VA Dems look to candidate who said parents involved in children's education want to 'indoctrinate’ kids
A Democrat running for the state House in Virginia trashed parents who are involved in their kids' education as wanting to indoctrinate their children.
Virginia Democrats are seeking to take over the state House of Delegates, and their hopes may ride on a candidate who trashed parents involved in their children’s education, suggesting they want to indoctrinate kids.
Jessica Anderson, a Democrat running for delegate in Virginia’s 71st district, posted a video amid the 2021 Old Dominion gubernatorial race where she attacked parents who are involved in their kids’ education while promoting former Gov. Terry McAuliffe for re-election.
"I’m sorry, but I’ve seen some of the parents that live in Virginia," Anderson said. "You should not be dictating what your daughter and son’s curriculums look like."
"If you want to do that, there’s a thing called homeschool. Indoctrinate them there, but not in my kids’ public schools," Anderson continued, before pleading with her audience to vote for McAuliffe.
Anderson told Fox News Digital that while the post circulating the video online claims she called the parents "crazy," she never used the term in her video.
"I would never state that as someone who loves my students and their families in this community," Anderson said. "As a mom to three daughters, two of which are still in public school, I absolutely believe we should be able to question our students' education, push back if necessary, and have an active role in the education process."
"I have always advocated for that publicly and privately," the Virginia candidate continued. "I support EVERY parent, every step of the way. I've also seen incredible communication between our teachers and parents in my district, when concerns arise," she added.
In terms of specific materials or books that parents view as inappropriate for their children, Anderson said that there should be "compromise that everyone can agree on."
"This is the foundation of successful students and families, communicating and collaboration," Anderson said. "My point with those videos, then and now, has been and will always be, we can't let singular parents dictate the entire structure of the curricula, that all students are being taught. Just like many parents who disagree with my views or perspectives on certain topics in school would feel disenfranchised if I had the ability to decide what their child was taught, without their say."
Unleash America PAC honorary chairman and former Virginia congressional candidate Hung Cao told Fox News Digital that elections "matter" and that Anderson "clearly demonstrates she is not willing or able to represent every parent in her district."
"As a taxpayer, parent, and product of Virginia Public Schools, this is incredibly offensive," Cao said. "Someone who minimizes the role of parents, and suggests our desire to be involved is indoctrination, doesn’t deserve to be in a position of leadership."
"We should be ensuring our kids receive the best possible education there is, whether that be in public, private, or homeschools," Cao added.
Following the negative reaction to her 2021 comments, Anderson sought to clarify her position and said her comments were misrepresented. In a video posted this week, she said that she was "hyper reactionary" responding to McAuliffe’s debate blunder.
In another TikTok video, Anderson doubled down again and said she stands by her previous comments about parents, and criticized GOP Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who defeated McAuliffe in 2021 on a platform of including parents in their kids’ education.
"I still stand by that, especially seeing that I am a Virginia parent with two children in public education that I am incredibly involved in," Anderson said, before attacking Youngkin for having kids in private schools and claiming the Virginia governor "has no vested interest" in Old Dominion public schools "being successful."
Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter told Fox News Digital, "Yet again, left-liberal progressives are making it clear that they don't want parents to have a say in their child's education."
"Governor Youngkin led unprecedented support for public schools with teacher pay raises and the largest education budget in Virginia's history," Porter said. "He gave parents a voice, supported innovative public lab schools, and reestablished high academic standards."
"Empowered parents contributed to Governor Youngkin's election victory and he delivered," she added. "Virginians across the Commonwealth continue to reject candidates that seek to shut parents out, indoctrinate our kids, and lower expectations of our students."
On her campaign website, Anderson pledges to "always stand for parental rights, for ALL parents."
Anderson claims the public school system in Virginia is being dismantled and that the "impact has resulted in curricula that are far less engaging, focused on teaching to test, versus allowing educators to help students love to learn, as well as push students through the system, who have missed out on much needed resources."
"This has also led to distrust in our public education from the community and allowed even more problematic legislation to be introduced under false pretenses and offering false promises," Anderson wrote.
"Policies like school choice and book banning are causing further harm to our educators, students, and families. I will always stand for parental rights, for ALL parents," she added.
Anderson also said she would push for "meaningful dialogue between educators and families" when "families have concerns over a required assignment."
"When a book is publicly available in our school libraries that a family doesn’t believe is a good option for their student, I see that as an opportunity for parents to have a conversation with their student about why it’s not a good fit for their family," Anderson wrote.
Education has become a front-and-center issue in Virginia, especially after the 2021 race that saw it become a centerpiece of Youngkin’s campaign.
McAuliffe, while on stage during a debate, advocated against parents being involved in their children’s education — a move that many regard as costing him the election.
