Virginia school board storms out after parents sound alarm over MS-13 gang member enrollment

A Virginia school board meeting came to an abrupt halt on Tuesday when parents expressed concerns about an MS-13 gang member's enrollment at Loudoun Valley High School. The student is an illegal immigrant with a criminal record who was suspended from Blue Ridge Middle School in May 2023 for bringing a firearm to school and threatening students.

A worried father confronted the Loudoun County School Board about the issue, but the elected officials refused to address the concerns and stormed out of the room. One school board member shut him down within seconds of him giving a public comment, stifling the father's allotted time behind the podium.

"Recently, the local media covered a story where a known gang member with a criminal record was suspended from LCPS and was allowed back in the schools," the dad said before he was interrupted by the board. He was given two warnings to leave the podium, but the dad fired back: "I'm not stopping!"

Determined to make his voice heard, the parent resumed his remarks, questioning why the school district had permitted this student to be enrolled at the high school while citing safety concerns. After he left the podium, the school board announced there would be no more public comment. That's when outrage erupted from the gallery, as several parents were planning to raise concerns about the same issue.

"There needs to be a public vote to end public comment!" a mother of a student shouted out, who was presumably upset by the announcement. "Make a vote. Go ahead and vote on it. Make a decision to end public comment, and all of you raise your hands and tell every single person that's sitting in this room that you want to violate their First Amendment and stop your constituents from speaking."

A school board member told the mother, "You are out of order!" The board then decided to officially end public comment without a vote and stormed out of the room, leaving the parents left without answers.

This comes after all seven of the Loudoun County School Board members refused to answer parental concerns last month when they first brought the issue before the board. The board also refused to answer a reporter's questions about the MS-13 gang member student.

A spokesperson for the LCPS later issued a statement that outlined the district's security policies. However, they stated that they would not "publicly discuss an individual student's discipline." Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said the department is aware of the situation and has been "keeping track" of the student. Because the student is a juvenile, the police agency is "limited as to what we can say," the sheriff said.