{"id":300977,"date":"2021-03-24T14:15:19","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T18:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=300977"},"modified":"2021-03-24T14:15:27","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T18:15:27","slug":"how-the-pta-sold-out-parents-for-politics-during-schools-biggest-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-the-pta-sold-out-parents-for-politics-during-schools-biggest-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"How The PTA Sold Out Parents For Politics During Schools\u2019 Biggest Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-the-pta-sold-out-parents-for-politics-during-schools-biggest-crisis%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=300977&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/fb_image-3226.jpeg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>K-12 schools are in the biggest crisis in memory. Some have not been fully open in a year, despite evidence that schools do not increase the rate of coronavirus in a community. Women have had to leave the workforce to watch their children. Academic achievement is cratering. Some impoverished students have simply dropped off the grid. Meanwhile, magnet schools have taken to deliberately lowering academic standards in the name of social justice.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone is talking about it \u2014&nbsp;except, it seems, the Parent Teacher Association. The PTA has been essentially absent from the public debate on reopening schools (though it does not hesitate to make its thoughts on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/advocacy\/ptas-positions\/Individual-Position-Statements\/position-statement---furniture-tip-over-prevention\">\u201cFurniture Tip-Over Prevention\u201d<\/a> known). And in some cases, as with schools\u2019 embrace of divisive racial rhetoric that has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/loudoun-teachers-target-parents-critical-race-theory-hacking\">alienated parents<\/a> and led to situations such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2020\/09\/11\/an-unfair-push-racial-equality-thomas-jefferson\/\">overhaul<\/a> of America\u2019s highest-scoring math school because too many Asians were succeeding, it has contributed to the discord.<\/p>\n<p>A Daily Wire review lends insight into how one of the most prominent advocacy groups in the country, which claims to speak on behalf of broad segments of America, has taken a backseat role in the fight for a basic priority \u2014&nbsp;to reopen schools \u2014&nbsp;while taking more forceful positions for partisan causes that alienate much of its membership.<\/p>\n<p>The National PTA is based near Washington D.C. and has $18 million in assets. Most of its money comes from membership <a href=\"http:\/\/online.fliphtml5.com\/dtoi\/apfq\/#p=22\">dues<\/a>, and 15 percent goes to <a href=\"http:\/\/online.fliphtml5.com\/dtoi\/apfq\/#p=20\">advocacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>From March 9 to 11, the National PTA held its annual <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/events\/National-PTA-Legislative-Conference\/schedule\">Legislative Conference<\/a>, and the agenda focused not on getting kids back into school, but on a series of liberal political priorities, some wholly unrelated to education \u2013 including using the organization to subject parents to ideological training.<\/p>\n<p>At 3:15 p.m. on the first day, virtual conference-goers took part in \u201cEmpowering Parents to Mitigate the Adverse Impacts of Climate Change.\u201d At 5:15, they attended a session on \u201cSupportive and Inclusive Practices,\u201d where they heard about \u201cpractices that ensure equity for every student, are grounded in social justice and support the whole child and every family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At 6:10, they continued on to \u201cCourageous Conversations in Diversity and Inclusion,\u201d in which \u201cattendees will analyze the critical role of PTA in developing diversity initiatives in your school buildings, in PTA units and in communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In its own words, in 2020&nbsp;\u2014&nbsp;a year defined, for millions of parents, by many teachers\u2019 refusal to return to school with a series of ever-shifting demands \u2014&nbsp;the PTA \u201cvirtually <a href=\"http:\/\/online.fliphtml5.com\/dtoi\/apfq\/#p=13\">shower[ed]<\/a> teachers with appreciation for the pivotal role they play in our children\u2019s lives, especially during a pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. <a href=\"https:\/\/noleftturn.us\/\">Elena Fishbein<\/a>, an education activist who is president of a parents\u2019 group called No Left Turn in Education, said the PTA\u2019s conspicuous absence as children\u2019s basic right to an education fell victim to a power struggle between teachers unions and policymakers merely highlighted a more longstanding problem.<\/p>\n<p>The PTA, she said, has long diverted parents, as an organizing force, into roles as mere cheerleaders for teachers and school administrators, instead of watchdogs and advocates for their children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know what PTA usually does. They sell wrapping paper and raise money for teachers,\u201d she told The Daily Wire. \u201cBeing involved in education is not selling wrapping paper to help teachers. That\u2019s what the role of parents has been reduced to by the PTA. Parents would be asking tough questions, because there are a lot of problems in schools. Yet the supposed parents\u2019 association is sitting there planning parties?\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Does PTA represent parents?<\/h4>\n<p>The PTA\u2019s statements on school reopening have been largely devoid of content, except to say that schools should get more money \u2014&nbsp;a teachers\u2019 union priority. