Court Advances American Oversight’s Legal Challenge to Gov. Youngkin’s ‘Divisive Concepts’ Tip Line

A Virginia state appeals court has advanced American Oversight’s lawsuit against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration, handing the nonprofit watchdog a significant win and affirming its right to seek public records related to the administration’s controversial anti-critical race theory tip line set up in 2022. The court’s ruling directs the lower court to determine which documents related to the “divisive concepts” tip line should be released to the public.

Critically, the court upheld the validity of American Oversight’s case, ensuring the Youngkin administration cannot withhold public records without proper justification. This decision positions the public to finally access information that should have been disclosed from the outset.

“The court’s ruling is a major victory in our fight to expose the truth behind Governor Youngkin’s ‘divisive concepts’ tip line,” said American Oversight interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu. “This political stunt put educators, students, and families at risk — and the administration’s effort to hide how it used the tip line is a direct attack on transparency and accountability. By upholding our right to pursue these records, the court has affirmed a basic democratic principle: Government officials cannot operate in the shadows simply because the truth is inconvenient. The public deserves to know whether this tool was used to intimidate teachers, censor classrooms, or silence dissent.”

American Oversight’s Investigation

In January 2022, Gov. Youngkin established a tip line inviting concerned parents to report when their children were taught supposedly “divisive” subjects at school, which could include topics related to systemic racism or current and historical inequality.  

The governor’s office promoted the tip line’s email address as a vehicle to enforce Youngkin’s first executive order to “end the use of inherently divisive concepts, including Critical Race Theory” in K-12 public schools. The executive order does not define critical race theory, or CRT, which is an academic framework not formally taught in any K-12 school curricula.

American Oversight filed multiple open records requests with Youngkin’s office and the Virginia Department of Education, seeking information about the implementation and use of the tip line.

In August 2022, after Youngkin’s office refused to release many requested records, American Oversight filed a lawsuit seeking documents that could reveal how the administration used the tip line. Specific requests included:

• Emails sent from the tip line address or by employees responding to tips
• Communications and records related to Executive Order 1
• Policies regarding the tip line and statistics on tips received
• Communications with conservative organizations since Jan. 15, 2022
• Correspondence among Department of Education officials, including with school boards and districts

American Oversight’s investigation seeks to determine whether the tip line was used to restrict classroom discussions or retaliate against educators addressing issues of racism and inequality. The lawsuit now returns to the circuit court, where American Oversight will enforce the requirement that the Youngkin administration either disclose records that have been wrongfully withheld or provide specific evidence proving that the documents are validly exempt from disclosure.