Parents Must Be Their Own School Investigators

After investigating more than 250 school districts in Republican states, I arrived at an unavoidable conclusion: no family should send their child to a traditional public school.

Unfortunately, that is not a feasible option for many families, which is why parents must be proactive, informed, and relentlessly observant about what is happening in their child’s school.

Even in conservative areas, parents must adopt the Reagan mantra: “Trust, but verify.” That point was driven home this week when the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it is suing Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools for alleged ‘secret gender transitions’ that kept parents in the dark. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon says it’s the “first of many” suits. I believe her, and parents should take notice.

While the DOJ does its work, parents must do their own — and there is plenty they can do to protect their children.

The first step — after assuming a healthy distrust for their school system — is for parents to know their rights.

In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court just affirmed the right of parents to opt their child out of instruction if it goes against their beliefs. Schools are required to provide notice of instruction involving “LGBTQ+-inclusive” storybooks to parents who object. In response, America First Legal created an opt-out form which parents can use. But be aware that administrators have previously bragged to us about pushing this sort of content without notifying parents.

Schools also aren’t allowed to facilitate a child’s “transition” without parental consent, but as we saw in Kansas City, the law often means little to the political radicals who spend a third of each day with your children.

The second step is for parents to ask questions and investigate.

Parents shouldn’t need to go undercover to discern the motivations of teachers, but a little bit of calm questioning on your part can potentially expose a lot of deception on their part. Attend Back-to-School Night or Meet-the-Teacher Night and ask the teachers simple, unloaded questions. You’ll be surprised how much they will tell you. If they assume you share their values — and so many of them do — they’ll often open up about their real priorities. 

I visited one Omaha superintendent who told me that if Critical Race Theory was banned in his state, he would break the law. While visiting Ohio, a district staffer happily told me that they “trick” the parents. An equity officer at a nearby district — who was paid around $155,000 annually — laughed as he bragged about deceiving parents. Another district told me social justice was “embedded in every school, to an extent.” I even met with an Indiana administrator who coached a textbook company before its presentation to the district in order to get approval for political content. And a Texas administrator bragged about circumventing its CRT ban by admitting, “We’ve gotten around it by saying we’re just not teaching that.” If they think you’re an ideological enemy, they will lie to your face.

Be sure to ask them specifically about the supplemental materials they enjoy sharing in the classroom. These generally won’t appear on the curriculum and are a common way for educators to push politics.

Previously, AIM wrote about Newsela, a service used by a majority of school districts in America. Newsela partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Howard Zinn’s education center, and even the 1619 Project, and educators were using it to circumvent laws prohibiting some of these teachings. And it’s not just in social studies class. They even use some of this content in language arts.

And when visiting the school, look beyond the library. While undercover, some educators told me that the “banned books” or controversial books are often stored in classrooms to avoid the prying eyes of parents. 

Inquire about the different programs offered by counselors at your school and research them. After our team exposed illegal Critical Race Theory in dozens of school districts, they began rebranding it as “Social and Emotional Learning.” When parents caught on to that term, one district simply rebranded it as “Mental Health.” This is particularly disturbing when you consider how poor districts are at teaching reading and math. No one who fails so horribly at those tasks should ever be allowed to assist children with their psychological well-being. AIM also spoke with one superintendent who was an unwitting whistleblower. He explained precisely how other districts use innocuous terms to push far-left politics.

To aid parents, Accuracy in Media has created a guide of the popular terms to look out for, but it’s an endless game of whack-a-mole. As one example, when parents caught on to lectures about “privilege,” teachers rebranded it as “circumstance.” If it seems unfamiliar and out of place, research it.

Parenting has always been hard work, and it has only become more challenging as our education system has betrayed parents. I understand that it’s easier to trust the adults charged with educating your children. But trust me, you cannot. Survival in today's K-12 environment demands that every parent become an indefatigable investigator. The stakes are too high to be complacent.  

Adam Guillette is the President of Accuracy in Media.

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