American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said on a recent podcast that GOP-backed parental rights legislation could have alarming effects, and even suggested that such legislation “starts wars.”
While appearance earlier this month, in a podcast with radio host Rick Smith, Weingarten criticized parental rights laws like the one recently passed in Florida.
“It’s a belief – we were very lucky in America and we kind of lived in a bubble for a long time,” she said. “This is propaganda. This is disinformation. This is how wars begin. This is how hatred begins.”
The AFT president also rejected the suggestion that teachers try to get students to think a certain way or expose children to inappropriate content.
“We don’t indoctrinate,” she said. “We don’t nurture. … We care about educating children. We keep them safe. We are welcome. We teach them how to think, not what to think.”
Weingarten and the AFT have been vocal critics of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his state’s efforts to introduce parental rights legislation regarding teaching about critical race and gender theory.
On Friday, DeSantis signed a bill banning the exploit of CRT in Florida schools. The Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Workers Act, also known as the WOKE Act, gives Floridians the tools they need to combat indoctrination at school and at work.
The Florida Parental Rights in Education Act signed last month prohibits teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grades and limits age-appropriate discussions about sexuality in other grades.
Dubbed the “Don’t Tell the Gays” bill by critics even though it makes no mention of banning the word, HB 1557 also allows parents access to their children’s educational and health records and requires schools to notify parents of changes in their child’s mental state, a good thing physical or emotional well-being. The bill exempts schools from disclosing information to parents if a “reasonably prudent person” fears it may result in abuse, abandonment or neglect.
Similar legislation has been introduced in other states, including: in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and Ohio.
Weingarten claimed on the podcast that “right-wing extremists” are “trying to put people out of the closet who may be gay or trans.”
The issue of parental rights has become a warm topic since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. School board meetings across the country were attended by parents protesting mask mandates in schools, critical race theory teaching and transgender policies.
