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A Florida school is making parents sign permission slips if they want their children to participate in several educational events for Black History Month.
According to Local 10, parents at IPrep Academy must sign off for their kids to engage in “…class and school wide presentations showcasing the achievements and recognizing the rich and diverse traditions, histories, and innumerable contributions of the Black communities.”
“I was shocked,” parent Jill Peeling said, noting she thought she misunderstood the document “I’m concerned. I’m concerned as a citizen.”
Miami-Dade School Board Member Steve Gallon defended the permission slip, saying it has to do with a new state board rule that requires parental consent when individuals come on campus.
“This is a policy that’s an extension of a new state board rule,” Gallon said.
The policy was enacted in November as an extension of the Parental Bill Of Rights.
“We have to follow the law,” Gallon continued. “We have to implement the rules that are adopted by the State Board of Education, but we cannot throw the baby out with the bath water and we have to square some obligations we have to academic freedom.”
Florida International University Professor Marvin Dunn said giving kids the ability to opt in or out of learning Black history will have reverberating effects on the next generation.
“When parents become involved in making that decision, keeping some kids out, some kids in, you have unequal learning,” said Dunn.
Dunn noted how the Desantis administration is interfering in the classroom.
“The intent of the DeSantis attack on education is to make schools more cautious, to make teachers more cautious about what they teach, and it’s working,” he said. “It’s not about banning books necessarily, it’s about banning ideas."
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