Tensions flared Tuesday as parents in Virginia’s Loudoun County School District (LCSD) clashed over whether the inclusion of liberal ideology in schools represents Marxism or inclusive fairness.
During a town hall meeting at Ashburn’s Stone Bridge High School, in which a third-party research group solicited parents’ input for creation of a new LCPS strategic plan, parents got into heated debates over the intention behind institution of concepts like “equity,” The Loudoun Times-Mirror reports:
“Much of the discussion during Tuesday’s meeting centered around the word ‘equity,’ with one parent shouting out during the meeting that ‘equity’ is reflective of a ‘Marxist’ ideology, while another parent said it simply means equal opportunities.”
Parents were instructed to write their suggestions for changes to the LCPS strategic plan on post-it notes, which they then stuck on posters. But, as the Loudoun Times-Mirror reports, many of the suggestions veered off education and focused on whether or not LCPS schools should incorporate and teach often-divisive “social justice” ideology in the name of inclusiveness and “equity”:
“While many of these notes contained suggestions like a continued focus on arts education, many were also politically charged, asking for the school district to variously stop ‘teaching critical race theory’ or to start offering more ‘equity.’”
Loudoun County has become a hotbed of the national debate over whether school boards should be mandating the adoption and teaching of radical, liberal policies and ideologies in public schools.
In particular, parents have been objecting to the institution of transgender bathrooms in schools, which have resulted in sexual assault allegations. Parents have also been fighting against school boards’ insistence that schools teach contentious liberal ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory.
A draft of the proposed strategic plan will be published for public comment on May 24, a month before the school board’s vote, scheduled for June 24.