In these troubling times, our school boards, who are running our publicly funded schools, need to include in board policy that hate speech is forbidden and hate speech includes the N word, “your body, my choice” words, and the Nazi salute.
Changes to the areas of the brain responsible for social processes can lead teens to focus more on peer relationships and social experiences. The emphasis on peer relationships, along with ongoing prefrontal cortex development, might lead teens to take more risks because the social benefits outweigh the possible consequences of a decision. These risks could be negative or dangerous, or they could be positive, such as talking to a new classmate or joining a new club or sport.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, said on All Things Considered, “how dangerous it is to speak of people in these broad categories … To be united as a country with so many riches of diversity, we need mercy. We need compassion. We need empathy.” … Budde said at a prayer service turning her gaze towards the president, “I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,”
Musk has a track record of using antisemitism to spread fear and division, including expressing support for Germany’s far-right party and promoting the “great replacement theory” — both of which the ADL has declared antisemitic. And he’s turned Twitter into X, the world’s largest mainstream platform where white supremacist ideology is promoted and its leaders are paid and verified.
The N-word, a racist and offensive slur, has been used throughout history to demean, humiliate and degrade Black people. Learning about its history, use and harm is critical—especially in schools today.
Sexist and abusive attacks on women, like “your body, my choice” and “get back to the kitchen,” have surged across social media since Donald Trump’s reelection, according to an analysis from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
School board elections are important. Many times the races are decided in August in Duval County.
NPR’s First Coast Connect invited all DCPS board candidates on the show.
Here’s the two interviews of the candidates for DCPS district 1.
The interviewer asked Nadine this question:
An organization that has endorsed Tony Ricardo has the mission statement that they believe God has created government to punish evil and protect the good. What are your opinions about that?
I wonder why the interviewer didn’t ask Tony that same question. The mission statement has a vibe of Christian Nationalism or other militant religious organization that aims to use the government to punish based on religious doctrine. Shouldn’t she have asked Tony about that since the organization endorsed him?
She asks Dr. Ebri that question after the 8 minute mark in this video:
Please notice that Dr. Ebri promotes computer literacy, not teaching DEI as Tony Ricardo claims in the below interview. Dr. Ebri alludes to some of the racist and sexist remarks that Tony has said on FB but declines to repeat them. Yasmine calls in about them, but she also declines to repeat them on the air. You can see them in the Tributary article.
The interviewer in the below interview doesn’t challenge Tony by saying, “she didn’t say on my show that she wanted DEI classes; she said she wanted more STEM classes.” The interviewer also doesn’t challenge Tony when he says he’s opposed to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). He says he is opposed to quotas, but that doesn’t answer the question.
Here’s the segment with Tony:
Please notice Tony’s comment about the assassination attempt where he claims that DEI is why the assassin wasn’t spotted earlier. Here’s a link to some facts to counter Tony’s claim. The article/podcast includes the proposition that the secret service is understaffed.
Tony Ricardo won the race and will represent District 1. Why do you think less than 20% of Duval registered voters voted in August? Why do some NPAs still think they can’t vote in the August school board election? I wish more people read the below article back in August. I think it would have motivated District 1 voters to get out and vote for Nadine.
The below article exposes Tony’s bigotry, but did voters read it?
James Muwakkil wrote that letter of recommendation for Dr. Bernier in May of 2024. I don’t think he gives out praises easily based on this October 2023 article. Link below. A few excerpts:
James Muwakkil said, “If they were sincere, we would already know because they would have went and done something. We would know that they’ve suspended students, we would know that they’ve terminated teachers, we would know that they removed coaches,” “We would know, but they haven’t done any of that. They’ve left everything in place, and so we see no reason at this point in time to meet with them. Our goal is to pursue civil rights violation complaints. We want civil rights laws upheld.” “Them reaching out to us to meet doesn’t mean a hill of beans to me,” Muwakkil said. “I don’t necessarily want to meet with them. I want what they’re allowing to be stopped, but they haven’t done so. They have not stepped up and said, ‘We won’t tolerate this.’” Muwakkil said the plan is to protest and hold picket signs outside of the school with the names of the staff members they’re calling to resign on them.
