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MIAMI SCHOOLS UNDER FIRE OVER BLACK HISTORY PERMISSION SLIP FLAP  
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Andrew Atterbury
February 14, 2024
Politico
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_ School officials say they were only complying with a statewide
education rule. _

Students chant during a protest of Gov. Ron DeSantis' education
agenda., Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times

 

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — School officials in Miami-Dade County appear
to be rethinking a controversial policy requiring students to get
parental approval before hearing guest speakers on subjects like
African American history and the Holocaust after the district received
widespread backlash.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools for months has compelled classrooms
to send out parental permission slips ahead of any guests coming to
campus to address students in response to a recent Florida parental
rights law. But in recent weeks, this policy has faced intense
scrutiny
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parents
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and even the state education commissioner — as it was applied to
guests visiting campuses to share their experiences surrounding Black
history and the Holocaust.

The response from Miami-Dade shows how policies pushed by Gov. Ron
DeSantis are playing out across the state as school officials wade
through broad regulations aiming to give parents more power in how
their children are educated. Other school districts have moved
to require permission slips
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some student activities and even nicknames
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but not to the extent seen in Miami.

“It will be an ongoing process to make sure we seek the clarity
required to make sure we only use parent permission slips for when
they’re needed, regardless of African American history, [the]
Holocaust, [or] Hispanic heritage,” Superintendent Jose Dotres said
Tuesday during a school board meeting. “Whatever it is, we need to
strike the correct balance in clarity period on the parent permission
slip.”

Miami’s policy, despite being in place since November, gained
attention after parents at Coral Way K-8 were asked to grant
permission
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their children to participate in a “read aloud” of a book about
African Americans. And in another example, students at Palmetto Middle
School needed signed parental approval to hear from a Holocaust
survivor.

At least one Miami-Dade school board member, Steve Gallon III, has
been skeptical of how the district is carrying out the permission slip
policy, fearing that it could ultimately cause students to miss out on
critical education opportunities for something as simple as forgetting
to ask for their parent’s signature. Gallon during Tuesday’s
meeting also took offense to how the permission slips have led some
people to believe schools are not regularly teaching lessons about
Black history and the Holocaust, both of which are required to be
covered under state law.

“There is no permission slip to teach Black history,” Gallon said.
“This notion and this narrative that we have to somewhat get
permission in some form or fashion to provide instruction to our
students — all students — regarding African American history is
something that is inconsistent with the law.”

School officials say the permission slips are the district’s way of
complying with a statewide education rule tied to a high-profile
parental rights law. The rule
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approved last year by the state Board of Education, requires schools
to “fully inform” parents about what’s happening during field
trips, extracurricular activities and supplemental programs.

“Guest speakers, be they subject area experts or anything of that
nature on any of the topics, would require the permission form,”
Lourdes Diaz, chief academic officer for the school district,
explained to the board Tuesday.

That position, though, hasn’t stopped criticism from pouring in,
including from the state’s top education official, Manny Diaz Jr.,
who labeled the situation
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“hoax.”

Taking things further, state Board of Education Chair Ben Gibson sent
a letter
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Coral Way K-8, asking school leaders to update their policy. Gibson
asserted that the school’s implementation of the state rule is
“wrong” and that the local policy should ensure that the campus is
“not unnecessarily asking parents to grant permission where the
student is simply engaged in regular on-campus learning” of subjects
required by state law.

“I am not aware of any school in the state that has interpreted the
rule in this way,” Gibson wrote. “This should be obvious on its
face, and therefore, those providing guidance to you and your school
are either grossly misinterpreting the rule or simply engaged in
nothing more than apolitical ploy.”

Miami school officials acknowledged that the description of the event
at Coral Way “may have caused confusion” and said the district is
“working with our schools to reemphasize the importance of clarity
for parents in describing activities/events that would require
parental permission.”

“However, in compliance with State Law, permission slips were sent
home because guest speakers would participate during a
school-authorized education-related activity,” a spokesperson for
the district wrote in a statement.

Democrats, meanwhile, claim the Miami fallout is the latest symptom of
Florida’s “war on woke” being led by DeSantis as Republicans
push to restrict lessons about race, gender, and sexuality.

House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat said the
permission slip situation is “ludicrous at best and nefarious at
worst.”

“This is yet another case of unintended consequences leading to
absurd results,” Driskell posted on social media
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“Florida deserves leaders who can think past the next soundbite so
that students don’t miss out on important opportunities.”

_Andrew Atterbury covers education for POLITICO’s Florida bureau. _

 

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