OH: Parents Only Matter Sometimes (Example #154,233)

One of the hot new trends is to loosen up those child labor laws, for reasons that are not terribly clear. Need for cheap, compliant workers? Help with the process of sorting people into their proper class and place? Larger pool of workers who won't mind that the minimum wage is not a living wage because they are still living off their parents? Get out of having to give them an allowance? Not really sure.

But as Ohio considers opening up child labor, a curious argument turns up. The legislature was debating whether or not to include a "minor work hours notification form" that would, in effect, require parents to sign off on their children's new job. And this popped up.

State Sen. Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, did not object to the amendment, but said parental guidance isn’t always a good thing when it comes to children working.

“I am concerned about that, in the long term, those kids who really want to do something with their lives, want to get a job, can still do it, even if they can’t get their parents to cooperate with them,” Reineke said.

This would be the same Bill Reineke, sponsor ofSenate Bill 178, a bill to reconfigure the Ohio Department of Education while stripping it of power. He wrote an impassioned defense of the bill for the Columbus Dispatch, and he led with this line:

Parents matter. Grades matter. And results matter.

It's the same old pattern. Parents matter, and their rights matter, unless they conflict with what we want to do. Parents should have the final say in their kids' health care, unless their kids are trans. Parents should get to choose where their child goes to school, unless the parents aren't religious enough in the right way, or unless they're LGBTQ persons. Parents should be part of any decision the student makes about what name to be called, but shouldn't have a say about whether their child gets a job.

It's remarkable how fluid the belief in the importance of parents is for some of these politicians. 

The Trouble With Don't Say Gay Laws In One Conversation

This is a fairly awesome clip, coming from the folks at Heartland Signal, that captures the heart of the trouble with Don't Say Gay bills.

It's from debate in the Missouri House between two speakers identified as Rep. Phil Christofanelli and Rep. Ann Kelley, who proposed the anti-LGBTQ bill. They are both Republicans; Christofanelli is gay. (Also, the Missouri House apparently has a tradition of addressing female representatives as "lady," which ends up sounding kind of rude, but is apparently just fine.)

PC: I'm just gonna read to you the language in your bill. "No classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties relating to sexual orientation or gender identity shall occur." Um...Lady, you mentioned George Washington. Who is Martha Washington?

AK: His wife? 

PC: Under your bill, how could you mention that in a classroom?

AK: So to me, that's not sexual orientation.

PC: Really. ,,,So it's only really only certain sexual orientations that you want prohibited from introduction in the classroom.

AK: [Talking over him] Have-- have you got language to make that better? To make it where you're not talking--

PC: Lady, I didn't introduce your bill--

AK: Ok

PC: ...and I didn't write it. You wrote it. And so I'm asking what it means. Which sexual orientations do you believe should be prohibited from Missouri classrooms?

There's a break in the video here.

AK: We all have a moral compass, and my moral compass is compared with Bible. 

PC: Lady, I believe during your testimony-

AK: I believe--

PC: --you said that you didn't want teachers' personal beliefs entering the classroom, but it seems a lot like your personal beliefs you would like to enter all Missouri classrooms.

AK: You can believe something without--without--without putting that onto somebody by the way you behave. And you can have beliefs and morals and values that guide you through life.

PC: I don't dispute that, but I'm asking about the language of your bill and how it would permit the mention of the historical figure Martha Washington, and could you explain that to me?

AK: What does she-- why is she famous? Is she famous because she was married to George Washington? 

PC: It seems like that would be a relevant fact in her biography, yes. Could it be mentioned under the plain reading language of the bill?\

AK: [About fours seconds of silence.]

PC: Is that a "no"?

AK: I- I- I don't know, sir.

PC: Okay.

This is so on point. Proponents of these bills would like to use the language of "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" to give plausible deniability and argue that their bill doesn't actually say a thing about gay folks. But traditional roles like straight women are wives who are married to straight men are absolutely gender identities and sexual orientations, only while these folks want the deniability, they also want "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" to exclusively mean "LGBTQ."  And when you want to address that masked double meaning, they'd like to bury that conversation in talk about religion and faith and morals and please don't make us say out loud that we want this bill to ban any mention of LGBTQ persons in classrooms. 

Also, by existing visibly, LGBTQ persons are imposing their values on us, but by silencing mention of their existence, we are not imposing values on you. 

