Virginia government calls for legislation to defer school awards

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — In response to growing concerns about how some northern Virginia school districts are handling student achievement recognition on the standardized test, Governor Glenn Youngkin called on Wednesday for legislation requiring student and parent notification of certain academic awards.

Youngkin has asked two lawmakers to support the bill on his behalf during the current legislative session, his office said in a press release. The measures prohibit any school or school employee from withholding information relating to recognition or awards received by a student, or information that could affect a student’s admission to a higher education institution, the office said.

“We will not allow our students and their parents to remain in the dark about their hard-earned recognition, which we now know has been widely distributed across more than a dozen schools across multiple school divisions,” Youngkin said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the Governor called for an investigation into the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology in Fairfax County, which acknowledged a delay in notifying students who were designated “distinguished students” in the National Merit Scholarship Competition. . Students who receive the “Noted Student” award are in the top 3% nationally on a standardized test, but below the top 1% that qualify them as scholarship semi-finalists.

The delay has sparked complaints from some parents and activists who say the school chose not to notify in order to downplay individual achievement in favor of fairness.

Youngkin, who has made education reform and parental rights at the center of his agenda, echoed these concerns.

“Parents are rightfully upset and they should be upset,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

Attorney General Jason Miyares, a fellow Republican, launched an investigation a day after Youngkin’s request, saying in a press conference that his Office of Civil Rights was investigating the school not only because it failed to notify students in a timely manner, but because recently revised school admissions policy. .

Miyares then stated on January 9 that the investigation extended to “the entire Fairfax County public school system in light of reports and complaints that several schools across the county are denying awards to high-achieving students.”

Since then, additional high schools in other northern Virginia counties have acknowledged delayed notification of some awards, according to local news reports.

“Attorney General Miyares is reviewing all complaints and allegations of potential violations of the Virginia Human Rights Act in Northern Virginia high schools,” his spokeswoman Victoria Lacivita said in an email Wednesday. been discriminated against to file a complaint with our Office of Civil Rights on our website.”

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