Youngkin hosts “Back to School” rally Wednesday

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin hosted a “Back to School” rally Wednesday, where he commended parents for fighting back against school districts’ draconian policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rally was held in Mason District Park in Annandale, Virginia, to celebrate the start of the 2022-23 school year.

After talks from Republican congressional candidates and Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, Youngkin appeared on stage, speaking in front of a group of kids.

“Last year, we saw radical politicians say that parents had no right to determine what was being taught in their children’s classroom. Well, all of you, and many, many, many others across the Commonwealth of Virginia stood up and said, ‘Enough.’ You stood together,” Youngkin said. “You stood together because we all recognized the core truth in our children’s education, parents matter. That’s what we concluded.

Youngkin recounted some of his legislative achievements, such as Senate Bill 656, which stated that if school materials are sexually explicit and parents don’t agree with them, they can request an alternative set of materials.

He cautioned though that, despite some progress, the fight against school boards and teachers unions was not over.

“They think that parents have no right to know what your child is discussing with their teacher, or their counselor, particularly when some of the most important topics, most important topics that a child may want to discuss, are being determined. What’s their name? What pronoun will they use? How are they going to express their gender?” Youngkin said before closing the rally.

Youngkin made education a cornerstone of his gubernatorial campaign. After his victory against Democratic opponent and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe in November, Youngkin said his campaign became a “movement led by parents.”