Former President Donald Trump on Thursday outlined a plan to overhaul the American education system and restore parental rights.
Read MoreTrump Debuts Plan to Revamp American Education, Restore Parental Rights
Tag: Parental Rights
Idaho Governor Signs Bill Protecting Parental Rights in Medical Decisions
Republican Gov. Brad Little of Idaho signed a bill Thursday increasing protections for parents when making medical decisions for their children.
The bill passed the state Senate with a 27 to 7 vote, with one abstaining, in February and the state House of Representatives in a 59 to 11 vote in March. The new law, which will take effect on July 1, amends the current Idaho code to protect parents’ ability to obtain medical records for their children and requires healthcare professionals to obtain parental consent before administering treatment to their minor child, or face civil penalties.
Read MoreMoms for Liberty Revenue Grows by 500 Percent in One Year
The parental rights group Moms for Liberty’s revenue has grown by more than 500% in its second year, according to the Form 990 it filed with the IRS.
According to the Form 990, exclusively provided first to The Daily Signal, Moms for Liberty brought in $2.14 million in total revenue in 2022, while it brought in $370,029 in total revenue the year before. A significant majority of that money (92.3%) came from donations—contributions and grants. Expenses for 2021 totaled a mere $163,647, while in 2022 they rose to $1.7 million.
Read MoreMassachusetts Bill Would Allow Girls of Any Age to Obtain Abortion Without Parental Consent
A radical Massachusetts bill that would end nearly all restrictions on abortion in the state would also allow girls of any age to “consent” to an abortion without informing parents or requiring their consent.
Read MoreMaine Governor Signs Bill Allowing Teenagers to Obtain Cross-Sex Hormones Without Parental Consent
Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) signed into law legislation this week that eliminates the requirement of parental consent for 16-17-year-old minors to be provided cross-sex hormones to change their physical appearance to correspond to their gender identity at a given point in time.
L.D. 535, titled an Act Regarding Consent for Gender-affirming Hormone Therapy for Certain Minors, states “a health care professional may provide gender-affirming hormone therapy and follow-up care to a minor without obtaining the consent of the parent or guardian of the minor,” with the requirements being that the minor is at least 16 years old; has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria; has been judged by a healthcare professional to be experiencing “harm” from not obtaining cross-sex hormones; and the minor’s parents do not support the hormone treatment.
Read MoreCalifornia PTA Pushing Transgender Ideology Against Wishes of Most Parents
The California State Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is co-sponsoring a bill that seeks to establish a framework for parenting that enshrines in law the idea that failing to affirm a child’s self-identified gender will be considered detrimental to his or her well-being, a press release from Capitol Resource Institute (CRI) announced Monday.
Read More‘Gender-Affirming’ Pediatricians Help Kill Maine Bill to Prohibit Children’s Social Transition at School Without Parental Consent
With the help of pediatricians from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Democrats in the Maine House and Senate killed a bill Friday that would have prohibited public school staff from helping children to socially transition to another gender by allowing them to use new names and pronouns without written consent from parents.
LD 678 was defeated by house Democrats by a vote of 76-52, and by senate Democrats, 20-12.
Read MoreNew York State’s ‘Best Practice’ Document Urges Schools to Keep Child’s Gender Transition from Parents
The New York State Department of Education (NYSED) published a “legal update and best practice” document last week that encourages schools to keep a child’s claim of a new gender identity from parents.
“The student is in charge of their gender transition and the school’s role is to provide support,” the document states. “Only the student knows whether it is safe to share their identity with caregivers, and schools should be mindful that some TGE [transgender and gender-expansive] students do not want or cannot have their parents/guardians know about their transgender status.”
Read MoreTeachers’ Union’s ‘Schools in Transition’ Guide Instructs How to Bolster Gender Ideology in Classrooms
A lesser known document created in 2015 by the National Education Association (NEA), a group of LGBTQ activists, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) laid the “groundwork” for the gender ideology movement in schools years before the recent increase in the numbers of transgender young people, reports the Freedom Foundation.
