Who knows what’s best? Parents or the schools?
SB 96, HB 105, SB 43
Many of you have contacted me to let me know you are in adamant opposition to SB 43, a bill that would require comprehensive sexual health education beginning in kindergarten and through 12th grade covering topics listed in law.
I am also beginning to hear from numerous parents – and teachers and other education professionals – who are in favor of Governor Dunleavy’s bills, SB 96 and HB 105. They are relieved and happy as they have been worried about their children and troubled with what is happening in their schools.
I have heard too from a couple of people who think the legislation is designed just to target a small group. Nothing is farther than the truth. As I told one person who accused me of going after a certain group of youth because I expressed support for the legislation, “Nobody wants to go after a certain group of kids, so please don’t try and lay that guilt trip on me or anyone else. We all just want it safe and fair for everyone.”
So what do the pair of bills (HB 105 and SB 96) do? The legislation strengthens parental rights in regards to sex education (requiring opt-in written permission rather than opt-out), prohibits sex education from being taught prior to 4th grade, requires districts set policy in regard to safety and privacy pertaining to school bathrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex including access to single occupancy spaces (so biological males aren’t in girls’ private areas and vice versa), prevents a district from withholding selective information from a parent about a student except in cases of abuse or neglect, and stipulates that a child’s name or pronoun cannot be changed in student records without the parent’s written permission.
A number of you have also let me know you continue to want our young female athletes protected in our schools to ensure safe and fair competition as well as opportunities for girls to earn spots on teams, scholarships, championships, and top-tier rankings. I agree with you that this policy needs to be set.
There is a current case filed in the US Supreme court involving a West Virginia State University female soccer player that hopefully will be taken up and provide Title IX clarity to ensure girls and women will not face discrimination, unsafe conditions, and an unfair playing field.
At the state level, because the Senate Majority has indicated they will not advance a bill like my “Protect Girls’ Sports” legislation last year, I am weighing options as to the best path forward.
In the meantime, if you are concerned about an anti-family and anti-parent agenda, a “woke” agenda, subtly trying to wiggle its way into our schools, here are a few ways you can advocate to protect our children.
- Follow these companion bills, HB 105 and SB 96 and testify in support when public testimony is scheduled. The pair of bills strengthens parental rights as outlined above. Email legislators to let them know you support these bills and why. You can sign up for a text alert to know when public testimony is scheduled. You won’t get inundated with spam, only occasional notices, and can disenroll anytime. Text each bill number (ex: HB105) to 559-245-2529 to enroll.
- Let the Alaska School Activities Association know you support protecting our girls in sports to ensure safety and fairness and do not want biological males to play on girls’ teams. Go to this link for email information: https://asaa.org/about/contact/.
- Weigh in on my post at the link below. It is important to counter those weighing in who are okay with sacrificing our girls to give special privileges to a small group and who are pushing gender identity and woke ideology in our schools. Whether your comment is short or more detailed it will help demonstrate that more than 70% of Alaskans want to protect our girls when it comes to sports and that the public is against pushing a harmful agenda onto our children in our public schools. Write your comment here: View Facebook Post
- Testify against SB 43 if/when public testimony is scheduled again. If the bill moves to a new committee, email all legislators to express your opposition. Sign up for a text alert to know if/when the bill is moved to a new committee or if/when public testimony is scheduled. You won’t get inundated with spam, only occasional notices, and can disenroll anytime. Text the bill number (ex: SB43) to 559-245-2529 to enroll.
- Follow my Facebook page and watch my Monday 6pm Facebook Live broadcasts here and subscribe to my newsletter (by completing the online subscription form) to keep up with what is happening in the Capitol building and to know when you are needed to step up and testify, call, and/or email legislators.
The crux of the matter about all these policies is recognizing who is ultimately responsible for and best-suited for the protection of our children.
The bottom-line is who wants to ensure a child’s well-being more, protect a child more – or better said to sum it up: who loves the child more? The parent or the school? We all know. The parent does.
This then begs the next question. Who knows what’s best for the child? Again, we know. The parent knows what’s best, not the school. The good thing about all this is that the research is very, very clear that parental involvement in a child’s schooling helps that child succeed. And that’s what we all want: Alaskan children to succeed!
