Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears gives update on 2022 General Assembly

RICHMOND, Va. (WVIR) - The General Assembly wraps up its 2022 session in just over a week. This time around, with new leadership in Richmond, there are a few sticking points.

One of the top priorities for both Governor Glenn Youngkin and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears was expanding charter schools in the commonwealth, but the General Assembly has put a wrench in their plans.

“We want to give children options, and we see that it works when they have options,” Lt. Gov. Earle-Sears said Friday, March 4.

A bill to give Virginia more power to approve charter schools will have to wait for another session. Charter schools use government funding but may not use state educational standards.

“I have seen charter schools work. Most people know that I used to be vice president of the State Board of Education. I’ve seen them work. Parents want them,” Earle-Sears said.

It’s the moms and dads, Earle-Sears says, who will have to push if they want more charter schools.

“Parents are going to have to speak to their legislators and tell them this is something we want for our children and we will not be denied,” she said.

Not denied this term was money for some generationally underfunded schools.

“We had the historically Black colleges and universities, they’re going to be funded,” Earle-Sears said. “We had an opinion from the Attorney General that even the private HBCUs, as we call them, could also be part of the funding.”

The 2022 General Assembly started on January 12 and will end on March 12.

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