by Daniel Stefanski | May 23, 2023 | Education, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
After a period of relative peace between Arizona Legislative Republicans and Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, her veto pen has again enflamed the political division between the two sides.
On Monday, Arizona Senator John Kavanagh announced that Governor Hobbs had vetoed SB 1001, relating to school policies about pronouns and biological sex. According to Kavanagh’s release, his bill “would have prohibited a school district or charter school from knowingly referring to students under the age of 18 by a pronoun that differs from the child’s biological sex, or a first name that is not listed in school records;” and it “would have also prevented schools from requiring their staff to use a pronoun that differs from a person’s biological sex, if doing so is contrary to their own personal convictions.”
Kavanagh blasted Hobbs for her veto, saying, “Parents have a right to know if their children are in psychological turmoil. Parents also need to know if their children are confused, depressed, anxious, isolating themselves, having suicidal thoughts or are in need of mental health care because of gender dysphoria. Parents can’t get their children the counseling or therapy needed if their school is hiding this information from them. Additionally, if a child is receiving mental health care and that child’s physician advises not to treat the child as a different gender, then a school going against the doctor’s wishes without the parent’s permission would create reason for a lawsuit. This is a dangerous situation for children who are struggling with mental health issues. For the Governor to turn a blind eye to what’s happening is reckless and irresponsible. I would expect more from a former social worker.”
Last week, Hobbs transmitted a veto letter to the Arizona Senate, explaining her justification, writing, “As politicians across the country continue to pass harmful legislation directed at transgender youth, I have a clear message to the people of Arizona: I will veto every bill that aims to attack and harm children. I want to thank the young people that bravely testified against SB 1001 at the Legislature. To you, I promise to be an ally and to uplift your stories. Additionally, I would like to thank Representative Lorena Austin for telling their story and speaking their truth. I would like to reemphasize their words to all the young people of the state, ‘You have every right to be who you are.’”
After the Arizona House of Representatives passed the bill last week, Janae Stracke from Heritage Action issued a statement in support of the Legislature’s efforts, writing, “As the Left continues to push radical gender ideology in schools and strip parents of their right to know what their children are learning, it’s time for parents and legislators in Arizona to start fighting back with common sense. By passing SB 1001, legislation that ensures school systems obtain parental consent before changing a student’s name and pronouns and protects school employees from violations of their religious or deeply-held beliefs, the Arizona Legislature upheld parental rights across the Grand Canyon State.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Rachel Walden | May 18, 2023 | Opinion
By Rachel Walden |
Many are surprised to learn that Mesa Public Schools (Unified District #4) has had a co-ed option for restrooms, locker rooms, and overnight facilities since 2015. The district leadership at the time quietly developed a Transgender Support Plan for children. This includes choosing which facilities the child wants to use along with a new name and new pronouns. This plan involves no parental consent or parental notification.
Due to public comment and internal questions, Board President Hutchinson, under the guidance of Superintendent Fourlis, asked for a legal opinion from the Board’s counsel, Udall Shumway. A brief memo was placed on the agenda for the meeting May 9, 2023, and Udall Shumway determined that the Transgender Guidelines stand.
In the meeting I asked about the criteria for a child to be placed on this plan. Kacey King, the district’s counsel said, “for younger children a teacher or counselor might suggest that they put it into writing.” I was shocked at this statement. This is absolutely not the role of teachers or counselors. I have been told that school counselors are simply there to determine what barriers exist that may prohibit classroom learning.
To have a counselor or teacher help put a child on a Transgender Support Plan is simply wrong, particularly without any communication with the parents. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that parents possess the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their children. This right does not belong to any school or staff. Public school offers a service to the community—a service to teach children the academic standards to prepare them for a future to be able to be confident and self-reliant adults. Schools need to stay in their lane if they are going to retain public trust.
Opportunities exist for children to develop personal relationships with counselors and without parental consent. In one such example, the district had an elementary school student who was struggling in math. She would ask to see the counselor during the math lesson. Her mother was never notified because they weren’t official counseling sessions. The mother eventually found out when she confronted the school about her daughter’s below average math performance. No one previously told her that her daughter was behind in math or that she was visiting with a counselor.
Counselors may also have informal visits with children who don’t want to go to lunch or recess with their classmates and decide to visit with a counselor instead. Perhaps a child opens up about personal struggles, then the option exists for that trusted authority figure to guide the child to complete a private Transgender Support Plan. How would the parents know?
There is no other program or plan in the district that is comparable in secrecy or purpose to the Transgender Support Plan. Specialized learning plans, after school clubs, field trips, photographs, all require parental consent. Yet, a student can be given a new identity, and no one will notify the parents?
The main legal justification for these guidelines right now stems from the 9th Circuit case Parents for Privacy v Barr. The court ruled against parental rights, ruled against freedom of religion, and ruled against privacy. I have spoken to attorneys who believe this ruling will be overturned. In the meantime, one of the best courses of action is to make sure our parents are informed. There is no legal argument against notifying parents about a child discussing “gender identity” or any other such topics at school. In fact, the law is on the side of the parents. I will continue this fight for parental rights and transparency.
Rachel Walden is a member of the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board. You can follow her on Twitter here.
by Daniel Stefanski | Mar 3, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Republicans in the Arizona Legislature continue to advance bills that would increase parental choice, transparency, and involvement in their children’s education; and some of those proposals are being met with incredible opposition from Democrats and interest groups.
