Report Finds Florida Schools Unsafe for LGBT Students

A national organization found that LGBT students are not safe in most schools in the state of Florida and they did not have access to necessary resources.

The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network conducted the study across the country in 2013 and presented its findings from 29 states. Of the nearly 8,000 LGBT students surveyed (most in public schools), 410 were attending Florida schools.

According to the study, more than 90 percent of students heard the word "gay" used in a negative way, more than 80 percent heard other students make negative comments about LGBT people, and more than 60 percent heard others say negative things about transgender people. These numbers were higher than the national average.

Numbers were lower for students who experienced harassment toward them directly. About 30 percent said they were physically harassed because of being gay and 10 percent said they had been physically assaulted. Students were more likely, however, to experience online bullying, being left out of activities, having items stolen, or had mean things spread around school about them.

Not only were the numbers regarding their fellow students disturbing, but also school staff. While many students were able to identify a teacher or administrator who was supportive of LGBT people, about 25 percent of students said they heard school staff say anti-LGBT remarks.

Other forms of discrimination were found across the country. For example, students shared their experiences of not being allowed to bring a same-sex date to a school dance, being disciplined for showing affection to a person of the same sex, or not being allowed to wear the clothes they wanted to wear. In schools where LGBT students had these negative experiences, or did not have the support of school staff, they were more likely to miss school and have a lower GPA.

GLSEN noted that because Florida's students were experiencing high levels of harassment, it would be beneficial for schools to incorporate LGBT people into anti-bullying campaigns, support gay-straight alliances, educate school staff on LGBT issues, and for students to have better access to LGBT resources in their curriculum.

"These actions can move us toward a future in which all students in Florida will have the opportunity to learn and succeed in school," according to a press release.

A California High School student was punished for omitting “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance.

A California High School student was punished for omitting “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. Derek Giardina, 17, a student at Merrill F. West High School in Tracy, California, said the Pledge of Allegiance properly as instructed as part of the morning announcements. While he omitted only two words, which were added during the anti-Communist panic of the 1950’s.

Unfortunately, the school lacks the necessary knowledge of American history to appreciate the traditional manner of reciting the Pledge, arguing that if a student is going to lead the school, the pledge must promote one specific deity — or, the “traditional way,” as the school says.

Giardina says he was required to lead the school in the pledge as part of a debate class assignment, but that he would normally abstain because he is disillusioned with our country, and is not at all religious. Everyone in the class is required to lead the pledge 12 times a year. The first two times he led the school, he recited the bastardized 1954 version of the pledge, but the third time he recited it properly.

“Personally I wouldn’t say the pledge at all, because I’m not necessarily very patriotic, and I’m not religious,” he said.

Giardina later learned that his grade had been marked down because he chose to correctly honor our country. “I think I have a low C now, from doing other speeches, but it is a very large point value,” he said. He received a warning that if he omitted the unnecessary phrase again, he would be punished. Previously, the reduced grades were causing him to fail.

Meet the Deranged Right-Winger Who Wants to Turn AP History Class into Tea Party Training Course

It’s not very often that someone earns a look from Megyn Kelly that asks, “How f@#$ing stupid are you?”

Julie Williams, the framer of the right-wing attempt to pervert Jefferson County, Colorado students’ education by revising and censoring AP US History classes, appeared on FOX News (where else?) to defend her attempt to “promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free-market system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights” and to discourage “civil disorder, social strike or disregard of the law.”

Williams and her two conservative cohorts on the school board, over the protests of thousands of students and hundreds of teachers, passed the controversial proposal with small modifications — a token inclusion of parents, students and administrators – in a 3-2 vote on Thursday that prompted parents and others present to demand the three resign so they can no longer harm the Denver area’s children.

Williams has previously cited the Texas Board of Education, which is known for its attempts to censor and revise US history to follow conservative talking points, as evidence that her idea isn’t the dumbest f@#$ing thing since Bubble Guppies.

