Glenn Youngkin: Fairfax County schools cutting out parents is ‘wrong,’ ‘contravenes state law’
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin reacts to Fairfax County school boards briefing teachers on how to cut parents out of children’s education and vows to protect parents’ rights.
A Virginia delegate said changes may need to be made to a state law on the notification of public school employee arrests following failed communication that resulted in a school counselor in Fairfax County remaining employed despite having been convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Glasgow Middle School counselor Darren Thornton remained employed despite being arrested in Nov. 2020 on charges of solicitation of a minor in Chesterfield County as part of an online sting operation after Chesterfield County police attempts to reach the superintendent about the arrest were sent to faulty email addresses.
Thornton was placed on leave and then fired after a June 9, 2022, arrest following a separate sting operation.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Michelle Reid informed parents a couple weeks ago that Thornton, a counselor at Glasgow Middle School in Lincolnia, Virginia, had previously been convicted of "solicitation of prostitution from a minor." Reid, who, wasn’t the superintendent at the time of either of Thornton’s arrests, said the district took "immediate steps" to fire Thornton upon learning of the situation, and FCPS is petitioning the state to revoke his license. She added that she has launched an independent third-party investigation into the situation, which is expected to be completed in early September.
Virginia code currently requires law enforcement agencies who arrest a full-time, part-time, permanent or temporary teacher in a Virginia public school system for a felony or Class 1 misdemeanor to "file a report of such arrest with the division superintendent of the employing division as soon as practicable." Del. Vivian Watts said "effective action" is likely during the upcoming assembly session to make an addition.
A Fairfax County school bus sits in a depot, a day after it was announced the county would begin the school year all online, in Lorton, Virginia, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
Watts advocated for including a requirement that school systems verify they received notification of arrests from law enforcement so that "the responsibility is clear on the part of the receiving school system to take action."
"Because if they haven’t received it, unfortunately, it exists in ether," she said.
FAIRFAX COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD CRITICIZED FOR 'BAFFLING,' 'ANTI-SCIENCE' MEMO ON MASKING
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R., pledged more accountability and state resources in the wake of the controversy.
"This is an astonishing revelation … for there to be a school counselor, middle school counselor, who was arrested for sex solicitation of a minor back in November 2020," Youngkin said.
Glenn Youngkin, governor of Virginia, speaks to members of the media following a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at the Virginia Executive Mansion, in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Youngkin's office also told WTOP that the governor directed Secretary Bob Mosier to look into the case "and immediately prompted the Department of Corrections to initiate an investigation."
The Fairfax County Parents Association recently released a statement on the firing of the Glasgow Middle School counselor, thanking the superintendent for making the move but outlining a few demands to better ensure student safety in the future. In the statement, they ask that every FCPS employee expected to come in contact with minors to undergo annual criminal background checks, an implementation of a "clear and publicized process" for which parents and students can notify the school system in an official way of incidents or concerns that place children at risk of sexual or other harm, and for FCPS to provide the full final report on the incident.
"The circumstances that finally led to this week’s decision by FCPS to fire this counselor underscore the deep concerns parents have about FCPS’s apparent bureaucratic inability to stay focused on executing not only its key mission of excellence in academics but also its key role as partners with parents in the safety of children while in the custody of the school system," the group said.
Fairfax has been the scene of several controversies the past couple of years as reportedly progressive curricula and COVID-19 mandates have resulted in frequent confrontations between parents and school board members. In a recent example, parents were up in arms over an email that informed them the district would still be requiring students to mask in the case of high COVID rates. As parents noted, that requirement was in contradiction with Youngkin's order which allowed parents to decide whether or not their children wear face coverings to school. Fairfax schools did note that parents and families can opt out of any mask requirement.
\Masked students arrive to the first day of class at Glasgow Middle School in Lincolnia, Virginia, on Monday, August 23, 2021, the first day back to school for the Fairfax County school district. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post)
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