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parental rights Archives – Concerned Women for America

Parental Protection not Paranoia

By | Defense of Family, Education, News and Events | No Comments

The truth will set you free! Vanity Fair reporter Caleb Ecarma in a recent article “How the Right is Turning Political Paranoia into ‘Parents’ Rights’” skews and takes out of context comments made by Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America, to the reporter directly and on a panel discussion at CPAC. We want to set the record straight and give everyone the full context of the questions and answers.

Mr. Ecarma: What most concerns you about the current American education system and cultural climate as it pertains to children?  

 

Penny Nance: Our children are falling behind in basic educational skills, especially in math and science.  Fundamentals are being replaced by some teachers and administrators in favor of gender theory, sex education, critical race theory, and Marxist ideology. 

Mr. Ecarma: You and your co-panelists yesterday discussed the lack of humanity and dignity within the schools shaping the next generation of Americans. As a former K-12 homeschooler myself, I’ve been hearing more and more stories from parents looking to raise their children in a similar fashion. Do you think that more conservative parents should consider homeschooling right now, even if just as a stop-gap measure while conservative advocates like yourself work to change schools? 

 

Penny Nance: Parents are desperate for their children to receive a quality education, but they are also appalled to learn that radical ideologues are callously overstepping their authority by undermining parents’ ability to protect their children.  Any adult, even a teacher or school administrator who says, “don’t tell your parents” is not looking after a child’s best interest.  

 

We support what parents want which is educational opportunities tailored to each child’s individual needs.  CWA is very enthusiastic about Education Savings Accounts that have been passed in ten states with more looking at this option for parents to use their tax dollars to choose the school that best fits the needs of their child. 

 

Although homeschooling is a good option for some families, it’s not a possible alternative for others. As a working mom, my children attended private Christian school but it’s expensive and I grieve that it’s out of reach for many other families.  My friend. whose child struggles due to special needs, literally moved in order for her child to attend a public school district that was better able to serve her child. Open enrollment would allow parents to choose from any school in their area.

 

Our point is that families should be able to choose from a range of options: public, private, Jewish Day school, Christian, STEM charter school, home tutors, or homeschooling. No child should be trapped in a substandard school due to their zip code.  My friend, Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, says, “The new redline is the zip codes that trap poor children in failing schools.”  Parents are most able to determine what’s best for their children. The money should follow the child instead of being controlled by government bureaucracies that don’t know that child. When parents are able to choose, eventually the failing schools will either rise to meet the challenge or close and be replaced by better options. 

Mr. Ecarma: On the stage yesterday, you mentioned that the old gods, Baal and Moloch, are being revived in America. Do you believe this is a literal manifestation––that these religions are on the rise again and that people shaping the culture serve them––or something else? 

 

Penny Nance: I was referencing a recent piece written by Naomi Wolf.  I am quite sure the people working to expose small children to graphic, sexually explicit material don’t think they are serving a pagan god or that they are damaging children, but this new culture is a cult or replacement religion where they find acceptance and belonging.

 

Unfortunately, the Christian Church has not been there for them.  As C.S. Lewis said there is a God shaped vacuum in every person, and that vacuum will be filled by something. Tim Keller wrote a book called “Counterfeit Gods” that talks about how as humans we can’t help but replace God with our own version: money, fame, power, sex, drugs, alcohol.  

 

But for some it is less obvious. I believe that “gender warriors” have found their new religion, but it’s not new; it’s actually old. Gnosticism, which was fought by the early Christians, believed that the body and spirit were completely separate. Christianity says that you are to worship God, body, mind, and spirit (I Corinthians 6:19-20).  Add to the mix that shockingly Satanism, although rare, is becoming more openly practiced. Satanists insist abortion is part of worship. The Old Testament Canaanites sacrificed their children to Baal.  How is this different?  Purposefully grooming a child, breaking down their innate sense of modesty and working to introduce confusion and chaos into their little minds is abusive. The smug community of educators who feel powerful by pulling one over on parents serve darkness whether they know it or not.  

Mr. Ecarma: It is often said that the Reagan revolution began at PTA meetings and school boards. Do you believe a similar nationwide movement is taking place right now? And can you detail some of the work you’re doing to change what is being taught in American schools? 

 

Penny Nance: The new freedom revolution began during Covid lockdowns at kitchen tables as parents witnessed both the lack of basic education being taught and in its place, children being served up gender ideology, critical race theory, and Marxist philosophy. Maybe some parents are okay with teachers suggesting that their elementary school child should consider with which of 72 genders they identify and conspiring to keep parents in the dark.  Those parents are welcome to keep the status quo.  But most parents want the ability to choose wisely for their children whom they love more than life itself.  We are urging moms to be aware of what is being taught to their children, women to run for school board, and most importantly, to speak up and advocate for educational freedom.  We are working in every state to break the education monopoly by passing laws that create the ability for the money to follow the child. 

Mr. Ecarma: If a Republican candidate wins the next presidential election, what would you like to see them change in regard to schools and parental rights once they are in power?

 

Penny Nance: Education is primarily a state and local issue, but to the extent that the federal government is involved, it needs to return jurisdiction of the schools to parents and incentivize schools to better accomplish their mission. I speak to teachers regularly who are deeply dissatisfied with the status quo. Educational reform is to the benefit of hardworking teachers as well as families.  

Shining a Light on Education

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I believe it was Voltaire who said, “Common sense is not so common.” Such is the case for the educational bureaucracy suffocating our children’s future with their sociological experiments in public schools. Parental involvement and transparency seem like common sense requirements to any successful public-school program, but not according to the radicals who so often have taken over education in our cities and states. They are hurting our kids, putting on them unnecessary burdens to satisfy their personal cravings while actively shielding themselves from accountability by keeping parents in the dark.

