Gov. Youngkin: Loudon County school board officials tried to cover up sexual assaults
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin discusses how Loudon County officials mishandled sexual assaults in schools and an investigation into potential discrimination at Thomas Jefferson High School on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vowed to hold state school boards accountable, Tuesday, for scandals involving concealing sexual assault allegations and the withholding of merit-based awards.
Youngkin claimed Tuesday that Loudoun County Public Schools "absolutely" swept sexual assault incidents under the rug, telling Fox News' Tucker Carlson that his administration is shining a bright light on the "heinous cover-ups" and looking to do more.
"I ordered this investigation on day one of our administration and our Attorney Gen. Jason Miyares went to work," Youngkin said.
Glenn Youngkin, governor of Virginia, spearheaded an investigation into Loudoun County Public Schools for allegedly sweeping sexual assaults under the rug. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"The Democrats immediately condemned it, saying it's ‘all political’ when the reality was that the Loudoun County School Board had, in fact, worked to cover this up. These poor young women should've never been assaulted, and the superintendent has been fired appropriately and indicted…"
The state, riddled by education controversies in recent years, also looks to Fairfax County's prestigious Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology after the institution took heat for failing to notify students of national merit awards until after important college scholarship deadlines had passed.
Parents and community members attend a Loudoun County School Board meeting on June 22, 2021. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
Youngkin, who on Tuesday called on AG Miyares to launch an investigation into the school's "equity policy" that allegedly prompted the delay, told Carlson that the "crazy behavior" is not consistent with Virginian or American values.
"We had students who had achieved a real accolade – to be a National Merit Scholar – and they weren't told because they didn't want to make the other students feel bad," he said.
YOUNGKIN CALLS ON VIRGINIA AG TO INVESTIGATE HIGH SCHOOL THAT WITHHELD MERIT-BASED AWARDS
Thomas Jefferson High School came under fire for withholding merit awards from students in the name of equity. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
"When you have a superintendent who expresses a desire that all students will have equal outcomes, this is the kind of crazy behavior you get from principals and administrators… we're going to go to work to make sure we understand all the facts here," he added.
Youngkin said he asked Miyares to look into possible federal and state civil rights violations at the school, pointing to flaws in the state's school districts and overall education system as a byproduct of eight years of Democratic leadership and reluctance to hold school boards accountable for their actions.
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"We're holding them accountable," he told Carlson. "It's almost as if they thought I might go away, but I'm not going away."
Earlier in the segment, Youngkin reiterated his state's goal to "be at ground zero" concerning parental rights and encouraging parents to be active in their children's lives.
Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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