A Nashua teacher wants to undermine PARENTAL RIGHTS and eliminate the OPT OUT of objectionable materials in public school law. She’s working with the AFT union to ELIMINATE a law which protects parental rights.
Ultimately, these decisions should come from the parents. We’ve seen enough examples where teachers and schools exchange real science instruction for political indoctrination.
We encourage parents to engage their school administrators and teachers in an honest discussion on all subject material, however the decision still needs to be made by the parents.
In this case, the student remained in the class but the teacher still wants to remove the rights of the parents to be the one who makes this decision. That’s WRONG.
RSA 186-11 IX-c. Requires school districts to adopt a policy allowing an exception to specific course material based on a parent’s or legal guardian’s determination that the MATERIAL is OBJECTIONABLE. Such policy shall include a provision requiring the parent or legal guardian to notify the school principal or designee in writing of the specific material to which they object and a provision requiring an alternative agreed upon by the school district and the parent, at the parent’s expense, sufficient to enable the child to meet state requirements for education in the particular subject area. The name of the parent or legal guardian and ANY SPECIFIC REASONS disclosed to school officials for the objection to the material SHALL NOT BE PUBLIC INFORMATION and shall be excluded from access under RSA 91-A.
Maybe it’s time for a PARENTS UNION? Please reach out Ms. Miller and tell her parents rights trump hers. millera@nashua.edu
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/1061171-469/focus-on-evolution-climate-change-earn-nashua.html
Focus on evolution, climate change earn Nashua teacher adventure trip through Grand Canyon
By TINA FORBES
Staff Writer
NASHUA – A focus on teaching evolution helped a Nashua High School North science teacher win one of two scholarships in the country for an eight-day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon.
Alyson Miller was awarded the scholarship by the National Center for Science Education along with a teacher in Fresno, Calif.
Miller said she was motivated last year after she had a student whose parents wanted her to opt out of learning about evolution in a high school biology class.
“Taking out evolution is like taking the tree trunk out of a tree,” Miller said. “You’re just left with a pile of leaves.”
Although the student ultimately didn’t leave her class, the policy allowing parents to opt students out of lessons they deem objectionable is state law: Chapter 186:11 IX-C.
“I couldn’t believe this law existed,” said Miller, who said she started looking into the law. She said although it appeared to be prompted by parental objection to sex education in health class, the language allows it to be applied to any course material if parents consider it objectionable.
This year, Miller secured the American Federation of Teacher-Leader grant designed to help teachers make policy changes and began working on finding a way to repeal the law. She’s working with an AFT lawyer to explore how to amend the law now.
“I’m looking to see if the policy has been used, how many times and if it’s been used in a science classroom,” she said.
Miller connected with the NCSE while researching the opt-out policy.
“The National Center for Science Education is kind of a ‘go to’ place for science leaders when you have a question on evolution or climate change,” Miller said. “They were so helpful. They sent back a whole lot of information.”
Miller noticed a posting for the Grand Canyon scholarship.
“I thought that would be really motivating, and a win-win. If I didn’t win the trip, I’d have a lesson plan really finely tuned,” she said, referring to the lesson plan she developed for the application.
Miller has been brushing up on geology in preparation for the trip, although she said experiencing science through nature is the best lesson.
“I’m thrilled to be learning about it,” she said. “I just really would like to bring back to my students something interesting.”
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