Richmond, Virginia—As Governor, Glenn Youngkin purportedly works for people who live in Virginia, but it has come to light that it seems like he’s still working to better the bottom line for The Carlyle Group, where he was co-CEO before running for Governor and remains a current stockholder. This is obvious from his push to ban teachers from teaching accurate history like slavery and the civil rights movement in classrooms. He pushed legislation very similar to that of Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida, which resulted in only one textbook company being approved for use in Florida. That company is Accelerate Learning, where The Carlyle Group purchased majority ownership under Glenn Youngkin’s leadership. The only reason it didn’t pass here in Virginia is because Senate Democrats rejected it. 

“We should have known that Glenn Youngkin’s push to ban accurate history in Virginia was about money. That’s all that Glenn Youngkin cares about,” LaTwyla Mathias, Executive Director of Progress Virginia said. “This isn’t about parents’ rights or children getting a good education, the push to ban accurate history is about making money for Glenn Youngkin and his friends. Glenn Youngkin doesn’t work for Virginians. He works for The Carlyle Group in every way that matters because he owns literally millions of shares of Carlyle Group stock and makes money when they do. We must come together and demand that Glenn Youngkin drop his crusade against teachers and focus on the real issues that matter to people in our community like affordable housing and health care access.” 

Background:

Glenn Youngkin owns 6.7 million shares of stock in The Carlyle Group. While he may not work there anymore, when The Carlyle Group profits, Glenn Youngkin does too. 

The Carlyle Group became majority owner of Accelerate Learning in 2018, while Glenn Youngkin was co-CEO. 

Youngkin’s Executive Order One Directive 6 orders the Superintendent of Public Education to “ review all changes made to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s public education curriculum…to identify inherently divisive concepts” and “replace them”. 

Senate Democrats rejected SB570, which was Virginia’s version of the bill that passed in Florida making Accelerate Learning the only approved textbook provider. Without Senate Democrats, Virginia would be in the same position. Youngkin’s attempt to put the same language in the budget appears to have gone nowhere, but the final budget has not yet been completed.