When President-elect Donald Trump named Linda McMahon as the next secretary of Education, he said McMahon “will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families” via a statement issued on Truth Social.
During Trump’s first term, McMahon led the Small Business Administration (SBA), where she favored pragmatic pro-growth policies that emphasized merit-based job opportunities and reducing government intervention in business practices with a nod towards no forced diversity, equity and inclusion measures.
With the selection of McMahon as education secretary, states should demand this administration make true educational freedom attainable, protect our female athletes by returning “girls only” to their sports teams and hold our public schools accountable against child predators.
States like Arizona eagerly await this changing of the guard to truly help protect women. While an enraged Michelle Obama spewed hate-filled propaganda in the last few weeks leading up to the November election by suggesting “women will become collateral damage” if Trump was to return to the White House, thankfully, voters did not buy that.
McMahon understands the importance of bringing education back to the states where it belongs and into the hands of parents, not government bureaucrats relying on zip codes to fill school buildings. While McMahon led the America First Works (AFW), the organization’s main goal was to achieve universal school choice across the country. Over the last several years, the school-choice movement has seen a dozen states achieve this status, but it cannot stop there. McMahon’s leadership role at the helm of AFW illustrates that she adamantly supports competition among our schools, including charter schools, private-school tuition scholarships, education savings accounts and homeschooling. Above all, McMahon believes supporting all educational options will lead to better outcomes for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
McMahon’s appointment couldn’t have come at a better time. Future Secretary McMahon could halt the Biden administration’s attack on women by rolling back its faulty rulemaking that was forcing publicly funded schools to allow transgender men to participate in women’s only sports by threatening to defund their Title IX funding if they refused. Hopefully, this war on women can end on Trump’s first day back in the White House. Women’s only sports face near extinction if we don’t prohibit biological men from competing in women’s sports. It is truly unfair for biological girls to have to compete with biological males in sports. Not only do males have bigger muscles than females, but males have the advantage of testosterone that no amount of training or talent can enable biological female athletes to overcome.
Safety in our sports is not the only area this next administration needs to lead. All children should feel safe on their school’s campus. Sexual abuse cases in our public schools continue to generate headlines. Even though teachers and school-district employees are mandatory reporters, they don’t always appropriately record allegations of sexual abuse.
The Trump administration needs to step up in protecting the safety of our kids by requiring all public-school districts and charter-school districts to record all sexual abuse allegations and share these written reports with its state education department. The Department of Education should centrally house a database documenting sexual abuse allegations in our schools so that when district and charter schools are conducting background checks on future employees, they can consult this much needed resource. The teachers’ unions will push back against this proposal. We should all agree, all students should be free from predators, especially in their individual learning environments. Each year public schools report their campuses’ crime data to the Office of Civil Rights under the Department of Education. Schools should be committed to keeping our kids safe and want to be held accountable by reporting any sexual abuse allegations.
Shawnna Bolick is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation and has served in the Arizona Legislature since 2019. She served four years in the Arizona House until 2022. In July 2023, she was appointed to the State Senate, District 2, to fill a vacancy. Bolick has signed onto an amicus brief supporting both Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and Arizona’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. She has sponsored or cosponsored legislation pertaining to weeding out sexual predators in our public schools.
This is a provocation and an outright challenge for parents and guardians to take an inventory of their children’s mental health and level of intelligence after investing in public education. If you’re rearing teenagers who’ve endured government schools since pre-K, can you honestly say your kids are smarter, more respectful, and willing to take responsibility for their choices? Or is there increased mistrust, tension, and constant power struggles?
Some will say rebellion, gender confusion, and anti-traditional sentiments are part of every coming-of-age story. Many believe dysfunction between parents and children is a rite of passage, a sign of natural progression toward adulthood. Perhaps, to an extent, this is true. Clashes of personalities and worldviews are commonplace in most families. However, there are sure ways to test whether outside influences are driving unnecessary wedges between you and your child. If you’ve tried tough love, barring social media, confiscating electronics, assigning extra chores, intervening in unhealthy relationships, yet there’s no improvement — then it’s time to do something audacious.
Here are five reasons to pull your kids out of public schools.