“I recommend Dr. Bernier as a candidate for superintendent without reservation,” former Orange County Superintendent Barbara Jenkins wrote in a reference letter praising his “passion for student success, combined with his intellect and work
This article is about the School Board Chair in Lee County. I post here to demonstrate the toxic environment that Bernier joined.
Lee County School Board member Chris Patricca is under fire after an investigative report found a pattern of bullying and demeaning behavior, leading to school leaders taking action tonight. The school board took almost all night to address the issue. Quite a few people spoke during public comment, some of them even former board members themselves. This investigative report dates back to May 12, 2022, when school board attorney Kathy Dupuy-Bruno filed a written complaint, hoping to get whistleblower protection. The allegation was that board member Chris Patricca engaged in a pattern of bullying and demeaning behavior toward Dupuy-Bruno and created a hostile working environment. The investigation took place over the course of six months with 12 witnesses, including Patricca and other board members. “I can attest to the fact that demeaning behavior is part of Ms. Patricca’s M.O.,” said Vaughn. The board voted to accept the investigative reports, barely passing 4 to 3 with Patricca rejecting the findings. But the board unanimously agreed on one thing— voting to require all board members to take bullying and harassment training, as well as attend and participate in a whistleblower and retaliation workshop. Meaning board members will need to complete that training by October 1.
To: “Lori O. Hershey” <hersheyl@duvalschools.org>, “April A. Carney” <carneya1@duvalschools.org>, “Kelly G. Coker” <cokerk@duvalschools.org>, “Cynthia H. Pearson” <PearsonC1@duvalschools.org>, “Charlotte D. Joyce” <joycec@duvalschools.org>, “Warren A. Jones” <jonesw2@duvalschools.org>, “Darryl D. Willie” <willied@duvalschools.org>
Honorable School Board,
I heard Mayor Deegan and Councilman Diamond say at a Atlantic Beach City Commissioner meeting that ABE isn’t going to be closed. Why does it still remain on the closure list?
Why hasn’t the school board already taken ABE, Fishweir, Stockton, Holiday Hill , and other schools that the community made passionate pleas to save off the list?
The board can adjust the list gradually, yes? Why won’t the board vote to save the schools that the community loves? They could also develop more alternates based on the feedback they’ve received so far. Alternate 2 for the Terry Parker feeder pattern does keep Holiday Hill open. Why not suggest more alternates? Is the board seriously listening to the community and will the board adjust the plans based on feedback they are getting?
At a recent community meeting for District 3 to discuss the proposed changes to the MFP (Master Facility Plan) Moms For Liberty (M4L) were there making public comments. Someone in the audience called out the Moms For Liberty (M4L) lady in the orange dress after she spoke and loudly said, “Yea well you send your kids to Private!”
Charter schools and private schools are doing a good job getting their supporters out to vote as evidenced by Moms For Liberty April Carney winning her election. We need public school supporters getting out to vote so no more M4L candidates get on our school board. M4L’s goal seems to be to harm our public schools, in my opinion (of course) and the opinion of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
What can our neighborhoods do to keep the school board from closing their neighborhood school?
Excerpts from this article:
In both these cities and others with proposed closures, communities fought back, and school closures lost political favorability.
Thus, while state and federal policies are certainly to blame for school closures, school district leaders make moral decisions … without adequately assessing the harms that closures cause or the projected cost savings.
The job of the locally elected school board is to make every public neighborhood, magnet, and center school EXCELLENT! The charter schools have their own governing boards. As a 2013 TU article makes clear, “One of the biggest policy priorities for the charter school industry in recent years has been expansion.”
