Posts tagged Parents Bill of Rights
TEACHERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS PROTEST CTA’S RADICAL POLITICS AT UNION CONFERENCE
October 31, 2023 // This past weekend, the California Teachers Association (CTA) held its quarterly State Council of Education in downtown Los Angeles to elect CTA leadership, set CTA policy, develop legislation and strategize for the upcoming election year. Much to the consternation of the 800 CTA delegates in attendance, a group of local teachers, congregants and concerned community members gathered outside the building to protest the union’s repeated attempts to push a radical political agenda into California’s classrooms. Led by Brenda Lebsack of the Interfaith Statewide Coalition and Pastor Luis Olan of “Restauracion Familiar,” the demonstration featured around 120 participants — mostly Hispanic fathers, mothers and children raising their voices against CTA. For years, CTA’s financial and ideological priorities have shifted away from promoting “the well-being of its members.” Though the union collects a significant amount of revenue from membership dues, CTA spent less than half of its budget on workplace representation in 2021.
Teachers unions critical of ‘Parents Bill of Rights’
March 31, 2023 // The Parents Bill of Rights Act, officially known as H.R. 5, proposed several education reforms, such as: Require more transparency in school curriculum and materials, such as books in classrooms and libraries, as well as how the school spends its budget Establish parental rights to know whether a school allows transgender girls to use restrooms or changing rooms, or play on sports teams that do not match their gender at birth Require schools to obtain parental consent to allow a student to use a different name, pronoun, or facility that do not match the student’s gender at birth The bill passed along mostly party lines by a 213-208 vote, as congressional Republicans currently have the majority in the lower chamber of Congress. AFT President Randi Weingarten, in a press release, claimed that the bill’s passage was an example of “divisive, performative politics.” Weingarten claimed that the bill would force school districts to “divert their limited resources from teaching, censor education, ban books, and harm children.” The union president said that the bill “has very little to do with actually helping students or parents” and that Congress should focus on “supporting our public schools.” NEA President Becky Pringle said the bill will not help public schools because congressional Republicans “would rather seek to stoke racial and social division and distract us from what will really help our students thrive: an inspiring, inclusive, and age-appropriate curriculum that prepares each and every one of them for their future.”