Posts by Mark Spooner
Are Pornographic Books in Our Schools?
Last autumn, parents complained at a Fairfax County School Board meeting about two books found in some high school libraries. The parents alleged that the books contained homoerotic material, promoted pedophilia, and were otherwise age-inappropriate. The questioned books were Gender Queer (2019) by Maia Kobabe, which was owned by seven high schools, and Lawn Boy…
Read MoreThe Ibram Kendi Videotape … Finally Revealed
Introduction As reported in several prior posts on this site, the Fairfax County School Board paid Ibram X. Kendi $20,000 for a one-hour Zoom appearance in August 2020 at the kick-off session for the school year. Fairfax County schools spent an additional $44,000 to purchase his books. Fairfax Schools Monitor wanted to see what the…
Read MoreUpdate on Litigation about Kendi Videotape — Mixed Result, And Perhaps Not a Final Ruling
Introduction I have reported on this litigation in three prior posts: In January when the suit was filed; in March after an interim ruling; and in early April after another hearing. The earlier posts can be seen HERE, HERE, and HERE. Briefly, we filed suit against the Fairfax County School Board in January in the Fairfax…
Read MoreU.S. Supreme Court Order in TJ High School Case
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order in the Thomas Jefferson High School case involving racial discrimination in the criteria for admission to the elite school. The order denied the plaintiffs’ motion to vacate a “stay” that had been entered by the Court of Appeals. It’s easy to be confused about what the order…
Read MoreSaga of the Controversial Issues Policy — Part 5
I had intended this post to be an analysis and critique of the Fairfax County School Board’s proposed revision of its Controversial Issues Policy and Regulation (“Policy”). That’s not possible, however, because a committee of the Board is still tinkering with the language. Therefore, this post will only provide a brief summary of the process…
Read MoreFairfax County Hires New School Superintendent
The Fairfax County School Board selected a new Superintendent at a marathon session on April 14. Michelle Reid, who has been the superintendent of a school district in the State of Washington, was hired to replace Scott Braband, who has been Superintendent since 2017. The selection of Reid was not without controversy. Rationale for Selecting…
Read MoreUpdate on Suit Against Fairfax Schools re Kendi Videotape
As previously reported, we sued the Fairfax County public school system back in January, challenging its refusal to disclose a videotape of a presentation made by Critical Race Theory guru Ibram X. Kendi to school principals and administrators in August 2020. See “Fairfax Schools Monitor Sues Fairfax Schools,” Jan. 13, 2022. We had requested the video…
Read MoreThe School Board Is Intentionally Violating Established Policy
Introduction This is the 4th post in a series about the Controversial Issues Policy of the Fairfax County School Board. As outlined earlier, the Board undertook a program in 2020 to implement significant changes in its curricula. The intent was to put “equity” at the center of everything. The Board recognized at the outset that…
Read MoreSaga of the “Controversial Issues Policy — Part 3
Introduction As explained in the previous two posts, the Fairfax County School Board decided eighteen months ago, in September 2020, to revise its long-standing Controversial Issues Policy. This was deemed necessary so that teachers could indoctrinate their students with “anti-racist” ideas about “power,” “privilege,” “systemic racism,” “identity,” and “equity.” This post discusses the development of…
Read MoreSaga of the “Controversial Issues Policy” — Part 2
Introduction This post is a continuation of the analysis begun in “Saga of the ‘Controversial Issues Policy’” — Part 1,” March 23, 2022. This post demonstrates that in 2020-21, when the School Board was considering its new race-centric curricula, it was aware that its plans would violate the school system’s long-standing Controversial Issues Policy, and,…
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