Welcome to Hall Pass. This is a newsletter written to enable you to participate in conversations that promote school board politics and governance.
In today’s edition, you’ll find:
- On the issue: Debate over Florida’s decision to ban AP African American studies courses
- School board submission deadlines, election results, recall certificates
- 240 school districts have boards of ten or more members, and Chicago’s public schools will soon be one of them.
- Extracurricular Activities: Educational News on the Web
- Candidate Connection Survey
To share your reactions and story ideas, please email us at editor@balloppedia.org.
Have a few opinions?our 2023 Reader Survey!
On the Issue: What Different Aspects Say About Florida’s Decision on AP African American Studies Courses
This section curates reports, analysis, and commentary on the issues that school board members considered as they set out to provide the best possible education in their district.
On January 12, the Florida Department of Education refused to allow the AP African American Studies course to be taught in its current format in K-12 schools.You can read our coverage of the story here.
Rich Lowry writes that schools should teach the Middle Passage, slavery, abolition, segregation, and discrimination against blacks, but says the AP course is ideologically one-sided. Laurie, according to the curriculum, covers Black Queer Studies and cites a section of the course “Shifting Sexuality Studies to Racial Analysis.” Students should not be exposed to what he says is.
Renee Graham writes that racism was the motivation for Florida’s refusal of the AP African American Studies course. Graham says the decision promotes white supremacy by downplaying the importance of black experience, oppression, and achievement in the education of American history. Some call it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which it says is the equivalent of the “Black” rule, referring to the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” that Florida passed in 2022.
DeSantis Is Right to Reject AP’s Awakened African American Studies Curriculum | | rich lowry new york post
“No reasonable person would object to teaching American history completely and honestly. , stipulates that the experience of slavery, its abolition, and the effects of racial segregation and other forms of discrimination should be taught.) The problem lies in the ideological weaponry with which the curriculum instills a distorted, one-sided worldview. The College Board has not published a pilot curriculum, but as documented by conservative writer Stanley Kurtz and the publication The Florida Standard In fact, it’s really insane when it comes to dealing with contemporary issues.The curriculum presents Black Lives Matter and the reparation movement in a favorable light, and without arguing, goes from Robin DG Kelley to Michelle Alexander in a row on the left. Prejudice aside, who thinks high school students need to brush up on “black queer studies” at a time when America’s historical and civic knowledge is on the brink of collapse? The curriculum explains that the topic “explores the notion of queer critique of color rooted in black feminism and intersectionality as a lens of black studies that shifts the study of sexuality into racial analysis.” . Sure, if someone wants to marinate in this Drek, they can wait to do it at a university that specializes in wasting student time and spreading ridiculous cants and lies.
Ron DeSantis’ Horror in American History | | Renee Graham boston globe
“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to ban African-American studies courses in Florida schools included the white slaveholders who fought to keep their enslaved people from learning to read and write English. …The most vocal protesters against indoctrination are usually those who actively promote it through their own divisive agendas. Using “woke,” a decades-old Black term meaning to remain vigilant and aware of social injustice and inequality, as a code against anything or anyone he doesn’t like, including everything related to the LGBTQ community. Remade into a slanderous slander. … Critical to preserving white supremacy is erasing not only the trauma of black people inflicted by systemic and institutional racism, but also black achievements, victories, and contributions. It shouldn’t be, but “patriotism” has become shorthand for enlightening white people as her one true compass in this country. In rejecting his AP course, a college-level class for high school students, the DeSantis administration argued that it “severely lacks educational value.” The ban was not enough. He had to deny the value of this course. Because it puts Blackness at the heart of this nation’s history. It’s not just that DeSantis and other Republican lawmakers want to prevent black children from being reflected in history. want to force white students to feed their supremacist propaganda. ”
School Board Updates: Submission Deadlines, Election Results, Recall Certificates
Ballotpedia has historically covered school board elections in nearly 500 of the nation’s largest school districts. With an eye on over 13,000 districts with elected school boards, we are gradually expanding our coverage.
Upcoming School Board Elections
Ballotpedia covers all school board primaries in Oklahoma on February 14th. The general election will take place on his April 4th. In next week’s edition, we’ll bring you a preview of the Oklahoma primary.