In a recent TU article Marks Woods quoted a public-school supporter, “If the school shuts down, I believe you start to see a decline in the whole neighborhood. In my opinion, it would be devastating.” The article continues to quote the supporter saying the neighborhood school is the main pillar of “cohesiveness and stability” for a neighborhood.
I’d like to argue that vouchers are a better idea than charters IF
They have a large endowment
They subsidize the tuition for students who can’t afford the tuition that the voucher doesn’t cover
They are subject to the same grading system that the public schools are subject to. This could also help to revamp the testing system to be more meaningful.
They are subject to the same non-discrimination laws as the public schools—they can’t have a RFRA type exemption.
Charter schools keep asking for more and more money. They are now competing for the same exact dollars that fund the public schools. When I say public schools, I mean the real public schools.
Here’s an example of a charter school conglomerate that
1. Closed a charter school located at a place where the grifters weren’t profiting from the lease payments. They gave the parents of the students one day notice before they closed
2. They are expanding in Jacksonville
3. The people (who seem to me to be grifters) went to a school board meeting advocating for public schools to be closed. Someone told me this guy is an employee of the charter school mentioned in item #2.
(Sorry about the ad that’s showing in the website preview)
Here’s an example of a private school that I think meets the criteria I mentioned above:
I definitely do NOT think the district should allow staff (including teachers) to carry guns into the school. NRA (and their advocates such as Board Members Carney and Joyce) are wrong to think more guns are the answer. Even Gualtieri in his presentation said arming staff will not prevent a child from getting shot. To keep guns out of the school is what is necessary. DCPS already has a number of prevention procedures that Parkland didn’t use. The school has its own police force that routinely checks to make sure school doors are locked so unauthorized people can’t enter. Gualtieri said in his city, the city’s police budget helps fund security for the schools. Would JSO fund metal detectors for every district-run and charter school? One thing Gualtieri emphasized was “see something, say something.” If you hear a student threatening, report it. Here’s the safety protocols for the district-run schools:
If your child attends a charter school, ask the charter school governing board for their safety protocols. Each charter school governing board can make its own decision about staff carrying guns into the schools. And if the charter school allows it and that bothers you, transfer your child out. District-run schools do have a uniformed officer, at every school, whose only job is school safety. The armed uniformed school safety officer needs extensive training to be able to properly react under pressure. I’d like the required training to be increased.
References:
Armed adults frequently mishandle their guns in schools. Keeping kids safe means keeping guns off K-12 campuses.
The most effective physical security measures—the ones on which most experts agree—are access control measures that keep shooters out of schools in the first place.
A coordinated group of people read book excerpts that were inappropriate for most young children at a recent school board meeting, a meeting that is open to all.
The district should not remove books in response to those antics. There is a formal review process to remove challenged books.
I support the school district’s efforts to respect the parental rights of all with its formal opt-out process for parents who want more restrictions for their children.
I support the school district’s committee review process—it allows a book to be considered in its entirety.
What is appropriate in a self-selected book for independent reading is different from what we expect to find in a book read aloud to a captive audience of various ages. In addition, books selected for 12th graders may not be appropriate for younger people.
According to state law, “Parents shall have the right to read passages from any material that is subject to an objection” but it does not say the book must be “read aloud at a school board meeting.”
Some books are approved for specific ages so reading them out-loud in a public forum is a bad idea in my view. BUT if the majority of the school board feels it is important to allow people to read provocative passages from books out of context to all of the school board, I suggest placing the reading of passages from books that are in our school libraries LAST on the school board meeting agenda so audience members can decide if they want to leave the meeting before that agenda item. I don’t think it is a good idea because there is a process for book reviews that the school board should insist people follow
I also have asked the school board to require people who speak during the public comment period to not only state their name but also what city they live in. I’d like to know if the provocateurs reside within our city or belong to a statewide organization trying to stir up trouble with its main goal to harm our public neighborhood schools.
Plain Reading of the Law
There is a plain reading of the law that needs to be considered before entertaining these performances and taking action against books in response to these antics.
