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Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) voted no on H.R. 5, extreme legislation that promotes federal censorship of elementary and secondary education and threatens to strip critical funding from our public schools. The legislation, which passed the House with exclusively Republican support, would impose an extreme agenda on public schools that aims to restrict students’ civil rights, ban books, censor curriculum, and punish teachers for teaching accurately about history.

“This extreme legislation brings culture wars into our classrooms at the expense of our kids’ well-being and ability to learn in school,” said Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. “I’m a parent of kids in public schools, and I know that what our schools need is better teacher pay, upgraded facilities, and programs to make up for lost learning – not banning books and censoring curriculum. I’m proud to support common sense legislation that truly provides for the success of students, teachers, and parents and hope that we can work in a bipartisan way to address these challenges.”

Earlier this week, Wexton met with Parent Teacher Association representatives from local school districts who expressed their deep opposition to H.R. 5 and shared concerns about how it would endanger student success and the well-being of Virginia schools. Wexton’s office has also heard from dozens of constituents this week speaking out against the bill.

Wexton has signed on as a cosponsor of the Bill of Rights for Students and Parents resolution, which supports key principles to deliver the support schools and students truly need to succeed right now, including a well-rounded education, authentic parental involvement, responsive and inclusive public schools, protecting students’ civil rights, and historically accurate education for a representative democracy. A summary of the legislation can be found here.

Wexton has also voted to pass into law the American Rescue Plan, providing around $130 billion for public education to safely reopen schools and tackle learning loss – which 210 House Republicans voted against; the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to expand vital school mental health services – which 193 House Republicans voted against; and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 to create a permanent nationwide free summer meals program that is feeding nearly 30 million school children – which 200 House Republicans voted against.

H.R. 5 is opposed by numerous national education groups including the National Education Association, American Library Association, National PTA, and AASA – the School Superintendents Association.

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