NEA, the nation’s largest teachers’ union, provides a “toolkit” website page that features “NEA LGBTQ+ Resources,” the purpose of which appears to be to offer “support to transgender and non-binary students,” to indoctrinate all students with “LGBTQ+ history in their classrooms,” and to engage students in a political agenda that includes stopping “LGBTQ+ bias and intolerance in our public schools.”
Read MoreRadical Anti-Life Gender Justice Group Backing Ohio Ballot Initiative Revealed to Be Pushing End to ‘Unethical’ Parental Involvement Laws
Tweets by a key leftist organization pushing the Ohio abortion ballot initiative that could end parental involvement in minors’ medical decisions reveal that the goal of Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity’s (URGE) is to cut parents out of their children’s lives.
Protect Women Ohio (PWO), a self-described “coalition of concerned family and life leaders, parents, health and medical experts, and faith leaders in Ohio,” posted a thread to Twitter Tuesday showing URGE has been “working to abolish parental consent and notification laws for years.”
Read MoreOklahoma State Superintendent Cites Teachers’ Unions as ‘Marxist’ and ‘Terrorist’ Organizations
Oklahoma state superintendent of schools Ryan Walters repeated Saturday that teachers’ unions are “Marxist” and “terrorist” organizations that are not advocating for students or teachers, but seeking power and financial gain for their leaders.
Read MoreFlorida Fifth-Grade Teacher Scolds Parents: ‘Your Rights Are Gone When Your Child Is In the Public School System’
A Florida fifth-grade teacher justified her decision on CNN to show her students an LGBT-themed Disney movie claiming that parents who complained about it are “ignorant.”
Journalist and Grabien founder Tom Elliott tweeted a clip of CNN’s interview Monday night with Jenna Barbee, a fifth-grade teacher at Winding Waters School, a K-8 school in the Hernando County district, who is under investigation over possible violation of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, recently expanded to prohibit classroom instruction in sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades from K-12, rather than only K-3.
Read MoreMississippi Governor Signs Series of ‘Pro-Mom, Pro-Life’ Bills to Strengthen Adoption, Pregnancy Care Centers, and Foster Care
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) signed multiple pieces of legislation Wednesday that provide support for mothers and babies, particularly in the areas of adoption, foster care, pregnancy care centers, and parental rights.
Read MoreNorth Carolina School District Votes to Require Parental Notification of Pronoun Changes
The Moore County School Board in North Carolina voted Monday night to approve a “parents’ bill of rights” policy that requires school personnel to notify parents if their children desire pronoun and name changes in keeping with a new gender identification.
The policy, which passed by a vote of 6-1, requires that teachers in the district’s schools notify parents of a child’s claim of a desire for pronoun or name change before making the changes in school, reported WRAL.
Read MoreLGBTQ Group Offering Free ‘Chest Binders’ Without Parental Consent Claims Requests from Teens Overwhelming
A “transgender-affirming” group that provides free chest binders to children as young as 13 without parental consent says it is overwhelmed with requests for the breast flatteners from teen girls who claim they identify as boys.
Read MoreCalifornia Mom Furious After School Kept 11-Year-Old’s Gender Transition Hidden Due to ‘Parental Secrecy Policy’
A California mother whose 11-year-old daughter had allegedly been helped to transition from female to male by school personnel accused the school district of keeping information about her child’s gender transition from her.
Aurora Regino, whose daughter attends an elementary school in the Chico Unified School District, told the school board last Wednesday that, during a meeting with her daughter and a school guidance counselor last school year, the child told the counselor she wanted her mother to know about her new identity.
Read MoreParental Rights in Education Bill Becomes Law After Dem Governor Declines to Veto
Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear let a bill that allows parents to challenge sexually explicit school materials become law without his signature on Tuesday.
Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Josh Calloway, lets parents file complaints over school materials that depict sexual acts “in an obscene manner” or are “patently offensive to prevailing standards.” The legislation passed the state Senate in February and then the state House on March 15 before Beshear allowed the bill to become law.
Read MoreParents Organization Reports Nearly 6,000 U.S. Public Schools Support Keeping Child’s Gender Identity Hidden from Parents
A Parents Defending Education (PDE) report revealed that 5,904 government schools in the United States maintain transgender or “gender nonconforming” policies that openly assert school staff can or should keep a child’s preferred gender identity hidden from parents.
