*By Julie Barrett, Founder, Conservative Ladies of Washington
Parents by the tens of thousands have unenrolled their children from Washington state public schools in the last couple years and it’s not because of the pandemic. Although, we can certainly thank the pandemic for bringing the truth right into our homes.
Thanks to Covid-19 and the shutdown of in-person learning, parents across the state of Washington got a front row seat to the indoctrination going on in K-12 classrooms. Call it whatever you like – SEL (Social Emotional Learning), CRT (Critical Race Theory), DEI (Diversity Equity & Inclusion – the messaging to our children is that they are to be defined by the color of their skin, the income of their parents, their sexual identity and even the size and shape of their bodies. And parents got to see it as online learning brought these lessons into American homes across the country.
Kindergarten enrollment has fallen more than 14% in Washington since 2019, with as many as 55,000 students being unenrolled in public education in the state. Many parents have opted to homeschool, learning pods and even private schools and not just because public schools were shut down. The majority of parents pulled their students because of the curriculum being taught in school and the lack of academics.
As a result of this drop in enrollment, state schools stand to lose about $500 million dollars in state funding during the next legislative session. Although OSPI Chris Reykdal has said that he will ask the legislature to approve funding to compensate schools for this loss. With a democrat majority in the Washington legislature, it’s almost certain that his request for funding will be granted, much to the chagrin of voters and parents.
Regardless of what happens with the funding, I encourage parents to pull their students from our state schools. Homeschool if you can. Look into some of the creative alternatives available. Consider private school if that’s an option for your family. But once you pull your student, please continue to fight for a return to teaching of academics. Continue to fight with us to get SEL/CRT/CSE (comprehensive sexual education) out of our public schools. We must not abandon the fight. The future of our nation depends it.
