One week after her elementary school permitted an LGBT Pride club to be formed at the school, an eleven-year-old girl in Washington state says she was refused permission to start an interfaith prayer group.
Laura, a student at Creekside Elementary School, told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/fifth-grade-girl-speaks-out-washington-school-denied-request-start-interfaith-prayer-club">Fox News</a>, “I wanted to start it because I felt kind of alone in the classroom and really just at school. And I realized, I have some friends and I knew some other people that felt the same way, and so I talked to them and I was just like, ‘You know what? It would be a great idea to make a club where people could come together and do good in the community.&#8217; That was kind of the idea of my interfaith peer club.”
First Liberty Institute (L.A.W.), which is representing Laura, <a href="https://firstliberty.org/cases/creekside-prayer-club/">reported</a> that Laura and her mom met in February with the school’s principal, Amy Allison, who informed them that all the funding for school clubs had been allocated in October, and Laura had missed the deadline, even though the Pride Club was formed one week before and the school allows a dozen other clubs, including the Green Team and the Toastmasters Club.
“In a follow-up meeting, the principal told L.A.W. that she could fill out an application to pay to use the school after hours. When L.A.W. asked why she would have to pay like an outside group when other student clubs don’t have to pay, Principal Allison responded, ‘I am sorry, [L.], I just can’t tell you what you want to hear,’ and ‘we can’t allow it,’” First Liberty added.
“The First Amendment is clear; the free speech clause and the free exercise clause both protect Laura’s ability to pray, to speak about her faith; to gather with other religious students,” <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/fifth-grade-girl-speaks-out-washington-school-denied-request-start-interfaith-prayer-club">said</a> Kayla Toney, associate counsel at First Liberty Institute. “The law is clear: if the school allows at least one non-curricular club, no matter what the club is about, it has to allow a religious club. It’s actually viewpoint discrimination to deny a religious club just because it’s religious.”
“Denying the formation of a religious student club while allowing other clubs violates the Constitution,” Toney contended. “School officials at Creekside Elementary are engaged in religious discrimination against an eleven-year-old girl who simply wants to pray, feel support from other religious friends, and do community service.”
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“I think that this is something that I am very passionate about. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t really want to make this happen, if I didn’t think that it would be a great opportunity for everyone,” Laura concluded.

Children read the Bible

School Reportedly Denies 11-Year-Old Permission To Form Interfaith Prayer Group After It Okays LGBT Group

Christianity

Education

Elementary Schools

Prayer

U.S.

Washington

One of the beauties of life is the simple fact that no matter how stupid things get, reality always wins.
Whether your personal life or whether politics writ broadly, the simple fact of the matter is, eventually, you are going to run up against reality — and reality is going to win.
That doesn&#8217;t mean bad political ideas can&#8217;t emerge victorious in the short- or even the mid-term.
It does mean the realities of human nature, the realities of the world surrounding you, don&#8217;t just go away. And ultimately, those policies will fail dramatically. The dumber the policies, the faster they tend to fail.
One of those dumb ideas that has obviously taken center stage of late has been the dumb idea of woke.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1899-reality-always-wins-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a>
Woke is a foolish idea. Now, what exactly is wokeness? Wokeness is the basic idea that if there is any sort of disparity between group outcomes in American life, that group disparity is due to discrimination. The only corrective is, therefore, reverse discrimination or some form of discrimination that is going to equalize the outcomes of the various groups.
We have seen a wide variety of policies that have been implemented in order to close all of these gaps. The Quest for Cosmic Justice — as the great thinker of our time Thomas Sowell has put it — is a foolish quest. It is not something that can be solved because the reality is the vast majority of group gaps are either inborn or they are the result of culture and environment — because those are all the factors that there are.
That does not mean every result is the result of inborn differences. Differences in intellectual outcome very often are about educational or cultural differences as opposed to, for example, height differentials between particular groups; those are about genetics. This happens throughout life.
Looking at the rationales for why things are different in terms of outcomes between groups can be a good way of crafting good policy — but we&#8217;ve thrown all of that out in favor of stupidity. Now, we are going to educate our children in the stupidity, which does not reflect reality. We are seeing the results of that.
The <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/woke-kindergarten-glassbrook-hayward-18635504.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco Chronicle</a> reported on this:
<blockquote>A Hayward elementary school struggling to boost low test scores and dismal student attendance is spending $250,000 in federal money for an organization called Woke Kindergarten to train teachers to confront white supremacy, disrupt racism and oppression and remove those barriers to learning.
The Woke Kindergarten sessions train teachers on concepts and curriculum that’s available to use in classrooms with any of Glassbrook Elementary’s 474 students. The sessions are funded through a federal program meant to help the country’s lowest-performing schools boost student achievement. </blockquote>
The basic theory behind this program is that if you just teach kids self-esteem, they will magically become smarter and better performing. If you teach them about the radical injustices of the life they lead in the freest country in the history of the world, then they will magically perform better.
Only one problem: It fails because reality always wins.
The Chronicle continues, <a href="https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/woke-kindergarten-is-capitalism-at#:~:text=A%20Hayward%20elementary%20school%20struggling,remove%20those%20barriers%20to%20learning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>:
<blockquote>But two years into the three-year contract with Woke Kindergarten, a for-profit company, student achievement at Glassbrook has fallen, prompting some teachers to question whether the money was well spent given the needs of the students, who are predominantly low-income. Two-thirds of the students are English learners and more than 80% are Hispanic/Latino. </blockquote>
This is not a particular shock because woke kindergarten is a stupid idea. Teaching kids terrible ideas is likely to make them perform worse, not better. District officials defended the program, saying the kindergarten did what it was hired to do.
That&#8217;s true, albeit not in the way they intended. They made the scores lower. It made things worse.
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One of the most amazing attributes of the nonprofit world, and this is true virtually across the board, is that nonprofits are constantly exacerbating the problems they are supposed to fight so they can raise money to fight those problems.
This happens all the time in nonprofit land. One of the jobs of politically motivated people on the Left is to exacerbate inequalities so as to claim inequity.
That is the goal. Because if at any point those inequalities actually narrowed as a result of freedom and good incentive structures, then what would they do for a living?

