Virginia superintendent of public instruction Jillian Balow announced her resignation Wednesday, ending a highly-scrutinized term as one of the state’s top education officials.
Balow’s resignation is effective March 9, according to a news release. A reason for her resignation wasn’t included in her statement.
Since taking over on Jan. 15, 2022, Balow was tasked with overseeing some of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s education-related campaign promises.
For one, Balow’s office was tasked with revising the state’s standards of learning for history and social science. When the initial proposed changes were released, they were met with skepticism, particularly for not including holidays like Juneteenth or Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the holiday curriculum for elementary education.
In the latest proposed revisions, both holidays were included.
Most recently, the Virginia Department of Education was criticized for a calculating error that left local school systems with less funding than initially expected. In January, a spokesman for the department said it was “human error.”
Youngkin called on members of the General Assembly to account for the error during the budgeting process.
Last May, a Department of Education report painted a dire picture of Virginia’s public schools and called for parents to be more involved in public education.
Youngkin has also introduced proposed policies for transgender students in schools, though action on them hasn’t been taken since the public comment period ended late last year.
In a statement, Youngkin’s spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said, “The governor thanks Superintendent Balow for her service to the Commonwealth and her work in advancing the Governor’s education agenda to empower parents and restore excellence in education.”
Former Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni, who worked in Ralph Northam’s administration, said there were “some significant mistakes made” under Balow’s leadership.
“For example, the $201 million mistake that really put local school divisions in a tough spot. So that was a big error,” Qarni said. “In addition to the history standards, just overall kind of trying to regress in a lot of the initiatives that really impact students with significant issues, whether they live in concentrated poverty areas or marginalized communities, and really taking a step backwards. I had significant concerns with her leadership.”