Election districts include:
Ballotpedia also covers special school board elections to fill school board vacancies. Charleston County School District Board of Trustees February 7th. His two candidates running for District 6 seat—Daron Lee Calhoun II When Lee Lanyon.
On February 21st, Balloppedia will cover the school board primary. WisconsinSimilar to Oklahoma, it covers all districts that have primaries in the states of Badgers.
click here Learn more about the 2023 School Board Elections here.
240 school districts have boards of 10 or more members. Chicago public schools will soon be one of them.
Chicago, the third largest city in the United States, mayoral election February 28th.Education is a central issue in election campaigns, and candidates Measurement about laws that gradually hand over control of Chicago Public School Board We’ve expanded our membership to 21 members, from mayors to voters, making it one of the largest commissions in the country. Chicago Public Schools is her fourth largest school district in the country. fell recently behind Miami-Dade Public Schools in Florida.
of 13,194 school districts In this country, only 240, or about 2%, are governed by school boards with 10 or more members.These 243 districts span 18 states.
Most district boards consist of five or seven members. Only 495 boards have his 6 members and only 86 boards have his 8 members.
Unlike most districts where voters choose their board of directors, the mayor of Chicago appoints seven members of the board. Chicago Public Schools is the only school district in Illinois with an appointed school board.
2021, signed by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (Democrat) House Bill 2908This will expand the Chicago Public Schools Board to 21 members starting in 2025. Voters elect her ten members, and the mayor appoints her remaining eleven. In 2026, all members of the Board will be elected.
incumbent mayor Lori LightfootMr., those who are recruiting for the second term, opposed HB 2908 creates a new layer of bureaucracy, stating that it “creates a cumbersome 21-person committee.”lightfoot too Said She complained that the bill did not limit campaign spending. Pritzker and the chicago teachers unionsaid allowing city residents to have a direct say in choosing board members would increase transparency and accountability.
The average school board consists of about six members.
Each district has a different number of school board members. West Virginia has the fewest school board members per school district (3.45), followed by New Mexico (4.23) and Montana (4.26). Connecticut has the most school board members per school district (9.97), followed by Louisiana (9.26) and Pennsylvania (8.69).
The South Texas Independent School District (STISD) has the nation’s largest public school board with 24 members. STISD consists only of magnet schools. About 4,100 students attend his STISD. The largest board that oversees traditional public schools is the Main School District District 54 with 23 members. About 2,370 students attend schools in the district.
School districts with 10 or more board members have an average enrollment of 10,215 students. Chicago Public Schools has over 322,000 students.
In 2022, Ballotpedia surveyed over 82,000 school board members in the country.about that project old version of this newsletter.click here Read about this project and learn more about our research.
Extracurricular Activities: Educational News on the Web
This section contains links to recent education-related articles on the Internet. If you know an article you should read, please reply to this email to share it.
Participate in candidate connection surveys to reach voters in your district
It features survey responses from the school board candidates who won the race on November 8th.
Today is Jackie Ulmerwon the general election for the Cave Creek Unified School District Board of Governors in Arizona, Jose Magañawon the general election for the San Jose Board of Education Trustee Area 2 in California.
Here’s how Ulmer answered that question: “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?”
“From a school board perspective:
academic excellence
Curriculum transparency and a return to what the schools teach and move away from excesses in certain areas.
school and student safety
fair compensation for teachers
Stop probing children with inappropriate and intrusive questions that have nothing to do with the student’s education or the role of the school. ”
click here To read the rest of Ulmer’s answer.
Here’s how Maganya answered the question: “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?”
“I have been in education for over ten years. Whether it is my time as a teacher, coach, non-profit leader, or education policy/finance professional, I am fully committed to education policy. As a Trustee, I have worked on the following policy areas in education:
Improved student performance, effective tutoring, student safety and mental health, arts, STEM, after-school programming, employee retention, more resources from the community, and transparent communication.
I am the only candidate with the experience, expertise and tangible victories that can move our district forward after the difficulties of the pandemic. My opponents have had experience yelling at board meetings or not attending at all. His extremist position will demonize certain groups of students, families, and staff. Is required.
My daughter, neighbors and community deserve the best leaders to help move our district forward.We need experience, not extremism. ”
click here To read the rest of Maganya’s answer.