1006.28(2)(a)(2.) starts with, “each district school board must adopt a policy regarding an objection by a parent or a resident of the county to the use of a specific material, which clearly describes a process to handle all objections and provides for resolution.” Everything falling underneath this provision is related to the formal policy for objection created and upheld by the district. The district’s current policy has a clear objection process that does not include the immediate removal of a book that is not allowed to be read aloud at meetings.
The last provision within 1006.28(2)(a)(2.) reads as follows:
Any material that is subject to an objection on the basis of sub-sub-subparagraph b.(I) or sub-sub-subparagraph b.(II) must be removed within 5 school days of receipt of the objection and remain unavailable to students of that school until the objection is resolved. Parents shall have the right to read passages from any material that is subject to an objection. If the school board denies a parent the right to read passages due to content that meets the requirements under sub-sub-subparagraph b.(I), the school district shall discontinue the use of the material. If the district school board finds that any material meets the requirements under sub-subparagraph a. or that any other material contains prohibited content under sub-sub-subparagraph b.(I), the school district shall discontinue use of the material. If the district school board finds that any other material contains prohibited content under sub-sub-subparagraphs b.(II)-(IV), the school district shall discontinue use of the material for any grade level or age group for which such use is inappropriate or unsuitable.
“Parents shall have the right to read passages from any material that is subject to an objection” doesNOT continue to say “aloud at a board meeting.”
Notice that it states that materials that are challenged due to criteria found to meet II.-IV. are not required to be completely removed from all students, but from students where it is not age or developmentally appropriate for them to have access to this kind of content. This means books with descriptions of “sexual conduct” as defined in 847.001(19) may be available to some high school students.
Some of this information is from Florida Freedom to Read. You can find more about them at:
To get on the ballot, 891,589 verified FPF petition forms will need to be completed by registered Florida voters and the ballots must be from all parts of Florida.
FLORIDIANS PROTECTING FREEDOM (FPF) is a statewide ballot initiative campaign to amend the Florida constitution to explicitly guarantee the right to abortion. Our goal is to get this proposed amendment on the November 2024 ballot. There are many reasons people need an abortion. Please imagine what it’s like to be one of those people. Please don’t let legislators take away the right to seek the best available medical care. Abortion needs to be safe and legal. Don’t let the legislators send us back to illegal unsafe abortions. This is needed because the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It’s now up to each state to protect access to this vital health care.
You may notice the petition has a link in it. If you click on the link and follow the instructions, you’ll eventually be taken to the page which includes this link which has the full text if you’re interested:
A screenshot from this LINK which has a link to the pdf of the full text or click on the image for the full text:
Here’s the screenshot from that link of the full text of the Constitutional Amendment:
If you’re wondering about the reference to Article X Section 22, see below. You may recall Floridians (several years ago) added parental notification to the Constitution and that’s Article X Section 22 which reads as follows:
SECTION 22. Parental notice of termination of a minor’s pregnancy.—The Legislature shall not limit or deny the privacy right guaranteed to a minor under the United States Constitution as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court. Notwithstanding a minor’s right of privacy provided in Section 23 of Article I, the Legislature is authorized to require by general law for notification to a parent or guardian of a minor before the termination of the minor’s pregnancy. The Legislature shall provide exceptions to such requirement for notification and shall create a process for judicial waiver of the notification.
The responsibility for counting signatures is dispersed to the Supervisor of Elections in each county. Proposed measures are reviewed by the state attorney general and state supreme court after proponents collect 25 percent of the required signatures across the state in each of half of the state’s congressional districts. After these preliminary signatures have been collected and proponents have submitted a ballot title and summary (initially approved by the secretary of state), the secretary of state must submit the proposal to the Florida attorney general. The attorney general is required to petition the Florida Supreme Court for an advisory opinion on the measure’s compliance with the single-subject rule, the appropriateness of the title and summary, and whether or not the measure “is facially valid under the United States Constitution. “Proponents must obtain signatures equaling at least 8 percent of the district-wide vote (in the most recent presidential election) in at least half (14) of the state’s 27 congressional districts.
