Education Briefs
Another day, another erotic drag show performed for high school students; this time in Pennsylvania. In late April, the Hempfield High School in Lancaster County held an after-school event advertised as a drag show, sponsored by the Gay Sexuality Alliance Club and hosted by a teacher. The online news source Harrisburg100 reportedly broke the story, calling the event "an erotic drag show featuring professional dancers" that was announced to the entire school.
Unconfirmed reports maintain that parents were not notified and no permission slips were provided or required. The Libs of TikTok posted a video of the event on Twitter, which shows performers in tight, scanty costumes writhing and gyrating in erotic dances. The teacher who hosted the show has been placed on leave and the school has apologized, which typically happens with these types of events. Somehow, school administrators are always in the dark and yet the events appear to be well-orchestrated and typically held without parental awareness or consent. "We are appalled at what took place and in no way condone this type of activity in our schools," the Hempfield administration team claimed in a statement. "We commit to completing a thorough investigation and holding those involved accountable, up to and including disciplinary action that is commensurate with any findings." The parent who originally called attention to the event on Facebook said she had no issue with the LGBT community but that the performance itself was inappropriate in a school setting. LancasterOnline.com, 4-29-22, The Western Journal, 5-3-22
Taxpayers in Oregon are now footing the bill for a new law authorizing thousands of tampon dispensers to be installed in schools in boys' bathrooms. The law is called the "Menstrual Dignity Act," and it impacts every public school and college in the state. It was originally intended to provide free sanitary products in girls' bathrooms, but was expanded to "affirm the right to menstrual dignity
for transgender, intersex, nonbinary, and two-spirit students" by trying to "minimize negative attention that could put them at risk of harm... during menstruation." The state has developed a 25-page toolkit that directs school officials to use the terms "menstruating students" and "someone with a uterus and ovaries" instead of "girls" when referring to reproductive processes. According to the toolkit, "all education providers must "be affirming of transgender, non-binary, two spirit, and intersex students," and use the term "menstrual products" instead of "feminine hygiene products." They must also use gender-inclusive terms like "students," "folks," "everyone," "learners," or "they/them" instead of "boys and girls" or "he or she" when referring to students. The onerously progressive state of Oregon, with its singularly unpopular Governor Kate Brown, was beaten to the punch by the progressive state of Illinois, which has already installed tampon dispensers in boys' bathrooms in some schools. The result has been clogged plumbing, damaged machines, and sanitary products pasted all over mirrors and walls. Guess boys will be boys after all. Family Research Council, 5-2-22
Reports by a whistleblower show that the Biden administration's FBI and Department of Justice actively began investigating parents who complained about school curricula and district policies at school board meetings. The Washington Examiner reported on May 12 that the whistleblower's revelations are "the latest chapter in a saga
that began in September 2021 when the National School Boards Association, reportedly at the behest of the Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, asked the Biden administration and the Justice Department to investigate parents protesting at school board meetings as domestic terrorists under the Patriot Act." When a public outcry ensued after the contents of the letter became known, the NSBA apologized and Attorney General Merrick Garland insisted that parents would not be targeted. He said DOJ investigators would only be looking into actual threats of violence. This now appears to be yet another untruth. According to the Examiner, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the DOJ confronting them about the FBI's use of "counterterrorism resources" to investigate parents for exercising their constitutional right to speak out. Nicole Neily, president of the grassroots group Parents Defending Education, issued the following statement about the lawmakers' letter: "For months, the Biden Administration has mocked parents' concerns about their children's education, gaslighting them over what was truly taking place in America's schools. Now we know that the FBI has, indeed, been investigating citizens for exercising their constitutional right to petition their government for a redress of grievances. It is past time for the government to be transparent about how — and why — federal law enforcement was weaponized against America's families, and for those bureaucrats to be held accountable."
Parents in St. Charles County, Missouri, were victorious when a federal judge ordered the Francis Howell School District board to stop censoring speakers at school board meetings. The board was forbidding parents and concerned citizens to mention the name of their group, Francis Howell Families (FHF) or its website during public comment periods, and had cut off the microphone to at least one member for daring to mention the offending website. FHF is a political action committee that "recruits, supports, and educates candidates for the school board who support academic excellence, transparent accountability, 
and fiscal responsibility while encouraging in students a strong work ethic, good character, and respect for our nation's founding principles." FHF's website states: "We reject attempts to divide people by race, gender, or other immutable characteristics or to teach that those characteristics determine their destiny. Instead, we work to create a district that provides a high-quality, knowledge-based education for all students so they can be fully prepared to participate in civil society." Last month, Judge Stephen Clark of the Eastern Missouri District Court agreed with the plaintiffs, and entered a preliminary injunction against the school district for limiting such speech. The order reads in part: "...The Court enjoins Defendants, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and all persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of this injunction from enforcing Francis Howell School District Policies 1455 and 1471 to prohibit Plaintiffs' reference to "Francis Howell Families" or the Francis Howell Families website, www.francishowellfamilies.org, while addressing the school board during the patron-comment period at school board meetings. This preliminary injunction takes effect immediately and remains in effect pending trial in this action or further order of the Court."
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