Hey! Teachers, Leave Those Kids Alone

Executive Summary

There is an immediate crisis in Kentucky schools because a poorly understood Marxist doctrine known as Critical Race Theory, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the 1619 Project, and other curricula, are being foisted on our children by radical leftist groups who are teaching division and hate.  This book is deliberately short and to the point to help legislators and parents understand the issues, and more importantly, what is needed now to protect our children.  Please take the time to look at definitions from these dogma and model legislation from other states that have addressed this pressing issue.  This booklet will give you a working knowledge of these issues and suggest practical remedies.

When parents seek to understand the decision-making process in Kentucky’s schools, they will find the Kentucky Department of Education, their Site Based Decision Making Council, the local school board, and the teacher’s union a mystifying matrix.  If parents look for answers in the 728 pages of Kentucky’s Minimum State Standards for student achievement, they will see the demystifying Education matrix and then realize, possibly for the first time, the State’s control of their children’s entire life. For example, one of eight subject areas mentioned in the 728 pages of Kentucky’s minimum state standards for student achievement is “Practical Living” which:

…instructs children in health and physical education. This includes decision making skills, self-esteem, peer pressure, physical wellness, nutrition, safety, disease prevention, exercise, fitness, human growth and development, stress management, conflict resolution, substance abuse, group membership, goal setting, mental and emotional wellness, community resources and services.

Most Kentucky parents do not realize they are surrendering their children to a coordinated Education matrix with teachers, not parents, who impart a state-based morality. Is the intent to mold their entire souls?  If loss of parental control over their children’s education and life is to be regained, this book represents a first step. Parents are saying NO to loss of local control, but they need legislative assistance to have a fair representation of parents on site-based decision making councils, who are welcomed to monitor and evaluate curricula and have input into state standards.

This handbook book obviously cannot reform the entire system, but, as to where to begin and where to focus, the following points are offered:

The need for oversight is multi-faceted.  Union influence, lobbying groups focused on sexuality, and our Kentucky State Standards for student achievement need the watchful eye of our legislature, as these are pressure points that are overreaching the pedagogical mission of education.

Because of the immediate attacks by those advocating for Marxist doctrines of CRT and DEI, we are asking the legislature to pass a bill as many other states have already done, to stop this distortion of who we are as an American people.

Secondly, because Kentucky is unique in its use of Site Based Decision Making Councils (SBDM)for oversight of curriculum and administration, the legislature needs to modify the composition of the councils so parents have a voice.  The current law requires a composition of principal as chair, two teachers selected by the faculty, and two parents.  Parents do not have enough representation to vote or veto in matters such as the objectionable DEI curriculum being foisted on our children.

In 2008, 76 former SBDM Council members responded to an anonymous questionnaire in a survey from Western Kentucky University.  In question 18, the parents and teachers were asked to write weaknesses of the SBDM council.  Both parents and teachers commented again that decision making was controlled by the principal:  Parents said:

“At times the council members were listeners to the principal rather than decision makers.” Teachers: “It didn’t matter the way the council voted . . . the principal would still make the final decision.”  (Support and Resources for Site-Based Decision-Making Councils: Perceptions of Former Council Members of Two Large Kentucky School Districts.  Florida Journal of Administration and Policy, Fall, 2008.  https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ902996.pdf)

Parents are the primary actors to shape their children’s moral, spiritual, and ethical worldview.  Children need to be filled with gratitude for this One Nation under God, that has provided them the greatest opportunities history has ever known.  This bill is a giant step in that direction.