Virginia Democrats Wage War on Merit, Excellence in Education

Virginia Democrats are waging an all-out war on merit and excellence in education. After voters thoroughly rejected far-left ideology in Virginia classrooms four years ago, Democrats are now doubling down on that extremism and placing students in the crosshairs of dangerous, un-American DEI policies.

In his first outrageous comment in less than 24 hours, Virginia Democrat Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said that GPA “doesn’t mean a damn thing” and that discriminatory DEI policies are a “Trump DOJ narrative.”

Those comments come as an absolute outrage to all the Virginia students who work hard to earn good grades and compete for scholarships. To Virginia Democrats, student achievement in the classroom is not only less important than race and sex, it doesn’t mean anything at all.

But Virginia Democrats weren’t finished. Just one day later, Surovell was back at it, claiming that students from poor families in Southwest Virginia can’t compete with students from rich families in Northern Virginia without DEI policies.

Once again Virginia Democrats were putting “the soft bigotry of low expectations” on full display.

This is what Virginia Democrats believe: that students should be defined by their skin color or where they come from—not by how hard they work or what they accomplish. It’s a message that tells young people, “Your effort doesn’t matter—because you were born the wrong race, gender, or zip code.”

It’s not just wrong—it’s un-American.

There is no room in Virginia for this kind of discriminatory, dehumanizing belief system that undermines personal responsibility and excellence. And this November, voters will reject it decisively at the ballot box.

Virginia students deserve better—and the Republican Party of Virginia will continue fighting for an education system that rewards merit, effort, and achievement, not division, quotas, and identity politics.