Back to school

Woke Kindergarten Fails. That’s Because Reality Always Wins. 

Ben Shapiro

California

Critical Race Theory

Opinion

Readers Pass

Social Justice

White Supremacy

Woke Culture

Seven elementary students in Amherst, Virginia, became sick and five were taken to an area hospital after ingesting gummy bears from a bag that later tested positive for fentanyl. 
The Amherst County Sheriff’s Office said that the seven children who attend Central Elementary School had an “allergic reaction” to the gummy bears requiring two of them to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance, and three others were transported to the hospital by their parents, WSLS <a href="https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2023/12/12/amherst-co-authorities-investigating-after-seven-elementary-students-have-allergic-reactions-at-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Amherst County Public Schools (ACPS) released a <a href="https://twitter.com/AmherstCountyPS/status/1734725791030616250/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on the incident, saying the bag that contained the gummy bears was brought to school by one of the students and was evaluated by authorities after the children became sick. 
Initially, authorities said the gummies tested positive for fentanyl, but later clarified that only the bag had tested positive for the synthetic opioid and the gummies themselves had been sent out for further testing, according to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/virginia-elementary-school-students-hospitalized-after-ingesting-fentanyl/story?id=105611083#:~:text=The%20Amherst%20County%20Sheriff's%20Office%20later%20tested%20the%20gummy%20bears,parents%2C%20the%20sheriff's%20office%20said.">ABC News</a>.
“The Amherst County Sheriff’s Office conducted a field test on the bag that contained the items the students ingested. The results from the field test indicated a positive reaction for fentanyl,” the school district stated, adding. “The families of the students have been notified of the results.” 
ACPS wrote in a social media post that the gummy bears were in a ziplock bag and the area where the students had eaten them was wiped down with sanitizer, according to WSLS. 
Police arrested two people in connection with their investigation into the incident. Clifford Dugan and Nicole Sanders were both taken into custody and face multiple charges, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/2-arrested-virginia-elementary-school-students-ingest-gummy-bears-fentanyl-laced-bag" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Both suspects were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, while Dugan also faces a charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and Sanders was charged with possession of a controlled substance.
Fentanyl overdoses are one of the leading causes of death for Americans with more than 73,000 people in the U.S. dying from the drug overdose in 2022. The danger of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, has skyrocketed in recent years as it is often trafficked illegally across the southern border by Mexican drug cartels. 
According to the <a href="https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/mental-health-substance-use/mental-health-substance-use-resources/fentanyl-one-pill-kills#:~:text=Fentanyl%20is%20a%20powerful%20synthetic,is%20considered%20a%20lethal%20dose." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas Health and Human Services</a>, fentanyl is around 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It only takes around two milligrams of fentanyl — roughly the same as 10-15 grains of salt — to cause a fatal overdose. Often, fentanyl is cut with other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine resulting in drug users ingesting the deadly synthetic opioid without even knowing. 
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Authorities in the U.S. have also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-seizes-pink-heart-fentanyl-pills-in-massive-drug-bust" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seized</a> fentanyl-laced pills that look like candy. Among more than 220 pounds of drugs siezed in Massachusetts last month, the FBI found 20 pounds of pink, heart-shaped, fentanyl-laced pills that were “pressed to look like candy,” according to the Justice Department. 
This article has been updated for clarity and to include additional information.

