No hate speech in our publicly funded schools!

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.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-teen-brain-7-things-to-know

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,”

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/22/nx-s1-5270918/bishop-mariann-edgar-budde-trump-interview

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.

https://www.bendthearc.us/adl_elon_musk_nazi_salute

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.

https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-10/the-n-word-its-history-use-and-impact.pdf

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.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/11/business/your-body-my-choice-movement-election/index.html

School Board Elections

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?

Duval School Board District 1: Nadine Ebri, Tony Ricardo debate education challenges

Bottom right is Tony’s ad.

Continue reading →

How Do We Prevent Hate Crimes?

Did you know that all publicly funded schools are not required to obey the following two Florida statutes dealing with nondiscrimination and tolerance? Currently only the district-run schools are required to follow both.

**Excerpt from f.s.1000.05—
Discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability, religion, or marital status against a student or an employee in the state system of public K-20 education is prohibited.

**Excerpt from f.s. 1003.42 (g)—
[a required course that will teach] …… the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping, and an examination of what it means to be a responsible and respectful person, for the purposes of encouraging tolerance of diversity in a pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting democratic values and institutions.

There are two bills before our Florida Senate (with companion bills in the House) that will help correct the problem:

**SB 184 (HB 91) will make clear that f.s. 1003.42(g) must apply to charter schools and private schools receiving voucher money in addition to the district run schools.

**SB 56 (HB 45) will make clear that private schools can’t receive voucher money if they discriminate against the minorities mentioned in f.s. 1000.05.

Our state Constitution requires free public schools for the children of Florida, but our elected officials are not consistent with what they mean by “public schools.” Many of our laws defined the rules for “public schools” at a time when the term meant only the neighborhood schools. If our Florida Legislature is going to continue to give our taxpayer dollars to charter schools and private schools, then those schools need to be required to follow the same nondiscrimination laws that our neighborhood schools must follow.

The organization that administers Florida’s growing array of voucher programs — Step Up For Students — insists it has no legal basis to deny voucher money to private schools that discriminate against minority groups.

SB 56 will give Step-Up-For-Students the legal basis to deny voucher money to private schools that discriminate against the minority groups mentioned in f.s. 1000.05.

A Florida statute— 1002.33 (16)—already demands charter schools follow the nondiscrimination statute. In other words, SB 56 will make it so all publicly funded schools are forbidden from discriminating against the minority groups mentioned in f.s. 1000.05.

Florida Education Commissioner Corcoran in his letter to a superintendent about the teaching of the Holocaust mentioned “public schools” twice. His letter was concerning f.s. 1003.42 (g). The way I read his letter, he thinks it is an important course. However, f.s. 1003.42 (g) only applies to the district-run schools. SB 184 (if it passes) will require any school receiving public funds to follow f.s. 1003.42(g).

If legislators are going to continue to use your tax dollars to fund charter schools and private schools, then those schools need to follow the same nondiscrimination laws that neighborhood schools must follow. The nondiscrimination laws should apply to all publicly funded schools.

References and suggestions for further reading

Ref 1 Article IX in Florida’s Constitution
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?submenu=3#A9

Excerpt: 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

Ref 2 Articles about how private schools receiving taxpayer funded vouchers discriminate.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/editorials/os-op-florida-vouchers-disciminate-gay-students-20190706-3qbgvqro6jcd7of6hf4c4b3eim-story.html

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-florida-voucher-schools-disability-discrimination-scott-maxwell-20190806-rhcz7qtgufamnd7zwrogqloebe-story.html

Ref 3 Corcoran’s letter about the Holocaust course

http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/35/urlt/HolocaustLetter-July2019.pdf

Ref 4 Articles about the necessity for teaching the Holocaust

https://www.adl.org/blog/empowering-educators-to-discuss-hard-topics

https://florida.adl.org/news/adl-trains-south-palm-beach-county-principals-with-multimedia-holocaust-curriculum/

http://www.flHolocausteducationtaskforce.org/classroom-resources/

Ref 6 Quote from article: “The medical community has long concluded that homosexuality is largely genetically-driven, not a matter of choice.”

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/302854-draft-for-monday-push-on-to-ban-conversion-therapy-in-orange-county

Ref 7 HB 741 passed last legislative session unanimously. The discussion of the bill called antisemitism discussed the teaching of the holocaust. It also added religion to the list in f.s. 1000.05.

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/00741

Ref 8 Florida’s Tax Credit Scheme allows some businesses to divert dollar for dollar their tax liability money to a private school. Read more:

https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/2019/02/15/gov-ron-desantis-reveals-plan-to-eliminate-scholarship-wait-list/

Ref 9 More about HB 91 and SB 184:

https://www.gainesville.com/opinion/20190917/editorial-expand-study-of-holocaust-to-all-schools

Ref 10 Quote from MOSH curator Paul Bourcie:
“…We’re seeing domestic terrorism happening to all kinds of people branded as the Other. We see systems in place that put certain communities at a disadvantage. Can it be that we’re looking at something systemic that hearkens back to the racial violence of the past?”
http://folioweekly.com/stories/warts-all,21834