A public charter school principal in Florida was recently given the boot. Her offense? Not sending a warning letter out to parents before an art teacher showed a sixth-grade class a photo of Michelangelo’s David statue. Two parents complained they weren’t notified and one called the sculpture “pornographic.” And the principal lost her job.
Sadly, this incident is minor compared to all of the other educational purges happening in Florida. Numerous bills are working their way through the legislature—on their way to being used as campaign props for Governor Ron DeSantis and other demagogues. But it’s not just Florida, plenty of other states are hopping on the (largely Republican-led) push to ban books and speech. Not to be outdone, the U.S. House of Representatives just passed the “Parents Bill of Rights.”
Don’t be fooled by the talk of “parents rights.” This legislation just codifies rights parents already have and issues a clarion call to a handful of rightwing parents and activists who think they know better than trained educators.
And if you happen to be the soon-to-be-presidential-candidate Ron DeSantis, talking about naughty books sure beats talking about your plans to slash Medicare and Social Security.