Ambulance

Virginia Elementary Students Rushed To Hospital After Ingesting Gummy Bears From Fentanyl-Laced Bag: Report

Children

Fentanyl

Police

Virginia

Starting next week, many children as young as 5 who attend Los Angeles Unified public schools will participate in a weeklong celebration of “National Coming Out Day,” which falls on October 11.
The district issued its “Week of Action Toolkit,” emblazoned with a Black Power Fist over neon rainbow stripes and is nominally optional, although peer pressure will likely prompt elementary school teachers to use its programming. Its <a href="https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/National_Coming_Out_Day_-_Elementary_Toolkit.pdf">version</a> for elementary students contains an “Identity Map activity&#8221; that &#8220;Prepares students to think critically about identity and intersectionality” as well as suggestions to include “brief biographies of an important LGBTQ+ person or advocate to spotlight.”
Monday will feature transgender YouTuber Jazz Jennings, who allegedly claimed to be a girl at the age of 2, as well as the book “Julian is a Mermaid”; Tuesday will feature Marsha P. Johnson, an “American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen” and the book “The Great Big Book of Families”; Wednesday will feature Hollywood’s Elliot Page, formerly star actress Ellen Page and the book “Be Who You Are”; Thursday will feature the WNBA’s Layshia Clarendon, who “came out as transgender and non-binary” in 2020, and Friday will feature Carl Nassib, the first openly gay active player in the NFL, and the book “From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea.”
“At the Week of Action’s start, teachers should engage kindergarten and first-grade students in discussions about identity, aided by an activity called an ‘Identity Map,’” <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/but-johnny-cant-spell-g-a-y">City Journal</a> reported. “Pupils chart their experiences of discrimination or privilege along 12 axes, including race, gender identity, sexuality, mental health, and body size. This mapping allows seven-year-olds to see themselves through the ‘lens of intersectionality.’ Teachers then post the identity maps on the wall for a class discussion about students’ multiple “identities.”
The LAUSD has a virtual club for elementary school students called The <a href="https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/domain/156/sogie/upcoming%20events/rainbowclubflyer2023%20sept.pdf">Rainbow Club</a> that has been meeting every Wednesday after school for an hour between September 13 &#8211; November 15.

inscription LGBT on a blue background. Support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community and Pride month concept

L.A. School District Indoctrinates 5-Year-Olds With Celebration Of LGBTQ Values

LGBTQ

Los Angeles

Hundreds of protestors outside a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas">Texas</a> school district have been demanding leadership change after the way officials handled an alleged sexual misconduct incident that occurred last month inside a first-grade classroom involving a group of 6-year-olds.
“We want to make sure that they don’t sweep this under the rug,” Heather Gonzales told <a href="https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/community-calls-leadership-changes-plainview-isd-18082731.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Plainview Herald</a>.
Last month, two first-grade students were recorded by another on a school-issued iPad performing sexual acts at South Elementary School in Plainview, Texas. Local media <a href="https://www.kcbd.com/2023/05/03/plainview-family-claims-6-year-old-was-forced-perform-sex-acts-south-elementary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the girl student claimed that a boy classmate forced her to perform a sex act on him under a desk while another boy recorded it on an iPad that teachers allow students to use during class.
Gonzales, an older cousin of the young girl involved, told a local news station her cousin tried to escape the situation by hitting the boy with a book until the two other students eventually let her free.
Following the incident, Gonzalez said the family noticed a change in her behavior, showing signs of distress and physical pain in her stomach. The girl then told her family that a boy allegedly exposed himself to her in the lunch line at school a week after the other sexual misconduct occurred inside the classroom.
Plainview Independent School District told local media that the student’s teacher was in the classroom at the time of the incident but did not witness it. The teacher discovered the video the next day after seeing students watch the recorded incident before locking the iPad and returning it to the teacher, who had to have the school’s IT department unlock the device.
District officials said they immediately reported it to police and child protective services and informed the parents and guardians of the two students directly involved in the recording. However, the other family did not hear of the incident until three days because officials claimed they couldn’t be reached.
Plainview ISD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez said a state investigator working with local law enforcement asked district officials “hold confidentiality” until he hears the full story from the students involved.
“All of the steps that we’re required to take, we took,” Sanchez said. “We hope to find a direction with them forward,” Sanchez said. “Definitely for the young people and how we can help them heal and move forward.”
District officials placed the teacher on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
According to the reports, the district addressed it publicly a week later, but residents began finding out about the incident through social media within two days.
Protestors outside the school district administration building said the officials downplayed the incident, lacked transparency with the families, and demanded that the district fire the teacher, the superintendent, and the South Elementary School principal Jennifer Hughey.
“Everything was ‘no comment. I cannot tell you. No comment,’” Gonzales said. “So, you mean to tell me abuse has been happening for a week and a half, and these kids are still at the same desk? My cousin is still at a desk with all boys, having to see her abusers every day.”
Gonzales said the children deserve more protection from the district.
“Are you letting these other parents know their kids could possibly be a victim next?” she said. “I feel like, as a parent, you should know.”
Plainview ISD announced on its website classes were canceled on Monday and Tuesday after the administration received violent threats “regarding a matter under investigation,” and due to the mass shooting in Allen, Texas, that claimed the lives of eight people over the weekend.
The school board meets next on May 18.

