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To the editor:

I attended the Suffolk School Board meeting on July 15 at the Col. Fred Cherry Middle School. New business on the agenda included proposed changes to Suffolk Public School policies regarding education equity (a soft term for critical race theory) and gender issues. What quickly struck me was that there were few parents in attendance.

Across Virginia, concerned parents and citizens are in deep disagreement with liberal school board overreach that is forcing Critical Race Theory on their K through 12 school children. You might be surprised to learn the Virginia state legislature passed SB1196/HB1904, which requires teacher, principal and division superintendent evaluations to include cultural competency, and to complete instruction in cultural competency at least every two years. This will be a challenge since there is not a single accepted definition of “cultural competency.”

Proposed equity policy definitions of terms like equity, cultural competency and culturally relevant teaching are clearly skewed, utilizing terminology not widely accepted and misleading. Based on quasi science, education equity policy is extremely divisive, declaring that “racist beliefs and structures are pervasive in all aspects of our lives and requires action to dismantle those beliefs and structures.” I find that offensive. I do not live that way, but apparently the School Board does. How sad for them.

The Board’s Gender Identity policy encapsulates gender discrimination, harassment, bullying, student privacy, name and gender pronouns, sex at birth, access to locker and restroom faculties etc. Many parents have a strong aversion to this policy, often based on religious principles. Parents and students aren’t necessarily comfortable with locker room and restroom access based on gender identity. Where are their rights? In my world, sexual orientation is a facet of your life. It isn’t your whole life. Instead, let’s teach students that gender identification is not their life mission. Students have greater challenges to face; let’s prepare them.

Virginia has standards of learning which should teach our nation’s ideals and how to achieve them. Good citizenship, the value of honest debate and compromise are hallmarks of a great democracy. Instead, liberal political leadership publicly declares that freedom is only for white people, even with evidence to the contrary, without debate. Indoctrinated college students recently interviewed on national television show they don’t know what our flag means and profess shame for their country. They clearly lack a knowledge of actual history, current events and economics that would provide them the vision to see the universal failure of socialism and communism. Now our government and liberal elitists are targeting K-12 students. It’s time for the Suffolk School Board to hear loud and clear from their constituents that enough is enough. I urge all concerned parents and citizens to go to the Suffolk School Board website and review the proposed policies they plan to enact. Get engaged, attend the next board meeting on Aug. 12, and make your voice heard. Visit https://suffolk.ic-board.com and select July 15 to review policy drafts.

Richard Cecconi

Suffolk