I feel for Kelley and the twisty contortions she and others in legislatures have to go through to avoid saying what lots of their supporters are, which is that LGBTQ persons are wrong, maybe even evil, and anything that includes acting as if they are just normal human beings is forcing the gay agenda on the rest of us and that just shouldn't be allowed, particularly not in schools. But folks in Kelley's position know they can't quite get away with saying that. Yet. 

So we get conversations like this, where the pretense is worn so thin that there's hardly enough to even wipe your nose with. 

Watch it for yourself:

MO State Rep. Phil Christofanelli (R) criticizes fellow GOP Rep. Ann Kelley's anti-LGBT school bill.

PC: Who is Martha Washington?
AK: [George Washington's] wife.
PC: With your bill, how could that be mentioned in the classroom?
AK: That's not sexual orientation.
PC: Really? pic.twitter.com/3usn7LUg6Q

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 6, 2023

Hiring Someone To Take Your Online Course For You

Because I look at lots of education-related stuff on line, the interwebz send me lots of strange and terrible education-related business advertising. I've seen a lot. But I was still not prepared for BoostMyGrades. That this kind of thing is in the world...

BoostMyGrades is not shy about its business model. Right there in huge font on the front page is "We Take Your Online Classes, Tests and Exams!" subheaded "BoostMyGrade’s professionals are academic experts who guarantee great grades and take your exams, quizzes, papers, and entire classes." And they also want you to know that they "understand the importance of complete confidentiality."

The pitch couldn't be clearer

Are you tired of thinking:

“I wish I could pay someone to take online class for me.”
“I can’t find the time to study. Can someone take my final exam for me?”
“I just don’t understand this material. Is there a way for someone to take my math test for me?”

Then it’s time to reach out to BoostMyGrade and begin enjoying life without academic stress. Our experts will complete your class, test, quiz, essay, or assignment for you.

They're other big selling point is direct contact with what they euphemistically call "tutors."

We understand that passing grades are critical to the future success of the students that work with us. We take our business seriously and are the only online class-taking service that allows you to communicate directly with your expert tutor through our advanced notes system. You can also escalate issues, ask questions, and manage your entire online class from your dashboard.

Sigh. Yes, it's grades that are critical to future success, not, say, actually knowing stuff. 

Other great marketing quotes: "Tests are stressful, but they don’t have to be."

Of course, they also write papers and essays for you.

The FAQ at the site actually includes the question "Is this cheating?" (Actually, the question is "Is this cheating, what about books?") And the answer is--

We urge you to consult your school’s honor code. In many cases our service is not considered cheating; it should be considered a supplement to your own studies and work.

I am deeply curious to see the list of schools that don't consider this cheating. 

This is not some hack-looking website either. It's slick and professional and if you're on it for more than thirty seconds, a chat box will pop up to answer your questions. I asked "Kate" where they were based and she said West Coast California. Seems legit.

The site boasts ten years of experience; their testimonials page only goes back to early 2019. Another site said they started in 2015. At least one reviewer was unimpressed with both the quality and the price ($82 for a three page paper). There's an intriguing but unverified complaint from a student who claims that Keiser University, a private university in Florida, steered the student toward BoostMyGrade. Review site mentions of BMG are few, but generally negative, and many refer to "tutors" for whom English seems not to be a primary language. Fees mentioned land in the hundreds of dollars.

Which seems like such a shame. What is the world coming to when the people you hire to help you lie to your school won't be straight with you? 

NH: Working To Further Silence Teachers

New Hampshire's current leaders seem more and more intent on whacking teachers into submission. We've seen lots of versions of teacher gag laws in this country, but New Hampshire has managed to come up with a whole new ugly wrinkle. "Live free or die" is now "shut up or else."

In 2021, Rep. Glenn Cordelli (R-Carroll) co-sponsored HB 544, one of the many various "divisive concepts" gag bills proposed on the wave of critical race theory panic. The “Right to Freedom from Discrimination in Public Workplaces and Education” language was fuzzy, trying to say that you can't teach critical race theory, but you can teach about things like racism, but only if you don't take a stand on it, so, maybe, "teach about racism, but don't say it's wrong." 

Of course, most of these bills were vague (since nobody who proposed them really seemed to understand what CRT is, how could they not be) which was a feature, not a bug, since that vagueness insured that the bills would have a chilling effect.

Much like their voucher bill, HB 544 sparked enough opposition that New Hampshire’s GOP-controlled legislature inserted its “anti” language into this year’s budget as the “Right to Freedom From Discrimination in Public Workplaces and Education.” The Department of Education has offered some clarification, but it focuses on the “discrimination” portion of the law, not the “divisive concepts” portion. And if the department’s guidance really is the whole story, the “anti-critical race theory” law doesn’t actually prohibit critical race theory at all. After Governor Chris Sununu signed the bill into law, more than half of his diversity council quit.

