Fairfax Schools Tell Kids They're 'Privileged' If They're 'White,' 'Male,' 'Christian,' Or A 'Military Kid'

The screen shot you reference comes from an approved FCPS English Curriculum lesson that is centered around students selecting a "choice" test and examining in detail the author's perspective on a wide-range [sic] of issues. Students are asked, in the lesson, to read critically and think critically about the author's perspective on several fronts including the author's privilege that may or may not be present in the work. Students are then asked independently and self reflectively to juxtapose their thoughts regarding any perceived privilege they think they may have and how they would potentially rewrite portions of the text. Students are not asked or required to report out their self-reflections. This lesson is an adept vehicle to push student thinking to challenge the author's thoughts/conclusions and to sharpen their ability to critically lead selected texts.

On his first day in office Saturday, new Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) issued an executive order that bans "inherently divisive concepts" that presume "that some students are consciously or unconsciously racist, sexist, or oppressive, and that other students are victims. This denies our students the opportunity to gain important facts, core knowledge, formulate their own opinions, and to think for themselves. Our children deserve far better from their education than to be told what to think."

The order only applies to state curriculum and actions from the Virginia Department of Education and does not dictate what individual school districts teach. But it also specifies that it is only the "first step on Day One," and it casts treating people differently based on race as a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an indication that school districts who continue to promulgate such content could soon stand accused of violating the act.