EdNews Virginia | March 11, 2026
Former Lt. Gov. Challenges ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ Model
ARLINGTON, VA — In a wide-ranging and impassioned address, former Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears issued a direct challenge to Virginia’s educational status quo Saturday in Arlington. The current refusal to allow “funding to follow the student” contradicts how almost every other public benefit is handled, Earle-Sears argued.
Speaking to more than 100 attendees of EdReform Virginia’s fourth annual school choice event, Earle-Sears utilized a series of sharp comparisons to dismantle the idea that all public education funds must stay within the public, government-run system.
The Grocery Store Analogy
The centerpiece of the speech was a rhetorical deep dive into existing social welfare programs. Earle-Sears noted the government already trusts citizens to use public funds at non-governmental institutions for many of their basic needs.
“When you talk about SNAP benefits — food benefits — isn’t that public money that goes to private grocery stores?” Earle-Sears asked. “And then when we talk about Section 8, isn’t that public money that goes to private landlords? And then when we talk about Medicaid and Medicare, isn’t that public money that goes to private hospitals, private doctors, private clinics?”
Earle-Sears paused as the room listened. “But when it comes to the foundational aspect of our children’s lives — K through 12 — we say no. Your only option is the public school option. Unless, my friends, you can afford different. Why is that? Why indeed is that?”
Fighting for Posterity
Earle-Sears, a Marine Corps veteran, didn’t mince words regarding the urgency of the moment, framing the fight for educational freedom as a moral obligation.
“We can’t leave the battlefield. We cannot leave,” she told the audience. The former lieutenant governor concluded with a stirring appeal to the long-term impact of the “Parent Revolution” currently sweeping through Northern Virginia and beyond.
“We must never, ever give up fighting. We can’t,” Earle-Sears said. “We do it because it’s the right thing, because it’s for our posterity and for their posterity.”
Watch the Full Speech
The full 24-minute address, which includes the former lieutenant governor’s thoughts on educational tax dollars following students to schools their families choose, can be viewed below.