Curriculum
How we fight
SPREAD AWARENESS - We spread awareness and an understanding of the limited role of government.
The authority to choose books and media available for students is spread among the Tazewell County Boards of Education (BofE) and employees of the board: the administration, teachers and librarians.
Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County asserts that it is the Boards of Education that establish and enforce policies regarding curriculum available in each district's classrooms and libraries. The Board of Education members are elected by citizens of their district and are accountable to the citizens, the taxpayers, and the parents. The final authority is theirs, not the superintendent, the principals, the department chairs, or even the Illinois State Board of Education.
Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County also asserts that the U. S. Constitution's 1st Amendment protects the rights of citizens, taxpayers, and parents to: "" Accomodation of this right includes requirements of transparency by government entities, in this case Boards of Education.
Why we fight
We have witnessed BofE votes approving books and/or curriculum. Our team attended Board of Education meetings where curriculum and books were approved after a period of time allotted for public review. We are convinced that, during most review periods, no one, including BofE members, reviewed the books. In several occasions we attended the earlier meeting that announced the invitation for the public review, but did not understand what was the meaning of that part of the meeting agenda. Had we been more familiar with the process, we would have reviewed the books or curriculum.
In other cases, the evidence is strong that books were in the classroom without the approval, or even the knowledge, of the Board of Education or of the administration. In Heyworth, Dunlap, and Rio Illinois, materials made their way into classrooms that, when brought to the attention of the schools Board of Education, were removed from the classroom and in the case of Heyworth, the teacher no longer works at the school.
Boards of Education are required to publish an agenda in advance of every meeting and to publish minutes, normally after approval during the subsequent meeting. Many BofE's also release audio or video recordings of their meetings. Our challenge is to develop the skills to monitor the BofE and to communicate review opportunities to the community.
Insights
- During the panel discussion aired on WTVP on November 9, 2023, host Mark Welp asked: "Do you believe that the State Board of Education should be able to mandate what every school district teaches, or should it be up to the district?" (12:50 minutes in the video) As stated above, Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County asserts the elected Tazewell County Boards of Education have ultimate responsibility.
- Attitudes like 8:45 minutes in the video: "Comprehensive, developmentally appropriate, scientifically informed sex education…" are meant to demand compliance with the experts. Our observation is that many BofE members defer to the "experts" in spite of recommendations that violate Judeo-Christian and community values. In a perfect world, BofE members would question the experts every time their instincts are different than the recommendation.
- To a casual observer of a BofE meeting, many of the agenda items are unfamiliar as are the processes utilized to make decisions. For the most part, the BofE functions properly, legally because the BofE members have packets in advance of the meeting and because materials are made public on the BofE's website. Additionally, processes vary widely between BofEs, making the challenge of monitoring BofEs more difficult.
- Going forward, Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County needs to develop the skills to monitor the BofE in order to communicate review opportunities to the community.
- For what had been approved before, Moms for Liberty needs to enlist the community identify causes for concern and to petition the individual BofE to remove offensive books or curriculum
- All of this is parallel to the Academic Mission, an effort to spend more time in competencies and reduce the distractions to competency in English, Mathematics, and Science.
Joyful Warrior's Plan
Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County will petition school boards for redress inappropriate books and/or curricula. Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County will petition school boards for redress for books and/or curricula that are distractions to the Academic Mission. We are recruiting teams to monitor each school district and to represent the will of the parents at Board of Education meetings when appropriate. Moms for Liberty of Tazewell County strives to be an organization that parents trust to stand up for their rights.