I stopped watching the Clay County School Board (CCSB) meetings when some of the members started calling each other the B-word and acting like guests on the Jerry Springer Show. Maybe you haven’t tuned in to Jerry’s show, on purpose or accidentally when channel surfing and were horror-struck enough to pause and watch. But Jerry gathers together what seems to be the most dysfunctional and intellectually deficient people on the planet who air their most shocking personal secrets and call each other foul names.
Since the election for three school board members is upon us, I decided to watch the August 4th school board meeting and begin to catch up. There were no B-words being hurled…well, not on camera, but an entire catch-up would be book-length. So this first installment is to tell you about the biggy…a new law that affects public schools and students in Florida.
Florida legislators passed a law in March and it took effect on July 1, 2022, called the Parental Rights in Education Act (PREA) or House Bill 1557. Critics of the bill call it “Don’t Say Gay” because they want folks to think anyone in favor of this bill does not love our gay kids or our gay teachers…we do. School boards in Florida are now required by state law to write a policy for their district to make sure HB 1557 is followed in Florida’s public schools.
Parts of the bill guarantee that parents have the right to direct the “education, upbringing, moral or religious training” of their children and have access to their children’s education and health records. School personnel are required to notify parents if there is a change in the students’ “mental, emotional or physical health” and to encourage students to discuss, with their parents, any problems they may have.
The problem for the “Don’t Say Gay” people is that HB 1557 requires language in all school boards’ policies which say teachers cannot give classroom instructions on “sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten to 3rd grade…” or instructions that are not “age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in any grade.”
Like the Jerry show, the most interesting stuff about the school board meetings usually happens behind-the-scenes. I obtained copies of numerous “Urgent” memos, “Urgent” emails, and “Urgent” legal directives that were sent to the school board, the school board’s attorney, administrators and teachers. The materials were sent from the local teachers’ union, the Clay County Education Association (CCEA), and advised the board how to write the policy for HB 1557.
According to the urgent communiqués by the union, they seem to believe, or want others to believe, that HB 1557 was created simply as a “bullying” attack on gay or LGBTQ students, LGBTQ teachers and the “common sense” of all teachers. CCEA’s directives appear to offer ways to sidestep part of the law.
One piece of information that the union offered to help bypass Florida’s law was that the Biden Administration enacted federal law which allowed educators to disregard some requirements in Florida’s Parental Rights Education Act. The union wrote that federal law trumps state law. But Florida’s Commissioner of Education, Manny Diaz, said unions who used that information told a big fat lie (BFL). Diaz said the Biden Administration had simply offered “guidance” to disregard the law and there were never any federal laws which allowed teachers to disregard any part of HB 1557. The Commissioner said educators who do not follow the law can be sued.
Although the law bans teachers from giving “orientation or gender identity to kindergarten to 3rd grade…” the union writes this:
“Nothing in the law prohibits the display of Pride flags, stickers or any other LGBTQ+ symbols. If you received a directive from an administrator to remove any inclusive symbols from a classroom, ask for the directive to be put in writing…”
This appears to be another BFL, because Diaz authorized staff to advise schools to “pull LGBTQ support documents at all school districts” since the State Board of Education has determined the material could violate the new law.
A representative from the CCEA wrote that they have been “lobbying nonstop” for certain directives to be put in the school boards policy.
“I am thrilled to report that yesterday the district agreed with CCEA.” wrote the union.
The unions advised teachers: don’t worry, be happy and call us if you get into trouble for violating HB 1557.
Parents got copies of the policy before the August 4th school board meeting and studied it extensively. They were not happy.
Before the meeting started a parent said she spoke directly to school board member, Ashley Hutchings Gilhousen. The mother told Gilhousen that parts of the policy violated parents’ rights. She also told Gilhousen that folks had gotten the memos and email directives from the union as to how the policy should be written to sidestep the law. The parent asked Gilhousen to request a delay of the vote until parents had a chance to talk about changes that would be more in line with state law. Gilhousen said she had not had time to read the material.
Parents spoke during the board meeting in the short three-minutes they were given and pointed out obvious flaws in the board’s policy. Bruce Bickner, the school board’s attorney said he cut and pasted it, wrote it, and liked it. The school board members were mostly quiet…or asleep. They voted unanimously to accept Bickner’s policy.
I read the policy and the parents’ suspicions were justified. The policy starts out good, but has several “just kiddings” that reverse HB 1557. B.6, D.1, 2, and 3 of the policy leave loopholes big enough to fit Uranus through…the planet. It basically allows educators to keep information about students a secret from their parents if “a reasonable prudent person would believe that disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect… .” The policy does not define a “reasonable prudent person.” It doesn’t require a teacher to have any type of special education, training, or assessment skills to allow them to keep those secrets from parents or to counsel students.
In all professions and in life there’s the good, the bad and the front porch crazy who are not “reasonable or prudent” people. The applies to teachers and to parents.
Florida legislators did not just pull HB 1557 out of their ears…or lower. It was the result of scary things that have happened to our kids throughout our county. The facts are that Clay’s gay students need this law and a good policy from the school board as much as our straight kids do.
Local residents Wendell and Maria Perez can attest to that need. They are suing the Clay County’s Superintendent of Schools, the principal, assistant principal and school counselor of Robert M. Paterson Elementary.
The Perez parents said their daughter went to see Paterson’s counselor because she was being bullied “because she liked video games.” She said her classmates said only boys liked video games. The counselor had “a lot of posters, literature, and other promotional materials related to LGBTQ ‘pride’ in her office.” The girl said she thought the materials were “cool.” After the visit, reports said that educators at Paterson began to pull the Perez’s daughter from her elementary classes and began “counseling” her about her sexual choices without the parents knowledge or consent.
