Fairfax Schools Monitor

What is really being taught in our public schools?

What is being taught to our children in Virginia’s Fairfax County public schools?  Critical Race Theory?  Gender fluidity?  Pornography?  Is excellence in education being sidelined in favor of other goals?

The county’s school system has been in national as well as local headlines, with conflicting claims and denials about what is and isn’t being taught.  Rather than relying on sensational news reports, this blog will expose the truth about the policies and curriculum of the public school system.  What are teachers being instructed to teach, and what are the children actually being taught?  Has the focus remained on reading, writing, language, mathematics, science, history and civics, or has the school system shifted towards implanting controversial ideologies into young minds?

We will dig into the facts and will reveal official documents, including policy statements and curriculum outlines.  We will monitor the activities of the Fairfax County School Board.  We will solicit knowledgeable input from parents and mature students.

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Recent Posts

National Merit Awards Controversy — Update

By Mark Spooner | June 13, 2023

As previously reported, a controversy erupted in December of last year regarding delays by administrators in the Fairfax County Public School system (FCPS) in notifying students and families about prestigious National Merit “commended student” awards.  In response, the FCPS Superintendent announced that a law firm was being hired to conduct an independent investigation into the…

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Where Is the FCPS “Equity Policy”? 

By Mark Spooner | June 7, 2023

As reported two weeks ago (see HERE), the Fairfax County School Board has scheduled a work session for June 20 to consider a long-awaited “Equity Policy,” which has been kept under wraps during its year-long process of development.  The Board has scheduled a formal meeting for six days after that, June 26, to vote to approve…

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Coalition for TJ v. School Board — Further Analysis

By Mark Spooner | May 25, 2023

The two-judge majority in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board concluded that the School Board’s revised admissions policy did not have a disparate, adverse impact on Asian American applicants to the high school; indeed, according to the court, this group was helped, not hurt, by the new admissions criteria. Having parsed through the…

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Appeals Court Overturns District Court Ruling in TJ Case

By Mark Spooner | May 23, 2023

In a 2-1 split decision today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the lower court’s ruling in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board.  The district court had ruled in February 2022 that the Fairfax County School Board’s revision of admissions criteria for the elite Thomas Jefferson High School for…

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FCPS Consideration of “Equity Policy” Coming Soon

By Mark Spooner | May 19, 2023

A proposed “Equity Policy” for the Fairfax County Public School system (FCPS) will be considered by the county School Board at a work session on June 20 and will come up for final approval at the Board’s June 26 meeting, just five weeks from now.  This is despite the fact that a draft of the…

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Fairfax School Board Is Sued Over National Merit Secrecy

By Mark Spooner | April 28, 2023

Fairfax Schools Monitor has sued the Fairfax County School Board to compel the release of its factual findings concerning the National Merit “commended student” controversy.  The suit was filed on April 27 in the Fairfax County General District Court under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. (“FOIA”). Background In December 2022 an article in the…

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Fairfax School Board Acts to Streamline Its Meetings

By Mark Spooner | April 17, 2023

The Fairfax County School Board took a positive step at its April 13, 2023 meeting by adopting procedures to reduce virtue-signaling speeches by Board members.   There are some ambiguities about the new guidelines, but the overall effect should be to reduce the time devoted at Board meetings to formalities so that more time can be…

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Did Fairfax Schools Hide Academic Awards from Families — Update

By Mark Spooner | March 30, 2023

On March 29, 2023, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) published the “Key Findings” of a hired law firm’s investigation into allegations that school officials had failed to inform students and parents of National Merit “commended student” awards.  The document is HERE.   “Key Findings” concedes that students in several FCPS high schools didn’t receive timely notices…

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Strategic Plan and “Equity Policy,” Part 4 — The Superintendent Weighs In

By Mark Spooner | March 18, 2023

The FCPS Superintendent, Michelle Reid, recently outlined her views about the relationship between a new “equity-based” Strategic Plan for the schools, and a new, overlapping Equity Policy.  The occasion was a meeting with a group of citizens who have questions about the role of “equity” in the two FCPS initiatives. Background The three prior articles…

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Strategic Plan and “Equity Policy,” Part 3

By Mark Spooner | March 9, 2023

The last post reported on the drafting of a new Strategic Plan for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS); this one summarizes the status of a separate, but related, “Equity Policy.” Background The “equity policy” process dates back to September 2020, when the  FCPS equity team made a presentation to the School Board, proposing an “anti-racism,…

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