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association\/PTA-Newsroom\/news-list\/news-detail-page\/2020\/06\/12\/national-pta-adopts-position-statement-on-reopening-of-public-prek-12-schools-for-the-2020-2021-school-year\">June 2020<\/a>, it said it \u201ccalls for any decision to reopen schools to involve parents, families, students, educators, school employees, public health experts, health practitioners and community members\u2026 It also calls on federal and state governments to provide the funding necessary to ensure that schools have the resources they need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association\/PTA-Newsroom\/news-list\/news-detail-page\/2020\/06\/12\/national-pta-adopts-position-statement-on-reopening-of-public-prek-12-schools-for-the-2020-2021-school-year\">February 2021<\/a>, it said, \u201cReopening schools for in-person learning is vital to ensure the continuity of education for every child, particularly those who do not have adequate access to technology. However, health and safety must continue to be the utmost priority.\u201d It added,&nbsp;\u201cMore resources continue to be needed to help pay for the costs for schools to reopen safely and successfully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many private and charter schools were open for much of the 2020-21 schoolyear without significant issue, while many traditional public schools remained closed. But there is little evidence of the PTA asking why that was. Instead, it has pushed policies ensuring that only the wealthy can afford to go to such schools.<\/p>\n<p>According to its policy position paper, the PTA supports public charter schools only if they \u201cdo not exceed and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/www.pta.org\/home\/advocacy\/ptas-positions\/Individual-Position-Statements\/Public-Charter-Schools-Position-Statement\">do not divert funding<\/a> from non-charter public schools\u201d \u2013 seemingly wanting existing schools to receive funding for services they are not performing.<\/p>\n<p>It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/www.pta.org\/docs\/default-source\/files\/advocacy\/2016-letters-to-policymakers\/feb.-2-2016-national-coalition-for-public-education-expresses-strong-opposition-to-private-school-vouchers.pdf\">\u201cstrongly opposes\u201d vouchers<\/a> that would allow some families to chose to use a portion of the taxpayer funds currently earmarked for their child to pay for private school tuition. One of its top priorities for 2021 is \u201ctaking steps to eliminate funding for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/docs\/default-source\/files\/advocacy\/2020-letters-to-policymakers\/dec-3-national-pta-biden-team-transition-letterf06a4bf1aa3e63899f67ff00009b2bd9.pdf\">D.C. voucher<\/a> program\u201d that provides that option for some low-income residents.<\/p>\n<p>As a group speaking on behalf of \u201cparents,\u201d the PTA\u2019s lobbying efforts carry considerable sway with Congress. But a 2020 survey found that more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edchoice.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/2020-SIA-Wave-2-Final.pdf\">three-quarters<\/a> of parents support school vouchers.<\/p>\n<p>That is not the only instance of the PTA seemingly functioning as a parents\u2019 group that takes positions opposite those of&nbsp;the majority of parents.<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, it partnered with GLSEN (formerly the Gay, Lesbian &amp; Straight Education Network) to write a \u201cfriend of the court\u201d brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case <em>G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board<\/em> in support of allowing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association\/PTA-Newsroom\/news-list\/news-detail-page\/2017\/03\/08\/National-PTA-GLSEN-Education-Organizations-Submit-Joint-Amicus-Brief-to-Supreme-Court-in-Support-of-Gavin-Grimm-and-Transgender-Students\">transgender<\/a> students to use school bathrooms of the sex with which they identify. In 2016, a poll found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rasmussenreports.com\/public_content\/lifestyle\/general_lifestyle\/may_2016\/most_school_parents_oppose_transgender_bathroom_policy\">fewer than a third of parents<\/a> of school children wanted that, suggesting that the PTA\u2019s stance defied a strong majority of its members, including people of all political persuasions who worried about boys in locker rooms and bathrooms with their daughters.<\/p>\n<p>More recently, the PTA has become a major proponent of racial rhetoric that has both conservative and liberal parents up in arms about its potential psychological effects on children. The National PTA employs five <a href=\"http:\/\/online.fliphtml5.com\/dtoi\/apfq\/#p=12\">\u201cEquity Fellows.\u201d<\/a> Frances Frost, a board member, is known primarily for her racial activism.<\/p>\n<p>It advocates for \u201cculturally responsive teaching,\u201d and calls for schools to \u201cdevelop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/advocacy\/ptas-positions\/Individual-Position-Statements\/position-statement---inclusive-curricula-in-k-12-education\">critical consciousness<\/a> by recognizing racism, classism, and other issues in the world and developing a student\u2019s awareness to openly address these situations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It backed regulations that would establish implied <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/docs\/default-source\/files\/advocacy\/2018-letters-to-policymakers\/final-ccd-disproportionality-comments-may-14.pdf\">racial quotas<\/a> for the discipline of students who are deemed special ed. In the past, school districts have met these mandates by turning a blind eye to severe instances of violence in schools, in some cases leading to tragedy.<\/p>\n<p>The PTA\u2019s priorities sound less like something one might hear on the sidelines of a soccer game and more like a speech by professional progressive activists.