The Supreme Court is taking on a high-profile First Amendment case after a Maryland school board withdrew its original opt-out policy for books related to gender and sexuality, prompting a federal lawsuit.
While the high court appears to be siding with parents ahead of the final ruling, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten shared her misgivings about the case.
“My concern about this case is that it could pit people against each other when what we really need to be doing is we need to be making sure that every one of God’s children is accepted in our classrooms,” Weingarten said on “The Story” Tuesday.
“Whether that person is an evangelical Christian or whether that is the daughter or the son of gay parents, that is our obligation in schools. So it’s a failure of all of us that this case is in the Supreme Court right now.”
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Back in 2022, Montgomery County, Maryland introduced new books with LGBTQ+ characters and themes into the elementary school curriculum, as part of the district’s “inclusivity” initiative.
The school district refused to allow parents to opt out of the reading program – the same way older students can forego sex-ed instruction.
While the school board initially allowed parents to keep their children out of this curriculum, the plaintiffs say officials quickly reversed course, announcing in March 2023 that exceptions would not be granted and that parents would not be notified before the books were introduced into their children’s classrooms. Officials cited increased absenteeism as one of the reasons for the change.
Although Weingarten’s union does not have teachers involved in the Maryland county case, she commented on the larger issue of woke ideology and parental rights in education Tuesday.
The union boss affirmed that parents have “rights” when it comes to their children’s education, but she also emphasized the critical role of communities at the local level in needing to hold “sufficient conversations” about “age-appropriate” or “controversial” material.
Although affirming parental rights, Weingarten was pressed on her emphasis on creating a “welcoming and safe environment” in the classroom despite growing concerns around the nation’s test scores.
“What teachers have to do is we have to embrace everything…that society throws at us,” she told Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, arguing that the federal role in education is to “fill opportunity gaps” and “help every single child succeed.”
MacCallum pushed back, noting the steep decline in reading and math scores across the nation over the past two decades.
Often called the “Nation’s Report Card,” the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is given every two years and considered one of the best indicators of the academic progress of the U.S. school system. The most recent exam was administered in early 2024 in every state, testing fourth- and eighth-grade students on their math and reading skills.
The results showed that, compared to 2022, the average math score for eighth grade students was virtually unchanged, while reading scores fell 2 points at both grade levels. One-third of eighth grade students scored below “basic” in reading, more than ever in the history of the assessment.
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Among the few bright spots was an improvement in fourth grade math, where the average score ticked up 2 points on a scale of 500. But it’s still 3 points lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic average.
Some states have also seen individual successes, including Mississippi which has expanded school choice and teacher training. Weingarten called the progress “terrific” and explained her union is working to do “more” of what Mississippi did to see improvements for students.
Weingarten agreed with MacCallum that an emphasis on woke issues is a “distraction” from learning, but she remained a staunch champion of “both” creating a welcoming and safe classroom and helping students succeed in reading, writing and math.
Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz, Shannon Bream, David Spunt and Bill Mears contributed to this report.