EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: They’re coming for our schools

Right-wing Christian nationalists are coming for our schools.

On July 18, during the Republican National Convention, Republican NC Superintendent of Public Instruction Michele Morrow told a reporter that she wants “elective Bible classes back in every middle and high school.” The clip, which can be heard here, unsurprising coming from the right-wing Christian nationalist candidate endorsed by Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and former President Donald Trump.

In fact, Morrow is known for her extreme views including wanting a firing squad to kill former President Barack Obama, her support for the Jan. 6 insurrection and her push to ban books featuring diverse characters and storylines.

Of course, we’ve known this for some time, but Morrow and other Republicans are pushing to further infuse conservative Christianity into schools. Morrow is running against Democrat Mo Green for the seat in November.

A recent report by Education NC, republished by TCB, outlined how multiple states have blocked new regulations to protect students and staff from discrimination related to sexual orientation and gender identity. And in NC, the fight against equality is even more insidious.

Because of a judicial ruling in Kansas, states like North Carolina are allowed to block the updated Title IX regulation from taking effect in schools where a student or parent is a member of any of these three groups: Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United, and Moms for Liberty.

You heard that right: if a student or parent is a member of any of these anti-trans, right-wing groups, then the entire school is kept from enacting the new protections. Here are the schools in the Triad where this is happening:

• Page High School, Greensboro
• Moving Mountains Academy, Lewisville
• Ronald W Reagan High School, Pfafftown
• Oak Grove High School, Winston-Salem

This should be horrifying to us all.

Not only does this allow for one or two people to determine the protections for hundreds of students at a single school, it puts people in danger. But that’s Morrow and other want. Politicians in Louisiana and other conservative states are already making similar moves.

We’ve said before how school board races and public education used to be bottom-of-the-ballot, low-awareness races. But now, those who seek to limit the freedoms and rights of our most marginalized are honing in on our schools through book bannings, anti-transgender rhetoric, campaigns for Bible classes and more.

It’s up to us to stay vigilant and aware of it all.