“When it comes to history I believe all children graduating from an American school should know 3 things,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “American Exceptionalism, an understanding of US History, and know the Constitution.” Her suggestion makes sense: To most conservatives, knowing three things is a feat of intellectual prowess.

Principal bans Chick-fil-A from Calif. high school over gay marriage stance

The principal at a Southern California high school has barred a booster club from selling Chick-fil-A sandwiches on campus because of the chain’s position on same-sex marriage.

KCAL-TV reports that Ventura High School Principal Val Wyatt would not allow the football booster club to not sell Chick-fil-A sandwiches at Wednesday’s back-to-school night because the restaurant’s beliefs might offend some students and their parents.

The booster club expected to raise about $1,600 for the football team when the local Chick-fil-A restaurant volunteered to donate 200 meals.

“With their political stance on gay rights and because the students of Ventura High School and their parents would be at the event, I didn’t want them on campus,” Wyatt said.

District Superintendent Trudy Tuttle Arriaga said Ventura schools “value inclusivity and diversity on our campus and all of our events and activities are going to adhere to our mission.”

KCAL-TV reports:

Since 2003, the WinShape Foundation, Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm, has donated over $5 million to several anti-gay groups, including Eagle Forum, Focus on the Family, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Family Research Council, Exodus International (once the world’s largest promoter of “ex-gay” therapy) and the Marriage & Family Legacy Fund.Approximately $2 million was given in 2009 and almost the same amount in 2010.

In 2012, Chick-fil-A Chairman, Dan Cathy, publicly denounced same-sex marriage, telling the the Baptist Press that the company was “guilty as charged” for backing “the biblical definition of a family.”

The Ventura Chick-fil-A has previously donated $21,000 to Ventura schools.

Florida school forces new student to wear ‘shame suit’ after skirt deemed too short

A 15-year-old teenager who moved from Seattle to Clay County, Florida was forced to wear an ill-fitting, brightly colored “shame suit” to classes after she unknowingly violated the school’s skirt-length policy on her first day.

The Washington Post reported that Miranda Larkin’s family moved to Florida just eight days before the first day of school. Larkin dressed for classes without realizing that her black skirt was an inch too short for Oakleaf High School’s dress code.

After first period, a teacher flagged her down and said, “Your skirt’s too short.”

The school’s dress code says that female students’ skirts can be no higher than three inches above the knee. Larkin’s was four, so she was sent to the school nurse’s office and told to put on a neon yellow oversized T-shirt and bright red sweatpants emblazoned with the words, “Dress code violation.”

“The school has said this is to embarrass you,”said Miranda to ABC News. “It’s supposed to embarrass you so you don’t do it again.”

Larkin’s mother, Dianna Larkin called the outfit a “shame suit.”

A representative of the school district told ABC that students who violate the dress code are allowed to choose one of three options; to have a parent bring them a change of clothes, to stay in their clothes and take in-school suspension or to put on the t-shirt and sweatpants.

Miranda Larkin said she was only offered one option, to put on the humiliating outfit.

Dianna Larkin feels that the school was out of line by making a private disciplinary matter into an exercise in public shaming.

“I feel that by putting a kid in an outfit that says what they did wrong across their chest and down their leg is taking their private records and making them public and that’s a clear violation of their privacy rights,” she said.

She has filed a complaint under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

The Clay County School District told USA Today that the clownish outfit is a way of getting students who violate dress code back into class “as quickly as possible.”

A lawyer for the district said in a statement to USA Today that the kids should be happy they aren’t wearing prisoner orange, writing, “(The outfit) is not displaying a discipline record to the public. If we took off the words the other students would still know that the prison orange T-shirts were for dress code violations. I think that the practice is OK.”

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Texas School Won’t Let Native American Attend His First Day Of Kindergarten Because Of His Long Hair

Malachi Wilson’s parents are Navajo and Kiowa, and they believe that their 5 year-old son’s hair is sacred and should not be cut. So Wilson arrived for his first day of kindergarten last week with his long hair in a braid. The principal at F. J. Elementary School in Seminole, Texas promptly send Wilson home, saying that he was not allowed to attend school with long hair because he is a boy.

