Cousins! A Miami, Florida father was recently caught by surprise when his daughters’ school issued a permission request for them to participate in a series of Black History Month activities!
Earlier this month father of two Chuck Walter took to Twitter (X) to share an image of a permission slip he received from Coral Way K-8 Bilingual Center in Miami. The slip details that students would need the request signed for approval to attend and participate in a read-aloud. Also that, “Students will participate and listen to a book written by an African American.”
Chuck told NBC News in a direct statement that he did sign the form so that his daughters could participate in the scheduled activities. However, he was concerned because he was never asked to sign or provide consent for similar activities in the past.
“This is an unneeded process for our overworked teachers, and can create more division among parents,” said Chuck.
According to The Root, the chosen book selected for the read-aloud was not disclosed as part of the permission slip. It has been stated that the book was selected to align with Black History Month. However, students’ permission slips highlighted that the children would be hearing from an African American speaker.
The Tuesday February 13th held event listed guests such as “fireman/doctor/artist” scheduled for attendance.
“I was a bit shocked. This is the first time that I’ve experienced this for school activity,” said Chuck. “My first reaction was, ‘Let me share this with other parents and other people and get their perspective.’”
Though Chuck didn’t share the name of the school on social media in efforts to avoid further backlash, his tweet picked up major traction with 15.7K likes, 13.2 million views and over 6,000 reposts as of Friday morning.
“Description of the event may have caused confusion,” reads a statement from the Miami-Dade County Public Schools district to CNN in an issued statement.
The District has provided further explanation,” that moving forward officials will emphasize the importance of clarity to schools.”
“However, in compliance with State Law, permission slips were sent home because guest speakers would participate during a school-authorized education-related activity.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has also called out the permission slips incident within a news conference Thursday. He accused the schools of “virtue signaling” as well as critics of “trying to create phony narratives.”
“You had this incident in Miami where they did some permission slip, it was absurd,” stated DeSantis. “There’s nothing in the state that required that, the state board of education immediately wrote a letter to the principal that said ‘knock it off, stop with the nonsense.’
It has been argued that the issued permission slips align with the law that allows Florida parents to have a voice in the classroom regarding what their children learn and are exposed to.
The Florida Department of Education updated its approach for field trips, extracurricular activities, and supplemental programs in September 2022, requiring activities to “be consistent with the Parental Bill of Rights,” and to require school districts to “fully inform parents of the details of field trips, extracurricular activities, and supplemental programs.”
Earlier that year, DeSantis signed the Individual Freedom Act into law, also known as the “Stop WOKE Act,” intended to prevent teachings or mandatory workplace activities that suggest a person is privileged or oppressed based necessarily on their race, color, sex, or national origin, reports CNN.
“I’m sure that most of you have recently learned and heard of the rancor and the cacophony around the request for parents to complete a form to participate in related activities, related events, and my concern is that it appears that that request has extended to instruction. It has been amplified as a discourse because it most recently had been requested as a part of Black History Month activities,”said Steve Gallon III, a District 1 school board member for Miami-Dade County Schools.
“The policy as it reads currently may not be as problematic as what I perceive as the interpretation and implementation at school sites.”
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