to opt their children out of the assignment and instead be given an substitute assignment.
Dutta previously supported Youngkin’s campaign and was featured in an ad.