1.No one loves and cares for your children like you do. — This point assumes you’re a dedicated parent doing everything in your purview to accept your children as unique individuals while passing along good morals. You balance “spoiling” them with the necessary disciplines that encourage gradual maturity and independence. You seek their well-being above all else and your standards are rooted in traditional values. Just know that our current public education model is constantly evolving to replace you as the primary influencer and arbiter of truth and morality. Government schools are gravitating toward social-emotional learning which entreats your children to develop inappropriate levels of confidentiality with other “trusted adults.” Furthermore, this system takes advantage of any area of perceived neglect on your part, especially when you fail to address identity issues. Of course, parents typically know when to explore an idea, apply correction, or ignore silliness altogether. Understand that this is the sphere of authority that radical educators, administrators, and board members are increasingly trying to disrupt. The most egregious message they’re sending your children is one that says they can be anything they want to be, including the opposite gender.
2.Student safety is rapidly deteriorating. — I once confronted a school board member about the pattern of predatory behavior among certified and classified staff. In less than two years, this Arizona school district had multiple incidents of adults grooming and/or assaulting students. In two high profile cases, where the workers were convicted of sex crimes, the criminal employees were allowed to quietly resign. The board member — who happened to be friends with one assailant that sexually assaulted a student — defensively assured me, “There’s pedophiles in every school district.” I assume she was either condoning or confirming this as a fact. A 2017 study showed 10% of students will experience sexual misconduct from a district employee by the time they graduate high school. Today, that percentage is likely higher and still represents only a small fraction of unreported cases. We know government entities protect their own when accusations fly. Additionally, a 1997-2022 research study revealed a 2,086.7% increase in school shooting incidents, from 15 incidents during the 2009-2010 academic year to 328 incidents in 2020-2021. Imagine, the radical majority of board members and administrators believe replacing student resource officers with DEI-certified social workers is the solution to this problem.
3.Your kids aren’t learning in public schools. — Although national, state, and district test scores may not provide concrete evidence of learning outcomes (i.e. a student can excel in collaboration with peers but fail to perform in isolated settings), these numbers serve as indicators to warn us of potential risks. Think of those assessment results like a cholesterol test that can indicate chronic heart problems. Regardless of how healthy and energetic the patient feels, a caring and ethical physician will bring this to the patient’s attention and prescribe immediate lifestyle changes to prevent medical crises. Logically speaking, standardized English, reading, and math scores are no different. Depending on which source you consult, Arizona is ranked anywhere between 45 and 49 out of 50 for K-12 education. Regardless of whether these numbers are based on a biased sample of traditionally educated students, it’s still in heart attack range. Loving parents are paying attention and making immediate lifestyle changes to prevent their children from graduating without basic survival skills.
4.Government (co)dependency creates moral hazard. — Since the Department of Education’s inception, more and more Americans believe state-regulated academics are a prerequisite to survival “in the real world.” Add to this the rabid feminist doctrines that shame and drive some women — who might otherwise educate their own children — outside the home to compete in the workforce, thereby producing a dual income situation that necessitates publicly funded childcare. Not to mention, family members and local churches are taking less responsibility to support parents than they did in the past. Since the government made it easy to queue up at the beginning and end of the workday, parents assume teachers, administrators, counselors, and coaches are primarily liable when kids fail. Unfortunately, the pervasiveness of public education has created an illusion of mitigated risks wherein parents have the convenience of temporarily “handing off” their children to government employees with minimal oversight. Then, when something goes wrong, parents quickly assert their rights…often without taking responsibility for directing their children’s education.
5.Public education is a corrupt financial enterprise. — In 2019-2020, the National Center for Education Statistics revealed the United States spent an estimated $870 billion on elementary and secondary schools. In 2023, Arizona reportedly spent a whopping $12.6 billion (not including charter schools). Last year, Mesa Public Schools (MPS) alone carried a classroom budget that was 10.6% higher than the state average. MPS is a morally corrupt and dangerous district that’s being sued for transitioning students’ gender without parental knowledge. Also, the majority of students are not minimally proficient in math or reading. Nowhere in the world of investment would Americans put up with such an alarming deficit. Yet, day after day and year after year, parents keep sending their children into these cesspools.
