Educators need to Woke up

 Woke Up Educators!

 

Parents in Montgomery County, Maryland sued to have curriculum related to LBGQT issues removed from the curriculum, including materials in literature and current affairs.  A judge said parents did not have the right to regulate curriculum.

In Arkansas, the Governor said her job was to protect the children from the “radical left woke mob”.  The Arkansas State Board of Education said schools may choose to offer the AP Course on African-American history but the children who take it will not earn credits toward graduation.  Never mind that many of the historical events in the course took place in Arkansas.   And the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, along with 200 other colleges and universities do accept the credit.

In Florida, the Governor has proclaimed Florida is where “woke goes to die”.  He declared that the AP course on African-American history would violate state law; therefore, it could not be taught in Florida.  The AP Board said that the changes Florida wanted would diminish the validity of the course; therefore, it would not be offered in Florida.

The mission of many politicians besides garnering media attention is to stop “wokeness” in our public schools.

To do this one must first assume that “wokeness” whatever that is, exists in public schools.  Indicators of “wokeness” include hiring an individual, particularly an individual of color, to lead an office of diversity, equity and inclusion.  

School libraries have gotten into the business of banning books that discuss issues of race, racism, antisemitism, or issues relating to gender difference or LBTGQ.

We have become afraid to allow our students to be uncomfortable with the past and the present.  The Governor of Florida has specifically said he does not want children learning about slavery to feel uncomfortable with something that has happened in the past. Education SHOULD make us feel uncomfortable about a lot of things.  Education should open our minds to new ideas and challenges.  The books that are being banned want to open children’s minds to new ideas and to teach them to think and rethink where they stand on issues.  Is that not the point of a public funded education system?

Woke up educators, we have miles to go before we sleep.

No person with a disability left standing

 No person with a disability left Standing

 

There is a legal principle called “standing” which essentially means an individual can’t sue about something unless he or she was harmed by whatever that something is.

Advocacy groups have, for a long time, used people as “testers” to see if such laws as public accommodations for race and/or disability were being upheld.

This fall the issue now will be raised to the level of the Supreme Court.

A Florida resident who uses a cane and/or wheelchair and has a significant visual impairment sued Coast Village Inn and Cottages because their website failed to offer sufficient information on accommodations for the disabled as required under Americans With Disability Act (ADA).   Her suit was dismissed by the lower court because she was not injured; and therefore, did not have standing to sue since she did not plan to visit the Inn.  

The suit was overturned on appeal.  The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit found that her “feelings of frustration and humiliation and second-class citizenry” were “downstream consequences” and “adverse effects of the informational injury she experienced”.

Now the Supreme Court will get to decide whether a person with disabilities has standing to sue under ADA if they have no intention of visiting the business in question.  What does not seem to be addressed is how can a person with a disability make an informed decision if he/she can’t test out the access before trying to access the business in question.

This issue has gained increasing attention because over 600 lawsuits have been filed nationwide by these so-called testers.  Obviously, business groups are angry.  But so are advocacy groups for the disabled.  The groups representing both sides of the issue have filed amicus briefs, over 18 and counting for advocacy groups for the disabled.

“Despite the ADA’s promise to create equal access, insufficient oversight and enforcement means that businesses frequently ignore the civil rights of disabled people, making their lives extremely difficult and undermining the rights guaranteed by the law” said the senior director of legal advocacy and general counsel for The ARC.  “ADA testers are essential to ensuring the rights of people with disabilities are enforced and protected and that the full promise of ADA is realized”.

One of the attorneys filing an amicus brief explained that if a person with a disability discovers noncompliance when trying to use a business, it is too late to file a lawsuit.  

An unexpected twist occurred when the Florida woman asked the high court to drop her case because her attorney had been disciplined in Maryland.    The Supreme Court declined to drop the case but said it would consider the request in oral arguments which are scheduled for October 4.

The commitment to full access for those with disabilities needs to left standing at our highest court.

 

Even the wealthy are suffering

 Even the wealthy are suffering

 

Fairfax County Virginia is one of the wealthiest school districts in the country.  Parents have filed a lawsuit against the County for failing to deliver services to children with special education needs.  Last week a judge ruled in favor of the school district.   A lawyer for the parents said it is their intent to appeal this decision AND file a civil rights complaint with the state attorney general.

The families are saying that in addition to failing to provide special education services, the County has also repeatedly violated the civil rights of the children under the Virginia Human Rights Act.

Parents are not the only ones with concerns about the delivery of special education services in Virginia. The U.S. Office of Education has launched multiple investigations.   In late June the federal ranking for Virginia regarding the compliance with IDEA fell from “meets requirements” to “needs assistance”.   A state that spends more than one year in “needs assistance” will receive intensive intervention from the U.S. Office of Education.

