The Tennessee affiliate of a national dark money group focused on rooting out supposed indoctrination and banning seahorse porn is on the move. Moms for Liberty, currently quite active in Williamson County, is organizing now in Sumner County.
Here’s a meeting notice from them:
Note that the primary goal of the meeting is “taking back our schools.” It’s not clear exactly how far back the group wants to go. It was not too long ago (2012) that Sumner County Schools didn’t even open due to a County Commission that refused to fund the school system. Yes, that’s right. Sumner County Schools was closed for two weeks in 2012 due to a budget impasse between the School Board and County Commission. Maybe these “moms” want to go back to those days?
Probably, though, attendees at the meeting on October 24th will hear a lot about Critical Race Theory and about a curriculum known as “Wit and Wisdom.”
Here’s more on those topics:
Reuters reports that the fight in Williamson County is part of a broader, national movement:
The clash in Franklin, a Nashville suburb of 83,000 people, is part of a larger culture war over race and education that’s roiling other U.S. communities, and which has gained traction as a political force nationwide.
It has split parents and spooked some educators. Tennessee is pursuing plans to strip teaching licenses from instructors and cut state funding to schools that persistently teach taboo material.
CNN reports on the hunt for curriculum deemed objectionable by activists in the McCarthy Mom group based on their Williamson County antics:
The chapter has grabbed headlines for belligerent protests at school board meetings. They have attacked a high school LGBTQ pride float — one tweet wondered if students passing out pride literature were doing “recruitment.” And another meeting featured a tirade by a Moms For Liberty member against a children’s book about the lives of seahorses, which she said was too sexual.
So, the kind of school board meetings that grab national attention and become the subject of late night comedy TV could be coming soon to Sumner County. Plus, teachers could be brought up on charges and books and other materials could be banned.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Your support – $5 or more – makes publishing education news possible.
Pingback: Intellectually Lazy – Tennessee Education Report