All this to say, parents, you have options and the time to explore is now.
Don’t wait around for things to get better — they never will. While there are a few decent educators holding on to the good they see in their classrooms, it’s impossible for the government to care about your child or your family. Don’t let your sons and daughters graduate high school with a 3rd-grade reading comprehension. Stop letting the government usurp your authority. Divest the trust you placed in public education and start asking questions. Get comfortable with confrontation. If your child is being bullied, and the district refuses to do something about it, remove them before the situation prematurely ends their young life. What appears to be an extreme and rare situation today can become your personal tragedy tomorrow. Be proactive. Intervene. Drastic times call for drastic measures.
And if you’re free Saturday, April 6 @ 2pm, come learn about your education options here in Arizona. You don’t need to settle for public school. Hope to see you there!
Tiffany is the Founder of Restore Parental Rights in Education, a grassroots advocate for families, educators, and school board members. For nearly two decades, Tiffany’s creative writing pursuits have surpassed most interests as she continues to contribute to her blogBigviewsmallwindow.com. She encourages everyday citizens to take an active role in defending and preserving American values for future generations.
On Wednesday, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) unveiled a new program using off-duty cops to supplement the shortage of safety officers on campus.
Under this new program, ADE filled its school resource officer (SRO) force from 190 to 301 positions — despite the statewide officer shortage. Superintendent Horne said in Wednesday’s press conference announcing the new program that an increase to SROs was one of his main priorities.
Horne said that the state’s police officer shortage initially posed a problem to the SRO increase. That meant that the fully-funded SRO positions had no officers to fill them. To work around this issue, Horne explained that the ADE contracted with Off Duty Management (ODM), which enables law enforcement to pick up off-duty shifts.
Horne credited Mike Kurtenbach, head of ADE’s school safety division and former Phoenix Police Department assistant chief, for the idea. Horne noted that their arrangement with ODM ensures full coverage at schools.
“We don’t involve partial coverage. The nightmare is that some maniac walks into a school and kills 20 kids — this has happened in other states and could happen here — and there’s no one there to protect the kids,” said Horne.
ODM President Bryan Manley thanked ADE for engaging in an “innovative” approach, the first of its kind in the state. ODM traditionally works security for businesses or venues, such as movie theaters.
Traditionally, SROs are fully-dedicated officers to a school that receive a minimum of 40 hours of training to work in schools. These ODM-deployed officers will be armed off-duty officers that receive a foundational 8 hours of specialized training from ADE for working in schools, on top of the 650 hours minimum of basic training to work in a police department, as well as field and on-the-job training.
Horne noted that the city of Phoenix has declined to participate in the SRO arrangement. Phoenix police force shrank last week to 2,561, according to Kurtenbach. As such, law enforcement from surrounding areas like Peoria will have ODM-deployed officers for Phoenix-area schools.
In response to reporter queries about parental concerns of increased arrests or intimidation of students, Horne said that the officers would provide order and a feeling of security — not fear. The superintendent said that those upset that some students may be arrested on campus were perpetuating the idea that “it’s okay to break the law without consequence.”
“This will allow us to provide a safe environment for more of our schools,” said Horne. “People should not be afraid of the police officers. The police officers are there to protect us. Without the police officers, we would have no civilization.”
Horne paraphrased 17th-century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes to supplement his claim, noting that civilized societies have a healthy and appreciative relationship with their law enforcement.
“Life becomes ‘solitary, nasty, brutish, and short’ if we don’t have police officers to protect civilization. It’s a very bad attitude to have a negative attitude toward police officers,” said Horne.
Recent student shooting threats have concerned students who have brought guns to campuses at Bostrom High School, Linda Abril Educational Academy, Maryvale High School, and North High School (Phoenix Union High School District); Kyrene de la Estrella Elementary School (Kyrene School District); and Desert Ridge High School (Gilbert Public Schools).
John Croteau, Dysart Unified School District superintendent, expressed gratitude for the ADE’s “creative” expansion of SROs.
“Safety is one of the most important things, if not the most important thing we can provide in education,” said Croteau. “We know that our students won’t learn if our students don’t feel safe, and that goes for the employees and staff [as well].”
