On 28 Mar 2022, Wi1liam T T <willyt1955@yahooomail.com> posted some
news:t1tgtt$38pca$107@news.freedyn.de:

> Miami is a blue city in a red state. They are woke DEI drug dealing
> criminals in Miami. Lots of Cuban criminals and blacks too.

As a parent, Chuck Walter said he�s used to signing papers that his
children bring home from school. But Walter said a recent request from
his daughter�s teacher caught him off guard.

Earlier this month, Walter was among the parents at Coral Way K-8
Center, a Miami-Dade County public school, who were asked to sign
permission forms so their children could participate in a Black History
Month activity.

According to a copy of the form obtained by CNN, parents were asked if
they would give permission for their child to participate in a �Read
Aloud,� which was described as an activity where �students will
participate & listen to a book written by an African American.�

The event, which was held on Tuesday, listed types of guests that may
attend as �fireman/doctor/artist.�

Walter told CNN his daughter�s teacher said the permission form needed
to be signed or she would be removed from class during the activity.

�I was a bit shocked. This is the first time that I�ve experienced this
for school activity,� Walter said. �My first reaction was, �Let me share
this with other parents and other people and get their perspective.��

Walter posted an image of the permission slip he received on X, but
didn�t share the name of the school, he said, to avoid backlash. The
post has at least 13 million views and been reposted over 6,000 times as
of Thursday, with some commenters expressing shock, confusion and anger
that the school required the permission slip.

CNN reached out to the school for comment and was directed to contact
the Miami-Dade County Public Schools district.

In a statement shared with CNN, the district acknowledged that the
�description of the event may have caused confusion� among some parents,
and 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,� the district said.

Earlier this month, a parent whose child attends a different school in
Miami-Dade County, told CNN affiliate WPLG that she also received a
permission form for her child to participate in Black History Month
events.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addressed the backlash to the permission
slips during a news conference Thursday, accusing schools of �virtue
signaling� and critics of �trying to create phony narratives.�

�You had this incident in Miami where they did some permission slip, it
was absurd,� DeSantis said. �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.��

But the permission slips come as school districts and teachers across
the state of Florida attempt to navigate a slate of so-called �parental
rights� laws that empower parents to have a greater say over what
children learn in Florida classrooms.

In September 2022, the Florida Department of Education updated its
guidance for field trips, extracurricular activities and supplemental
programs to require 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.�

In April 2022, DeSantis signed the Individual Freedom Act into law, also
known as the �Stop WOKE Act,� which is 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, CNN previously reported. The law has faced several legal
challenges since going into effect.

Although Florida has required lessons on Black history since 1994, many
advocates have said schools across the state are failing to meet that
mandate, and that laws like the Stop WOKE Act have a chilling effect,
limiting what can be taught about race and racism in schools.

At a school board meeting earlier this month, John D. Pace III, deputy
superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, said �schools do not
require permission slips for the instruction of African American
history,� but that forms should be used when there is an activity
outside of the curriculum or when a guest presents at school.

�Miami-Dade public schools fully supports and provides instruction in
African American history throughout the school year which is a
requirement by the state of Florida,� Pace said during the meeting.

The district reiterated its stance in a statement posted to its website.

�The overarching goal of social studies instruction is to prepare
students to be knowledgeable, informed, and active citizens in an
increasingly diverse community and nation and interdependent world,� the
statement said. �Social Studies programs exist to promote civic
competence and ensure that the values and ideals that have shaped our
democratic republic continue to be instilled in our youth.�

At the February 7 school board meeting, Steve Gallon III, a District 1
school board member for Miami-Dade County Schools, said he was concerned
Florida�s guidance on field trips and extracurricular activities was
being misinterpreted.

�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,� Gallon said.
�The policy as it reads currently may not be as problematic as what I
perceive as the interpretation and implementation at school sites.�

Walter said as a parent he is concerned about the impact of the new
rules and the effects they could ultimately have on students and their
education.

�The school where my daughters attend is a predominantly Hispanic school
and I was wondering if it were a predominantly Black elementary school,
if they would have been sent the same permission slip,� he said. �So,
who is making the decisions about when they need to get parents�
permission or not?�

Walter said a representative from Miami-Dade Schools messaged him on
social media to inform him that they were looking into the matter and to
ask him to verify the name of his daughter�s school.

Members and supporters of the LGBTQ community attend the "Say Gay
Anyway" rally in Miami Beach, Florida on March 13, 2022. - Florida's
state senate on March 8 passed a controversial bill banning lessons on
sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools, a step
that critics complain will hurt the LGBTQ community. Opposition
Democrats and LGBTQ rights activists have lobbied against what they call
the "Don't Say Gay" law, which will affect kids in kindergarten through
third grade, when they are eight or nine years old.

He said he ultimately signed the permission form and his daughter
participated in the event. But he also said he would like to see the
policy that spurred teachers to send the slips during Black History
Month reversed.

�I can only imagine if some of the parents hadn�t seen the permission
slip that it would�ve created a strange divide and they would�ve been
taken out of the class,� he said. Walter praised his daughter�s school
for continuing to hold activities and events �even in light of the extra
burden being placed on teachers to request parental permission.�

He also said he and his family take steps to ensure his children learn
about Black history at home, as well as in school, but he acknowledged
that it might not be the case for all families.

�To say that they can opt out on a case-by-case basis because they don�t
agree with certain concepts or philosophies, that definitely seems a bit
strange to me,� he said.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/15/us/miami-dade-county-permission-slips-blac
k-history-month-reaj/index.html