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur education system must be firmly centered in the belief that equity in education is not just a vision or a goal, but rather a necessity,\u201d its December 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/docs\/default-source\/files\/advocacy\/2020-letters-to-policymakers\/dec-3-national-pta-biden-team-transition-letterf06a4bf1aa3e63899f67ff00009b2bd9.pdf\">letter<\/a> to the Biden transition team said. \u201cNational PTA recently adopted two positions statements, \u2018Say Their Names, Addressing Institutional or Systemic Racism\u2019 and \u2018Inclusive Curricula in K-12 Education\u2019 which speak to PTAs [sic] commitment around the crucial work of [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion],\u201d it wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Fishbein said that this language mirrors the words of school system bureaucrats, and that it is hard to imagine that a large portion of parents asked the PTA to do such things. In that respect, it is no different than the wrapping paper sales, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThink about the activities they\u2019re engaged in: None of the events are really what the parents want to do, it\u2019s what the school wants them to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Political Priorities <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If 2020\u2019s struggles over whether schools should be open or not made one thing clear, it\u2019s that two constituents of the PTA \u2014&nbsp;parents and teachers \u2014 sometimes have competing interests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does it mean to have a parent-teacher association? What in that relationship says we\u2019re going to advocate for parents? Its totally diluted. It has nothing to do with the teaching or what goes on with the kids,\u201d Fishbein said.<\/p>\n<p>There are actually three competing interests in the education world: parents, teachers, and school administrators. It is the school administrators, who collectively control more than $700 billion a year, with whom the teachers\u2019 unions often do battle. Perhaps the PTA\u2019s role is to represent parents and teachers in their shared priorities against administrators.<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s not the case, either: The PTA often appears to operate as an adjunct of schools, rather than an independent check on them, Fishbein said. National board member Dr. Ren\u00e9e LaHuffman-Jackson is a school <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association\/PTA-Leadership\/Board-Officers-Members\/renee-lahuffman-jackson\">administrator<\/a>, and board members Dr. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association\/PTA-Leadership\/Board-Officers-Members\/sylvia-reyna\">Sylvia Ramirez Reyna<\/a> and Dr. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association\/PTA-Leadership\/Board-Officers-Members\/emma-violand-s%C3%A1nchez\">Emma Violand-S\u00e1nchez<\/a> are former administrators.<\/p>\n<p>While the PTA may represent no discrete interest group in the education policy world, many PTA staff and board members have one thing in common: politics. Personal campaign contributions from members of the PTA headquarters\u2019 full-time staff have gone <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/orgs\/national-pta\/recipients?toprecipscycle=2020&amp;id=D000054321&amp;candscycle=2020\">exclusively to Democrats<\/a> in recent years, according to OpenSecrets.org.<\/p>\n<p>National PTA\u2019s executive director is Nathan Monell, who is paid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/docs\/default-source\/files\/why-pta\/2020\/2019-form_990-public_disclosure.pdf\">$347,000<\/a>. His biography describes his \u201cdaily motivation\u201d as creating \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association\/PTA-Leadership\/Board-Officers-Members\/Nathan-R-Monell-CAE\">equity<\/a>\u201d for all children.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/home\/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association\/PTA-Leadership\/Board-Officers-Members\/Anna-King\">Anna King<\/a>, a national board member who until earlier this year was its president, is a former activist with Moms Demand Action, a Michael Bloomberg-funded political group whose affiliate, Everytown for Gun Safety, has spent tens of millions of dollars electing Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson did not make Monell or its new president, Leslie Boggs \u2014&nbsp;who shares a similar passion for the gun issue \u2014&nbsp;available for an interview for this story.<\/p>\n<p>The PTA, despite representing a broad membership with diverse views, has not hesitated to wade into contentious partisan battles that are only peripherally related to schools, supporting restrictions on firearms that would apply to all Americans, including a waiting period and a ban on \u201cmilitary-style semi-automatic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/www.pta.org\/home\/advocacy\/ptas-positions\/Individual-Position-Statements\/Position-Statement-Firearms\">assault weapons<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The organization\u2019s political preferences seem to extend to its preferred presidential appointments. It opposed the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be President Trump\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pta.org\/docs\/default-source\/uploadedfiles\/advocacy\/devos-concern-letter-postinghearing-1-30-17.pdf\">secretary of education<\/a>. By contrast, its December 3 letter to the Biden transition team had a different tone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe look forward to working with the Department of Education and the Biden Administration to fully realize the power of\u201d \u2014&nbsp;it said \u2014&nbsp;\u201cthe parent voice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>This is the second in a three-part series on the Parent Teacher Association.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a><i>.&nbsp;<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>K-12 schools are in the biggest crisis in memory. Some have not been fully open in a year, despite evidence that schools do not increase the rate of coronavirus in &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2311080,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/fb_image-3226.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"How The PTA Sold Out Parents For Politics During Schools\u2019 Biggest Crisis","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-300977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/fb_image-3226.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"How The PTA Sold Out Parents For Politics During Schools\u2019 Biggest Crisis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2311080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}