Troy Bales, Paradise Valley Unified School District superintendent, added that he looked forward to the further expansion of the SRO presence on campus through the new program.
Watch the full press conference here:
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Arizona’s schools’ chief is laser focused on protecting children in their places of education.
On Wednesday, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced that he had “convened the first School Safety Task Force with a focus on getting more armed officers in schools in concert with social workers to protect (the state’s) schoolchildren, educators, and staff.”
Superintendent Horne formed a bipartisan school safety task force that is focused on finding solutions that keep our students safe. Protecting the lives of students is Superintendent Horne's top priority. #EducationForAllpic.twitter.com/VngcTDbwFW
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) August 2, 2023
After the meeting, Horne released a statement, saying, “Protecting the lives of our children is one of the most important issues we face. We hope that the School Safety Task Force will work to increase the number of law enforcement officers and social workers in schools as well as using our role in Career and Technical Education to encourage more people to consider law enforcement as a profession. I am grateful for all of the educators, law enforcement professionals, community leaders and both Democrat and Republican elected officials who have come together in this vital, bipartisan effort.”
Freshman Republican Representative Matthew Gress, one of the participants in the meeting, added his thoughts on Twitter, writing, “As parents send their children to school, they have every right to expect they will come home safely. With experience as a former schoolteacher and school board member, I look forward to this opportunity to productively contribute to this very important conversation.”
As parents send their children to school, they have every right to expect they will come home safely.
With experience as a former school teacher and school board member, I look forward to this opportunity to productively contribute to this very important conversation. https://t.co/EsZwb0odr9
Gress announced earlier this week that he had “accepted an invitation from Horne to serve on the Task Force recently established by the Arizona Department of Education. He noted that he had “particular interest in identifying how public schools can use available one-time funding to improve the capital facilities on campuses to improve school safety” and in “focusing attention on law enforcement response times to schools and bolstering the School Resource Officer program.”
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅ State Representative @MatthewGress Joins @azedschools’s School Safety Task Force
“Safeguarding our schools continues to be a top concern for parents in Legislative District 4 and there is strong interest in the community to be doing more. As parents… pic.twitter.com/8j6pWx3bOm
— Arizona House Republicans (@AZHouseGOP) August 1, 2023
The Arizona Department of Education highlighted that “in the meeting, department staff reported that funding for School Resource Officers (SROs) has been utilized to expand the number of SROs from 190 in the previous administration to 301 currently.” Additionally, the Department forecasted that “the group will explore ways to integrate counselors and social workers into an effective School Safety Program, expand the definition of an SRO in accordance with state certification requirements so the applicant pool can be enlarged; and consider allowing schools to hire School Safety Officers (SSOs), review training models, and review Law Related Education.”
In May, Superintendent Horne’s school safety recommendations were approved by the Arizona State Board of Education, giving the Department of Education approximately $100 million from a combination of federal and state grants. Horne said at the time, “I have been asking the schools to prioritize school resource officers. The nightmare is that a maniac gets into a school, kills 20 children, and the parents find out that the school could have had a school resource officer to defend the students, but the school did not do so. Imagine how the parents would feel about those decision makers?”
Horne isn’t the only elected official in Arizona concentrating on bolstering safety in schools across the state. Last month, Peoria Mayor Jason Beck announced that, in keeping his promises to his constituents, there would be a police presence at all Peoria Unified School District schools during the 2023-2024 year. Beck highlighted that there would be four new SLO’s (School Liaison Officers) and rotating SLO’s at every school; that this presence would be expanded to all elementary schools; that there would be 22 Peoria schools with police coverage and an increase in SLO salary.
The mayor said, “It’s the fact that we are trying to take care of our kids. Our first priority as a city is to take care of the residents. Safety and wellbeing is our first priority.”
Earlier this year, Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne and the Arizona Department of Education released the findings of a poll, which found that “81% of Arizona Public School parents support having a police officer” and “78% of Arizona Public School parents think that safety at schools is VERY IMPORTANT.”