Empty Table In The Classroom

Protestors Demand Texas School District Fire Leadership Over Alleged Sexual Misconduct Incident Involving Group Of First-Graders

Texas Protestors Demand Local School District Fires Leadership After An Protestors Demand Texas School District Fire Leadership Sexual Misconduct Incident Involving Group Of First-Graders Sexual Misconduct Incident Involving Group Of First-Graders

Child Sex Abuse

Texas

A large school district in Washington has canceled music lessons for fourth graders as the school board director linked teaching children to play instruments to racism, suggesting that music lessons could “inculcate and allow white supremacy culture to continue to be propagated and cause significant institutional violence.”
The comments, made by school board director Scott Clifthorne, came as the school discussed ways to save money for the school. By eliminating band and orchestra for fourth and fifth grade, the Olympia School District would <a href="https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/education/article274517106.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">save</a> $530,000; the district agreed to keep the fifth-grade programs.
&#8220;We’re a school district that lives in … is entrenched in … is surrounded by white supremacy culture. And that’s a real thing,&#8221; Clifthorne told parents.
&#8220;There’s nothing about strings or wind instrumental music that is intrinsically white supremacist,” he said. “However, the ways in which it is and the ways in which all of our institutions, not just schools — local government, state government, churches or neighborhoods — inculcate and allow white supremacy culture to continue to be propagated and cause significant institutional violence are things that we have to think about carefully as a community.”
Many parents were not pleased with Clifthorne&#8217;s comments.
“This type of language from this particular board director and the entire board is not surprising at all,” Alesha Perkins, a parent in the district, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-school-board-called-absurdity-cutting-music-classes-white-supremacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> “Fox and Friends First.” “This is actually par for the course. The issue is we are having such a catastrophic budget crisis right now that they’re having to cut programs. And so what has happened is this program has been deemed ‘inequitable.’ And in a previous comment, the director of elementary education stated that not only is this program ‘inequitable,’ but when she heard the word ‘tradition of excellence,’ which was used to describe our music programs, she said that the word ‘tradition’ actually translated to her to mean systemic discrimination.”
“We have reached a level of absurdity in our school district, among our school board and our leadership that is just hard to ignore at this point,” she continued. “We are losing students in huge numbers. I&#8217;m not talking about a handful of students. &#8216;I&#8217;m talking hundreds and hundreds of students that are exiting the district, and they are virtually all citing these reasons. You cannot sustain a school district with a mass exodus of students.”

Close-up of hands holding violins

Washington School Board Director Links Teaching Kids Instruments To ‘White Supremacy’