If you’ve collected lots of forms in one day, then it’s best to complete this intake form if you have the time to run by a drop off location. Find drop off locations on the Floridians Protecting Freedom website.
Suggestions as to where you can hand out the petitions:
From the Floridians Protecting Freedom Organizing Team that they sent after the 5/9/2023 training call
Volunteer Guide –this contains all the information we discussed on yesterday’s call.
Remember, we don’t have to hit the stated target in EVERY congressional district. We just need to hit targets from at least 14 of Florida’s 27 Congressional Districts, with 891,589 petitions total. Here’s a link to the DOE site for our campaign:
Question: I feel bad to ask someone to completely redo a petition if they crossed something out and rewrote it especially at an event where they are in a hurry. When I receive those from other petition gatherers, I still turn them into the regional Hub. Is that OK?
Answer: One or two crossouts is a-okay. If possible get them to initial by the crossout.
I listened to a FLDOE conference call July 19, 2023 at 10 am about homeschooling. Participants asked questions about the impact of HB-1, the voucher expansion bill signed by the Governor in early 2023. I would like to be assured that parents who receive voucher money aren’t double dipping by also taking advantage of services offered by the school district. As charter schools and vouchers continue to drain funds from our district-run schools, double dipping should be a concern for all taxpayers
I am nostalgic for my country when it felt like the entire country valued our neighborhood schools and I fear what will happen to the neighborhood schools if the privatization movement continues. Did you know that every state Constitution in the US has a guarantee of free public education for the children of their state? Florida’s Constitution takes it one step further saying that education must be “high quality.”
ARTICLE IXSECTION 1. (a) The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders. Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education
I’m not a fan of 2023 HB-1 because I don’t understand how the education budget can afford to subsidize alternatives and still adequately fund our neighborhood schools so they have LOTS of choices and continue to operate as a community hub including letting the neighborhood use the track field like a public park when school isn’t in session.
According to what I heard on the July 19th conference call, Step Up for Students will take over the responsibility for collecting the annual evaluation for the home-schooled students who receive a voucher.
Excerpt from this website: According to s. 1002.41, F.S., district should maintain the following records for Home Education students: Letter of Intent, Annual Evaluation, the Letter of Termination and correspondences. Any additional information, required for the student’s participation in district services, dual enrollment, Bright Futures, etc., may also be obtained and maintained for the home education student. All other home education student records are the responsibility of the parent to maintain.
Excerpt from thiswebsite: The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program will include a “homeschool” option for up to 20,000 students in the 2023-24 school year referred to as a personalized education program (PEP). Families should indicate their interest in the new option when completing their student’s application with the SFO.
Home-schooled students receiving the voucher created by HB-1 cannot take courses at the district-run schools because district-run schools have no way to bill the parent to get the appropriate portion of the voucher. I tried to get that confirmed, but haven’t yet received a response. Home-schooled students who don’t request a voucher can attend a class at a district-run school because the district can apply for FTE for that class.
Do charter school students and voucher funded private and home-schooled students get to participate in a neighborhood school’s athletic program without reimbursing the district for a portion of the cost of running that program? If a parent is NOT taking state money for education, then I could see letting them participate for free. BUT if they are attending a charter school or accepting a voucher, they are double dipping if they also want to take advantage of district programs without paying. HB 225 seems to require that those students be allowed to participate in a neighborhood school’s sports program but does it allow the district to charge a fee to that charter school or to Step Up?
Excerpt from this website: Do districts receive any funding when home education students participate in extracurricular activities? No, unless the home education student enrolls in a class required to participate in the extracurricular activity. The district may report that student for funding purposes. Additionally, home education students may be required to pay fees that are required of all participating students.
