We’re seeing a false accusation that parents don’t have access to what their children are being taught, and teachers lack transparency. Parents have more access to teachers and classroom material than they’ve ever had. The screenshots below are from one parent’s parent access Canvas account. Through these and similar programs, parents can access assignments, syllabi and more. Parents also have the email addresses for their children’s teachers. They can attend back to school nights, parent-teacher conferences, PTA meetings, and site council meetings. They can request meetings with teachers and principals. Their children also bring home their material in their backpacks and on their laptops, and parents can access it by simply asking their children to show it to them.

We strongly believe this national campaign isn’t about getting more access for parents about their children’s education. It’s about creating easy access for outsiders: anti-public education forces who want to cast their judgment on our districts. They are looking for gotcha moments and opportunities to take things out of context.

We also believe this is about creating more negative sentiment about schools and placing unreasonable burdens on teachers and administrators and making them feel like they are under attack. We are facing a shortage of teachers and administrators, and it’s hard not to suspect that is a feature and not a bug of proposed legislation like this. There are those who don’t support public education and would prefer more state support for private education. This looks like yet another part of their efforts to undermine support for public education and to weaken the system that educates the vast majority of Kansas children. Don’t fall for it, and let your legislators know how you feel about this.

Originally posted to Facebook 1/30/2022.