But apparently some folks were concerned that the law by itself would not be chilling enough, teachers who violate the law can be brought before state authorities and lose their license if it is found they have “discriminated against an individual or identified group.” Their school can be sued, and the state attorney general could take action. 

Not chilling enough? To further up the ante, the state set up a website to let parents and students to turn in teachers that they believe have violated the law. Students and parents may fill out this form, a questionnaire that can be submitted to the state. There’s a space to describe “what action was taken against you that you believe to be discriminatory” which can include any differentiation in privileges, discipline, harassment, or retaliation.

And just to sweeten the pot, New Hampshire's Moms for Liberty offered a bounty for turning a teacher in. The group tweeted “We’ve got $500 for the person that first successfully catches a public school teacher breaking this law. Students, parents, teachers, school staff...We want to know! We will pledge anonymity if you want.” End someone’s career, and collect a bounty. (The term “bounty” is not hyperbole; in response to a question about how to contribute, Moms for Liberty NH suggested to PayPal them and mark “CRT Bounty” in the notes.) This courtesy of Rachel Goldsmith, the M4L chief who is also part of the Free State Project, once serving as executive director.

The state provided little clear guidance, but plenty of folks on the right felt emboldened to go after their local schools. 

Apparently, none of this was enough for some folks, starting with Rep. Cordelli.

“I had a couple of incidents related to me where the Department was trying to get information from schools and in a couple of cases they were met with resistance from the administration. I felt this would help (Commissioner Edelblut) in cases of substantial incidents in schools that deserve immediate follow-up,” Cordelli said.

Cordelli said the Department of Education was having trouble getting cases referred to the Human Rights Commission with “roadblocks at the Attorney General’s Office.” Since the public hearing on the original bill “they have been more cooperative,” Cordelli said.

One way to interpret this might be to conclude that the various "substantial incidents" turned out to be giant nothing burgers. But what Cordelli wants is a "little push to get things moving." Ot, in other words, we are going to by God find a way to get some teachers and schools charged with something by somebody.

Rep. Cordelli has a new bill--HB 533--that a would allow the Department of Education to bring a complaint "on behalf of" any aggrieved persons, And that's not the worst of it.

In an amendment so fresh that it's not on the legiscan site yet, Cordelli proposes to give the Education Commissioner subpoena power in cases of educator misconduct. If someone in the state capitol decides you've been naughty, the education chief can drag you there to face a hearing on your alleged naughtiness. This is doubly scary because Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut is a home-schooling, Libertarian-loving businessman whose main knowledge of education is about how to make political hay from it. 

If New Hampshire's GOP has learned anything, it is that the more time you give the public to weigh in on these kinds of bills, the more grief they give you. So even though the ink is not yet dry on the amendment, the amended version of HB 533 will be heard Wednesday, March 8th, at 9 A.M.

The state teachers union president says the amendment is concerning, but they'll wait and see what the reasoning is, which I'm thinking is pretty generous. Meanwhile, the “Right to Freedom from Discrimination in Public Workplaces and Education” is the subject of a lawsuit that the court has just allowed to move forward after a state motion to dismiss the lawsuit failed. 

Let's just hope this newest scare tactic doesn't inspire other folks across the country. 

ICYMI: In Like A Lamb Edition (3/5)

Despite the fact that the Curmudgucation Institute is not far from the home of Punxsutawney Phil, we have pretty much skipped the remaining days of winter for the moment and have headed straight into Fool's Spring, complete with 50 degree temperature swings. The Board of Directors has questions, mostly along the lines of "Yesterday we could play in the dirt without coats, so why can't we do it today?"

Here's your list of stuff to read from the week. Remember-- if you appreciate it, share it.

Can we please stop talking about so-called learning loss?

I missed this take on learning loss web it first appeared in Hechinger Report (I actually caught it because a reformster was having an all-caps hissy about it on the tweeter). It's worth a look at one more explanation of why learning loss does not merit Full Panic Mode.

‘Education freedom’ contradicts religious freedom

It does my heart good to find people of faith who do not go all in with the hard right anti-public ed stuff. Here's the editor of Baptist Standard explaining why Christians should not be all in on vouchers.

School forced to close after donors pull funding over LGBTQ language

Meanwhile, for those who believe that the free market will take care of everyone, here's the story of a Christian private school that got dumped by its funders because it dared to be LGBTQ positive.

