Youngkin Shuts Down His Hotline Where Parents Could Report CRT In the Classrooom: ‘Received Little to No Volume’

 

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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) closed his controversial hotline where parents could phone in complaints or accuse educators of teaching the critical race theory or other “divisive concepts.”

“The help education email was deactivated in September, as it had received little to no volume during that time,” said Macaulay Porter in a statement from Youngkin’s office Friday.

Right-wing fury over allegations that critical race theory was being taught in Virginia schools was one of several issues that helped sweep Youngkin into office in 2021 – winning a surprise victory over Democrat and former Governor Terry McAuliffe.

Critical race theory is an academic framework that dissects how historic racism and prejudice have impacted U.S. institutions and public policy. The theory is taught primarily at the college level and was never a part of Virginia public school’s curriculum.

Axios obtained hundreds of the complaints sent to the tip line and reported on their contents Thursday:

Youngkin created a national uproar just days into his administration when he launched the tip line, urging parents to report schools teaching “inherently divisive concepts” — a term he has used to describe critical race theory in particular. But the contents of the emails have remained a mystery until now.

“Many of the emails flagged potential problems with public schools, but had little to do with ‘divisive concepts,’” reported Axios, which published lines from some of the complaints:

“There is no Controls over what these (supposed) Tutors might be telling our children,” the parent wrote. “This seems like just another potential path for unknown perverts to gain 1-on-1 access to our children.”

“Even though the hotline has been shuttered, constituents can still reach the governor’s office through other methods to share concerns,” Porter reportedly told Insider.

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Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing