At this time of year, most parents of school-aged children are preparing for the long summer and don’t want to think about school schedules, homework assignments, or concerning themselves with odious curriculums. But Nicole Solas of Rhode Island is not a typical parent. With a child in kindergarten, she had heard about Critical Race Theory and wanted to know what, if anything, her little one might be exposed to. A talk with the school’s principal only raised her antenna.
“[The] principal told me that teachers don’t refer to students as “boys” and “girls.” Additionally, I was told a kindergarten teacher asks five-year-olds, “what could have been done differently on the first Thanksgiving” in order to build upon a “line of thinking about history.” I asked why kids could not be called “boys” and “girls” and was told it was “common practice.” I asked for clarification on the “line of thinking” about history but got no answers. The more questions I asked, the less answers I received.”[1]
Getting nowhere, Nicole filed a series of Access to Public Records Act (ARPA) requests to get actual copies of the curriculum, whereupon the school district either stonewalled or provided incomplete responses. Repeated ARPA requests have resulted in the district threatening to sue Mrs. Solas to challenge her filings.
If Nicole’s experience were an isolated event, it would be bad enough; but the stories of school officials resisting parent’s inquiries are legion. Keeping parents in the dark about what’s going on with their kids in the public schools is nothing new. In California, kids already can get access to contraceptives, treatment for STDs, and abortion services[2] all without a parent’s approval and, in some circumstances, even notice.[3] Still not content, California legislators are pushing to enact AB 1184, which would allow medical professionals to more efficiently hide from parents “sensitive services” to minors for medical treatment “related to mental health, reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections, substance use disorder, transgender health, including gender affirming care, and intimate partner violence…”
But at least its June and the end of the school year. True, but the public schools intend to ring out the school year with Pride! And thanks to former President Clinton, they can. The Clinton Administration established June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month,[4] which, strangely, exists to elevate the history and contributions of people solely for reasons having to do with one’s sexual appetites. One day is not enough; we have to give a month to this. So along with the obligatory Rainbow flags flying alongside the Stars and Stripes at various government buildings, don’t be surprised to find them prominently waving at your local public school with the attendant celebrations.
If all this seems heavy handed, remember what the 9th Circuit ruled after school policies like these were challenged. When it comes to the right of a parent to control the upbringing of their children, that “right does not extend beyond the threshold of the school door.”[5]
The Summer break may provide a respite, but that’s all. Come this Fall, the Triple Threat to our children in the public schools – Critical Race Theory + Historical Revisionism + Comprehensive Sexuality Education – will all begin anew and in earnest. For parents alert to their children’s well-being, the time is ripe to explore alternatives to the public schools. Charter schools may offer some protection, but there’s no guarantee. Private schools do offer a way out, but for many parents are simply cost prohibitive. That leaves homeschool, which many consider the gold-standard of quality, character based, education. If homeschooling is something you’ve heard about and would like to know more, we invite you watch our video: The Homeschooling Option.
Never in the 245 years of our nation’s existence have our children been more threatened by the very people entrusted to educate them. Former Attorney General, William Barr, warned in a speech this week, that the “increasingly militant and extreme secular-progressive climate in our state-run educational system” is the “greatest threat to religious liberty in America.” We would argue it’s the greatest threat to all our liberties. Get Out Now!.
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