Last month, SB 1700, sponsored by Senator Justine Wadsack, was considered by the Senate Education Committee. According to the fact sheet provided by the Arizona Senate, SB 1700 “requires the Arizona Department of Education to maintain a list of books that public educational institutions may not use or make available to students, including books that are lewd or sexual, promote gender fluidity or gender pronouns or groom children into normalizing pedophilia.” The bill also “grants parents the right to request removal of school district or charter school library or classroom materials, extends public review periods for library materials and district textbooks and removes exceptions from district curriculum approval and school library access requirements.”
Debate on this bill in committee was fierce, and opponents railed against its eventual passage. One teacher, in particular, made national headlines when she compared the “advanced degrees” of Arizona teachers with the education and background parents may or may not have to “choose the curriculum and the books that our children are going to read.”
These comments caught the attention of Arizona Republican lawmakers, who used the rhetoric in the committee hearing to continue to make their case for parental choice legislation. Wadsack, the bill’s sponsor, tweeted, “And THIS is why I fight for Parental Rights! THIS right here. This was a Leftist Teacher speaking in my committee last week – You just can’t write this stuff.”
Representative Jacqueline Parker added, “Wow! Sickening.”
The Arizona Department of Education also weighed in on the teacher’s outburst in the Senate Education Committee: “Superintendent Horne will always empower parents because they should be in charge of their children’s education. #EducationForAll”
Despite the backlash against the bill, Republican Senators held their ground and successfully cleared SB 1700 from the Education Committee. Senators Steve Kaiser, Anthony Kerr, and Chairman Ken Bennett joined Senator Wadsack in fending off three Democrat Senators.
Representatives from the Arizona Association of County School Superintendents, the Arizona Education Association, the National Association of Social Workers – Arizona Chapter, Save Our Schools Arizona, the Arizona Charter Schools Association, Arizona National Organization for Women (NOW), Arizona Library Association, and Equality Arizona all opposed the bill.
Representatives Rachel Jones and Cory McGarr were co-sponsors of this bill.
SB 1700 has not been considered by the Rules Committee, nor by the entire Senate chamber.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Jan 14, 2023 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
For the last two years, Republicans have been winning the education debate, and Democrats are not happy. Public education has long been their baby, using it to indoctrinate children with their radical ideas all while deceiving voters into outrageous tax increases.
But after watching Republican Tom Horne win the race for Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction this November—while 19 conservatives picked up school board seats—Democrats went into a tailspin. That’s why it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Governor Katie Hobbs is willing to do whatever it takes to change the narrative, including lying to voters about K-12 education spending…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by Kurt Rohrs | Oct 13, 2022 | Opinion
By Kurt Rohrs |
Several statutes that were passed by the Arizona legislature to reinforce parental rights in schools recently went into effect. The Chandler Unified School District Board (CUSD) was asked to vote on updates to their policies to conform to these state law changes.
Here are some of the new state laws that needed to be incorporated in district policies:
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- HB 2498 – Prohibits vaccination requirements for staff in order to work
- HB 2453 – Prohibits masking requirements for staff in order to work
- HB 2371 – Prohibits vaccination requirements for students in order to attend school
- HB 2616 – Prohibits masking requirements for students in order to attend school
- HB 2439 – Provides for parent’s access to a list of school library materials and a list of materials borrowed by their children. However, this law exempts libraries that are run jointly by school and municipal entities.
- HB 2495 – Prohibits the referral of sexually explicit materials to students
- HB 2161 –Provides for parent access to records that relate to their child and gives parents the right to file suit if the fundamental rights to raise their children are usurped
- SB 1165 – Requires participation in school sports to be based on biological sex of the student and gives parents the right to file suit for injunctive relief
- HB 2632 – Raises the passing grade requirement on the required civics exam from 60% to 70%, making it similar to the citizenship exam given to naturalized citizens.
- HB 2325 – Provides for school time for remembrance of the September 11 terrorist attacks on or around that anniversary.
What happened during the board member comments section of the meeting was a stunning display of contempt for parents’ rights and for these legislative actions.
Board member Lindsay Love, who is unmarried and has no children, voted against complying with these state laws as a “conscientious objector.” This is an apparent contradiction to her oath of office to “… support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and Laws of the State of Arizona.” She then went on to imply that some recent student suicides are the fault of parents and that the district must somehow step in and save students from their parents’ cruel behavior. Ms. Love is not running for re-election.
Board member Lara Bruner, who is running for re-election, stated that “It is truly disheartening that some of the representatives in our legislature have decided to increase their control from the top,” seemingly oblivious to the fact that these legislative actions were made to address the concerns of parents.
Board member Joel Wirth expressed that he was “very disappointed in the legislature in its efforts to micromanage school districts and force their political beliefs on the district,” apparently dismissing parental concerns as irrelevant.
Board Member Jason Olive concurred and called the recent legislation “garbage” in evident contempt of the Arizona legislature that provides the funding for his school district.
Board President Barbara Mozdzen refrained from comment.
Whose Children Are they?
Does the CUSD Board really support parents’ rights as protected by state law?
Not one board member stepped forward to defend the stated policy that “parents ultimately direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children.” This is the long-standing policy of the State of Arizona as codified into law in A.R.S. 1-601 and A.R.S. 1-602.
It is unclear why CUSD Board members are so dismissive of parents and their concerns, and of the direction from the Arizona legislature. This appears to be the attitude of several school districts around the valley where a parent’s rights to raise their own children are routinely suppressed in violation of several statutes described in the Arizona Department of Education’s Parental Rights Handbook.
New School Board Leadership Needed
That’s why it is time for new, more responsive, leadership on school boards throughout the state. Please vote on November 8 for new school board members that truly respect parents and their rights to raise their own children.
Kurt Rohrs is a candidate for the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board. You can find out more about his campaign here.
