On March 25, The Signal published a letter to the editor entitled, “Protecting Children or …?” The author suggested local parents who are concerned about the current state of education “were opportunists exploiting parental concerns to advance a political objective.” The author specificall y maligned several locally elected school board members and an organization called Moms for Liberty. Have you heard of us? Perhaps we can take this opportunity to introduce ourselves rather than letting someone else define us.  About five years ago, during the height of the pandemic, the idea of “Moms for Liberty” was born. It started in Florida with a couple moms, $500 and an email account. Those moms were both former school board trustees. They worked with other parents to advocate for in-person instruction, parental rights and academic excellence. The template they established clearly resonated with other parents. The organization has grown to over 130,000 members with about 300 chapters nationwide. In 2020, parents started showing up at school board meetings to advocate for their kids but were soon being targeted as extremists by politicians. Astonishingly, parents were being labeled as the problem. Moms for Liberty is a non-partisan organization that is made of members of every nationality, religion and political affiliation. It turns out parenting is an inherently non-partisan subject.  Groups like Moms for Liberty are made up of everyday moms, dads and grandparents who care about the education their children receive. The author of letter stated that parental rights groups “remain willfully ignorant of California’s existing laws,” but this is factually inaccurate. Over the past five years average parents have received a crash course in education codes and law. We learned several laws have been passed to remove parents from children’s educational experiences. We have also fought back against new bills looking to exacerbate parental alienation. Most parents are unaware that, in 2013, California enacted Assembly Bill 1266. It allowed transgender students to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including using bathrooms and locker rooms, consistent with their gender identity.   Then in 2023, California passed AB 665, which states minors aged 12 and older have the right to medical privacy and can consent to certain medical care, including mental health services, without parental consent, and health care providers, including those on school campuses, cannot disclose this information to parents without the minor’s authorization.   Just this past year, California passed AB 1955, which prohibits schools from requiring staff to disclose a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression to anyone, without the student’s consent, unless required by law.  You can agree or disagree with the content of these laws. What is incontrovertible is over the past decade California has passed laws that consistently remove parents from being the primary driver of their children’s education. The letter called parental rights “political theater.” However, students’ academic success is not political. In the William S. Hart Union High School District, less than 50% of students are reading at or above grade level. As unfortunate as those numbers are, those percentages are envied by surrounding districts. Parental rights groups are asking schools to teach academics and let families handle the social topics of religion, politics and gender identity.  Parents have learned elections matter. Paying attention to school board races is important. School board trustees have only one employee: the district’s superintendent. In her letter, the author stated trustees like Anna Griese, of the Saugus Union School District, “demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of governance – unable to distinguish between policy development and basic administrative functions.” It appears the writer mistakenly believes the board works for the district. Over the past several years, parents and teachers of the Saugus district have found a disturbing lack of transparency regarding a variety of issues. Ms. Griese has consistently been an advocate for parents and teachers by asking appropriate questions during board meetings.  The day of vilifying parents for going to board meetings has passed. There is nothing controversial in parents talking to their school trustees. There is also nothing radical about trustees asking questions of the superintendent and the district they represent.  The one topic the author of the letter did get correct is that groups like Moms for Liberty continue to grow. Parents have a fundamental right to direct the education of their children. Are you ready to have a voice in the process?  Karen Frost Saugus The post Karen Frost | Letter Maligned Concerned Parents appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal. ...read more read less