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- Democrats have struggled to find ways to counter Republican culture wars in education.
- But Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat and former school principal from New York, has some ideas.
- He says Republicans' parental rights push is 'a sham' and Biden needs to 'speak up' to support public education
Democrats have struggled to find ways to counter Republican culture wars in education, but Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York has some ideas.
In one recent video, the former middle school principal mocks Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by sending him a care package of "triggering" anti-racism books and some sage to burn, because he says "Cousin Ron" seems "mad stressed." In another, he invites viewers to join the "Woke America USA" organization that he says he founded after the country allowed "a psychopath to get into our White House" in 2016.
As House Republicans push a "parents' rights" agenda for schools, he says it's time for President Joe Biden to "speak up" more about how "parents have always had rights in public education" and how their voices are "essential." Bowman is speaking up, too.
In Congress, Bowman has drawn attention as the first male member of a small group of progressive House lawmakers dubbed "The Squad." But before that, he spent 20 years in public education and founded a middle school in the Bronx. Parents were always partners with him, he said, stressing the word "always."
"Republicans introducing a bill of rights for parents is another scare tactic," he told Insider. "Through their misinformation, they're scaring parents into believing that they don't have rights…and Democrats and teachers unions are somehow taking their rights away in our schools."
House Republicans introduced "parents bill of rights" legislation this month to promote parents' roles in their children's education. They've argued that some lessons – and books – go too far for children, and they've specifically targeted the teaching of gender issues, sexuality, and race in schools.
DeSantis, a potential 2024 contender, signed laws last year that have led to the removal of books on race and diversity from school libraries and banned classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity for young students.
"We must ensure school systems are responsive to parents and to students, not partisan interest groups," he said in his January 3 inauguration speech.
Executive Office of the Governor, State of Florida
Bowman gets serious toward the end of his video message to "Cousin Ron," saying "You are trying to erase my history. You are trying to erase my culture and my heritage, and as a Black man, if I don't have knowledge of myself, and knowledge of my history, how can I properly contribute to society?"
Democrats have said Republicans are focused on politically divisive messages and undermining public schools while they ignore major concerns in education, such as affordable child care, proper funding for schools, and improving the pipeline to higher education.
The party needs to draw a sharp contrast with Republicans who are trying to fool Americans into thinking they support parental involvement, Rep. Veronica Escobar, co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, said at a conference last week. What they really want is an "iron grip" over children's books and teachers' lessons, which will only lead to more teachers leaving the profession, she argued.
While Democrats focus on creating a highly educated workforce, Escobar said, "extreme" Republicans are trying to "essentially limit access to education for many of our kids."
Delivering that response hasn't always been easy for Democrats, who were left searching for a better answer when the former chairman of their party, Terry McAuliffe, blew it in a 2021 debate with now-Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. His disastrous comment that parents shouldn't be "telling schools what they should teach" was a gift to Youngkin — who ran with the slogan "Parents Matter" — and a lesson in what not to say.
What Youngkin, DeSantis, and other Republicans are doing is "all a sham" because parents have always had rights, Bowman said, and McAuliffe's response was "misguided and misinformed."
"This is one of the reasons why we at the federal level, have to have louder voices so that we can be very, very clear on where we stand on education so someone like Terry McAuliffe doesn't make that mistake," Bowman told Insider.
—Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) March 2, 2023
'Black history is American history'
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona recently called out those "hiding behind the guise of 'parents rights' to try to defund public education," writing in a Newsweek op-ed that his department is working to "raise the bar for parent partnership."
Bowman said he wants Biden, Cardona, Vice President Kamala Harris, and First Lady Jill Biden, a community college professor, to speak even more about public education and parents' longstanding rights as partners. He wants Biden to hold a town hall and "speak up on what's real in our public schools."
Bowman, a member of the Committee on Education and The Workforce, said he is frequently in touch with the White House on education issues.
"It's more about vision setting, less about Republican nonsense," he said. "Because our vision setting is much more powerful than their nonsense."
His vision for education, he said, includes an end to annual standardized testing, a greater focus on project-based learning, more equitable funding for public education, and greater investments in children with special needs.
But he also wants to emphasize lessons on "this nation's history of racism and white nationalism," just as some Republicans have worked to ban them from public schools.
He and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey last month reintroduced the "African American History Act" to support education programs made voluntarily available for students, parents and teachers.
"Black history is American history," he said, and he wants students to learn about other cultures, too.
"If we learn about each other, guess what?" he told Insider. "You create a society rooted in empathy for one another, which is healthy for democracy, and healthy for public safety, and better for our economy. See that? Summarized in one sentence."