14: Policies, Politics, and a Positive Discourse Analysis: An Examination of Two Educational Equity Policies Across the Commonwealth of Virginia

This chapter interrogates and investigates Albemarle County Public Schools’ Anti-racism Policy (2020) and Fairfax County Public Schools’ Educational Equity Policy (2023) using positive discourse analysis (PDA), aiming to unpack the complexities of written language, and scrutinizing the intersection of socio-political underpinnings to garner a deeper understanding of policy making and its implications for students, teachers, administrators, families, community partners, and school divisions throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Rooted in critical race theory (CRT) and an anti-racist framework, I suggest that power and political dynamics significantly influence policies and sway societal acceptance or rejection.