Many parents and residents are reluctant to speak up in opposition to the current policies and are concerned about the potential repercussions if they do so. Their concerns should be elsewhere.

On Monday of this week, we were doing some research on the FCPS website and found a book present in the libraries of seven High Schools and one Middle School that teaches something we didn’t know: that President Abraham Lincoln was gay. This was added to the mountain of things parents who send their children off to school should be questioning, and it made us again wonder why, with all of the information now coming to light about what the schools are doing, why more parents are not angry and speaking up.
 
Parents should be insulted that the school won’t inform them if their child identifies as gender non-conforming or transgender because the FCPS BOE believes it will result in a rise in child abuse and student homelessness. Parents should be speaking up if they oppose the current policy of allowing biological males to compete on FCPS girls’ sports teams. All residents should be demanding a detailed report on the county’s academic performance (which is unacceptably low) and a plan to make that a priority instead of spending on things like the seventy thousand dollars allocated to a climate equity study. 
 
We’ve come to learn that many parents have a deep reluctance to speak up because they fear the impact it may have on their children at school, their families in the community, or both. Whether by letter, at a public meeting, or just voicing an opinion, there is real concern that there could be some subtle repercussions for the family and/or student. Because we have been the recipients of public attacks by those that disagree with us, parents understand where the board stands on many issues; we believe that is a legitimate concern, but that is not what the community, and particularly parents, should be afraid of.
 
What parents should actually be afraid of is what their children are being exposed to today and what is coming in the future, and what the school system isn’t telling them. Parents should fear what their children are being taught that conflicts with what they are telling their children at home. The school system is already allowing many, many things parents would not agree with, and with the changes in curriculums coming next year, that gap between parents knowing what their children are exposed to and having some power to control what their children learn is only going to grow.
 
You shouldn’t fear what could possibly happen if you speak up. You should fear what is and will happen to your child if you don’t.
 
Those who want to retain the current policies of restricting parental notification, allowing sports team participation by self-identified gender, and teaching that gender choice is a civil right you can exercise even if your parents disagree, have been very vocal have engaged in letter-writing campaigns to the board that, based on comments made by the BOE in the April 19 BOE meeting, appear to be swaying their opinions.  
 
If you believe and support parental rights to be fully informed, a return to academics as the number one priority, interscholastic sports participation determined by biological sex, an accurate and thorough history curriculum, and that we should never be teaching that the school system and most other institutions are systemically and inherently racist than you are in the majority.    
 
Stand up, speak up, or show up, but make sure your voice is heard.