Chairwoman McClain and Chairman Walberg Stand with Parents After Hearing Exposes Loudoun School District Misconduct

WASHINGTON
-House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) and House Committee on Education and Workforce Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) joined parents, advocates, and families following a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing examining policies and practices within Loudoun County Public Schools and their impact on parental rights, student safety, and transparency.

During the hearing and subsequent press conference, parents and advocates shared firsthand accounts of being excluded from important decisions involving their children, facing retaliation for raising concerns, and encountering what they described as a pattern of secrecy and lack of accountability from school officials. House Republicans emphasized the need to restore transparency, strengthen parental involvement, and ensure school districts remain accountable to the families they serve.

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain said: "Parents deserve transparency-not secrecy. They deserve honesty-not concealment. And they deserve a seat at the table when decisions are being made about their own children... Too many districts have become consumed by focusing on woke ideology, protecting bureaucracies, avoiding accountability, and shutting parents out of conversations that directly affect their children... The parents standing with us today are not political activists. They are moms and dads who care deeply about their children and their communities. They are doing exactly what we want parents to do: stay engaged, ask questions, and advocate for their kids. That should be encouraged-not discouraged."

Watch Chairwoman McClain's full remarks here :

House Committee on Education and Workforce Chairman Tim Walberg said: "When I became chairman of this committee, I said if we get three things right, we'll do very well. Parents, students, teachers. You get those right. And in that order, I would suggest the parents are the most important... Parents have a right to know what is being taught and a right to be involved in every major decision and minor decision affecting their children. It's their children... At a time when student achievement is declining, parents deserve transparency. Students deserve safety. And schools must be accountable to the families that they allegedly serve... This is the future of our country. And you break down morality, the family, and education, and you can control anything else you want. Lisa and I aren't willing to let that happen."

Watch Chairman Walberg's full remarks here:

Ian Prior, Senior Counsel at America First Legal and parent advocate in Loudoun County said: "I've fought against Loudoun County Public Schools as a parent for the past five years. And the fight has really been to try and get them to comply with the law... The pillars of Loudoun County Public Schools, as somebody that has fought them in court and outside of court, are illegality, ideology, and incompetence... Somebody tell me where in the law it says that a boy who claims to be a girl has greater rights in a girl's restroom than a girl. It does not exist. In fact, that is sex discrimination against the girl... There is no justification whatsoever for turning a once great school system into what it is now, which is a social experiment that is dangerous, reckless, and shuts parents out of the equation."

What his full remarks here:

Seth Wolfe, Loudoun County parent and parental rights advocate said: "I'm here today just as a parent standing up for my children and the other parents that don't have the opportunity to be here as well... Our voice and our rights are being taken away from us. And not just us as parents, but as students. If a student speaks up against it, they are forced to either take punishment or stand down for what they believe in... We should just be talking about education and having America be the best place for education. Instead of dealing with the basic topics of education, we're forcing children to have to deal with these social issues that us as parents don't even have the answers to... We need strong leaders to stand up and do the basic things, and that's protect our children, protect our rights, and educate our children so we can secure our future."

Watch his full remarks here< /a>:

Elicia Brand, founder of Army of Parents and Loudoun County parent advocate said: "I never planned to be an activist. I never wanted that. I wanted to focus on my kids and their friends and their homework... I was very trusting of the schools. But my trust never survived. Why? Because I started asking questions about some questionable things that my children and your children were being taught in school... No parent should ever have to explain that their mother's life and their lives are being threatened by activists just because we want to know what's going on in schools and we want to keep them safe... School systems have become taxpayer-funded activist machines built to push ideological and political agendas... Today, parents finally got a voice... I pray that real action and accountability is taken against superintendents like Dr. Spence and against radical school boards. Because what's happening to our children is not fair."

Watch her full remarks here :

Tumay Harding, former Loudoun County Public Schools parent said: "My daughter and three other girls came forward with sexual harassment and sexual assault charges against their AP chemistry teacher, and the county tried to brush it under the rug. They refused to open up a Title IX investigation... What we learned through the grueling 17-month process that should have taken three months was that they tried to shut us down as parents at every angle. They tried to use our love for our children as a way to make us stand down and frighten us. And our daughters' lives have been forever changed... What we did see was more lies and more attempts at shutting down parents, and Loudoun County Public Schools administration first and parents and students last... We are the richest county in the nation, and our tax dollars are being used against us in protecting our children, and that's not the way it should be... My daughter was robbed of her high school experience... It should not happen to anyone else. And that's why we're all here."

Wach her full remarks her e: