“(Founding Father) John Jay once said, “I believe education is the soul of the nation.'' I agree,'' said the District 3 candidate for the Alabama Board of Education. one Ann Eubank said Tuesday in a Zoom forum hosted by LOCAL Alabama. “Our country is in grave danger of losing its soul.”

Eubank's remarks set the tone for a candidate forum that focused primarily on attacking critical race theory, social-emotional learning and diversity, equity and inclusion; was by far the loudest advocate.

LOCAL Alabama is a far-right nonprofit group that has identified social-emotional learning in the classroom and the “Marxization of education” as pressing issues for the state's schools.

Eubank was joined by his Republican primary opponents, former state Rep. Charlotte Meadows and Kelly Mooney, wife of state Rep. Arnold Mooney. Meadows and Mooney also spoke to a “woke agenda,” although to a lesser extent than Eubank, and spoke at length about issues facing schools, such as chronic absenteeism and teacher recruitment and retention.

“The American Lung Association has a saying, 'If you can't breathe, nothing else matters.' Similarly, if you're not in school, nothing else matters,” Meadows said. . “To me, this is a really important issue. There are some important things we can do, including rolling out family support initiatives across the state.”

Meadows also highlighted student discipline as a concern, saying it has worsened since COVID-19 and there is a shortage of trained and qualified teachers.

Mooney said the State Board of Education needs to focus on closing the achievement gap, especially among students from different socio-economic or ethnic backgrounds. Mooney said the board should also prioritize curriculum standards and funding transparency.

“We need to focus our time on core subjects, remove common ground, teach historically accurate and strong civics, and distance ourselves from gender ideology. That's something parents should work on at home. '' Mooney said.

According to Eubank, the biggest problem facing education is the “Marxization of education.”

“During COVID-19, parents learned what their children were being taught,” Eubank said. “Parents at home couldn't believe what their children were being taught and how a radical agenda was being used instead of history, math and science. We expect them to learn history, math, science, and reading, but now they don't. They're teaching critical race theory, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and worst of all, uses social-emotional learning and critical pedagogy instead of teaching concrete facts.”

The host asked each candidate how they would like to approach education savings accounts, something the Legislature will likely decide after Gov. Kay Ivey unveils her proposal in next week's State of the State address. It will be.

Meadows pointed to the School Choice Act of 2022 in the House of Representatives as a roadmap, saying there should be no barriers for students to have the opportunity to access ESAs and that private schools should He said testing data should be required to be made available to the public. Accountability.

Mr. Mooney said he wants to ensure a diversity of choice among private schools while ensuring equitable access, and that the program must be created after working with all stakeholders. He also said it is important that there is accountability to ensure students receive the education they deserve.

Eubank said he plans to follow the Hillsdale model of a conservative university. The Hillsdale model already has one “classical education” charter school opening in Prattville in the near future. These schools were founded as a conservative answer to liberal bias in public education.

Each candidate was also asked how teachers would be affected if they were caught teaching DEI or CRT concepts in their classrooms.

Eubank said he would like to see teachers undergo “retraining” for a first offense and fired for a second offense, but firing public school teachers is a difficult process. He pointed out that there is.

Meadows told the story of a student who was sent home with homework that mentioned “two mothers and two women” and whose teacher resolved the situation after being told it was unacceptable. . She noted that charter school teachers are typically not tenured and can be fired at the end of the school year.

Mooney said he would issue an order to resolve the issue if he was not satisfied, adding: “There is no place for that in the classroom.”

The primary election is scheduled for March 5th.