Threats and abuse over 'critical race theory' could drive staff out of public schools
Our education system contemplates both public and private schools.
Families whose children attend public schools do not have to pay for them to get their public education. Parents whose children attend religious or other private schools usually pay.
We are now experiencing parents attending meetings of public school boards and complaining about the curriculum. For the most part, their complaints are that the schools are teaching “critical race theory” (CRT).
In fact, what some public schools are teaching is the history and continuing effects of slavery; and it’s about time they did.
When complaining parents are asked what is is about CRT that they object to, almost invariably, they say they really don’t know much about it and cannot even describe what it is and what it is or about.
When they are asked to whom and where it is being taught, they similarly cannot identify a teacher who is teaching it or a school at which it is being taught. They can’t even state why they object to it; they just know that they do.
I certainly think there are things we could do to improve public education, and parents are within their rights to appear at the meetings of public school boards and voice their opinions and complaints in a civil and non-threatening manner.
They do not have the right to abuse and threaten the board members, teachers and other school employees.
And if they do, why are we not seeing police at these meetings to keep things under control and protect the public school officials and employees? Where are the police to remove them and arrest them when they commit their offenses?
The absence of police response to this, other than the FBI's newly announced plan to track threats against school employees, is telling.
With sheriffs like Riverside County's own Chad Bianco making clear they will only enforce the laws they like, and not taking a stand to protect the folks being abused, these officials are quietly condoning and encouraging the conduct.
It’s not surprising that law enforcement has failed to come to the aid of the threatened school officials, with Bianco and others signaling they won’t enforce laws with which they disagree.
Parents who don’t like what the public educators are teaching their kids have an alternative. If they don’t like the job the public schools are doing, they can take their kids to private and religious schools.
Instead, they want their kids educated at no cost to them — and they want the right to direct the content of that free education.
If these folks are not stopped from abusing and threatening public education officials, it will only be a matter of time before public education collapses as its employees flee their jobs out of fear for themselves and their families.
Law enforcement needs to put a stop to this. If they don’t, we soon won’t have a public education system.
George Hanover is a lawyer who lives in La Quinta.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Threats, abuse over critical race theory could drive out school staff