How to Prevent Social Change: A Handy Guide for Educators and Parents

Alfie Kohn, tongue in cheek, offers advice on how to stop growth and change in society and schools.

No conversation about education without teacher voice

Jose Luis Vilson did a TED Masterclass on one of his best subjects--the importance and necessity of including teacher voice in discussions about education.

DeSantis and Education: Sterilizing “Freedom.”

The indispensable Mercedes Schneider takes a look at one of the slices of anti-woke repression in Florida. 

Ron DeSantis shows how not to run an education system

Jennifer Rubin in the Washington Post becomes the first national journalist to actually listen to Billy Townsend on the subject of how Florida's much-touted test results are illusory baloney. 

Looney Tunes

Gregory Sampson attempts to round up the many threads of the DeSantis attack on public education.

Willful Ignorance? Underestimating The Costs of HB1/SB202 Will Hurt Public Schools

Sue Kingery Woltanski at Accountabaloney computes just how expensive one of Florida's wacky voucher programs could turn out to be. Turns out when you offer people free money, they take it.

Moms For Liberty Bucks County Leaders Think Public Schools Are Trying To Bring Pedophilia Into The Classrooms

At the Bucks County Beacon, Cyril Mychalejko listens to the local Moms for Liberty opine on their battle against evil. It's some scary stuff.

Betsy DeVos, two others spent big on Nebraska legislative races

You may not be paying attention to Nebraska, but Betsy DeVos and her crowd surely are. Aaron Sanderford has the report at Nebraska Extra

Nebraska Conservatives Set Sights on Education Takeover

And here's why. The AP takes a look at the new push to commandeer Nebraska's education system with vouchers.

What Will We Lose if Public Schools Are Privatized?

Jan Resseger takes a thoughtful look into the value and purpose of public education and the goals that privatization will not help us achieve.

Cheating and ChatGPT (Denise Pope and Drew Schrader)

Larry Cuban hosts one of the better takes on the whole ChatGPT thing panic, and cheating.

When Students Cheat, They Only Hurt Themselves

Steven Singer offers some thoughtful perspective on the issue of cheating, and some important lessons to remember.

Meanwhile, it was a busy week for me at Forbes.com. A piece offering more details on ChatGPT's shortcomings, a look at Idaho sending vouchers down to defeat, and the tale of veteran DC administrators losing their jobs because they blew the whistle on Relay Graduate School of Education.

As other parts of the social media world become dicey, you can follow all of my stuff by signing up at substack. It's free!

Moms For Liberty Continue Working For Team DeSantis

I'm old enough to remember when Moms for Liberty claimed to be non-partisan. Now they aren't even pretending to be neutral within the GOP.

Last year's M4L summit in Tampa featured an appearance by Ron DeSantis. He spoke, and they awarded him with a Sword of Justice and their endorsement for the gubernatorial race. And he hasn't forgotten  them.

When it was time for DeSantis to draw up another hit list of school board members that he wanted to see defeated come election time, he huddled up with House Speaker Paul Renner, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, and Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice.

And when he recently appointed some members to a committee to oversee Disney, with the sort-of-promise that the committee might help make Disney stop with all the wokeness and get back to the kind of good family values that involve keeping everyone in their proper place (aka "invisible" for LGBTQ persons)--well, turns out that committee includes Bridget Ziegler.

Ron DeSantis thinks she's swell. And she's married to Christian Ziegler, who just decided not to run for re-election to a county commissioner seat because he'll be busy helping his wife and DeSantis each run their own campaigns (that and new rules that would have made it harder for him to win). Mr. Ziegler has some other gigs as well-- vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and head of his consulting firm Microtargeted Media LLC.

Christian Ziegler told the Washington Post that he has been "trying for a dozen years to get 20- and 30-year old females involved with the Republican Party, and it was a heavy lift to get that demographic. But now Moms for Liberty has done it for me."

M4L has pretty much completed its transformation into a group of political operatives. Not entirely surprising given that their tale of being just a bunch of moms who raised money via t-shirts sales was always baloney. These moms are about political power, both collecting it and exerting it, and Ron DeSantis is positioning himself to be their primary beneficiary.

 

Relate Then Educate Podcast: Let's Talk Vouchers and Merit-Based Pay

I am not much of a podcast listener (though the CMO of the Institute is), but I had a great time guesting on the Relate Then Educate podcast with Erin Patton and Rick Holmes. The whole website is well worth following if you don't already. In the meantime, you can hear our conversation about vouchers and merit pay here.