Protecting Arizona's children shouldn't be a partisan issue, and parents agree. School resource officers are specially trained and provide more than just protection for our students. We encourage all schools to apply for the school safety grant here: https://t.co/63Uy6DQJZPpic.twitter.com/jFaLIx5wmJ
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) April 13, 2023
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Public schools who refuse to have armed officers on campus won’t receive grant money for school safety.
In a press release last Wednesday announcing the latest round of $80 million in funding from the School Safety Grant Program, Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Superintendent Tom Horne told schools to prioritize having armed law enforcement. Otherwise, the superintendent said that ADE wouldn’t recommend the school for funding to the State Board of Education.
“Every school should have a law enforcement officer to protect students and staff, and this should be accomplished on an urgent basis,” said Horne. “Delay in implementing this goal could leave schools more vulnerable to a tragic catastrophe. Schools that currently have no armed presence yet submit grants applications that do not request an officer will not receive a recommendation from this Department to the State Board of Education.”
Superintendent Horne is urging schools to prioritize having armed officers from law enforcement or highly trained security on campus. Our office is accepting school safety grant program applications here >>> https://t.co/6bTNomHqvqpic.twitter.com/W4h4HVGStO
— Arizona Department of Education (@azedschools) February 8, 2023
Under former Superintendent Kathy Hoffman, funding from the grant program could be applied to school resource officers or counselors. One of Hoffman’s main priorities during her first term and re-election campaign was to shrink the disparity between the number of students and counselors.
Hoffman stated that her administration slashed the student-to-counselor ratio by 20 percent. However, Horne’s administration noted that school violence has increased in recent years.
Under my leadership, @azedschools has cut the student-to-school counselor ratio by 20%. Even with this, we still have more work to do, and I will continue advocating for student's mental and physical health.
The ADE cited an increase in reported incidents of school threats, real and fake weapons found on campus, and “disturbing” social media posts inferring school violence. ADE also reported numerous receiving phone calls from Phoenix-area high school teachers about fights that, in at least one instance, risked a female teacher’s safety.
Horne noted in the ADE press release that this push for schools to have armed officers wasn’t in order to exclude other school safety measures that the program funds, such as counselors. He recalled his support for counselors as far back as 1978 during his services as a school board member, when he voted against eliminating counselors from their district.
“Schools still ought to have counselors but providing a safe school atmosphere that requires an armed presence is the first priority,” said Horne.
Horne later toldABC 15 that there wasn’t any reason why schools should refuse police protection on campuses.
“I can’t understand how anybody doesn’t understand how important it is that we be sure we don’t have any massacres in Arizona,” said Horne. “The first priority has to be the safety of the students and we don’t want a situation where 20 or 30 students are killed because no one was there to defend them.”
In a tweet, ADE posed a hypothetical, asking what a school would do if an armed “maniac” invaded a school that only had counselors and no armed officers.
Superintendent Horne supports having a counselor in every school, but if a maniac invades your school with a gun determined to kill people, what's the counselor going to do?https://t.co/RVL7Lt7ioi
Several days after ADE announced its decision on school safety grants, a 13-year-old Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District student making a “kill list” was arrested; school officials determined that the student posed a credible threat.
School Safety is a team effort. Thank you to the administrators, school resource officer, and counselors who helped avoid a tragedy. https://t.co/T80tNsxlNU
State Rep. Jennifer Pawlik (D-LD13) called Horne’s decision “disappointing.” Pawlik also criticized the decision to make the announcement during National School Counselors Week.
The ACLU of Arizona asserted that school safety couldn’t be achieved with police presence on campus.
School safety is not achieved by placing armed cops on campuses. It’s achieved when schools are well-resourced and students have the mental health support they need.
Forcing schools to follow these requirements prevents communities from deciding what’s best for their students. https://t.co/whefParndA
In addition to this funding, ADE is working with former Phoenix Police Department leaders to provide additional safety resources and procedures to schools.
Opposition to armed officers on campus often comes from concerns over a racial divide. Tensions heightened in one school district last year over discussions of funding school resource officers (SROs), about one month after the Uvalde school shooting. Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) Board Member Lindsay Love said that she and too many others, including children and parents, felt uncomfortable with having more police officers on campus.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