Read MoreCalifornia Christian Teacher Allegedly Fired for Refusal to Comply with District Gender Policies: ‘The District Cannot Accommodate Your Religious Beliefs’
A California Christian physical education teacher was allegedly fired for refusing to lie to parents about their children’s gender identities at school and reject having males in female locker rooms – both policies that violate her faith beliefs, Fox News Digital reported Wednesday.
Jessica Tapias apparently shared with Fox News Digital the notice she received from the office of Jurupa Unified School District Superintendent Trenton Hansen.
Read MoreFlorida Democrat Admits Taking Daughter to Drag Shows: ‘Just Folx Dancing in Cute Outfits’
A Florida Democrat lawmaker who admitted in a Twitter post Saturday she takes her teenage daughter to drag shows condemned Governor Ron DeSantis’s (R) move to revoke the liquor license of an Orlando venue that allowed minors to attend drag show performances.
State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville), who self-describes as a “community organizer,” denied the sexual nature of drag shows, claiming, instead, the issue is one of “parental rights,” whereby parents can decide to take their children to these performances.
Read MoreTrump Delivers Plan to Protect Children From ‘Chemical, Physical, and Emotional Mutilation’ of Gender ‘Insanity’
Former President Donald Trump announced a plan Tuesday to protect the nation’s children from the “child abuse” of “chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation” at the bidding of radical gender ideology.
“The leftwing gender insanity being pushed on our children is an act of child abuse – very simple,” the 2024 presidential contender began laying out his vision. “Here’s my plan to stop the chemical, physical and emotional mutilation of our youth.”
Read MoreBiden Education Department Abruptly Disbands Parent Council Under Threat of Lawsuit Arguing Its Membership Consisted of Leftist Activists
The Biden education department has abruptly scrapped its National Parents and Families Engagement Council following a lawsuit against Education Secretary Miguel Cardona by parental rights organizations who argued the council’s membership consisted of leftist activists and Democrat donors.
A statement reported by The74 said the education department “has decided to not move forward with the National Parents and Families Engagement Council.”
Read MoreTransgender Psychologist: ‘Serious Error in Judgment’ for Schools to Hide Gender Transitions from Parents
A transgender psychologist from Berkeley, California, has filed an amicus brief against a Maryland school district that allegedly hid children’s gender transitions from parents.
“It’s well established that one of the most important factors in helping gender-questioning children is family support,” the psychologist, who now uses the name Erica Anderson, Ph.D., told Fox News Digital. “So to deliberately deprive a child of support at a time potentially when they most need it is, I think, a serious error in judgment.”
Read MoreCatholic Group Slams Dems’ Disgraceful’ Positions on Parental Rights in Massive Ad Buy
CatholicVote, a political advocacy group, is spending $2 million to highlight the positions of Catholic Democrats in key Congressional races with ads targeting regular church attendees, the group announced in a press release.
The “Can You Trust Them?” campaign addresses the views of Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Democratic Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan on parental rights, abortion and gender issues and will reach a projected one million regular mass attendees, according to CatholicVote. A series of video ads highlight Kelly, Cortez Masto ad Ryan’s support for child gender transitions and underage abortions without parental consent.
Read MoreParent Group Reveals States’ Trans Policies Involve Keeping Students’ Gender Identities Secret from Parents and Inviting Students to Turn to LGBTQ Activists for Help
Parents Defending Education’s (PDE) new resource for parents seeks to inform them of their state education agencies’ policies about gender identity and reveals multiple states instruct teachers to keep their students’ gender identities a secret from parents.
As it continues to add information from more states, the national grassroots organization’s resource for parents currently provides links to the websites of 29 state education departments across the country along with their policies regarding transgender students and gender identity.
Read MoreConnecticut Parent Leader: Superintendent’s Support for Teacher Who Introduced Woke Worksheet ‘Slap in the Face to Parents’
A leader of Southington, Connecticut’s Families for Freedom organization told The Connecticut Star she views the district superintendent’s support for a teacher who introduced a vocabulary worksheet for high school students, instructing them in the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and gender ideology, a “slap in the face to parents.”
