Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin urged for an investigation into the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) school board during a campaign event Tuesday evening.
“I am calling for an immediate investigation into the Loudoun County School Board for their gross negligence,” he said at the Burke Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department, according to a statement of his remarks.
His comments come days after allegations arose against the school board for attempting to hide sexual assault claims made against two students.
According to The Daily Wire, LCPS failed to report the alleged incidents in violation of state law which reads: “Reports shall be made to the division superintendent and to the principal or his designee on all incidents involving … sexual assault.”
LCPS Superintendent Scott Ziegler, however, denied being aware of such allegations.
“To my knowledge, we don’t have any record of assaults occurring in our restrooms,” he said at the June 22 meeting.
At that same meeting, parent Scott Smith attempted to share that his ninth grade daughter had been sexually assaulted by a boy allegedly wearing a skirt the month prior.
Smith, however, was arrested as the meeting was deemed an “unlawful assembly,” The Daily Wire reported.
Youngkin echoed the concern of Smith and other Virginia parents at the school board’s handling of the allegations.
“As a Virginian,” he said, “I am heartbroken for these girls and their families, I’m heartbroken at how their government and leaders failed them. As a father, I am ignited with an unwavering resolve to not just fix this, it is an unwavering resolve to not just fix this but to hold those who have failed our children accountable.”
With Loudoun County at the center of the education debate, Virginians came out to rally in support of the Republican candidate for governor and parents’ rights to be involved with their child’s education.
“They had a duty of care and they failed,” Youngkin said in a final blast of the LCPS school board. “They endangered our students and violated the Virginia Constitution.”