The president of the nation’s largest teachers’ union told union delegates at the start of the Representative Assembly (RA) Sunday that 2016 was the year of a “fateful election,” one that made clear the U.S. Supreme Court would become “radicalized.”
In her keynote address Sunday in Chicago, National Education Association (NEA) President Becky Pringle targeted former President Donald Trump for his choices in appointing Supreme Court justices.
Together, as one union, we will reclaim public education as a common good and ensure our schools are places where everyone, EVERYONE can learn, grow, and thrive. The #RedForEd movement continues. pic.twitter.com/SCvqlnxCgx
— Becky Pringle (@BeckyPringle) July 6, 2022
“We knew we would feel the effects of a radicalized Supreme Court issuing decisions that do not reflect the views of the values of America,” Pringle told her delegates:
We knew that the ground had shifted and the stage had been set to move us further away from the promise of America for all Americans, from decisions on school prayer that attack religious freedom, to vouchers that threaten the right to a universal public education, to the long-term, devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s decision to hijack the fundamental freedom to decide for ourselves, when and how to have a family and the care that we need.
“Like me, you knew these decisions were coming,” Pringle told the delegates. “That still didn’t change the gut-punch it delivered. But, I also know this. Like me, you absorbed that punch and you stood up.”
“As we have for decades, we will fight tirelessly for the right to choose,” the union leader said. “We will never stop.”
Next, Pringle targeted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ Parental Rights in Education legislation, which leftists refer to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The measure bans classroom teaching on gender identity and sexual orientation in grades K-3.
“We will fight unceasingly for the rights of our LGBTQ plus students and educators,” Pringle said. “We will say ‘gay’; we will say ‘trans’; we will use the words that validate our students and their families that encourage them to walk in their authenticity, to love themselves fully to be who they are meant to be.”
U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona also referred to the Florida Parental Rights in Education legislation, which took effect July 1, as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
“As a father and as Secretary of Education, I am deeply disheartened that the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law went into effect in Florida today and I worry about its effects on young people and families in the state,” Cardona stated, adding:
The new law also is part of a dangerous trend across the country, where we are seeing legislation targeting the LGBTQI+ community. I’ve spoken to parents and families in Florida numerous times, and they’ve consistently told me that this legislation doesn’t represent them or what they want for their children, and that it put Florida students in danger of bullying and worse mental health outcomes.
My new study released today by @Heritage finds that easing access to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones has actually increased youth suicide rates, contrary to the claims of the Biden admin, advocates, and flawed prior research. 1/ https://t.co/XM4o4ioeOA
— Jay P. Greene (@jaypgreene) June 13, 2022
A recent study by the Heritage Foundation, however, found that creating easy access to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for young people actually increases youth suicide rates, contrary to the claims of Biden administration officials such as Cardona.
NEA provides a “toolkit” of LGBTQ+ “resources” for public school teachers to help them support “transgender and non-binary students” and to be “more inclusive of LGBTQ+ history in their classrooms, and to stop LGBTQ+ bias and intolerance in our public schools.”
Among the “resources” is a website section that provides “What You Need to Know About State Laws Attacking Transgender Youth.”
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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Becky Pringle” by Becky Pringle.
