The Loudoun County School Board in Virginia cut off public comment during a meeting on Tuesday as residents debated contentious transgender policy proposals and Critical Race Theory.
County residents arrived early to pack the auditorium as 259 residents signed up to speak during the public comment session before the debates became so heated that at least two men were eventually arrested for refusing to leave the building. The men were protesting the policy.
The parents debated a draft of the proposed 8040 policy on restrooms that reads that ‘students should be allowed to use the facility that corresponds to their gender identity,’ as school district leaders say they are moving to make schools more inclusive for transgender students – something that is considered by some parents as challenging traditional religious beliefs.
According to Fox News, the comments went rather smoothly through the first half-dozen speakers who supported the 8040 proposal until the seventh speaker was booed for insulting Christian parents in the district who oppose the policy.
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A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting which included a discussion of Critical Race Theory and transgender students
A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting which included a discussion of Critical Race Theory and transgender students
A man is detained after a fight broke out during a Loudoun County School Board meeting which included a discussion of Critical Race Theory and transgender students
Shelley Slebrch and other angry parents and community members protest after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
Angry community members and parents sing the Star Spangled Banner after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
Jon Tigges is detained following a controversial Loudoun County School Board meeting which included discussion of Critical Race Theory
The woman, who identified herself as the mother of a transgender Loudoun student, had said that ‘hate’ was ‘dripping from the followers of Jesus in this room’ – which promoted the board to call a five-minute recess for parents to cool down.
Brenda Sheridan, the board chair, warned residents after the recess that members of the board had voted unanimously to end public comment if the room again became disruptive.
‘The board is here to hear from everyone,’ she said.
‘We started our meeting early because we knew we would have a large crowd and we had a large agenda. We ask again that you respect each other, and everyone is allowed to speak.’
Parents in the audience were also protesting recent moves by the board to promote critical race theory, which they said was racist indoctrination.
Over the past year, numerous public and private schools across the US have opted to incorporate CRT into their teachings – sparking a nationwide debate in which Loudoun County has emerged as a flashpoint.
The theory asserts that ‘institutions are inherently racist and that race itself… is a socially constructed concept that is used by white people to further their economic and political interests at the expense of people of color’, according to Texas A&M University professor Tommy Curry.
Meanwhile, during the public comments, some parents also brought up another topic of debate in the community – the suspension and reinstatement of Tanner Cross – and asked the board not to appeal the court order reinstating him.
A judge ordered the Leesburg Elementary gym teacher to be reinstated after he was suspended last month after giving a speech opposing the transgender policy claiming it went against his religion.
Earlier this month, an eighth grader slammed Loudoun County Public Schools for a policy she claimed lets boys use girls locker rooms, putting female students in danger.
Jolene Grover, 14, spoke at the school district’s board meeting in early June to address the proposed policy 8040.
She was pulled from a LCPS school last year by her mother, Fox News reported.
‘Two years ago, I was told policy 1040 was just an umbrella philosophy and you weren’t going to allow boys into the girls’ locker rooms. But here you are doing just that,’ Grover said while wearing a shirt that read ‘Woman is female.’
Some on the board, which has sparked controversy with its embrace of CRT and the transgender policy, is now facing recall efforts.
One woman at Tuesday’s meeting urged several board members, facing a recall effort, to resign and save taxpayers even more money.
Others blasted a district official who allegedly made threatening Internet searches on a district smartphone.
Dick Black, a former state senator, ripped the board for its treatment of Cross – which prompted the chamber to erupt into cheers, Fox News reported.
The board then unanimously voted to end public comment after only 51 parents were heard.
Parents then led loud chants of ‘Shame on you!’ directed at the board.
Some demanded that the board members resign while some parents in the room sang The Star-Spangled Banner, according to Fox News.
Others of the parents who had not been able to speak before the board attempted to remain in the room to give their opinions before the crowd.
