Why are Select Board member Bruce Evans, our state representative David Linsky, and the Natick School Committee collaborating to block concerned parents and taxpayers in Natick (and across Massachusetts) from getting access to public information? Watch this recorded portion of the April 3, 2024 Natick Select Board and Natick School Committee meeting that attacks so-called “far right” parents’ rights groups!
Last week, we reported that the Natick School Committee and Natick Select Board have been working with state legislators to make it harder for parents and taxpayers to access public records through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reform. What we didn’t know is that parent groups labelled “far right” are the target of these reforms.
Speaking for Parental Rights Natick, let’s unpack the irresponsible and appalling comments from our elected officials at this April 3 meeting:
LIE: “As you know, FOIA requests have been weaponized by the far right…”
TRUTH: Like many other parental rights grassroots groups throughout the state, Parental Rights Natick is a nonpartisan organization that provides a public service for diverse families in the community. Our goal is to restore healthy policies and unbiased education in our public schools.
In Natick Public Schools, indoctrinating gender curriculum along with failed parent partnerships around gender support plans that allow secret student gender transitions compromise the safety and wellbeing of ALL children. In fact, parental rights in public education is a national issue that transcends political, racial, and economic divides.
LIE: “They are filed for no good reason…”
TRUTH: We’ve used public records requests for very good reasons:
To educate Natick parents and taxpayers on the controversial and potentially harmful gender curriculum children are being forced to learn in school
To provide better transparency on biased school materials that taxpayer dollars are funding
To show how our School Committee or district may be shielding information around things like its gender policy or community concerns about its Pride flag “proclamation”
Recently, we reached out to both Representative Linksy and our School Committee Chair to see if they could define how the Town or the State will decide if a FOIA request should be ignored or denied because the information is considered frivolous (i.e., for no good reason). Not surprisingly, neither of them could provide us with those definitions.
LIE: “It hurts school children and it hurts education.”
TRUTH: Our FOIA requests for things like indoctrinating elementary/middle school gender curriculum or email communications about biased school policies don’t hurt children. What does hurt children are teacher-read stories to 7 year olds that say if transgender babies (as if there is such a thing) could talk, these infant girls and boys would tell the adults they made a mistake about their biological sex when they were born! What does hurt education are classroom health lessons that teach children fake science about “sex assigned at birth.”
What also unquestionably hurts children and families is Natick Public Schools’ gender support policy that allows students to change their name, pronouns, bathroom, and more without parental involvement or consent. The 15-page legal letter sent to our School Committee Chair and Town of Natick officials in March details all of the risks and harms associated with the current policy that our School Committee refuses to change.
LIE: “Parents rights’ challenges request for information on transgender students increasing bulling against transgender students…”
TRUTH: Parental Rights Natick has never requested information on transgender students. We’ve requested information on the district’s harmful gender support plan and its biased and controversial gender identity curriculum that indoctrinates children in the belief that “sex is assigned at birth,” with no formal accommodations for parents to exempt their children from these radical lessons.
There is also no evidence that FOIA requests are responsible for more bulling of any students, transgender or otherwise. Perhaps the district’s fake science curriculum that wants all children to affirm “sex assigned at birth” beliefs and gender ideology as a whole is increasing students’ rejection of these ideas.
Unfortunately, we now know the Natick Select Board, the School Committee, and state legislators are working against so-called “far right” parent groups. You should also know that in Fall 2023, a Natick School Committee member told us “you are in the political minority” during a phone conversation about the district’s concerning gender curriculum. Conservatives need not apply?!
It appears the Natick School Committee continues to lack the courage and commitment to fulfill its responsibility to each and every student in Natick Public Schools regardless of their background (File: BCA). Its members also fail to uphold their duty to the entire community at all times—including so-called "far right" constituents. Instead, they devalue what they see as minority concerns (so much for inclusion and belonging) and hope to disempower the parents of conservative-labelled groups whose children attend our schools and whose tax dollars help fund them.
Since Select Board member Bruce Evans ran on “transparency in local government” as a top priority, let’s hope any public records requests to the Town and schools for more information on these so-called “far right” parent groups and FOIA issues are processed without difficulty or delay!
Email the Natick School Committee at schoolcommittee@natickps.org to voice your concerns about indoctrinating curriculum, biased education, unhealthy gender policies, and politically motivated FOIA reform roadblocks!
Will you also forward this to other concerned Natick parents to help them stay informed and sign up to receive our weekly emails?
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