“We are going to be pushing for policy change because it was clear that this teacher taught outside the curriculum,” said Susan Zabohonski during a telephone interview. “Taught a biased paper without following the proper procedure. Yet, the superintendent said he’s still going to back this teacher and all teachers going forward.”
Read MoreNew York State Board of Regents’ Regulation Requires Private Schools to Provide Education ‘Substantially Equivalent’ to Government Schools
A new regulation announced by the New York State Board of Regents requires all of the state’s 1,800 private and religious schools to provide an education that is “substantially equivalent” to that offered by public, government-run schools.
The Board of Regents passed the new regulation last week unanimously and without debate, reported WABC.
Read MoreBiden Administration Awards over $7 Million to ‘Elevate Parent Voices in Education’ After Smearing Vocal Parents as Potential ‘Domestic Terrorists’
The Biden education department announced Thursday it was awarding more than $7 million in competitive grants to eight organizations that have worked to achieve what the department calls “the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to enhance and increase parent and family engagement in local education.”
Grants from the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFEC) program, the announcement states, “provide financial support to organizations that offer technical assistance and training to state educational agencies and school districts that effectively engage families over policies, programs, and activities that lead to improvements in student development and academic achievement.”
Read MoreConnecticut Elementary Assistant Principal on Leave After Project Veritas Video Revealed He Ensures Rejecting Catholics and Conservatives as Hires
Assistant Principal Jeremy Boland of Cos Cob Elementary School is on leave in the wake of a Project Veritas (PV) undercover video that recorded his claims of how he ensures his school does not hire Catholics or conservatives in order to guarantee “subtle” leftwing indoctrination of children.
Read MoreProject Veritas: Connecticut Assistant Principal Shares How He Rejects Hiring ‘Catholics’ and ‘Conservatives’ to Allow ‘Subtle’ Child Indoctrination
Project Veritas released its latest exposé in which an assistant principal in a Cos Cob, Connecticut elementary school shares with an undercover reporter his strategies to ensure he never hires “Catholics” or “conservatives” to guarantee the children in his school are exposed to “subtle” leftwing indoctrination.
This first video of Project Veritas’ (PV) newly launched Education Series reveals how Jeremy Boland, assistant principal at Cos Cob Elementary School, part of Greenwich Public Schools, ensures he maintains a staff of primarily young, leftwing teachers who will introduce the children to “subtle” indoctrination of principles that align with the current Democrat Party.
Read MoreFlorida Gov. DeSantis Launches Tour to Empower Parents in Education
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is stepping up his efforts to empower parents and stamp out liberal ideology in schools as part of his fall reelection campaign.
The Republican on Monday announced a statewide tour and his intention to get involved in local school board races through endorsements.
Read MoreFlorida Department of Education Website Highlights Parental Rights, COVID Guidance
Recent website updates by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), under the recently appointed Commissioner of Education – Senator Manny Diaz, puts a focus on parental rights and COVID guidance.
Diaz’s appointment was announced by the State Board of Education on April 29, 2022.
The website update provides a link at the top of the FDOE home page called “Featured Topics.” The top featured topics listed under the link are “Parental Rights” and COVID-19.
Under the “Parental Rights” tab is a message that states, “Florida is taking bold steps to protect parental rights and ensure the lawfulness of instructional materials. If you believe you have found unlawful materials in your school or you are just unsure how to voice your concerns, please see the helpful information below.”
The “Parental Rights” page lists contact information to share concerns directly with FDOE or with a school’s principal. A link on the page lists contacts for all public school principals in the 67 school districts.
Read MoreFlorida Department of Education Website Highlights Parental Rights, COVID Guidance
Recent website updates by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), under the recently appointed Commissioner of Education – Senator Manny Diaz, puts a focus on parental rights and COVID guidance.
Diaz’s appointment was announced by the State Board of Education on April 29, 2022.
The website update provides a link at the top of the FDOE home page called “Featured Topics.” The top featured topics listed under the link are “Parental Rights” and COVID-19.
Under the “Parental Rights” tab is a message that states, “Florida is taking bold steps to protect parental rights and ensure the lawfulness of instructional materials. If you believe you have found unlawful materials in your school or you are just unsure how to voice your concerns, please see the helpful information below.”