The age of Tik Tok has exposed how a disturbing number of teachers use their classrooms for self-affirmation, with many planning their “coming out” as LGBTQ+ as teaching exercises, or tricking students into pledging to the LGBTQ+ flag, or incentivizing them to attend Antifa rallies for classroom credit, or promoting Critical Race Theory (CRT) themes to shame white students about their “privilege.” The list is endless.

The curriculum and books assigned are often chosen to support these same radical ideas. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (Republican) recently brought attention to one book being used. In a recent interview, she quoted from the “memoir-manifesto” called “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by the self-identified “non-binary” author George Johnson. The scene she mentioned describes a graphic and disturbing sexual act between two cousins, both male. I will not quote the passage as it is too graphic, but, just so you get a taste, it starts with, “You told me to take my pajamas, my pajama pants … You then took off your shorts, followed by your boxers.”

There are hundreds of books like this in our K-12 school libraries all over the country. Some may be in your child’s school. But you are kept in the dark by design.

The answer to the works of darkness is always light. This is the invitation that Paul gives us in Ephesians 5:11 to “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”

In that spirit, I want to highlight for you one effort that every state should take up. These are efforts to require school curriculum, resources, and training materials to be posted and easily searchable to the public online. If your state does not have this law, I encourage you to approach your elected state representative or senator with the idea. Christopher Rufo at the Manhattan Institute, who has been an important voice exposing the CRT tentacles in our society, has a model bill called “A Model for Transparency in School Training and Curriculum,” which can be a useful starting point.

But a number of states have similar legislation in the works — Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, among others.

Transparency is the key. No longer should school bureaucracies be able to shield bad actors within our education system, as they have done for years.

But rest assured that school bureaucracies will not give up that power easily. It must be demanded. By you and me.

CWA Stands with Religious School and Parents

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Today, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Carson v. Makin. The case involves a Maine tuition assistance program that discriminates against religious institutions. As Concerned Women for America (CWA) explains in its brief, the case involves serious violations of religious freedoms. The program takes important educational decisions away from families in Maine, treating parents who desire a religious education for their children like second-class citizens.

CWA CEO and President Penny Nance said:

“This state infringes on foundational constitutional rights by denying tuition assistance based on a family’s desire to raise their children according to their faith. Maine’s law seeks to remove religious institutions from the education choices of parents and families who reside there. Parents should have freedom when it comes to their children’s education, whether secular or religious.

“A school’s eligibility to receive funds should not be contingent on the educational institution’s religious beliefs. The state of Maine should honor funds promised in the tuition assistance program regardless of the educational choice of the parent.”

Concerned Women for America to DOJ: Knock it Off

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For Immediate Release
October 12, 2021

Contact: Jacklyn Washington
[email protected]

Concerned Women for America to DOJ: Knock it Off

Washington D.C. – Penny Nance, President and CEO of Concerned Women for America (CWA), the largest public policy organization for women in the nation, sent the letter below to Attorney General Merrick Garland in response to the October 4 memorandum to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and federal prosecutors “to address threats against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.”

From the letter:

“However well-intentioned, the practical effect of your memorandum is to violate the most foundational principles of the First Amendment by creating a chilling effect on protected speech by concerned parents over the education of their children… 

“The federal government has no business injecting itself between a mother and the approach to educating her children. There has been no ‘disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence’ against school officials that would warrant this broad and aggressive step by DOJ and the FBI.”

At a time when anger against the monumental failures of the DOJ and the FBI is at new heights, it is unconscionable that this manufactured emergency is the focus of these departments and using valued and limited resources. Read the letter in full here.

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Concerned Women for America is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization with a rich history of over 40 years.

education students

Hooray for Bipartisan Support for Sex Ed Transparency Bill!

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A warm thank you to all of you for your calls and letters showing support for Senate Bill 217! SB 217 that I wrote you about last week, requires school districts to provide online parental access/transparency for sex education curricula. This includes audiovisual material and information on guest speakers covering topics of sex ed and HIV prevention set forth by the California Healthy Youth Act, which must be taught beginning in Grade 7, but may be taught as early as kindergarten.

This transparency bill passed through the Senate Education Committee, with two Republicans and two Democrats voting in support of this bill. This is a huge step in the right direction to ensure parental oversight in their children’s learning in public school education. SB 217 now goes to the Appropriations Committee and then to the Senate floor. If passed there, it will continue to the Assembly to start the same process again.

Action:

#1. Please contact the offices of the four state senators who voted in support of the bill and thank them for ensuring parental oversite for their children’s learning.

  1. Sen. Brian Dahle (bill author) (R-District 1) Phone: (916) 651-4001
  2. Sen. Connie M. Leyva (Chair) (D-District 20) Phone: (916) 651-4020
  3. Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (Vice-Chair) (R-District 23) Phone: (916) 651-4023
  4. Sen. Steven M. Glazer (D-District 7)  Phone: (916) 651-4007

#2. Please contact your state senator now to ask for their support of SB 217. Use this link to find which senator represents you in the state legislature.

If you are a member of Concerned Women for America of California, be sure to let them know.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the members of Concerned Women for America of California for their prayers and their faithfulness to action. What a blessing, Lord, that SB 217 passed through the Senate Education Committee. What an answer to prayer! We pray for continued favor and wisdom to legislators as this bill continues through the legislature. Thank you, Lord! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Spread the word, and be sure to thank the members of the committee who voted in favor!

Thank you, and God bless you!

Marlo Tucker
State Director