Tag Archives: school board

Whatever Happened To The First Amendment?

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On Monday, Todd Starnes posted an article about a recent school board meeting in Suffolk County, Virginia.

The article reports:

A controversy over prayer has erupted in Suffolk County, Virginia.

The other day a woman concluded her remarks to the school board by attempting to offer a prayer.

The school board chairman interrupted and said prayers were not allowed inside the school board chamber.

Instead of leaving, Angela Kilgore invited those in the audience to join her in a recitation of “The Lord’s Prayer.”

At that point the school board chairman asked law enforcement to clear the room.

He then admonished those who had prayed – accusing them of grandstanding and conduct unbecoming.

As if there is something unseemly about praying for God to bless and protect the students in Suffolk County, Virginia.

…The Founding Freedoms Law Center and First Liberty Institute wrote a letter to the school board reminding them it is against the law to silence a citizen’s prayer.

“In fact, the Constitution prohibits the government from excluding religious expression from a public forum; it certainly does not require such censorship. We ask that the School Board clarify its policy accordingly, and we would be happy to work with the School Board to craft new policy that does not discriminate against religious citizens or violate their constitutional rights.  “When the government encourages diverse expression—say, by creating a forum for debate—the First Amendment prevents it from discriminating against speakers based on their viewpoint.” Shurtleff v. City of Boston, 142 S. Ct. 1583, 1583 (2022),” the law firms said in a joint statement.

The school board is more concerned about someone praying at their meeting than about the pornography in their school libraries. Maybe we need a new school board.

When The Public Gets Involved

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On Wednesday, The New York Post reported that a special election in San Francisco resulted in the recall of three members of the city’s school board.

The article reports:

Three members of San Francisco’s school board were ousted Tuesday in the wake of widespread backlash over the slow reopening of schools shut down by COVID-19 and a controversial plan to rename dozens of school sites.

School board president Gabriela López, vice president Faauuga Moliga and commissioner Alison Collins were all stripped of their positions during a special election, according to tallies by the San Francisco Department of Elections.

Furious parents launched the recall effort in January 2021 after arguing the school board was pushing progressive politics instead of acting in the best interests of children amid the pandemic.

“The city of San Francisco has risen up and said this is not acceptable to put our kids last,” said Siva Raj, a father of two who helped launch the recall effort.

The article notes:

Board of Supervisors president Shamann Walton had slammed the recall effort as being pushed by “closet Republicans and most certainly folks with conservative values in San Francisco, even if they weren’t registered Republicans,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

But parents among the around 100 supporters gathered in the Mission District on Tuesday insisted that support came from all walks of life.

“We wanted to show the diversity of the community behind this recall. I knew they were going to say, ‘Oh, isn’t it just a bunch of Republicans?’ and I’m like, do I look like a Republican?” David Thompson, a parent dressed in head-to-toe rainbow drag who called his persona “Gaybraham Lincoln,” told the outlet.

The school board has seven members, all Democrats, but those three were the only ones eligible to be recalled. The replacements for the three ousted members will be named by Breed (San Francisco Mayor London Breed).

Mayor Breed supported the recall effort. Parents and voters got involved and made the changes they felt were needed. Parents and voters can do that anywhere.

 

Standing Up To Educators

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Yesterday The Daily Wire posted an article about Mayor Craig Shubert, a mayor in Ohio who demanded the resignation of his city’s school board.

The article reports:

An Ohio mayor on Monday confronted a school board over sexual and inappropriate writing prompts students were given in class, informing board members they can either resign or face potential charges of child pornography.

Mayor Craig Shubert received wild applause from parents when he told board members he spoke to a judge who said the “642 Things to Write About” assignment amounted to the distribution of “essentially what is child pornography.”

“It has come to my attention that your educators are distributing essentially what is child pornography in the classroom,” Mayor Shubert said to the board. “I’ve spoken to a judge this evening and she’s already confirmed that. So I’m going to give you a simple choice: either choose to resign from this board of education or you will be charged.”

The writing prompts including sexual content like, “write a sex scene you wouldn’t show your mom,” and “rewrite the sex scene from above into one that you’d let your mom read.” It is not clear whether the assignment rises to the level of a crime, though Shubert relayed that a judge believed it did.

After Shubert’s stern message, parents attending the school board meeting cheered loudly.

The article includes a list of the writing prompts the students were given. It’s no wonder the parents cheered. Please follow the link to the article to see the link.