The “Parental Rights” page lists contact information to share concerns directly with FDOE or with a school’s principal. A link on the page lists contacts for all public school principals in the 67 school districts.
Read MoreTeachers Union Poll Shows Support for DeSantis’ Education Positions
A national teachers union poll shows that positions adopted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are supported by most voters.
During Florida’s 2022 legislative session, DeSantis championed a number of education related bills that his opponents often labeled as extreme. During the session, Equality Florida, a LGBTQ advocacy group, released a television advertisement “blasting” DeSantis over his positions.
However, a battleground-state survey commissioned by the American Teachers Federation shows a majority of voters approve of DeSantis’ education policy positions.
For example, one poll question found that voters, by a 32 percentage-point margin, said they were more likely to vote for candidates who believe public schools should focus less on teaching race and more on core subjects.
DeSantis signed a bill that banned critical race theory in schools.
Another poll question found that voters, by 27 points, said schools should be banned from teaching sexual orientation and gender identity to kids in kindergarten through third grade.
DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill (SB 1834), which expanded parental rights and limited the discussion of gender related issues in elementary school grades.
And by 28 points, another poll question found that voters agreed that transgender athletes should be banned from competing in girls’ sports.
In June 2021, DeSantis signed signed into law a policy banning transgender athletes from playing girls and women’s sports.
Read MoreDeSantis Keeps Promise, Launches Education Agenda for School Board Candidates
On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis launched an education agenda focused on influencing local school board races in the 2022 election cycle.
Titled “The DeSantis Education Agenda: Putting Parents First, Protecting Parents’ Rights,”, the policy focuses on issues related to student success, parental rights and curriculum transparency.”
According to the website, “The DeSantis Education Agenda is a student-first, parent-centered initiative focused on setting Florida’s children up for success, ensuring parental rights in education, and combatting the woke agenda from infiltrating public schools….This statewide agenda is for school board candidates and school board members who are committed to advancing these priorities at the local school board level.”
In a statement provided to The Federalist, DeSantis championed the launch of the agenda, saying that “Florida has delivered the most student-focused, parent-centered education agenda in the nation” at a time when “curriculum in states around the country are being used as opportunities to indoctrinate innocent children.”
Read MoreFlash Cards Depicting Pregnant Man Used for Teaching Colors in North Carolina Preschool Classroom
A North Carolina state representative responded to an email from a constituent alerting her to the use of LGBTQ-themed flash cards, including a card with the depiction of a pregnant man, to teach colors to preschool children in an elementary school in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS).
Upon receiving an email containing the flash card, apparently from “Progress Pride Flag Rainbow Families Flash Cards,” that depicted a pregnant man,” state Rep. Erin Paré (R-Wake) contacted the principal at Ballantine Elementary School in Wake County, noted a press release from North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland).
Read MoreFlorida State Rep. Jason Shoaf Calls for Removal of Middle School Principal
Florida state Representative Jason Shoaf is calling for the removal of a Leon County middle school principal after the principal posted on Facebook that parents are “getting in our way.” Shoaf’s call for action is in response to a media report about comments in a Facebook post by Sarah Hembree, the principal of Elizabeth Cobb middle school, is located in Leon County.
On Tuesday, Tallahassee Reports published a story about the Facebook post by Hembree which stated in part, “Today I say – Parents, Quit pushing for stupid bills and getting in our way…schools are going to do what’s best for your students in spite of you..”
The “Quit pushing for stupid bills” statement appears to be a reference to the Parental Rights in Education bill that was recently signed into law by Governor DeSantis.
Hembree added that teachers “want to decide what they teach in their classroom based on the needs of the students in front of them….I am SO TIRED of being told we don’t know what we are doing or that we are messing with parents’ rights.”
Read MoreKirk Cameron Presents ‘The Homeschool Awakening’: ‘The Public School System Has Become Public Enemy No. 1’
A new documentary presented by actor and filmmaker Kirk Cameron urges American parents to embark on the journey of homeschooling in order to regain control of their children’s education and protect the future of America.
Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), CAMFAM Studios, and Fathom Events announced on Monday the debut of Kirk Cameron Presents: The Homeschool Awakening, which will be in theaters for two nights only, on June 13 and 14, at 7:00 p.m. local time.