Principal Sherrie Warren told Malachi’s mother, April Wilson, that he would not be able to come to school until he got a haircut. When April protested by noting her Native American religious beliefs, Warren asked her for to prove that Malachi is, indeed, a Native American.

Eventually, Warren backed down after April agreed to sign a form explaining why her son has long hair. Malachi Wilson was allowed to attend his second day of school. Even so, the school’s decision to deny him a single day of his education almost certainly violated the Constitution and Texas law.

For one thing the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee that “[n]o state shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” prohibits gender discrimination unless the state offers an “exceedingly persuasive justification” for doing so. It is unlikely that Malachi’s Wilson’s school could offer such a justification for only allowing girls to grow their hair long.

The First Amendment also protects Malachi’s right to wear his hair long, especially because his long hair is an expression of his family’s beliefs and ethnic heritage. As the Supreme Court held in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, a school may typically only suppress a student’s free expression when it can show that the expression would “materially and substantially disrupt the work and discipline of the school.” Again, it is difficult to imagine how a single student’s hair could create such a disruption.

Additionally, Texas law provides robust protections for the free exercise of religion. Although the Texas law sensibly departs from federal law by explicitly providing that religious liberty claims generally cannot be used to overcome civil rights law, the only civil rights at stake in Malachi’s case is his own right to attend school without having to change his hair. So it is likely that the school violated Malachi’s rights under Texas law when it sent him home from school, in addition to committing several violations of the Constitution.

UK Bans Teaching Creationism in State-Funded Schools

Lo! Creationism cannot be taught as scientific fact in any state-funded school in the UK. That goes for all free schools as well as any existing and future academies. 

"It is already the case that all state schools, including academies, are prohibited from teaching creationism as scientific fact. That has not changed," says a Department of Education spokesperson. So what’s new exactly?

Academies are state-maintained but independently-run schools with some outside sponsorship. The Academies Act 2010 made it possible for all schools -- such as church schools -- to become an academy. This month, the government added new clauses to the funding agreements between the Secretary of State and any church school converting to an academy.

In what’s being hailed as a secular triumph, these clauses not only require that students at academies be taught evolution, but they also prevent teaching creationism as scientific fact. 

The clauses define creationism as “any doctrine or theory which holds that natural biological processes cannot account for the history, diversity, and complexity of life on earth and therefore rejects the scientific theory of evolution.” 

And furthermore, it goes on to say creationism is rejected by most mainstream churches, religious traditions, and the scientific community -- that it doesn’t agree with the scientific consensus or the very large body of established scientific evidence. 

Here are the exact words from the “Church of England and Catholic single academy model supplemental agreement,” which you can download as a Word document. 

… the requirement on every academy and free school to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, in any case prevents the teaching of creationism as evidence based theory in any academy or free school.

And just to clarify, free schools are funded by the government, but they’re set up by parents and independent groups; they’re like charter schools in the U.S.

But all of that isn’t to say creationism can’t be taught in schools. The clauses don’t prevent the discussion of beliefs about the origins of our planet and living things, just as long as it’s not presented as a valid alternative to established scientific theory. 

All the documents to help church schools convert to academies can be found here.

‘Christian’ Proselytizing Banned in Missouri Public School, Thanks to Lawsuit by Two Students

The First Amendment triumphed in federal court thanks to the efforts of two students and a mother to stop Christian proselytizing in a Fayette, Missouri school.

The First Amendment triumphed in federal court thanks to the efforts of two students and a mother to stop Christian proselytizing in a Fayette, Missouri school.

“The Fayette R-III School District shall be permanently enjoined from promoting prayer or religious activity as prohibited by the First Amendment,” reads a section of the consent decree signed as part of the legal settlement.

