New documents obtained through an open records request show how far Democrats in Georgia have gone in their attempts to demonize practices that make elections more secure and set themselves up for future victories by pushing their messages to the rising generation of voters.
In short, the records uncovered show that an organization founded by Stacey Abrams partnered with Atlanta public schools to uncritically teach students that election security provisions such as requiring ID to vote are discriminatory in nature, while the lax protocols implemented amid the COVID-19 pandemic should become permanent.
The lesson plans and curriculum used in the fall of the current school year were obtained by Greater Georgia — former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler's organization focused on reaching and mobilizing conservatives while pushing for more transparent elections in her state — and grassroots education watchdog Parents Defending Education.
A "frequently asked questions" page uncovered shows that 2,500 students in 11th and 12th grades from eleven public schools in Atlanta were involved in a "pep rally" last September, an event sponsored by organizations including The New Georgia Project — founded by Stacey Abrams — and progressive-aligned Rock the Vote.
"Democracy Class Atlanta” is a new program for 2,000 Atlanta high school students that teaches them to support radical policies like same-day voter registration, voting rights for felons, and abolishing “restrictive” voter ID requirements. pic.twitter.com/zoub0MW818
— Greater Georgia (@GreaterGeorgia) March 24, 2022
Around the same time as the "rally" hosted by progressive organizations for Atlanta students, teachers in Atlanta's taxpayer-funded schools were also provided — and records show signed-off on teaching — a biased curriculum that ties recent election integrity laws to voter suppression attempts from history.
Documents and presentation slides included in the public records turned over to Parents Defending Education and Greater Georgia include a lesson titled "Correcting the Record" on voting rights in the United States. The curriculum states that from 2014 to the present "States formerly covered by the Voting Rights Act pass laws restricting voting" and in 2021 "Most states introduce legislation aimed at restricting the freedom to vote, specifically limiting flexible options like early and absentee voting and vote-by-mail." It also promotes Democrats' repeated attempts to pass a federal takeover of elections such as the For the People Act as "major federal voting rights legislation."
The curriculum also promotes legislation, including the For the People Act and the John Lewis Rights Advancement Act - and even encourages students to “sign up with the New Georgia Project to help mobilize other young people.” pic.twitter.com/q4sCrxy0DJ
— Greater Georgia (@GreaterGeorgia) March 24, 2022
Subsequent lesson plans instruct teachers to have their students "identify ways their state’s laws work to encourage or suppress voting." An included "Voting Rights Glossary" used for the lessons and distributed to students pushes Democrat election policies as making it easier to vote while castigating election integrity measures as suppressing voting rights.
Under the "policies that make registration easier" section of the glossary are automatic voter registration and same-day voter registration. In addition, early voting and vote-by-mail are listed as "policies that make voting easier." The curriculum also raises "voting rights restoration" described as a practice that would allow "people with past criminal convictions, who have paid their debt to society" to vote again.
Meanwhile, voter ID requirements are listed as "policies that make voting more difficult" and "decrease voter turnout." Teachers are also instructed to "Review Georgia’s 'slacker' classification" — a partisan and subjective rating given due to Georgia's election integrity laws — with their students.
The biased curriculum and lesson plans are straight from the talking points of Stacey Abrams and other Democrats in Georgia and around the county who have been working to undermine the election integrity laws that have been successful in states such as Georgia and Texas.
What the obtained documents conveniently omit from lessons taught to the rising generation of Peach State voters is... the truth. Nowhere is it mentioned that policies such as requiring ID to vote have majority support among Americans and even among Democrats. Nor is it mentioned that in states like Georgia and Texas where voters have already gone to the polls under new secure election policies, turnout is up, not down.
If, as Abrams' New Georgia Project insist and the Rock the Vote curriculum say, their goal is getting more voters to trust and engage in the democratic process, wouldn't they promote the policies that do that? And if not, what are observers supposed to make of their intentions?
"Civics curriculum is an important part of an education that prepares students for lives of leadership and service, but allowing partisan groups like The New Georgia Project to advocate for liberal policies in the classroom is wrong," noted Greater Georgia Chairwoman Kelly Loeffler. "Schools fail to serve the best interests of their students when they promote a political agenda and push them into partisan activism rather than academic success," the former U.S. Senator added. "Greater Georgia is shining a light on the Left’s indoctrination - and encouraging parents to stay vigilant for the partisan groups that are infiltrating their classrooms and influencing their kids."
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