Music

Children as young as kindergarten will read a picture book about transgender kids Friday as part of one Northern California school district’s “Transgender Day of Visibility,” despite the objections of several parents.
Burton Valley Elementary, about 20 miles east of San Francisco, will have K-5 pupils read a children’s book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Feels-Good-Be-Yourself-Identity/dp/1250302951" target="_blank" rel="noopener">titled</a> “It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity.” The book introduces children to the concept of “gender identity” with transgender kid characters. It explains the pseudoscientific ideas of “transgender,” “cisgender,” and “non-binary” people.
“This is Ruthie. She’s a transgender girl,” reads the first line of the book. “That means when she was born, everyone thought she was a boy. Until she grew a little older — old enough to tell everyone that she’s actually a girl.”
“This sweet, straightforward exploration of gender identity will give children a fuller understanding of themselves and others,” the book’s introduction states.
Parents in the district have expressed concerns that “gender identity” is an inappropriate topic for elementary school children. On Nextdoor, a neighborhood social media platform, some parents <a href="https://nextdoor.com/p/Fz7GY4t8x7DD/c/921261312?post=263188808&amp;comment=921261312&amp;ct=U-X08WKt3t0R2wxu0lG6F301pF0ooHqZdX2E6bYPvm9ajZPt3NLmlQc3tNugf3-T&amp;ec=jUsXRsKkOPMVxJBs1Cj9scCEDVfj1pLaDEEEO8rW-uw%3D">said</a> they plan to pull their children out of Burton Valley Elementary on Friday to avoid the book reading.
The gender identity book reading is part of Lafayette School District’s celebration of “International Transgender Day of Visibility.” On March 15, the school board <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/lafsd/Board.nsf/goto?open&amp;id=BPTUG57BF09C" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> for a <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/lafsd/Board.nsf/files/CPST9F709887/$file/11-2223%20In%20Support%20of%20International%20Transgender%20Day%20of%20Visibility.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> to honor Transgender Day of Visibility.
“The Lafayette School District acknowledges March 31, 2023, as Transgender Visibility Day and stands with the transgender community as it fights for freedom, safety, dignity, respect, and, most of all, love,” the resolution reads.
The resolution also ordered that the transgender flag be flown at each of the district’s four elementary schools and its one middle school on every school day this week.
“Next week you will notice a new flag on our flag pole, as we fly the Transgender Flag across all of the schools in LafSD,” Burton Valley Elementary Principal Meredith Dolley <a href="https://www.parentsquare.com/feeds/19267814?s=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxODAyMTQ2NywiZXhwIjoxNjg3NjQ5OTgzLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5wYXJlbnRzcXVhcmUuY29tL2ZlZWRzLzE5MjY3ODE0IiwibWV0aG9kIjoiR0VUIiwicXVlcnkiOnt9LCJyZXF1ZXN0Ijp7fX0.wsJ6c6s-SK9BLh_4hVMYCHCncsrPJjGVxVk0zROU3Jk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> in her weekly update to parents last week on ParentSquare, a popular school-to-home communication platform.
“We will also be reading a story as a school called It Feels Good to Be Yourself by Theresa Thorn,” Dolley added.
“The conversations that might ensue next week are not new to our school. Each and every conversation we have with our Bobcats is about honoring and celebrating their individual identities; whatever they may be, as we know students learn best when they feel they are seen, valued and appreciated for who they are,” the principal wrote.
Dolley wrote that Burton Valley Elementary students “were wanting to discuss gender diversity in our classrooms, and on our playgrounds” back in November.
The principal said that the school tells its K-5 students who ask about gender identity that “most boys are born with boy parts and identify as boys,” and “most girls are born with girl parts and identify as girls,” but “there are also some kids that are born with boy parts and identify as a girl” and “some kids that are born with girl parts and identify as a boy.” The school also tells its elementary students that some kids “say they are simply ‘they’ &#8211; not a boy or a girl, or both.”
“We can be curious and care about our friends, but it’s not our worry which ‘parts’ people have, so take that worry off your plate. It’s also none of your business, just like it’s not others’ business to ask you which parts you have,” the school tells kids, according to the principal.
As of last year, the Lafayette School District also has a new Bias Incident Reporting System, which allows families, students, and school staff to report alleged incidents of bias. The school has already received at least 20 reports of bias related to race, LGBT, disability, sexual harassment, discrimination, and hate speech.
The Daily Wire reached out to both Lafayette School District and Burton Valley Elementary but did not receive a response.

Children raising their hands in a classroom.

California Kindergarteners Will Read About Transgender Kids For ‘Transgender Day Of Visibility’

Gender

Kindergarten

San Francisco

Transgender

A New Jersey mom is suing her local police chief and high-ranking officials at a nearby Air Force Base, alleging they targeted her and portrayed her as a security threat after she spoke out about the sexually graphic material on display in an elementary school.
Angela Reading, who was once the state&#8217;s Student Teacher of the Year and is now a law student at Villanova, is represented by the Thomas More Society in her <a href="https://s4f4x7d5.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Filed-Complaint.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit against a total of nine people</a> in connection with an incident that occurred last November. The mother of daughters aged 6 and 7, who was at the time vice president of the county Board of Education, attended “Math Night” at Upper Elementary School where she was stunned to see posters made by children that used sexual terms, including “polysexual,” “pansexual,” and “genderqueer.”
“Why are elementary schools promoting/allowing elementary KIDS to research sexuality and create posters?” Reading wondered on Facebook. “This is not in the state elementary standards (law) nor in the BOE-approved curriculum. It’s perverse and should be illegal to expose my kids to sexual content.”
After one of her daughters asked Reading what “polysexual” meant, Reading contacted a parent of one of the children who created the posters, a school board member, and the schools superintendent, who all dismissed her concerns.
Reading&#8217;s Facebook post caught the attention of U.S. Army Reserve Major Christopher Schilling, who was attached to the nearby Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. According to Reading&#8217;s lawsuit, Schilling emailed parents and local school staff members, and even sought to involve personnel at the base in an attempt to censor and retaliate against Reading.
Schilling sent a message “falsely alleging that Mrs. Reading’s protected speech violated the School Ethics Act and school district policy, even though her Facebook post clearly stated that she was merely expressing her own opinion on social media, which policy expressly permits,” the lawsuit states.
School Superintendent Helen Payne sent a “letter to the community” saying Reading’s actions had “resulted in both general and specific threats against the District and its personnel” despite the fact that no such “specific threats” had been made, according to the lawsuit.
Robert Duff, chief of police for North Hanover Township, allegedly pressured the Facebook group administrator to remove Reading’s post, claiming &#8220;students could die&#8221; if it remained up, the lawsuit claims. Duff allegedly later told Reading he had received emails from the Joint Base calling her an “extremist” but insisted to Reading that the emails were “classified,” which the lawsuit states is false. The chief is also accused of improperly accessing school surveillance footage to try to prove Reading’s children had not seen the posters.
Reading alleges the efforts led to her being verbally abused at a December Board of Education meeting and spiraling problems for her and her family. She resigned from her school board post and from positions in the New Jersey School Boards Association and her husband resigned as president of the North Hanover Township School Board.
“My entire life has been uprooted,” Reading told <a href="https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2023/march/nj-mom-treated-like-a-terrorist-threat-demonized-for-questioning-sexual-posters-in-elementary-school?utm_source=wnd&amp;utm_medium=wnd&amp;utm_campaign=syndicated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBN News</a>. “When all of this was taking place, I&#8217;m in law school and I had to stop going to school, not take my exams, which plummeted my GPA. I had to pull my kids from school during that time period for their safely. And now I don&#8217;t feel safe for them even going back to that school given how so many members of the community and the superintendent participated in this cancellation and betrayal of me as a security threat.”
Reading&#8217;s lawyers deny that her Facebook post violated the law or the platform&#8217;s terms of use, and note that she did not name any individuals at the school and even took care to black out the name of a student artist.
&#8220;Mrs. Reading’s post respectfully expressed her concerns, but it did not call for any person to take any form of action or make a response,&#8221; the lawsuit states.
In addition to Schilling, Duff, and Payne, the lawsuit names other officials at the military base who Reading claims falsely told media outlets that Schilling acted alone
“The Joint Base further falsely claimed to the media that Defendant Schilling was acting alone when in fact, he had acted with the other Joint Base Actors under the respective authority of their Joint Base Superiors,” the lawsuit claims.
Reading said the incident has left her and her family pariahs in their own town.
“There are damages far outreaching that will follow me throughout my entire life,” she said. “I don&#8217;t even feel comfortable and safe going out in my community the way that they portrayed me. I&#8217;ve lost friends that don&#8217;t talk to me who actually believed the things that were being said.”