Read MoreMassachusetts Parents Sue School District Alleging Officials Violated Parental Rights by Secretly Encouraging Gender Transition
Parents in Ludlow, Massachusetts, filed a federal lawsuit that alleges school officials secretly promoted their children’s gender transition and violated their parental rights by choosing not to inform them about issues related to their children’s health and well-being.
The parents, Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri, and Jonathan Feliciano and Sandra Salmeron, claim in their lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Springfield Division, the Ludlow School Committee and district officials “have exceeded the bounds of legitimate pedagogical concerns and usurped the role” of parents “to direct the education and upbringing of their children, make medical and mental health decisions for their children, and to promote and preserve family privacy and integrity.”
Read MoreFlorida School Superintendent Uses Misleading CNN Fact-Check to Discredit Parental Rights Bill
At a recent Leon County School Board meeting, Superintendent Rocky Hanna used a misleading CNN fact-check to publicly criticize Governor DeSantis’ rationale for the Parental Rights in Education bill, while ignoring facts related to a lawsuit filed against the school district.
The CNN fact-check uses selective comments from a DeSantis press conference, related to an incident which took place at a Leon County middle school, to question the rationale for the Parental Rights in Education bill.
The incident involved the failure of school officials to notify parents about a meeting with their daughter concerning gender issues. The parents have filed a federal lawsuit against the Leon County School Board.
Hanna, reading DeSantis’s comments from the CNN fact-check, said that “none of this happened, none of this is true, it is all fabricated…”
While DeSantis’s comments about the specifics of the incident were partly inaccurate, Hanna ignored facts that were consistent with the comments made by DeSantis.
What Hanna did not reveal in his comments to the school board is that school officials initiated an interview with the student as part of a “Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Student Support Plan” without including the parents.
Read MoreCorey DeAngelis: More School Choice Creates Greater Incentive for Teachers’ Unions to Push Student-Focused Policies
In an interview with The Star News Network, nationally known school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis said teachers’ unions would be incentivized to push for more student-focused policies in public schools if school funding followed the child and more states adopted school choice programs.
DeAngelis, the national director of research at the American Federation for Children, is also an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and a senior fellow at the Reason Foundation.
Read MoreExclusive: Former Teen Sex Educator Schools Parents on Sound Strategy to Deal with Pornographic Books
A former Title X family planning instructor who was trained by Planned Parenthood and then taught at sex ed conferences for teens told The Star News Network parents who are outraged to hear about sexualized curricula in schools should plan an organized grassroots effort that involves sound research and documentation.
In an extensive interview with The Star News Network, Monica Cline stressed parents with concerns about sexualized books available to their children in school should join with other like-minded parents and approach the situation with logic and sufficient research to make sound arguments to school boards.
Read MoreFlorida Measure Requiring Parental Involvement with Student Counseling Draws LGBTQ Criticism
A proposed amendment to the already controversial Parental Rights in Education bill to require parental involvement on sensitive student issues has drawn more criticism from LGBTQ advocates.
The sponsor of the bill, Republican Representative Joe Harding, introduced an amendment on Friday which would require school officials to facilitate a meeting between a student and parents to disclose child-specific information.
The amendment states that the “school principal or his or her designee shall develop a plan, using all available governmental resources, to disclose such information within 6 weeks after the decision to withhold such information from the parent.”
The six-week provision gives school officials a time frame to decide a student is facing unsupportive or abusive parents related to specific issues. If there is a determination by school officials that a student could be in danger from the parents the amendment details a course of action.
Read MoreFlorida Rep. Anna Eskamani Refuses to Answer Questions About Parental Rights in Education Bill
Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani has been a vocal critic of the the Parental Rights in Education bill, however – when given the opportunity – she refused to answer specific questions about the proposed legislation.
Eskamani told CNN that she “whole-heartedly opposes” the legislation, affirming that “it’s always appropriate to acknowledge that LGBTQ+ people and families exist, and any effort to erase them is rooted in homophobia and transphobia.”
Eskamani and other progressive leaders and organizations have labeled the proposal the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, based on a provision that prohibits a school district from encouraging classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels.