As reported by the Columbia Daily Tribune, the school had a habit of announcing weekly prayer meetings and allowing a Christian student group to meet before classes while other clubs were not allowed to do so. The complaint, filed by the American Humanist Association on behalf of the plaintiffs, named not only the Fayette R-III School District and Principal Darren Rapert, but teacher Gwen Pope, the sponsor of the Christian student club. Pope was alleged to have prayed with students and displayed personal religious materials in her classroom. The Tribune story notes that Pope is no longer with the district.

The consent decree issued by U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey also requires extensive revisions to the district’s Student Teacher handbook, which governs student organizations, meeting times, and announcements.

The defendants apparently remained defiant:

“After months of investigation and interviews the district determined that virtually every allegation made by the plaintiffs was false, misleading or taken out of context,” Superintendent Tamara Kimball said in a statement issued in response to questions about the settlement. “As a result, the district agreed that the one allegation we did confirm as accurate, the content of the morning announcement, would be a simple concession to make so we could put this lawsuit behind us and continue our mission of educating students.”

However, AHA Legal Director David Niose disagrees.

“It’s very well established that schools can’t be promoting prayers or sponsoring prayers or anything like that, so to get over the intercom and say ‘Morning devotionals are occurring down at Mrs. So-and-so’s room,’ that’s just not appropriate.”

As Fayette High School student Gavin Hunt, one of the plaintiffs, wrote on the American Humanist Association website back in December:

“In this lawsuit, I am challenging my school’s longstanding practice of allowing teachers to pray with students and to participate in Christian student group meetings during the school day. The way in which faith is regarded at Fayette High School is as a status symbol. To them, claiming to be a part of the religion is more important than abiding by the rules of it. If you don’t belong to that particular faith, you’ll be alienated by your peers, and possibly your teachers. This conduct is divisive, and serves no purpose other than displaying an illusory superiority.”

We can only hope the plaintiff’s team next tackles on that notorious revision made to the Pledge of Allegiance. You know the one – “under God.”

A Company Has Designed A Bulletproof Blanket To Protect Kids During School Shootings

The Bodyguard Blanket, made by ProTecht, is a bulletproof 5/16-inch pad that the company says is made from the same materials used by the U.S. military.

Steve Walker, a podiatrist who conceptualized the blanket, told The Oklahoman that the idea came to him after two tragedies: the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and the tornadoes in Oklahoma. He said the idea was to “stop that blunt-force trauma when that rubble is falling down on a child.”

The company estimates that the blanket can provide protection against 90% of all weapons that have been used in school shootings in the U.S.

The blanket has straps that can be fastened around users like a backpack. The lightweight pad is made of a high-density plastic used for ballistic armor. The material can also protect users from nails, shards of metal, and other sharp objects.

After testing the blanket at a shooting range, the makers said it provided protection against bullets from a 12-gauge buckshot, a .22-caliber, and a 9 mm, among others.

The $1,000 blankets are a cheaper alternative to tornado shelters, but its makers say they are better for school shootings.

In an interview with The Oklahoman, ProTecht’s managing partner Stan Schone said that a safe room is not effective when someone suddenly enters the school and starts shooting because children would be required to run down the hall to get to the room.

He said that the blankets can be stored in the classrooms and children “can lock the door and put these on in a matter of seconds.”

The company says it is encouraging administrators to make the Bodyguard Blanket an integral part of school and university lockdown protocol.

While talking about the frequency of school shootings in the U.S., including the June 5 shooting at Seattle Pacific University, Schone hinted at the tragic need for such a product.

“It’s just sad that we’ve come to this in society, but that’s where we are,” he said.

There were 13 school shootings in the U.S. recorded in the first six weeks of 2014.

A study in January found that 28 people have been killed in 44 school shootings since the Newtown tragedy.

“This thing gives kids an option, an alternative that will give them an opportunity to survive,” Schone said.

Judge Issues Order Against Christianist Indoctrination in Louisiana School

For years, Louisiana has maintained one of the most subversive creationist laws in the country. In lieu of mandating that teachers offer creationism or intelligent design in the public classroom – both of which have been struck down in courts as scientific fact – Louisiana has allowed teachers to augment their lessons with “supplemental material,” circumventing established law and slipping religious tracts into public schools.

