Virginia House Speaker Don Scott demands special treatment, claims racism

Virginia Delegate Don Scott, (D), falsely alleges he was subjected to racial bias when he was not admitted to First Colonial High School without prior notice to speak to the students. Scott asked for special treatment in order to gain access to Virginia Beach’s students, which was not given to parents or school board members. Scott’s district does not include Virginia Beach, so one wonders why he was at the school. He must apologize to the school and community for his unfounded and outrageous claims.

Local media reports state that Delegate Scott’s partner in law, Jeffrey Breit was given permission to speak at the school to students on March 26th. Breit told a student at the last minute that Scott would be joining him on that day. Breit spoke with a teacher, who said she would be able to get more space for the event to accommodate Scott. The teacher informed Breit within 45 minutes that Scott was not allowed to attend. This is likely because she became aware of school board policy that requires the prior approval from the principal before outside speakers are permitted.

Scott blew a gasket. Scott claimed that people attend these schools often, and sometimes even at the last moment. This is not true.

The Speaker should know proper protocol

As a former Virginia Beach School Board member, I am familiar with the division’s policies. The district has outlined clear procedures to ensure safety, privacy for students, and notification of parents. As a member of the school board, I could not just walk into a classroom and start speaking without permission. As part of my oversight duties, I was required to visit schools. But this had to be done with advance notice. Delegate Scott, however, claims racism because the school did not break the rules in order to give him special attention.

As a member of the school board, I was contacted by legislators who wanted to visit our schools. I referred them to the legislative liaison of the district who was responsible for scheduling these events. One delegate contacted me several times, because it took so long to approve her school visit. I accompanied a senator from the state on a visit to a school where he addressed students. The visit was planned and approved in advance.

Scott’s statement that anyone can just walk in and be admitted to school immediately would violate multiple safety protocols. It’s more likely that his phony outrage is a way to show off than it is to be concerned about the students. Parents are more important than politicians, and they can’t just turn up at the school.

Local news reports:

Scott, a Democrat and Virginia’s First Black Speaker, stated that politics was not the topic he intended to address. Scott claimed he was refused entry due to “politics” as well as “his] race.”

Virginia Beach NAACP backed Scott, saying that they were “outraged,” Scott couldn’t talk to students. VBCPS stated that the actions taken were consistent with school board policy and referred to the incident as “miscommunication”.

A second report spun the story more provocatively by quoting Scott as calling the incident “a slap in face”:

Speaker Don Scott of the State House of Delegates (D-Portsmouth), has apologized for what happened at First Colonial High School on Wednesday.

He described the incident as “a slap on the face” while the city school division described it as “miscommunication”.

In its Statement the Virginia Beach NAACP stated, “It’s troubling that an official of the stature of Delegate Scott was not accorded the same reception as other public officials such as the Attorney General or Governor.” The NAACP knows this claim to be false. For example, in November 2024 the Attorney General gave a speech at a Virginia Beach School for which his office was required to fill out paperwork and obtain permission weeks in advance.

Virginia Beach Superintendent Don Robertson apologized for the incident and invited Scott to set up a time to talk in the future. This situation would have been handled by the Director of High School (a man of color) and Chief Staff (a woman of colour). Scott is claiming that they also showed a racist response.

Delegate Scott must apologize to the entire community, not just Virginia Beach’s school staff and leadership. His claims of racism have unnecessarily agitated the city and will do little to bring people together. Was that his intention? If not, he must retract his claims and apologize immediately.

Email the Virginia Beach School Board:
Kathleen Brown, Kathleen.Brown@vbcpsboard.com,
Carolyn Weems, Carolyn.Weems@vbcpsboard.com,
Mark Bohenstiel, Mark.Bohenstiel@vbcpsboard.com,
Michael Callan, Michael.Callan@vbcpsboard.com,
David Culpepper, David.Culpepper@vbcpsboard.com,
Matt Cummings, Matt.Cummings@vbcpsboard.com,
Rose Dwyer, Rose.Dwyer@vbcpsboard.com,
Sharon Felton, Sharon.Felton@vbcpsboard.com,
Alveta Green, Alveta.Green@vbcpsboard.com,
Kimberly Melnyk, Kimberly.Melnyk@vbcpsboard.com,
Melinda Rogers, Melinda.Rogers@vbcpsboard.com,

Email the Virginia Beach School Board:
Kathleen Brown, Kathleen.Brown@vbcpsboard.com,
Carolyn Weems, Carolyn.Weems@vbcpsboard.com,
Mark Bohenstiel, Mark.Bohenstiel@vbcpsboard.com,
Michael Callan, Michael.Callan@vbcpsboard.com,
David Culpepper, David.Culpepper@vbcpsboard.com,
Matt Cummings, Matt.Cummings@vbcpsboard.com,
Rose Dwyer, Rose.Dwyer@vbcpsboard.com,
Sharon Felton, Sharon.Felton@vbcpsboard.com,
Alveta Green, Alveta.Green@vbcpsboard.com,
Kimberly Melnyk, Kimberly.Melnyk@vbcpsboard.com,
Melinda Rogers, Melinda.Rogers@vbcpsboard.com,

Virginia Beach is an independent city in Hampton Roads.