The family said the educators created a “double life” for their child as they encouraged her to start using a male name and pronoun in her class. Educators told the Perez child not to tell her parents about her new name and pronouns because the parents would disown her and throw her out of their home. When teachers relayed the new name and pronoun to other teachers and students, the bullying increased.
The Perez parents said their usually happy child became quiet, withdrawn, and severely depressed and despite their best efforts, they had no idea why. She tried to hang herself in the school bathroom. The school did not tell the family about their child’s suicide attempt. She attempted suicide again the next day. Educators said they did not tell the Perez parents about the counseling or their daughter’s issues, “because of their Catholic beliefs.”
For the past 10 days I have talked with parents of straight and gay students and their children about their experiences in Clay’s public schools. The conversations were disturbing and eerily similar in most instances.
Some of our county schools, including elementary and junior high schools, have created “safe clubs” for students who have “gender identity issues” or are “different.” Some teachers recruit students they think have gender issues to join the clubs. One female student told me a teacher tried to recruit her and that she was not gay and had no gender issues. She said she simply played sports and was not a “girly-girl.”
One alarming account came from a student who attended Oakleaf Jr. High. The student felt she might identify as “gay.” Her parents realized their child was confused and they worked hard to be supportive and loving. The student was recruited to join Oakleaf’s safe club, along with a friend. The members were told not to tell their parents about the club, however this student had already asked her parents’ permission to join and they agreed. The parent hoped the comradery of other questioning kids would provide a level of comfort. The child said kids in the club were also warned not to tell their parents they were gay because all their parents would “hate them…beat them…and kick them out of their house,” especially if the parents were Christians. Like the Perez child, teachers encouraged members of the safe club to choose a new name and pronouns by which they wished to be identified. But students were told to keep their new names a secret from their parents, as well as “anything” that happened in the club.
The changes further isolated the kids of the safe club from their peers.
The student said Oakleaf Jr. High club members were given the book GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Teens by Kelly Huegel from Free Spirit Publishing. The GLBTQ book sites “research” and “facts” about sex and LGBTQ issues from Dr. Alfred Kinsey, a zoologist. Kinsey is also a pedophile and encourages the “anything goes” theory regarding sex. He advised that it is “vital for children to engage in sex at least by age six so they do not develop “cultural taboos” based on “religion.” He encourages “…pedophilia, incest and bestiality.” Kinsey did some repulsive and hideous “sexual experiments” on approximately 317 children from five months to 14 years of age and used this research for the basis of his sexual “theories.” He claimed he also did research on “average Americans.”
After reviewing Kinsey’s “research” numerous experts completely debunked his “theories.” They said his research on babies and children was nothing more than “molestation.” Experts found the research Kinsey said he did on “average Americans” was primarily on people “in prison and/or were deviant males” classified as “sex offenders.” The women in his study included “prostitutes.” All Kinsey’s “scientific findings” came from “pedophiles, not ‘technically trained’ experts as he preferred to call them.”
The parents of the Oakleaf Jr. High student said their child became confused, deeply depressed and isolated. After the student was in the club over a year, the parents found the Kinsey’s book and other materials that was given to their child. They gently questioned their student about the club and were stunned at what they heard. The parents removed her from club.
“We lost a year and a half with our child because of the secret life they were forced to live.” said the mother.
After several years out of the club, the parents have seen a marked positive different in their child. But the student still feels bewildered and especially betrayed with some of the confusing things that happened in the club. The student doesn’t understand the actions and advice of the teachers who were supposed to help.
“Why would they prey on me like they did?” the student asked emotionally.
Parents of students in other schools’ safe clubs said they felt their children may be gay or questioning, while others believed their kids were simply full of teenage angst and confused because they were trying to “figure life out.” But all the parents were shaken and outraged when they discovered the “materials and advice” teachers gave to their kids. Not only were the materials not age appropriate, they said, but the advice from some of these teachers were dangerous. Parents said a teacher involved in a club urged students to “transition” to their preferred gender using dangerous hormones and surgery.
All the parents I spoke with believe the safe clubs are not safe for any student and they have gone to the district and some school board members with their fear about the clubs. They’ve gotten mostly eye-rolls and crickets from people who are elected and paid to look after our kids. All these parents believe a policy that actually supports parental law HB 1557 can save their kids from those who have attempted to “sexualize” their children “for their own agendas.”
When it comes to our kids, August 23rd will be the most important election ever held in our county. The three incumbents, Bullock, Kerekes and Gilhousen have taken credit for our “A” schools in their campaigns, when the teachers deserved the thanks.
Bullock and Kerekes are strongly supported by the union and have supported all the union’s agendas. It’s not exactly clear if Gilhousen supported the union’s directives or if she just voted with the union gals since they voted to give her brother and dad a humongous school board contract.
The three incumbents have spent 28 years collectively on the board. I believe the three have long worn out their welcome. And, it appears, so has the union.
Teachers in Clay County and around the state are leaving the local and state union because of intimidation, fear, large dues and constant battles waging against parents. They are joining the Professional Educators Network of Florida (PENfl). The dues are significantly lower since PENfl does not split the dues with the Florida union and two national unions. PENfl has the same benefits for the teachers as the CCEA and the national unions, but without the strong-armed politics.
Regardless of the outcome of the election, many parents, parents’ organizations and yes, teachers, are not going “silently into the good night.” They are not planning to allow the board to move forward with the faulty policy. Lots of folks are lobbying Governor DeSantis to bring attention to the defective policy that Clay’s school board has carelessly passed.
So stay tuned. The Jerry Show may be coming back to the Clay County School Board. With any luck, some characters from the previous show will be gone.