A couple of participants on the conference call said the majority of students who enter home education have truancy problems. She said it’s heartbreaking. One woman responded that it’s the parent’s choice to let their child enroll in home education and then provide them with no education. She apparently embraces the extremist parental choice mentality. A student with truancy problems wanting to enter a home education program must jump through additional hoops according to this website:
Can the parent of a student who has been found to exhibit a pattern of nonattendance enroll that student in a home education program? Yes. However, at the time that a student who has been found to exhibit a pattern of nonattendance is enrolled in a home education program, the home education contact will: a. Provide the parent or guardian with a copy of the home education law, s. 1002.41, F.S., and the accountability requirements of the truancy law, s. 1003.26(1)(f), F.S.; and b. Refer the parent to a home education review committee composed of members as specified in s. 1003.26, F.S.
Will Step Up for Students be required to do this for students seeking a home-school voucher?
The legislators changed the requirement for an annual audit of Step Up. You can read about Step Up at this link:
I want to follow up to find out what happened so I’m listing these items which were on the agenda for the state BOE meeting on July 19th.
6A-6.03315 Private School Scholarship Compliance Excerpt from the form private schools have to complete to be eligible for voucher money:
* Does the school comply with anti-discrimination provisions of 42 U.S.C. section 2000d that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in accordance with section 1002.421(1)(a), F.S.?
6A-6.0952 Family Empowerment Scholarship Program
To implement updates from House Bill 1 from the 2023 Legislative Session. Other changes to the rule will be considered related to the expansion of the program including, but not limited to, updates to Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) responsibilities, Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) eligibility, FES expansion, and provisions for choice navigator services.
6A-6.0960 Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
To implement updates from House Bill 1 from the 2023 Legislative Session, including, but not limited to, updates to Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) requirements, scholarship program participation requirements, student account balance limits, and provisions for choice navigator services.
The House bill is on the Special Order Calendar for Tuesday, 4/25/23.
HB 1259 / SB 1328 Would give more capital outlay funding to charter schools at the expense of public schools.
We were told that charter schools could do it cheaper, but every year they ask for more and more of our tax dollars.
1. Five years ago, a deal was struck allowing that ,if charter school capital needs were adequately funded from state revenue (PECO funds, or Public Education Capital Outlay), public schools would not be required to share the local capital outlay revenue from their discretionary 1.5 millage levy. Since then, virtually ALL K-12 PECO funds have gone to charter schools. You can find how much PECO funds were given to each charter school by going to the FLDOE website:
2. The legislature forced us to give our local sales surtax dollars meant for neighborhood school renovations to charter schools on a per student basis rather than a needs basis in 2020 with HB 7097 beginning on line 1291:
3. HB 7069 —2017 forced local school boards to share our property taxes meant for neighborhood school renovations with charter schools on a per student rather than a needs basis. Beginning on line 3866:
4. Former Senate President Gaetz’ stated that it was “time to end the self-dealing” in a Miami Herald 2016 article.
5.Excerpt from this article: Those leases, paid for by tax dollars that go to the charter schools … allows the related private corporation that owns the school to reap enormous profit.
During the House Appropriations meeting, Rep. Dotie Joseph asked Rep. Canady how her bill HB 1259 distributed capital outlay funding to charter schools based on demonstrated need, as recommended by OPPAGA. Rep. Canady didn’t answer the question because the bill doesn’t follow the advice of OPPAGA.
Please ask your rep to vote no! Please stop the defunding of our neighborhood schools and the ignoring of expert advice.
Before the state legislature gives any more capital outlay funding to charter schools, they need to strengthen f.s. 1013.62(5). My suggestion:
Strengthen F.S. 1013.62 (5) in at least two ways:
1.Allow the school board to deny new charter applications if 100% of the tax for capital outlay funds and the assets they purchased can’t be recouped by the school district if the charter school closes 2. Allow the school district to withhold distributions of the capital outlay funds until the charter contract stipulates how the capital outlay funds and the assets they purchase can be recouped if the charter school closes
Unite Us Do Not Divide Us 