RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Department of Education paused a grant designed to help teachers of color get their full teaching license, and education leaders are slamming the decision.
The move was made without public announcement, after administration leaders took the application off of their website. The grant previously helped provisionally licensed teachers of color pay the test fees for the "Praxis" exam, which is needed to get a full license.
"These grants were already written into the budget, the money is there, they are just choosing to not use it," said Dr. Adriane Bradley-Gray, a Suffolk educator for 20 years.
Virginia lawmakers set aside $50,000 a year for the grant. It's been an on-going fund since 2018. However, it's not clear what leaders do with that money now.
Bradley-Gray said the decision could not have come at a worse time, as Virginia students are weeks away from going back to school. She said she believes schools will feel the impact immediately.
"I can't see how this will benefit anyone," said Bradley-Gray. "It is only going to hurt a situation that is already hurting and our scholars are going to be the ones who suffer for it."
The President of the Virginia Education Association, Dr. James Fedderman, also condemned the decision. He released the following statement:
“Many of us want a strong teaching force in Virginia with a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives. Unfortunately, the Governor’s arbitrary decision to remove this grant opportunity to bring more teachers of color into the field will limit these efforts. While the Governor may not value diversity in the Virginia teaching core, he absolutely should not stand in the way of state lawmakers that collectively decided they do.”
In previous statements Governor Glenn Youngkin has said recruiting teachers is a top priority for his administration.
A spokeswoman with the governor referred 13News Now to the Virginia Department of Education for a statement. They have not responded back.