Youngkin makes good on Critical Race Theory, mask promises

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin was inaugurated on Saturday, and immediately banned Critical Race Theory (which isn’t taught in most K-12 schools) and ended the commonwealth’s mask mandate in public schools.

• The Republican governor also ended the vaccine requirement for state workers.

Why it matters: The varied reactions to Youngkin’s first moves as governor highlight the deepening divide among Virginians who think differently about COVID safety and teaching about race.

Driving the news: Some of Youngkin’s actualized campaign promises are likely to face legal challenges, Axios' Erin Doherty writes. 

• A number of northern Virginia school districts have already responded, saying they will continue to require masks despite the governor’s order.
• The governor then said he’d use “every resource within the governor’s authority” to make sure “parents' rights are protected.”

What he’s saying:

"We are not going to teach the children to view everything through a lens of race. Yes, we will teach all history, the good and the bad. Because we can't know where we're going unless we know where we have come from. 

"But to actually teach our children that one group is advantaged and the other disadvantaged because of the color of skin, cuts everything we know to be true."

Go deeper: Youngkin defends critical race theory ban