#school board

[gwydionmisha]

#Moms for Liberty #School Board #Book Ban #LGBTQIA+ #Inclusive Books #Censorship #Schools #News

[itgetsbetterproject]

Just a PSA: you do NOT need to be old enough to vote, eligible to vote, nor registered to vote to attend and speak up at your local School Board or City Council meetings!

The media usually focuses on the "big elections" but your school board and city council are often the ones making the big decisions that affect your daily life on a smaller, day to day basis (bathroom policies in schools, anyone?).

The good news is that anyone can speak up at these meetings - grab some friends and stand up for LGBTQ+ youth-supporting policies.

Courtesy of __lawyerbae on our TikTok.

#itgetsbetter #lgbtq youth #queer youth #school board #city council #electionszn #election 2024 #queer activism #lgbtqia #voting

[lenbryant]

“Moms for Liberty” is such a sham.

#politics #moms for liberty #DEI #school board #racism #anti-CRT nonsense

[enny43]

Most people who know me are aware that I work in electoral politics and have for years. While a lot of the work I spend the year doing involves direct community outreach working on projects like voting rights restoration for felons, each fall I spend 12-13 weeks canvassing for the general election (I live in Virginia, so there are no off years)

This year I knocked on about 6,000 doors, talked to hundreds of voters, and contributed to a small impact in voter turnout. I did this with the expectation that Election Day would go poorly for the Democratic Party. Engaging with voters honestly to get people energized to care about a low energy party that consistently fails to rise to even the most basic of tasks is grueling work, especially when you expect it to not amount to much. Last year, Election Day brought the end to a campaign against Glenn Youngkin, which we lost. That is the expectation going into basically every election when you work for Democrats. From what we could tell in the lead up over the past few weeks, this was our anticipation headed into yesterday and into the evening hours.

Thank god we were wrong. Democrats over-preformed expectations just about everywhere, and there were some major wins that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Aside from the obvious with Fetterman in Pennsylvania, Tony Evers holding in Wisconsin, or Warnock coming out ahead (though facing a likely runoff).. I wanted to highlight some of those achievements most people will probably overlook.

Starting in my home county, where about half of my canvassing efforts were focused.

In the Arlington Country School Board election, Bethany Sutton was running against James Rives.. an anti-trans candidate who has given testimony to the board sharing inaccurate medical information and representing fringe psychiatric research as mainstream opinion. He had said he would stand by Youngkin’s efforts to discriminate against and dehumanize trans students, something the board has taken a strong stand against and refuses to comply with. Bethany ran in strong opposition to this, and her campaign had a large focus on protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ students in our county. She kicked his ass, winning by a margin north of 40 points and 30,000 votes!

Moving to Indiana in another school board election, Matthew Keefer (who advocated for the forced outing of trans students and has made pro-Nazi comments) was defeated by pro-LGBT candidate Christy Wessel-Powell

Two other Indiana School Board candidates who advocated for the banning of “pro-LGBT” books also lost their elections

I won’t mention them all, but there were also some huge wins in North Carolina where anti-LGBT candidates took losses in multiple school board elections

Falcon Heights, Minnesota sends Leigh Finke to the state legislature in a decisive 62 point victory. She becomes the first openly trans legislator in the states history!

Alice Kozlowsky also earned a decisive 40 point victory to become the first openly non-binary representative elected to the state legislature

In Montana, Zooey Zephyr earned a decisive 64 point victory to become the states first trans woman to serve in the state legislature!

and lastly, while this remains too close to call.. it seems CO-3 will be ousting Lauren Boebert 🫡

While the GOP will likely win the house, I am pleasantly surprised to be going to sleep on Election Day with an optimistic feeling. While there’s still a lot of work to be done, and things are still not looking great in general.. this was far from the outcome we expected coming into today. We can’t afford to give up this fight, and tonight showed the will to show up exists out there.

Our odds aren’t great, but we can still win. If they want us to stop fighting, they’ll have to kill us.

#politics #election #2022 midterms #school board #house of representatives #senate #lgbtqia #trans rights #democracy

[commiepinkofag]

New school board president sworn in on a stack of frequently banned books

*A stack of queer books

Beyond Magenta, by Susan Kuklin Flamer, by Mike Curato All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M. Johnson Lily and Dunkin, by Donna Gephart The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison Night, by Elie Wiesel

As she was sworn in to another term on the Central Bucks school board Monday night, Karen Smith placed her hand not on a Bible, but a stack of frequently banned books. “I’m not particularly religious. The Bible doesn’t hold significant meaning for me, and given everything that has occurred in the last couple of years, the banned books, they do mean something to me at this point,” Smith said Tuesday. She wanted to make clear “the commitment I’ve had to fighting for the books, and for our students’ freedom to read.”