State Representative Carlos Guillermo-Smith (D-District 49), an openly LGBTQ Latino legislator, said, “We should and we are encouraging these types of conversations in our schools.”
However, the bill address a number of issues related to parental rights.
Read MoreAmid Parental Rights Debate, Confidentiality Policies Vary Across Florida School Boards
Amid a debate over parental rights in education legislation (HB 1557/SB 1834), a review of policies across several Florida school boards indicates there is inconsistent guidance related to parental rights and student confidentiality.
For example, recent reports about elementary school officials in Clay County engaging in the counseling of a student without notifying parents revealed competing views about parental rights within the school district.
Clay county school officials allegedly defended their actions by invoking “confidentiality rules” to justify not including the parents in the counseling sessions.
However, a lawsuit filed notes that the Clay County Public Schools written guidance expressly contradicts the use of “confidentiality rules.” An exhibit attached to the lawsuit notes that children do not have a confidentiality right and that school officials must obtain parental consent before guaranteeing confidentiality to a child.
Read MoreFlorida Progressives Ignore Gender Issues in Public Schools, Call Parental Rights Bill Homophobia
During the debate over Florida’s Parental Rights legislation (HB 1557/ SB 1834), progressive politicians are ignoring issues in public schools and calling the proposal the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The bill addresses a number of concerns related to communications between school officials and students. The bill requires school officials to notify parents if issues arise related to a students mental, emotional physical well-being. In addition, the bill prohibits school officials from encouraging students to withhold information.
Issues related to these provisions are currently being litigated in two separate legal cases across Florida. For example, parents are suing the Clay County Schools Board for counseling their elementary school child related to gender without their knowledge. The parents became aware of the situation when their child tried to commit suicide. School officials allegedly defended their actions by invoking “confidentiality rules” to justify not including the parents in the counseling sessions.
Read MoreFlorida Department of Education Takes Down Web Page with External Links to LGBTQ Advocacy Groups
After The Florida Capital Star sought comment from officials about a web page with hyper-links to LGBTQ advocacy groups on the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) website, the web page was removed.
FDOE officials told The Florida Capital Star that the content on the web page was under review.
The Florida Capital Star also found that at least one Florida school district was using the presence of the resources on the FDOE web page as justification for certain LGBTQ school activities.
When asked to provide the school policies that support advocacy of LGBTQ issues in middle schools, the Leon County School District provided a link to the FDOE web page with the external links to LGBTQ advocacy groups.
Read MoreRep. Eric Swalwell Calls Parent Protestors ‘Looney Carnival Barkers’
A California congressman is facing backlash for a series of tweets slamming unvaccinated Americans and parents who choose not to vaccinate their children.
“I’m losing my Covid patience [thread]. I’ve tried to reason with the unvaxxed. I’ve directed some to medical pros. I don’t judge but hear them out and steer them to facts. The unvaxxed love to say it’s about choice. But you know who doesn’t have a choice? My 3 kids under 5,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA-15) said on Twitter.
Read MoreFlorida Family Files Federal Lawsuit Against School Board over Gender Policy
On Monday, the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, Inc. filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Florida on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Littlejohn against the Leon County School Board (LCSB) related to the Board’s gender policy. The defendants also include Superintendent Rocky Hanna and Dr. Kathleen Rodgers.
The suit alleges that the LCSB ignored the Littlejohn’s parental rights relating to their daughter’s gender confusion by concealing from them actions taken by school officials.
Child and Parental Rights Campaign, Inc. (CPR-C) is a non-partisan, non-profit public interest law firm whose mission is to defend parental rights and protect children’s well-being against the impacts of gender identity ideology.
Read MoreFlorida Middle School Teachers Encouraged Not to Share Student Conversations on Gender/Sexuality Issues with Parents
Emails show that the sponsor of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) club at Montford Middle School – located in Tallahassee, Florida – advised a teacher that they were not obligated to share information from students related to gender/sexuality issues with their parents.
Stacy Thompson, the media specialist at Montford and GSA sponsor, was asked a question by a teacher after Thompson sought out volunteers to post “Safe Place” flags in Montford classrooms.
Read More