FFRF Action Fund endorses Stephen “Ty” Hodges in his bid to the Williamsburg-James City County School Board, Jamestown District. Hodges is challenging the Jamestown incumbent, the school board chair, in the November election.
The current Williamsburg-James City County School Board is divided, made up of four Republicans and three Democrats. If Hodges is successful in November, the new school board will have a Democratic majority. James City is trending blue but remains nearly evenly split between the two major political parties. Voter enthusiasm is surging for this election cycle, driven by high-profile races and hot-button issues in Virginia. Voter turnout is expected to be high in November.
The current school board implemented a policy regarding preferred names and pronouns for students that specifically targets transgender students by requiring parental permission before teachers and staff can refer to students by anything other than their birth name. The policy change aligns with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s model policies and narrowly passed with a 4–3 vote. Hodges identified the nationwide literacy crisis, underfunding for schools, teachers’ pay and support, standardized testing and curricula as the issues he would focus on if elected to the school board.
Hodges is running for school board because of his daughter and the state of education nationwide, which is struggling with LGBTQ+ issues, targeting of transgender students, book bans and the challenges of keeping public school curricula inclusive and fact-based. Hodges identifies as an atheist and asserts that encroachments of religion into public policy have resulted in anti-science policies and human rights violations from the highest levels of government down to local communities.
When elected to the Williamsburg-James City County School Board, Hodges will fight tirelessly to ensure Virginia’s students receive an education based on facts, without the influence of any one religion. He would also help create a robust sex education curriculum that serves all students. He would fight back against attempts to require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms or involving any personal religious beliefs in curricula.
FFRF Action joins We the People for Education, Run For Something, Educate US, Progressive Change Campaign Committee and many others in endorsing Hodges.
Please learn more about Hodges by visiting his campaign website here.