“In his inaugural address, [Youngkin] reiterated many of the promises he made on the campaign trail. He affirmed the goodness of the American Founding. He said children should be in school, in person, five days per week. He said parents should have a say in education. He said he would cut taxes. He said he would make sure law enforcement is fully funded and supported. And then — this is the crazy part — he started actually doing those things…

“In a flurry of executive orders on his first day in office, Youngkin created a carveout from local mask mandates in K–12 schools for parents who don’t want their kids to mask, prohibited critical race theory in K–12 education, and ordered the attorney general to investigate sexual assaults in Loudoun County Public Schools. He fired every member of the Virginia Parole Board (which had been mired in scandal) and appointed new members ‘to restore integrity and confidence’ in the criminal-justice system. He withdrew Virginia from a regional green-energy initiative that was increasing electricity prices…

“The Left is busy convincing itself that Youngkin has morphed into a radical. Eileen Filler-Corn, the minority leader of the House of Delegates, called Youngkin ‘out of touch’ and said, ‘This is not the type of governor Glenn Youngkin promised to be on the campaign trail.’ But it is exactly the type of governor he promised to be.”
The Editors, National Review

Glenn Youngkin writes, “My predecessor issued executive orders at the beginning of the pandemic to accomplish what he viewed as his responsibility. Almost two years later, it is time to adjust our approach to the coronavirus emergency, while considering vaccinations, natural immunity, and the adverse mental and physical health effects on children. A path through the end of this pandemic is possible while also respecting individual freedom and choice. We can keep kids in school, provide a parental opt out to mask mandates, and protect lives and livelihoods…

“For the sake of our future generations, we need to recognize the potentially damaging impacts of mask-wearing on some children. Experts suggest masks can hide visual cues, hinder emotion recognition and reduce students’ abilities to hear teachers clearly. Studies also indicate that masks worn in public settings, school or day care might impact a range of early developmental and processing skills…

“There is no one better to determine what is best for children, especially after two years of a pandemic, than their parents. And only they should be able to decide whether wearing a mask in school is the right choice for their children.”
Glenn Youngkin, Washington Post

“Liberals have argued that critical race theory is not taught in classrooms, and for the most part that’s true… However, examples from Virginia’s Loudoun County and other school districts, where ‘anti-racism’ doctrines have been incorporated into teacher training and lesson plans, lay bare the dangers of poor-quality programs, implemented badly, that draw from the tenets of critical race theory…

“When a teacher expresses a partisan attitude or conveys partiality, something as little as an off-hand comment – ‘Your White privilege is showing,’ or ‘I would expect that answer from someone like you’ – can discourage students from forming independent thought…

“[Youngkin’s executive order] acknowledges that we must equip teachers with professional development resources so they can better prepare students to evaluate, analyze and think critically on difficult or controversial topics; to question and verify the credibility of sources; and to make informed judgments – all without imposing the teacher’s personal beliefs. All the while recognizing that most of what is taught in schools is noncontroversial… May his tenure help move us all toward sensible, principled conservative education policy.”
William J. Bennett, Fox News