Using a long held practice that allows parents to opt their children out of sex education classes, the Great Schools Initiative (GSI) has created their own opt out-form:

In addition to sex education classes, the GSI form demands students are exempted from "OTHER Sex Education Not Approved by the district Board of Education," which the group calls "rogue sex ed." Under the guise of "rogue sex ed," the GSI form targets anything during the school day that acknowledges the existence of LGBTQ people.

Among other things, parents who sign the GSI form, demand their children are not exposed to:

Teachers, staff, or administrators, displaying or distributing sexuality/gender paraphernalia like LGBTQ+ flags, or gay pride stickers

Teaching, lessons, or discussions in gender/sexuality social justice or gender/sexuality activism

Use, instruction, discussion, or teaching of gender-neutral bathrooms

Access to books/materials in the classroom libraries with references to non-biological gender identities or storylines containing any type of non-heterosexual relationships, and/or explicit sexual activities of any kind

Schoolwide activities that teach, discuss, or promote concepts about gender or sexual identities, gender or sexual expression, or other gender concepts such as LGBTQ+ Pride Week

In other words, GSI is redefining "sex education" to include a teacher wearing a rainbow pin, teaching about the women's suffrage movement, the availability of a gender-neutral bathroom, any book with LGBTQ characters, and any acknowledgment of LGBTQ pride week.

GSI is explicit about its goals. During a January 19 Zoom meeting, Nathan Pawl, one of GSI's co-founders, said the group aimed to have "20, 30, 50, or 100 parents per school" start "dropping off the opt-out forms" in the month of February. According to Paul, this strategy will "be too much for [schools] to handle." It won't be possible to "pick on one kid any longer." To comply with GSI's opt-out form, Pawl says, the only option would be "to transform our schools."

"Florida's doing all they can to erase LGBQT from existence. Push everyone back into the closet. All in the name of protecting children."

"This is the new cultural war that DeSantis is hoping to harness and ride all the way to the WH."

Yep, this is the newest iteration of the culture war. Trump knows it too:

Trump issues another education position: "As part of our new credentialing body for teachers, we will promote positive education about the nuclear family, the role of mothers & fathers, and celebrating rather than erasing the things that make men & women different & unique."

"I did.
I didn't realize that having the freedom to opt out of sex education means erasing homosexuals from existence."

Maybe you skipped over this part of the article:

In other words, GSI is redefining "sex education" to include a teacher wearing a rainbow pin, teaching about the women's suffrage movement, the availability of a gender-neutral bathroom, any book with LGBTQ characters, and any acknowledgment of LGBTQ pride week.

Notably, for many of these items, it is impossible for a school to exclude individual students. Either the school acknowledges LGBTQ pride week, or it does not. The school either has a gender-neutral bathroom, or it does not. The intent is not for parents to exercise control over their children. It is to align the entire school with a reactionary political agenda.

GSI is explicit about its goals. During a January 19 Zoom meeting, Nathan Pawl, one of GSI's co-founders, said the group aimed to have "20, 30, 50, or 100 parents per school" start "dropping off the opt-out forms" in the month of February. According to Paul, this strategy will "be too much for [schools] to handle." It won't be possible to "pick on one kid any longer." To comply with GSI's opt-out form, Pawl says, the only option would be "to transform our schools."

#37 All it may take is one or two:

So GSI, with legal support from the far-right Thomas More Society, plans to overwhelm Michigan schools with litigation. During an October 26, 2022, meeting at Mother of God Chaldean Catholic Church in Southfield, Michigan, the Thomas More Society's Erick Kaardal said they would pursue "asymmetrical lawfare" to overwhelm public schools. According to Pawl, the Thomas More Society is funding the planned litigation.

According to Kaardal, the Thomas More Society considered executing the "opt-out" strategy in numerous states. The group, however, determined that Michigan "was the best place to do this." Under Michigan law, if a parent believes a school did not abide by the sexual education opt-out, the parent can file "a complaint with the superintendent ... of the district ... in which the pupil is enrolled." Within 30 days of receiving the complaint, the district must "provide a written report of his or her findings to the parent or legal guardian who filed the complaint." If any violations are found, the district is required to take "corrective action" within 30 days after the report is issued.

Kaardal noted that these administrative complaints "are cheap" and don't require "a lot of legal resources." In addition to burdening the schools with a flood of litigation, each complaint is a "messaging" vehicle and provides "a platform for us to discuss the issues."

"So, the better thing to do is to ban parents from the opportunity to opt out of something like sex ed or some recognition or celebration of some sort?"

No, the ability to opt out is legitimate, but as was discussed in previous threads about obscenity laws as they relate to minors, many school boards and teachers themselves may decide to avoid the hassle and remove anything that some parent could conceivably protest.