US-MILITARY-USAF-TANKER

Mom Of 2 Young Girls Sues Chief Of Police, Air Force Officials For Targeting Her After She Slammed Sexual Posters in Elementary School

New Jersey

sexual content

U.S. Air Force

Black students at an Ohio elementary school reportedly forced white students to say “Black Lives Matter,” and when some students balked, beat them up.
Newly-released surveillance video from February 10 at Kenwood Elementary School shows a student in a white shirt taken by two other students to the swings, where a third student knocks him to the ground. Later, another student is carried there and dropped to the ground; lastly, another student gets shoved to the ground.
School Principal Evan Hunsaker stated that “a few of the students who had tried to avoid the situation, were chased down and escorted, dragged, or carried to the spot on the playground. One student was also punched in the head by one of the suspects,” according to a Springfield, Ohio, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11815279/Cops-investigate-schoolkids-forced-white-students-say-Black-Lives-Matter-camera.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">police report</a>.
“According to a Springfield police report, a group of black students forced white students to say ‘Black Lives Matter’ against their will. Some of the kids were assaulted as this happened,” <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/video-watch-happens-alleged-assault-015755050.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WHIO</a> reported.
“The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents the District from disclosing personally identifiable information or details about the discipline of a child to anyone other than their parent or guardian,” the Springfield City School District district stated, adding:
<blockquote>
Moving forward from this experience, the District is working closely with counselors, mental health experts and multiple community partners and agencies to provide support to children and staff directly involved, as well as those not directly involved. The District will use this experience as an opportunity to strive fotold WKEF&lt; r greater acceptance, grow and reinforce community connections.
</blockquote>
Daniel Harr, who said his son was one of the children thrown to the ground, told <a href="https://dayton247now.com/news/local/he-was-thrown-to-the-ground-springfield-police-investigating-alleged-racial-incident" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WKEF</a>, “Just because it’s reversed [racism,] it’s still not all right.”
Harr’s wife <a href="https://www.facebook.com/krystal.haynes2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on Facebook, “Kenwood Elementary families! I just wanted to let people know that my 12 year old was really forced on his knees Friday and to say blm. Watch your babies! This is getting unsafe!” She <a href="https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/he-was-thrown-to-the-ground-springfield-police-investigating-alleged-racial-incident" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> of her son, “He’s not excited to go to school at all. He’s terrified.”
“I really feel like they should at least be expelled,&#8221; Daniel Harr concluded.
On February 20, Springfield Police <a href="https://dayton247now.com/news/local/crisis-in-the-classroom-new-surveillance-video-of-kenwood-elementary-incident-released?ref=upstract.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> they were pursuing charges against the assailants.
<iframe loading="lazy" id="molvideoplayer" title="MailOnline Embed Player" src="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/2889705.html" width="698" height="573" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Daily Life In Chicago

VIDEO: Black Grade School Kids Beat Up White Kids Who Won’t Say ‘Black Lives Matter’

Black Elementary School Kids Beat Up White Kids Who Won’t Say ‘Black Lives Matter’'