The state, and GOP Governor Bobby Jindal, has defended this law by noting that it not only doesn’t contradict prior rulings, but that it’s never actually been challenged in court. If the law were so preposterous, officials say, why has no one come forth to point this out in court? Why do parents and children seem so happy with it?

And, to be fair, many do. Creationism has a massive following in Louisiana – a strong majority noted that they prefer to have Christian folklore taught as fact in the classroom. But a court order this month may, finally, stem the tide of un-scientific education in Louisiana’s classrooms.

A federal judge has ruled that officials at Louisiana’s Negreet High School had been indoctrinating students with Christianism, and that they must promptly cease and desist. The ruling came in the form of a “consent decree,” and, per the ACLU’s release, ends the lawsuit filed on behalf of one of the school’s former students, a Buddhist child identified as C.C.

According to C.C. and his family, the school not only subjected students to Christian iconography in school, but even went so far as to implement Christian rhetoric in testing. As The Daily Beast wrote when the lawsuit was initially filed in January:

[I]f you aren’t religious, or if you aren’t a Christian, don’t worry. … Just ask the superintendent of schools in the parish, Sara Ebarb, who has said, “[t]his is the Bible Belt” and who asked the parents of a Buddhist student recently if he “has to be raised Buddhist” or if he could “change” his faith and suggested to them that he should transfer to a school where “there are more Asians.” Religious objectors, Ebarb has said, should simply accept the pervasive of official Christianity in Sabine Parish public schools. Easy-peasy, folks, just convert!

One of the more notable pieces of evidence came on one of C.C.’s tests, in which the teacher asked children to fill in a bizarre, caps-locked quote: ““ISN’T IT AMAZING WHAT THE _______ HAS MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.” (The correct answer is “Lord,” though more exclamation points may earn credit, also.)

As it is, the state is still assessing the fallout from the ruling, which also forces the school board to offer First Amendment training for school staff. But the biggest fallout may come from the precedent the lawsuit has set. Finally, a family has challenged the state’s claims that its “supplemental materials” legislation has brought not further scientific education, but religious indoctrination. While the law remains on the books, the ruling bolsters the opposition’s arguments that Louisiana has helped creationist back its way into the classroom.

Ohio State Rep: 'Public Education In America Is Socialism, What Is The Solution?'

A Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives denounced the entire American public school system as "socialism" in a blog post published earlier this month.

"Socialism, defined on Wikipedia, 'is a social and economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy,'" state Rep. Andrew Brenner (R ) wrote in a post published Mar. 3 on Brenner Brief News, a website founded and edited by his wife. "That seems to summarize our primary education system. Public education in America is socialism."

Brenner serves as vice-chair of the Ohio House Education Committee. 

In the post, titled "Public education in America is socialism, what is the solution?," Brenner laid out his argument. He noted that the Tea Party, which "will attack Obama-care relentlessly as a socialist system," rarely brings up "the fact that our public education system is already a socialist system[…] and has been a socialist system since the founding of our country." He addressed teachers unions -- "an outgrowth of our socialistic education system" -- which he granted originally improved things "temporarily" before they ultimately "became bureaucratic and they started to take the place of school boards and school management."

"I’m not blaming the teachers unions or the local school boards who are bound to the contracts, because if they don’t they will end up with strikes and an arbitrator will rule against them," Brenner wrote. "These issues all stemmed from the fact that we have a socialist education system in the first place."

Brenner's solution: more privatization. 

"In a free market system parents and students are free to go where the product and results are better," he wrote. "Common core and standardized tests under such a system will not be necessary, because the schools that fail will go out of business. Government will not be there to prop them up with more tax dollars and increased regulations. Successful schools will thrive. The free-market system works for cars, furniture, housing, restaurants, and to a lesser degree higher education, so why can’t it work for our primary education system?"

Read the whole thing here.