How is that "litigation"?
To me, it looks like just being a pain in the --- with complaints and follow ups.

Apparently, it's the first step toward litigation:

If a parent is not satisfied with the decision of the school district, the complaint can be appealed to the "intermediate district in which the district is located." (In Michigan, an intermediate school district helps manage multiple local school districts.) Once the appeal is filed, the intermediate district must file another report within 30 days. If that isn't satisfactory, a parent can appeal to the state Department of Education, which has 90 days to issue a report. In addition to corrective action, the Department of Education is empowered to withhold up to 1% of a school district's state funding. And if the Department of Education doesn't side with the parent, the complaint can be appealed to Michigan courts.

"I see that we are progressing as a country on the issue of gay rights, same sex marriage, etc.
not regressing. Despite the attempts of opportunists to portray it otherwise to frighten people."

In order to maintain and advance that progress, people in this country need to wake up and start participating in their local and state elections. Saw this reminder on Twitter today:

"It's as if hardly anybody here knows what in the hell is going on in their respective communities."

I'm as guilty as anyone on that. Or was. I told the story on here a while back of how it came to my attention that several people supported by these anti-gay, anti-woke, pro-book banning types were running for my local school board. Both the Democratic and Republican parties in the county united in a bi-partisan (or nonpartisan) push to keep them from getting elected. I made it a point to vote in that election. Fortunately, all the anti-woke folks were defeated. This time. I'm sure they'll try again.

"what is being attempted by some group of bible thumpers in Michigan as to what's really going on."

I just want to point out that some of these groups, like the one I was referring in my local community, are in all 50 states. Dammit. Can't think of the name of the group. I think it might have mothers or moms in the title. They were endorsed by Steve Bannon. In that way, what is a local problem is also a country-wide problem.

Moms for Liberty, that's it.

Right-Wing School Board Members Are Making Their Presence Felt

In 2022, right wing groups continued their concerted effort to commandeer school board seats across the country. While results of these efforts were mixed, some boards are now seeing radical moves by new majorities.

Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice was plain enough when she appeared on Steve Bannon's show:

School Board Elections--The Epicenter for Political Control

When we reflect on America's culture wars in public schools, when we become aware that school board members and their families have received death threats, how could it be any other way that when Steve Bannon said, "The path to save the nation is very simple--it's going to go through the school boards," he was echoing what Christian Right leader Ralph Reed said in 1996, "I would rather have a thousand school board members than a president and no school board members."

Democracy is on the ballot in every election now. Remember to vote on November 8th " all the way down ballot.

These folks are tenacious, organized, well funded, and they are coming for a school board near you. And in some states, they have the full backing of state politicians like DeSantis, who have aspirations for higher political office. That's the through line for the micro to the macro discussions:

Mothers Fuelling the School-Board Wars

Moms for Liberty claims that teachers are indoctrinating students with dangerous ideologies. But is the group's aim protecting kids"or scaring parents?

The group Moms for Liberty accuses teachers of using books to indoctrinate kids about critical race theory and gender fluidity.

"If you really believed that then you'd rolled up your sleeves and gotten involved a long -------- time ago."

Yes, people should have gotten involved long ago. But the truth is, some of these rightwing activists have only become interested/involved on the local level in the past few years themselves.

"Thank goodness we have mediums like this which broadcast the existence of such groups and more people are aware of their existence and their larger goals."

Yes.

"The point being this isn't about Michigan, it's not about Florida, it is about the GOP pushing this on everyone, all using kids as human shields. "

FL, MI, PA, Iowa, etc. It's a coordinated 50 state GOP effort, and it ranges from local school boards all the way up to presidential candidates. Here is an example from Virginia:

Sawicky also reports that the DeSantis-branded curricular offensive is out in full force in his state [VA], with talk of book burning at school board meetings and bans in Madison County of Stephen King, Toni Morrison, and Anne Rice. "But the thing I worry about more," he says, "is opening the door to parents scrutinizing what goes on in classrooms and creating an environment where teachers are afraid to deal with stuff like race." A recent RAND corporation poll of 8,000 teachers found that a quarter of them admitted to limiting classroom discussions of race and gender for fear of parental and political reprisals.

These kinds of crackdowns are critical in district-level political confrontations, Sawicky notes, because education controversies are a key fulcrum in the white suburban enclaves that strategists from both major parties covet. "For suburbanites, the most intimate relationship people have with the public sector is the public school. They don't worry so much about trash pickup, water, or electricity. People move here and pay a lot for real estate because of the schools"and what happens with suburbs and schools has a bigger strategic national importance."