Black Lives Matter

Ohio

A six-year-old child shot his first-grade teacher in Newport News, Virginia.
Abigail Zwerner, 30, a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School, suffered injuries described as life-threatening but is now in stable condition. The incident reportedly occurred just as a small reading group in the class was about to learn about art.
“She was going to confiscate it, and that’s when he shot,” the mother of one child in the class told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/01/08/richneck-elementary-school-shooting-newport-news-virginia/">The Washington Post</a>.
The former director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice cited what he called the “infancy defense” to dismiss the idea that the child, placed in police custody, could be prosecuted.
“As a practical matter, it would be next to impossible to prosecute a 6-year-old, no matter how serious,” Andrew Block told the Post. “The bigger barrier, presuming the prosecution could overcome that, is all defendants have to be competent to stand trial. “That means you have to understand the nature of legal proceedings against you and assist in your own defense. There’s no way a 6-year-old would meet that criteria.”
A parent of one of the first-grade students told <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11613793/Teacher-25-deliberately-shot-chest-six-year-old-boy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Mail</a> that Zwerner “screamed at her kids to run away” after she was shot. Sebastian Gonzalez-Hernandez continued, “Even after she&#8217;d been shot she was thinking about the safety of her children. My son didn&#8217;t see what happened; he heard the gunshot go off, and turned around to see Miss Zwerner on the floor.”
“She is an amazing teacher, so dedicated,” he added. “My son absolutely loves her, and we&#8217;re devastated about what&#8217;s happened. We are all thinking of her and hoping that she gets better soon.”
John Eley III, a former member of the Newport News School Board, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abby-zwerner-virginia-teacher-police-say-shot-by-6-year-old-student-identified/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visited</a> Zwerner in the hospital and met several members of her family who also serve as teachers. “The family was all educators and said she was excited about doing the job,” he said. “The custodians and other teachers spoke about how she&#8217;s a good teammate, she&#8217;s a team player, she loves her children, she&#8217;s just an all-around good teacher.”
Richneck Principal Briana Foster Newton <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/virginia-teacher-shot-6-year-old-identified-parents-demand-action" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reacted</a> to the incident by stating, “My heart is aching for our school community. The tragic event that occurred on Friday impacts all of us deeply. My thoughts and prayers remain with our teacher who was seriously injured, and our students and our staff, who are dealing with the aftereffects of this tragedy.”

US-NEWS-VA-SCHOOL-SHOOTING-VP

‘Screamed At Her Kids To Run Away’: 6-Year-Old Shoots His 1st Grade Teacher

6-Year-Old Shoots His 1st Grade Teacher

First Grade

Shooting

A Florida school district is going ahead with a new policy requiring students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex after a federal appeals court ruling last week.
The superintendent of Pasco County Schools, which sits just north of Tampa, announced the new policy Tuesday during a school board meeting. The rule would ban trans-identifying students from using the bathroom of the opposite biological sex and is expected to take effect in the next month.
&#8220;I realize this change in practice may not sit well with some students and some adults, but it is important to know that we as a district and as elected officials are required to abide by the laws of the state of Florida and those of the United States. This change in district practice and procedure does both of those,&#8221; Superintendent Kurt Browning <a href="https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pascocounty/superintendent-pasco-county-students-use-restrooms-gender-at-birth/67-456bd6af-f183-4405-8bc3-93384afb8316">said</a> during the meeting.
Browning cited the December decision from the 11th Circuit federal appeals court in the case of a trans-identifying female student in the St. John&#8217;s area who was banned from using the boys bathroom at her school.
The court ruled that the school&#8217;s policy banning the student from the boys bathroom does not violate the Constitution or Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education.
&#8220;I’m going to do what I have always said I’ll do, which is follow the law. The 11th Circuit changed the law,&#8221; the superintendent <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-school-district-require-students-use-restrooms-based-biological-sex">said</a>. &#8220;It would be disingenuous of us to use the St. John&#8217;s case for the last five years and not use the 11th Circuit case as the basis of our decision-making.&#8221;
Browning also said that accommodations will be made for trans-identifying students.
&#8220;I also want the board to be aware that any student wishing to use an alternative restroom will be able to seek an accommodation to use a private restroom at their school,&#8221; Browning said.
One trans-identifying student, a female senior, spoke at Tuesday&#8217;s school board meeting and said she has been using the boys bathroom for the last four years.
&#8220;I don’t think this policy is going to do any good for anyone,&#8221; the student said. &#8220;I’m probably not going to follow the rules, so come what will.&#8221;
In the fall, Pasco County Schools <a href="https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/education/safe-space-stickers-banned-pasco-county-schools/67-d26649a2-6510-48f8-940b-d439fea1bb0e">announced</a> that the district will no longer use “safe spaces” or display “safe space” stickers.
The superintendent said the &#8220;safe spaces&#8221; were causing confusion for school staff, who were unsure whether a student&#8217;s presence in a designated &#8220;safe space&#8221; triggered a staffer&#8217;s legal duty to report a change in a student&#8217;s well-being to their parents. Florida&#8217;s new parental rights education law requires school staff to report changes in children&#8217;s well-being to parents. Another point of confusion was that students might mistakenly think a conversation in a &#8220;safe space&#8221; was confidential and would not be disclosed to their parents, Browning said.
The new bathroom policy at Pasco County Schools comes as debate is heating up across the country over trans-identifying students using the school bathroom of the opposite sex.
Districts in other states have <a href="https://www.ydr.com/story/news/local/2022/12/12/red-lion-students-told-to-use-bathroom-based-on-gender-at-birth/69712905007/">announced</a> similar rules about students using the bathroom that corresponds to their biological sex. Meanwhile, parents in other areas have <a href="https://www.abc57.com/news/angry-parents-speak-out-against-transgender-bathroom-access-at-new-prairie-schools">spoken out</a> against school policies that allow students to use the bathroom of the opposite sex.

