Latest news with #school board
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
APS Board members respond after vulgar text messages sent during board meeting
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque Public School Board Members are responding to controversy after a text message between a board member and her husband used vulgar language to describe the board's vice president. During last week's APS School Board meeting, members followed along on their laptops as they gave results of a self-evaluation. Story continues below Education: APS Board members respond after vulgar text messages sent during board meeting Trending: Working group offers recommendations for AI use in schools to NM lawmakers News: Metropolitan Detention Center reports 6th inmate death this year Board member Heather Benavidez called out the board on attendance, which then sparked a debate about one member who has missed many meetings while on maternity leave. 'But during that period, this board member did attend one meeting, so was she on leave or no?' said Benavidez. Benavidez's husband was following the meeting and sent a text to his wife, which popped up in large print on her laptop. Someone took this photo that has been circulating. KRQE News 13 obtained the picture. Her husband wrote a vulgar message about board member Courtney Jackson. It said, 'Courtney is a c***, which Benavidez liked, and wrote back, 'a stupid one at that.' He went on to state, 'There is no maternity leave,' and Benavidez wrote, 'What a crock of s***.' Jackson sent a statement saying: I was made aware of the comment and reached out the next morning, in accordance with our Board Governance Manual, to address what was clearly a hurtful and inappropriate personal attack. Through texts and a conversation, I expressed my hope that we can bring our focus back to students, where it belongs, and that board members can uphold a basic level of respect and decorum, even when we disagree. What was on display that night was disappointing and lacked the integrity we each committed to when we took this role. No one said we always have to agree, but we do owe one another respect. We are role models for the district. Disparaging comments only bring down the important work we're here to do. Though we did have a conversation, there has been no apology for the words used, which is unfortunate. But, I remain committed to rebuilding trust and modeling the leadership our students, families, and staff deserve. Benavidez sent a statement: During a recent board meeting, an unfortunate breach of my privacy occurred when someone took a photo of my computer screen—capturing a private conversation—without my knowledge or consent. I have since addressed and resolved this matter. As we approach the start of the new school year, my focus remains firmly on improving student outcomes. I am committed to moving forward and will not allow distractions or actions that seek to undermine my integrity or dedication to detract from the important work ahead. APS Board President Danielle Gonzales sent this statement: I will not comment on the issue directly. The APS Board of Education has established procedures for addressing concerns related to board member conduct and performance. We will utilize the appropriate channels as outlined in our governance manual to ensure that any issues are handled accordingly. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Parents must stay alert as public schools hide life-altering decisions from families
There is a quiet but deeply troubling trend sweeping through our nation's public schools—a movement in which teachers, counselors and administrators are actively intervening in children's lives on the most personal of issues while deliberately keeping parents in the dark. Across the country, lawsuits are mounting as schools are found secretly facilitating the gender transition of minors without informing their parents. This is not just a pedagogical overreach—it is a gross violation of parental rights and a dangerous assumption that strangers know better than mothers and fathers what is best for their children. Consider these recent and active legal cases: In Leon County, Florida, the Goldwater Institute is representing a family suing the school board for secretly facilitating their daughter's gender transition. According to the complaint, school officials met with the girl to develop a "gender support plan" without ever informing her parents. When her mother eventually discovered the deception, she was shocked to learn that school staff had systematically excluded her from major decisions about her child's identity and well-being. In Ludlow, Massachusetts, parents are likewise suing their school district for secretly encouraging and supporting their children's gender transitions. Emails revealed that school officials were advising students on how to socially transition—changing names and pronouns—while explicitly instructing staff not to inform the parents. When one concerned parent reached out to the school for clarification, she was misled regarding the full extent of the school's actions. The story is similar in Skaneateles, New York, where the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty has filed a brief challenging a court decision that effectively allows school staff to keep parents in the dark when it comes to gender identity transitions. That case, though originating in another state, has national implications, as it may set legal precedent for whether schools can legally withhold this type of information from parents. In Spreckels Union School District, California, the district settled a lawsuit with a mother who sued after learning that the school had supported her daughter's social transition to a male identity, all without any parental notification. The school even advised the student not to tell her mother. After the story came to light, the child eventually chose to detransition and now identifies as female once again. The emotional damage was significant and entirely avoidable. And in Delaware Valley Regional High School, New Jersey, a father is suing the school district for interfering with his parental rights. School officials allegedly supported his child's transition and withheld critical information from him. Once again, the rationale behind this concealment was the assumption that school staff knew better than the child's own parent. Each of these cases underscores a dangerous trend: schools taking it upon themselves to guide children through life-altering identity decisions, while actively excluding the people who love and know these children best—their parents. This is not merely a cultural issue. It's a constitutional one. The Supreme Court has long upheld the rights of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children. In Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), the Court affirmed that "the child is not the mere creature of the State." Yet in these cases, schools are acting as if they are. This principle of parental authority was recently reaffirmed in the Mahmoud v. Taylor Supreme Court decision. Advocates of these secretive school policies argue that not all homes are safe, and, in some cases, students fear parental rejection. But rather than treating all parents as potential threats, the appropriate course is to address specific concerns through social services when abuse is suspected, not to adopt blanket policies that usurp parental authority. The answer to a dysfunctional few is not the disempowerment of the many. The larger issue here is a growing ideological presumption in public education—that teachers and administrators are better equipped to guide children morally, psychologically, and even medically than their parents. That belief is not just arrogant; it is destructive. These are not minor issues of dress code or extracurricular participation. A child's gender identity involves deep philosophical, psychological and spiritual questions. It is not the role of public institutions to step into that realm without the full knowledge and involvement of families. When educators deliberately lie to parents or conceal critical information, they do not just breach trust—they undermine the foundational relationship between parent and child. America's parents must remain vigilant. These lawsuits reveal a national pattern, not isolated incidents. The well-being of children depends on strong families, not activist school bureaucracies. Our schools are supposed to be partners with parents, not adversaries working behind closed doors. It is time to say clearly and without apology: schools must not facilitate the social or medical transition of any child without parental consent. Doing so is not compassion—it is coercion. And it must stop.