#banned books #book bans #school board #religious fundamentalism #puritanical nationalism #church and state #queer history #queer #trans #lgbtq #lgbqti #lgbt #2023 #2020s

[darkfrog24]

I am preparing to vote in the STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS next week and I'm looking up my candidates on BallotReady.org and Vote411.org. It's pretty sparse because I've moved into a less purple area, but I remember it (or possibly another website) being very good last time around.

Don't like the Dems or Reps? Vote in your STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS, where third-party candidates can actually win.

Hey, you know how most of the laws we live under day to day are state laws? Vote in your STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS.

Don't like book bans? Hey guess when the school board gets ELECTED? Hint: It's on election day, in your STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS.

State and local elections made easy(-er): Try BallotReady.org! Try Vote411.org! It's easy to use!

#vote #vote like your life depends on it #state and local elections #school board #book bans

[theheartofappalachia]

One of the women running for school board in the next county over just had an interview(with a preacher on YouTube) where she goes into not bullying lgbtq kids but how she doesn't agree with it and will make policy based on her "Christian background". Then they went on about kids pretending they're animals and needing litterboxes.

Cringiest shit I've ever seen.

Her opponents super left, she's super right and all I can think is neither of these are what we need in our schools.

#education #school board #elections

[marionsinspirations]

#work #home #my life #bubble tea #Marseille #school #France #french class #school board #me #selfie #reflection #quest #cafe #green

[stupidcowboykid]

you young people decided--and saved-- this year's midterms.

dont let yourself become disheartened by the election results. we held the line.

because young people voted, we did not see the "red wave" that conservatives so desperately wanted. because young people voted, we saw people of color elected, women elected, LGBTQ+ people elected, small amounts of marijuana decriminalized, antislavery ballot measures approved (i know, in 2022). Because young people voted, we have pro-choice, anti-racist, pro-union, candidates in office. Because young people voted, trump-endorsed candidates lost their elections.

the fact that we did not lose is a win. it could have been so, so much worse. thank you, young voters.

P.S. to the people with runoff elections (see Georgia), go vote again. we are so close.

#please please please vote in the georgia senate runoff yall #the senate is 46 to 48 (and 2 independents) #WorkingAmerica has a letter-writing campaign for the Georgia runoffs. they want 100k+ letters in the next few weeks. go sign your ass up. #ill make a list of general shit people can do maybe and stick it in a rb #politics #us politics #midterm #2022 midterm elections #local politics #news #workers rights #young voters #voting #vote blue #democrats #republicans #school board #local elections #senate #house of representatives #congress #cowboy talks

[gwydionmisha]

CW: Rape.

Note: Moms For Liberty is a Neo-NAZI pro-censorship, anti-LGBTQIA+ Group pushing an openly fascist agenda.

#Moms For Liberty #School Board #News

[itgetsbetterproject]

Oh look, another student crushing the competition to help support LGBTQ+ kids on their school board.

You simply love to see it. :')

#itgetsbetter #queer youth #lgbtq youth #queer kids #book banning #school board #vote #student leader #student activist #climate activism

[geezerwench]

While most of the newly sworn in members to the Central Bucks school board chose to swear their oaths on a bible, incumbent Karen Smith brought a stack of books to Monday's meeting.

Smith stood out at the Dec. 4 reorganization meeting as she took her oath of office with her hand placed on top of six frequently banned and challenged books. Smith, who would be named president of the board, and the other Democrats on the board have long cried foul as the former GOP-majority forged ahead with controversial library policy that critics said was a defacto book ban.

#bucks county #school board #banned books #pennsylvania

[thoughtportal]

Show up to your local school board meetings

#article #school board meetings #school board #local government #Florida #tampa bay times #tampa #tampa bay #book banning #public education #education #the bluest eye #toni morrison #black history month #black history #books and literature #books and writing #books and libraries #books and authors #books and reading #reading #books #black authors

[ninjamonkeystudios]

There are fascists running for places on our school board. These are the elections you need to pay attention to whether you have children or no. Get out and vote if, for nothing else, than to cancel an anti-trans/anti-furry (i shit you not) vote.

