Bradenton teacher gives homework on bias statements using Trump and the 2020 election

The Manatee County School District went viral online Wednesday after a Bradenton substitute teacher gave students homework -- developed by the regular teacher -- that included biased statements regarding former President Donald Trump and the 2020 election.

A photo of the controversial assignment was posted on Twitter and widely circulated after it was sent to a national political commentator and Sarasota attorney Ron Filipkowski by a student's parent.

A spokesman for School District said the homework assignment was created by a teacher who was absent and was distributed by a substitute to sixth-grade students in a social studies class at Nolan Middle School.

Although the assignment was based on a state-approved book, the unidentified teacher provided their own examples that were not found in the textbook, district spokesman Michael Barber said. The handout was meant to teach students the difference between biased and unbiased statements by comparing two sentences regarding Trump and the 2020 election.

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"President Trump made claims that the 2020 election was stolen," the homework assignment stated. "President Trump made false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. The first sentence is just giving you information, while the second sentence leads you to believe he is wrong before you have all of the facts."

In another section of the assignment it said, "The media is often biased and will add words that persuade you to think one way over another."

Barber said he was unsure whether this came from the textbook.

The issue quickly gained national attention Thursday. A tweet about it was shared several thousand times and had at least 13,000 likes online.

Barber said the assignment was based on a chapter from a state-approved book titled "Discovering Our Past – A History of the World Early Ages."

The book is a Florida Edition by McGraw Hill, which according to McGraw Hill's website is "curriculum aligned to Florida standards."

In an emailed statement in response to questions about the assignment, Barber said. "The homework assignment does not meet the expectations of the School District of Manatee County.

"A thorough review of future homework lessons in this course is taking place and remaining issues related to this assignment will be addressed."

The district did not identify either teacher involved in the assignment.

The issue gained prominence after Filipkowski tweeted it.

Sarasota attorney Ron Filipkowski resigned from a state commission in protest after law enforcement officers raided the home of a former Florida Department of Health employee who said she was fired after refusing to manipulate coronavirus data.

Filipkowski was a prominent Sarasota Republican Party member and longtime member of a panel that nominates judges for the governor to consider to fill vacancies until he resigned in 2020. He had been reappointed to the nominating commission by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019 but resigned in protest after state law enforcement officers raided the the home of former Florida Department of Health employee Rebekah Jones, who said she was fired after refusing to manipulate coronavirus data.

Filipkowski's Twitter profile says he tracks and reports "on the Right-Wing" and appears as a commentator on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC and CBS.

Staff Writer Steven Walker contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee County teacher gives homework using Trump and the election