One of the continuing family concerns is the state’s due process hearings which are in place to settle disagreements between families and the school district.  Following a freedom of information request regarding the frequency of families prevailing in such procedures, the plaintiffs learned that between 2010 and July 2021 there were 395 appeals in Northern Virginia.  Out of those 395 cases, the family prevailed in only 3.  The data show that over the whole state of Virginia, out of 847 cases, families won in only 13, a percentage of 1.5 successful challenges.

By comparison, in California parents won 35% of the cases and in neighboring Maryland, parents won 15% of cases. (This number is down dramatically since Maryland now requires the party requesting the change in placement to have the burden of proof.)   The Virginia lawsuit contends that the State has a carefully curated slate of hearing officers who almost always side with the parents.   In Maryland the hearing officers are trained by the State Department of Education so their views are aligned with the State Department’s views.   In Virginia 2/3rds of the hearing officers have never ruled in the parents’ favor.  

Many times, school districts will insist that the failure to deliver services is due to lack of funds.  That is not the case in Virginia.  In Virginia the issue is lack of will not lack of funding.

Really, you learned that in school?

 Really, you learned that in school?

 

Depending on where you live that early nineteenth century war was either the War Between the States or the Civil War.  Jeff Davis was either a great patriot for a great mission or a traitor for a lost cause.  The Jews brought the Holocaust on themselves for their bad behavior or were the victims of one of the most vicious villains of history.   

While educators argue over the virtues and importance of geometry and algebra II, our children are among the least educated when it comes to how our government, a democracy, is run.  A fact which is scary because how will they be able to recognize when it is in jeopardy.

Ron DeSantis is certainly not the first to attempt to re-write history. And in all likelihood, won’t be the last.   Although some of the additions to the African American history courses do seem incredulous.  “Slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” These and other such comments have led the AP course to be decertified by the College Board.   He has ordered math text books and social studies textbooks to be scrubbed for prohibited topics.  Not sure what in math is WOKE?

If your political leanings tend conservative, these changes might be appealing as a rescue from the WOKE culture.   If your leanings tend more to the left, you are either appalled or find these changes to be so egregious as to be humorous.

Sadly neither is the case.   The second draft of history is written by the winners.  (The first draft is written by journalists.)  

Education should be a process where our minds are stretched; our belief systems challenged.   Perhaps Florida history students will find the new versions so beyond any belief system that they will be challenged to seek the truth.  Or others might buy into this idea and perhaps not feel so guilty about their history.  African-American students will most certainly feel marginalized beyond belief. 

Recently a tour guide along the Mississippi River in the deep south, was proud to share that his grandparents, farmers in the 1930’s did not have slaves.  He was proud of that fact even though slavery had been abolished 67 years before.  Was he a product of his Mississippi education? 

History matters deeply.  As educators we have a responsibility to teach it as close to reality as possible given our point in time and our culture.  We do NOT have license to outright lie.  Teaching the truth is critical to our present and our future.  Really, you learned that in school!

You Can't Read That

 You Can’t Read That!

 

Question:  Which state is the least educated in the U.S.?   Answer: Arkansas.   

That’s not much of a surprise, although there are some other states in the running, Mississippi and Louisiana for two more.   

The Arkansas legislature passed a bill that would have taken effect on August 1, 2023.  Act 372 is designed to protect children from material “deemed “harmful”.   This term is defined by state law as containing nudity or sexual content, appealing to a “prurient interest in sex”, lacking “serious literary, scientific, medical, artistic or political value for minors” or deemed “inappropriate for minors” under current community standards.    The law also allowed anyone “affected by” material in a particular county or municipal library to challenge the “appropriateness” of the material.

Act 372 would make “furnishing a harmful item to a minor” a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the law.   In his opinion, the judge said there is more than one way to burn a book.  “The world is full of people running about with lit matches” quoting author, Ray Bradbury.

He also noted that Arkansas already had a statute making it a crime to provide obscene materials to minors.  Act 372 is pretty vague on who gets to decide what material is "prurient".   And ignores the Supreme Court ruling that prurient material is protected by the First Amendment.

Plaintiffs are challenging the law as a violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees free speech.  Plaintiffs also say the law is too vague and eliminates the protections librarians and school personnel had as being protected as long as they were performing their professional functions. 

Plaintiffs have said, “I want to fight for our rights to intellectual freedom and ensure that libraries remain spaces where young Arkansans can explore diverse perspectives.   On the other hand, the County is already hinting at possible future crackdowns on other library system’s policies and procedures.  The County has said it is dedicated to protect “children from exposure to materials that might harm their innocence”.

Looks like Arkansas has no intention of giving up its last place as the least educated state in the nation.