School Boards

Who is Trying to Control Your School Board in Placer County

School boards in California are non-partisan, elected governing-bodies that oversee the public schools of each community. Overall, school boards are meant to reflect the diverse values and priorities of their communities by providing direction and support to schools, ensuring accountability, and serving as an advocate for students, the school district, and public schools. School Boards hire and evaluate the superintendent, adopt district policies, approve budgets and local control accountability plans, monitor district performance and student achievement, and actively listen to public comments.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic that caused schools across the nations close down, Republicans and individuals holding fringe views have begun to organize and focus on local races and particularly on school board races. Several groups have come out in the name of parental rights to take over school boards and make changes that fit their specific world views. These changes include fighting protective health measures and getting rid of books and curriculum that discuss issues and subjects around sexuality and race. As Democrats, it is vital that we be informed of these efforts and organize to ensure that school boards represent and protect the diverse range of view points that exist in every community and that school boards make decisions based on the best available and credible information for the benefit of all students, faculty, and our communities. Here are some of the organizations trying to exert influence on school Boards and local elections in Placer County.

The California Republican Party

The California Republican Party has launched their Parent Revolt program to get their candidates elected at the local level and especially to school boards

The American Council

The American Council is a Christian advocacy organization closely aligned with Destiny Church in Rocklin and organizes people of faith to engage in political advocacy. As part of their organization's values, they they are influenced by the concept that "America was founded by Christian men and women" and that people of faith should actively influence culture. According to its website, The American Council has trained and supported over 600 candidates, reached over 2.75 million people through campaigns, sent over 940,000 letters to legislators, and spent over $425,000 on advocacy efforts. The American Council's website often uses language that most people would agree with but distorts the meaning of certain concepts to pass off their views as more reasonable and acceptable. Here is The American Council's view on the separation of church and state:

This statement acknowledges the importance of separation of church and state, but then encourages the opposite, particularly since government is supposed to be a reflection of society. Here is The American Council's position on banning books in schools:

The American Council says that it does not advocate for banning books, but then urges schools to remove certain books. As of October 2022, The American Council has campaigns to remove books from Granite Bay High School, Oakmont High School, Rocklin High School, Whitney High School, and Woodcreek High School. Many booking banning efforts like these are done under the guise of wanting books in schools to be age appropriate. However, what is age appropriate is highly subjective, and these campaigns would seek to remove several books written for young adults from high schools even though many would consider them age appropriate, especially teenagers who may be interested in those stories and experiences. The American Council's campaigns in these high schools specifically target several books that have LGBTQ stories and several of the books are written by authors of color. Here are the books listed in the various campaigns:

• Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

• Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gay, Good for Straights, and Good for America by Jonathan Rauch

• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

• Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

• Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez​​

• Rapture practice: A True Story About Growing Up Gay in an Evangelical Family by Aaron Hartzle

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

• The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

• This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

The American Council also has a campaign against the Disney series "Little Demon" because it has "demonic content and exposes children to terrible imagery" and includes cartoon nudity. The American Council calls it "an extremely dangerous series."