Opponents of an academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory attend a packed Loudoun County School board meeting until the meeting erupted into chaos and two people were detained, in Ashburn, Virginia
Opponents of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory protest outside of the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia
Opponents of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory enter a school board meeting at the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia
Concerned community members and parents wait to enter a controversial school board meeting at the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia
Opponents of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory protest outside of the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia
Amy Jahr sings the Star Spangled Banner after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
Angry parents and community members protest after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
Supporters of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory and transgender students meet outside the Loudoun County School Board headquarters before a school board meeting, in Ashburn, Virginia
Amy Jahr sings the Star Spangled Banner after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia
Elicia Brand leads a crowd of angry parents and community members in the singing of the Star Spangled Banner after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down
Opponents of an academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory attend a packed Loudoun County School board meeting until the meeting erupted into chaos and two people were detained, in Ashburn, Virginia
Opponents of an academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory attend a packed Loudoun County School board meeting until the meeting erupted into chaos and two people were detained, in Ashburn, Virginia
Opponents of an academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory attend a packed Loudoun County School board meeting until the meeting erupted into chaos and two people were detained, in Ashburn, Virginia
Fox News reported that deputies told one of the men who refused to leave he would be arrested for trespassing if did not exit the room. He was ultimately issued a trespassing summons and released.
A second man was also arrested for ‘acting disorderly and displayed aggressive behavior towards another attendee’, a spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News.
‘A second adult male was acting disorderly and displayed aggressive behavior towards another attendee,’ the spokesperson said.
‘A deputy intervened and the subject continued to be disorderly with the deputy. LCSO Deputies attempted to take him into custody and he physically resisted arrest. The subject was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.’
‘It’s a new Cultural Revolution’: Mom who survived Maoist China’s purges rages against woke Loudoun County School Board for pushing ‘neo-racism’ and teacher warns against class ‘indoctrination camps’
A Virginia county’s fierce debate over teaching children controversial critical race theory escalated this week at a school board meeting where a mother who survived the purge in Maoist China condemned what she called an effort to turn classrooms into ‘indoctrination camps’.
Xi Van Fleet, who fled China at the age of 26 before settling in the United States, told members of the Loudoun County School Board that she is ‘very alarmed’ by the teaching of CRT, which she says ‘trains children to be social justice warriors and to loathe their country and their history.’
‘This is indeed the American version of the Chinese Cultural Revolution,’ Van Fleet declared, referring to the Mao Zedong-led purge that left between 500,000 and 20 million people dead from 1966 to 1976. She was six years old when the revolution started.
‘Critical Race Theory has its roots in cultural Marxism. It should have no place in our school.’
Virginia mom Xi Van Fleet, who grew up in Maoist China, slammed Critical Race Theory (CRT) during a contentious school board meeting on Wednesday.
‘The Communist regime used the same critical theory to divide people. The only difference is they used class instead of race,’ she stated, adding that CRT was ‘neo-racist’.
‘We were taught to denounce our heritage, and Red Guards destroyed anything that is not communist…statues, books and anything else. We were also encouraged to report on each other, just like the Student Equity Ambassador program and the bias reporting system,’ Van Fleet added, referring to new initiatives set up in Loudoun County public schools.
‘I felt like it’s such a free country, meaning I have free access to all sorts of information – books on both sides of the issues,’ she stated.
However, now, Van Fleet says she feels that some of that freedom is being taken away, saying:’ I can’t really just say what I mean, even though the other side can say whatever,. To me, and to a lot of Chinese, it is heartbreaking that we escaped communism and now we experience communism here.’
Over the past year, numerous public and private schools across the US have opted to incorporate CRT into their teachings – sparking a nationwide debate in which Loudoun County has emerged as a flashpoint.
The theory asserts that ‘institutions are inherently racist and that race itself… is a socially constructed concept that is used by white people to further their economic and political interests at the expense of people of color’, according to Texas A&M University professor Tommy Curry.
While Loudoun County Public School officials say they are not officially using CRT in their classrooms, they have pledged to push for ‘equity’ and have begun using many CRT ‘buzzwords and concepts’.
That decision has angered many locals in Loudoun County – which is located just outside of Washington, DC, and is the wealthiest county in the entire country.
Van Fleet’s criticism was echoed by teacher Lilit Vanetsyan, who in her own fiery address Wednesday night accused school board members of enabling teachers with radically liberal lesson plans at the expense of students’ education and mental health.
Vanetsyan, who teaches in neighboring Fairfax County, Virginia, also spoke at Wednesday night’s meeting in Loudoun County – addressing not just school board members but also parents and students.
‘Parents, the longer that you wait and don’t have your child’s schools accountable, gives these guys more time to dictate what’s best for your child’s physical, mental, and emotional health,’ Vanetsyan declared.
She then also directly addressed students, saying: ‘You are on the front lines of these indoctrination camps. Challenge the staff when you are presented with a ludicrous statement, and do not allow anybody to tell you that you cannot accomplish anything because of your skin color, or to hate yourself because of your skin color.
‘Students, it is up to you to be the next generation of victims, or victors.’