Education Briefs
Texas State Representative Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth) requested information about objectionable books on school district library shelves and teachers unions are accusing him of a "witch hunt." As chairman of the Texas House General Investigative Committee, Krause submitted a letter to the state's education agency inquiring about a list of 849 books
with topics ranging from racism and the Black Lives Matter movement to sexual themes, abortion, and LBGTQ rights. The letter reads in part: "Recently, a number of Texas school districts around the state including Carroll ISD [Independent School District], Spring Branch ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Leander ISD, and Katy ISD, have removed books from libraries and/or classrooms after receiving objections from students, parents, and taxpayers." Krause explained that his committee "may initiate inquiries concerning any matter the committee considers necessary for the information of the legislature or for the welfare and protection of state citizens." The letter asks how many copies of each book the school districts possess and at which campuses, the amount of funds spent to acquire the books, and more. A few of the questionable topics include "human sexuality, sexually explicit images, graphic presentations of sexual behavior that is in violation of the law, or material that might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex or convey that a student, by virtue of their race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously." The Texas education establishment is charging Krause with "eyeing higher office," overstepping his authority, and of course, racism. Star Telegram.com 10-27-21
Physical Education teacher Tanner Cross won his lawsuit against the Loudoun County, Virginia School District that fired him for refusing to comply with its gender identity policy. Cross was suspended last May after speaking out against the district's proposed plan that would require county public school teachers to address transgender students by their preferred gender pronouns
regardless of whether they correspond with the students' biological sex. He told the board in May that, as a Christian teacher, "I serve God first and I will not affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa because it's against my religion. It's lying to a child, it's abuse to a child, and it's sinning against our God." He was quickly banned from his school and placed on administrative leave for opposing the plan. In June, a Virginia Circuit Court judge issued a temporary injunction against the suspension, requiring that Cross be reinstated. Then on November 15, attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), who represented Cross, announced that a settlement has been reached and that the injunction will become permanent. "Teachers shouldn't be forced to promote ideologies that are harmful to their students and that they believe are false, and they certainly shouldn't be silenced from commenting at public meetings," said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom. "Freedom — of speech and religious exercise — includes the freedom not to speak messages against our core beliefs. That's why our lawsuit asks the court to protect the constitutional rights of our clients by immediately halting enforcement of this harmful school district policy." Alliance Defending Freedom 11-15-21; Daily Citizen-Focus on the Family.com
A 19-year-old school board candidate won his race against the incumbent he says helped ruin his senior year in high school by supporting the COVID-19 shutdowns. Ratification of the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1971 gave 18-year-olds the right to vote and hold office.
Fifty years later, Nicholas Seppy of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, won an amazing victory at the age of 19 over his opponent by a 17-point margin. A recent graduate of Egg Harbor Township High School, Seppy told The College Fix that the lockdowns, which began in March of 2020, were "awful," and that the school district "forced most of its students into entirely online learning or hybrid learning models with limited components of in-person instruction for most of the 2020-21 school year." The situation motivated him to run for a school board seat "out of a desire to serve [his] community" and to "give parents a voice in the district." The fact that Seppy had served as student representative to the school board during the 2019-20 school year likely played a role in his decision to run. Both the College Fix and The Independent Journal Review reported that, despite the fact that school board positions in his district are non-partisan, "Seppy's Instagram profile paints a picture of a very patriotic young man, with posts of American flags, gratitude for the military, Mount Rushmore and the U.S. Constitution."
Unbelievable displays of lewdness and near-pornographic behavior occurred during Homecoming week at U.S. high schools. The Hazard, Kentucky High School held a "Man Pageant" during which students were photographed giving lap dances to teachers and staff members, including the principal, who is also Hazard's mayor. Photos showed that participating students were scantily dressed during the spectacle, which was purportedly "a joke" intended to embarrass the teachers.
While some appalled parents said the pageant should have been shut down immediately by school staff, at least one mother defended it and was upset that the event became public. In Burlington, Vermont, the high school Homecoming football game was "overshadowed by the immoral display at halftime," according to an October 25 op-ed in The Western Journal. The U.K. Daily Mail reported that the high school "put on a drag show — with 30 students and teachers dressing up to show support for the LBGTQ community." Participants paraded and danced "in gowns, wigs, jewelry, and makeup — and a big crowd in rainbow colors cheered them on." The halftime show was the brainchild of Burlington High School English teacher Andrew LeValley, who is an advisor for the Gender-Sexuality Alliance club that organized the event. The Daily Mail called it "fun," but The Western Journal wrote: "Pictures and videos are horrifying... There are so many issues with this event that it's hard to know where to start, the least of which is that, in high school, the majority of students are minors. Most drag shows are restricted to people ages 18 or older." The Blaze 10-28-21
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