It helps especially that there was a levy for better teacher pay and taxing recreational marijuana in the county to support veterans. Hell yeah.

#i voted #your vote matters #missouri #anti trans #anti furry #school board

[sparky-jason]

An ongoing problem has been going on where I live for some time now, and I believe that the matter needs to be addressed. I’m not entirely certain if this has been going on in other places as well, but it is bothersome to me that people seem to think that the music program is somehow beneath sports programs in schools these days.

I was in English class and my teacher was trying to recruit some people who would be willing to help run the concessions stand for a high school basketball game, and when she came to me, asking if I would be able to, I told her that I probably would be at the game, but that I wouldn’t be able to help with concessions because I would be playing in the pep band during that time, to which she replied with something along the lines of, “Oh, yeah! That’s kinda the whole point of what you guys do, isn’t it?”

First off, I would like to point out that the answer to this question is no. That is not all that the band does for the school. We are not just a commodity to be used as incentive to come to all of the basketball, football, or any other sports related events. The “whole point” of what we do is not to just bring entertainment to the parents of sports kids while they sit on their butts in the stands, watching a bunch of teenagers throw a couple of balls back and forth.

Our purpose is to make music. Sure, we do play to support our fellow students and classmates in their games, but we also do it for ourselves. Music is supposed to be for everyone, to bring people together, to fill their hearts and souls by bringing them a piece of beauty. And when a person makes music? They are practically bearing their souls to the world, saying “Here I am. Listen to what I am feeling. This is what I have to say.” It is a work of art to be appreciated for what it is, and shouldn’t be forced out of anyone, and definitely not for people who are unappreciative of the effort that goes into it.

Our band is not just there to cater to the whims of the school board, who seem to think that running us dry by making us play at all home games, three times a week is an acceptable thing to do. I am sick and tired of everyone in our school looking at the people in the band and questioning us about why we would even think about doing something as lame as playing an instrument, while expecting us to be there to support them in their sports games while never doing the same for us at our own concerts and competitions.

The whole music program in general should have more support, not just the band. Our band and choir go to competitions and get excellent placements in nearly everything we do, but we hardly get recognition for any of it. We do Christmas and spring concerts that pretty much only close friends, parents and old grandmas go to. And yet even though we’re pushed around and albeit under-appreciated, we still continue to stay. Why? Because we care about each other, and about what we do. Most of us have been making music since before we even hit puberty. We have been in the band together long enough to learn how to be in tune with each other to the point of knowing exactly when someone in our group so much as needs to take a breath during a song. That is something that you don’t see most anywhere else, and I certainly haven’t been able to see it in some of the other programs that go on in this school.

Our band is like our family. And as a band family, we genuinely enjoy making music together and working to become better musicians both as a group and individually. However, it is due to the ignorance and bias of the school board that we are sometimes deprived of such opportunities. When I was in seventh grade, my band director had scheduled a field trip for our band weeks in advance, where we would get to spend an entire day under the guidance of an actual orchestra director along with the bands of seven other schools where we would be able to better our skills as musicians. But at the very last minute, our school board forced our band director to cancel the event that our entire music department had been looking forward to for weeks, so that we could play at the basketball team’s senior night, which in and of itself goes to show just how much the people in charge of our school care about the music program.

Not to mention the fact that the very same year, our band director was fired because she wasn’t having the band come to play at all of the sports games. At the time, the band had only consisted of eight people. Eight people who were exhausted because they were being expected to spend hours playing for the sports teams games instead of doing anything that was actually for themselves.

Issues such as these have been addressed to the school board by the parents of the kids in the music program, over and over again and have continued to be ignored.

It is degrading and downright offensive that people seem to think that our band’s only purpose is to cater to the whims of the school board and various sports programs. It breaks my heart that when we go to play at sports games, the only people who bother to compliment us on our efforts and abilities are people who are there to support the opposing team, instead of the people in our own community. It is disappointing how little recognition we get, and I sincerely hope that one day we will be able to have this issue resolved.

Thank you for listening to my TED talk.

#injustice #something needs to change #school #school board #music program #high school #school band #music #not fair #ignorance

[lenbryant]

Descending into fascism means minority groups will be dehumanized and picked on.

#antigay violence #fascism #theocracy #politics #republicans #maga me sick #lgbt #maga #protests #glendale #school board #antigay bigots speak out