Posted on 05/05/2015 6:35:04 AM PDT by wagglebee
ANKENY, IA, May 4, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a private e-mail exchange with a concerned parent, Republican state legislator Josh Byrnes of Iowa said there is “nothing worse than homeschool parents” making their views known on public school policy.
The statement came as Jeff Moorman took exception to a pending bill allegedly dealing with “bullying,” the “Bully Free Iowa Act of 2015” (HSB 39).
The proposal would allow school districts to monitor students outside of school hours and punish – or contact law enforcement officials and state bureaucratic agencies over – any communication it deems “bullying” – even if that behavior takes place inside a private residence or on social media. Some of these complaints may be filed without first notifying parents.
School administrators could accuse a child of bullying if any comment dealing with “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” – as well as a broad swath of categories encompassing everything from “behavior, friendship or relationship with others” to “political party preference, political belief...or any other distinguishing characteristic” – created a “hostile school environment.”
Parents are concerned this would lead to teachers and public education union employees launching surveillance of students' Facebook or Twitter accounts for stray comments about homosexuality or transgender status.
“This bill infringes on parental rights” and allows teachers to “invade [a] student's rights and privacy,” Moorman, who is part of the educational watchdog group Iowa for Student Achievement, told State Rep. Byrnes, R-Osage. Moorman said the proposal grants school officials “overreaching authority.”
Rep. Byrnes replied by asking, “Which Ankeny school are your kids part of?”
After Moorman answered his question, Byrnes wrote, “That’s good. I was making sure you didn’t h[om]e school.”
“Nothing worse than homeschool parents trying to tell us legislators how to run public schools when they don’t use them themselves,” State Rep. Byrnes wrote.
Moorman provided the e-mails to the blog Caffeinated Thoughts. The full exchange may be read here.
“Nowhere in the language of the bill does it restrict the school’s scope to just students enrolled in their school district,” wrote Shane Vander Hart, who broke the story. “Homeschooling parents have reason to be concerned.”
He also blasted Byrnes' dismissal of homeschoolers' right to have a voice in the legislative process. “Actually, there’s nothing worse than a state legislator demonstrating he lacks the maturity and temperament to serve in his current office,” he added. “It seems that the fact that homeschooling parents are taxpayers and that in itself gives them the right to weigh-in on any bill – education policy or otherwise.”
The state teachers union supports passage. Jean Hessberg, a spokeswoman for the Iowa State Educational Association, said the union would oppose any provision requiring the school district to report anti-gay or transgender “bullying” to the victims' parents, since they may not know their children were having sex with members of the same sex or choosing to identify as members of the opposite sex.
The bill's supporters are a hybrid of Republicans and Democrats. Despite the strong political backing of Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican, it has failed to pass the state legislature after numerous attempts.
So, kids could be followed in to their church Sunday school class and monitored regarding any statements they made, in a Christian context, regarding homosexuality, Islam, marriage or Christ being the exclusive door to salvation.
> when they don’t use them themselves,”
No, they just pay for them.
Not only that. They are citizens — to whom the elected are supposed to accountable.????
Elected Officials accountable to the people?? you been drinking already this morning? The only people elected officials are accountable to are the Unions and Chamber of Commerce. got it.
Hereabouts when the local governments want higher taxes they raise the “fees.” We are paying water and garbage rates that are way more than required to provide water and garbage service. Every time commissioners talk about a need to raise taxes for something they hear back that raising taxes would imperil their jobs so the various authorities and agencies raise fees instead. The fees are supposed to be dedicated to the use for which they are ostensibly collected but I have found out that, as with federal trust funds, the money goes into a common pot, is in fact, general taxes for general use.
If they can monitor kids outside of school, sounds like it does affect homeschoolers too.
The whole anti-bullying legislation is to get kids to accept homosexuality. No disagreement is allowed.
This is scary.
Byrnes is the state rep. Moorman is the concerned citizen and taxpayer.
[School administrators could accuse a child of bullying if any comment dealing with “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” ]
Wow, this is beyond Orwellian.
Stupid spell-check. From now on I’m doing my own proofreading. Thanks for the correction.
Let's follow that logic on a few other points:
We could make quite a list, couldn't we?
Plus the homeschoolers have more right to a say than any of the foregoing examples since they are taxed to pay for the public schools and impacted by the results.
Byrnes was a big proponent of Newt Gingrich in 2012.
Homeschool families still pay for government schools and this policy would potentially bring scrutiny by government school officials on to homeschool kids and families. I’d say a homeschool parent would have every right to voice an opinion on this matter.
Just didn’t want the gentleman’s name sullied. :-) You’re welcome.
Newty,(in MY opinion(I was a NEWTY Supporter in 2012 as well) was ALL BLOW, NO SHOW).
Dear Rep. Byrnes,
We may not use public schools but we pay for them via property taxes, therefore we do have a vested interest in how they are run.
Kalee
Just FYI, Rep. Byrnes is a public school teacher.
Really? Nothing worse?
Pathetic.
http://www.iowahouserepublicans.com/members/josh-byrnes
Government web site for this hater. I expect Demon Rats to hate freedom....this RINO needs to be voted out of office.
http://www.iowahouserepublicans.com/members/josh-byrnes
Government web site for this hater. I expect Demon Rats to hate freedom....this RINO needs to be voted out of office.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
