Biden wants teachers to work with parents in Puerto Rico.
Under Biden, FBI Investigates Parents Who Criticize School Boards
Since taking office in 2021, the Biden administration has shown hostility towards parents who want to be more involved in their child’s public school education. They have investigated parents for criticizing school boards and silenced them on gender and race issues. However, this hostility does not seem to apply to parents in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico’s Education System
During a May 22nd trip to Puerto Rico, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona celebrated the territory’s effort to decentralize its education system. The move, supported by President Joe Biden’s Education Department, will allow Puerto Rican public school parents to have a larger say in their child’s education. The department argued that this development would lead to more success, stating that “we know that students do better when schools partner directly with the parents, families, and communities they serve,” said Miguel Cardona.
It is interesting to note that in the continental United States, the Biden administration has scorned such partnerships.
Parental Rights Legislation
In October 2021, Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, issued a memorandum pledging to investigate parents who “intimidate” school officials. The FBI went on to open dozens of investigations into parents who criticized school boards. Garland’s memo came in response to a request from the National School Boards Association, which referred to parents as potential “domestic terrorists.”
In April, the Biden administration issued new Title IX rules that make it illegal for schools to compel transgender athletes to compete on sports teams that align with their biological sex, despite opposition from dozens of parental organizations. One month later, in May, Cardona argued that teachers, not parents, “know what is best for their kids because they are with them every day.”
The Education Department did not return a request for comment.
The Biden administration has showered Puerto Rico with billions of dollars in federal funds, money that has helped the island give its public school teachers “a $1,000 monthly salary increase.” The Education Department’s eagerness for public school parents to be vocally involved in their child’s education comes as Democrats across the country dismiss parental rights legislation.
Florida, Arizona, and Georgia have all passed bills that prevent public schools from withholding information from their students’ parents. In states such as New Hampshire, however, similar legislation has prompted uproars among local Democrats and liberal teachers’ unions.
After a school board last week enacted a policy requiring teachers to tell parents about their child’s gender identity, Democratic state attorney general Matt Platkin filed a civil rights complaint against the board. New Jersey Democratic governor Phil Murphy quickly applauded the move.
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