Public sign in a washroom or bathroom destined for women in

Florida School District Will Require Students To Use Bathroom Of Biological Sex After Court Ruling

Florida

Gender Identity

Gender Pronouns

Public Schools

Two school board members in one of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/maine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maine&#8217;s</a> largest school districts are facing recall elections over their support for a controversial gender identity school policy.
Nearly 700 people signed a petition to remove board members Julia Lester and Sarah Otterson from the Oxford Hills School District school board, which includes Paris, Maine.
At an emergency meeting of the town of Paris&#8217; select board on Monday night, the board voted to put the issue to voters. The town of Paris will now decide whether the pair of school board members will lose their seats.
Lester and Otterson support the Oxford Hills (MSAD 17) district&#8217;s new proposed gender identity <a href="https://themainewire.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ACAAA-POLICY.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">policy</a> that deals with student names and pronouns, parental notification, and bathroom and locker room usage.
Last month, the Oxford Hills school board voted to provisionally approve the gender identity policy. Twelve school board members including Lester and Otterson <a href="https://www.themainewire.com/2022/10/oxford-hills-school-approves-rules-to-keep-student-gender-identity-changes-secret-from-parents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to approve the policy, while seven members voted against the policy.
The new rules would require school administrators to hide a child&#8217;s new gender identity from their parents unless the student has given express approval for their parents to know.
&#8220;Parent notification shall be contingent on student approval with the exception of school records accessed and disclosed under FERPA,&#8221; the policy <a href="https://www.themainewire.com/2022/10/oxford-hills-school-approves-rules-to-keep-student-gender-identity-changes-secret-from-parents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reads</a>.
School officials are also directed to coach students on how to make sure their parents do not find out about their new identity. For example, officials must inform students that changing their name and gender on official school records could reveal the change to their parents since parents have access to those records.
The policy also allows students to use whichever single-gender bathroom and locker room aligns with their gender identity.
The policy also requires that students be addressed by &#8220;the name and pronoun they request&#8221; by teachers, school staff, and other students.
If the policy goes into effect, it will apply to all 3,400 <a href="https://www.msad17.org/page/district-profile" target="_blank" rel="noopener">students</a> at all 10 schools in the Oxford Hills School District, which includes eight elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.
On Monday evening, some Paris select board members expressed their concerns with the new policy.
“I don’t want boys to be able to go into the girls room, and vice versa, and I have nothing against anybody who wants to live a certain lifestyle, I just don’t care. But I’d be worried if my grandchild was there, my little granddaughter and boys could go into the bathroom,” <a href="https://wgme.com/news/local/paris-to-hold-recall-election-for-school-board-members-who-support-gender-identity-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> select board member Scott McElravy.
The policy&#8217;s critics cited the parental notification part of the policy as a major problem.
“Two people on the board was promoting policies that interfered with a parent’s right to know. Us parents have had enough. That policy promoted secrecy,” said Armand Norton, who organized the recall petition.
“Parents are the first line of defense if something happens to the kid, the parents are responsible for them, not the school,” Norton said.
There is currently some <a href="https://www.wmtw.com/article/paris-select-board-accepts-petition-to-recall-school-board-members-over-gender-id-proposal/42043237#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legal confusion</a> around whether the town of Paris can remove school board members since the school district extends beyond Paris. Lester and Otterson represent Paris on the Oxford Hills School Board.
“If it is a law and it needs to be changed, maybe the town of South Paris is going to be the town to start changing things,” Norton said.
The recall election is <a href="https://www.wmtw.com/article/paris-select-board-accepts-petition-to-recall-school-board-members-over-gender-id-proposal/42043237#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to be held in January or February.

Equality March In Krakow

Gender Identity School Policy Leads To Recall Elections For Maine School Board Members

High School

Maine

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