As COVID has once again brought school home for many students, some parents may be surprised at the content their children are learning. It may be overly sexualized or otherwise objectionable, it may present radical viewpoints as fact, or it might be used by a teacher to belittle a child’s values.
Most parents will agree that’s not right – but they may not know what the next steps are to remedy the situation. Or they may not know these concerning situations are arising in the first place.
That’s why Family Policy Alliance and Focus on the Family created our Back to School—for Parents guide. Parents – not schools – are best at parenting, and they should be equipped to address situations their children may face at school. Our FREE guide gives parents the information they need to understand what may be happening at their child’s school and how to address it.
We’re honored that many leading voices have commended this new resource . Here’s what they’ve said so far:
American College of Pediatricians
“Given how pervasive socialist ideologies and online technology have become in our culture and public institutions, it has never been harder for parents to know our rights, and to properly educate and protect our children. As a pediatrician and mother of four adolescents, I can authoritatively say that Back to School—for Parents by Family Policy Alliance and Focus on the Family is the most important book a parent will ever read. Download one for yourself, and for each of your family members and friends who cherish their kids!”
Michelle Cretella, MD, Executive Director
American College of Pediatricians
American Principles Project
“Left-wing activists have completely infiltrated our schools and are doing everything they can to indoctrinate our kids into their dangerous ideology. We have to stop them. Kudos to the Family Policy Alliance and Focus on the Family for developing this wonderful educational guide to help parents protect their children.”
Terry Schilling, Executive Director
American Principles Project
Christian Medical & Dental Associations
(Endorsement of the guide’s school health rooms, clinics and counseling offices section)
“There is far more going on in school clinics today than most parents recognize. The ‘Know Your Rights in School Health Clinic and Nurses Office’ section of Family Policy Alliance’s Back to School-for Parents will give parents the important wake-up call and preparation they need as their children enter into the pre-adolescent and adolescent years.”
Jeffrey Barrows, DO, MA, (Ethics)
Senior VP Bioethics and Public Policy
Christian Medical & Dental Associations
Concerned Women for America
“Concerned Women for America stands with Family Policy Alliance and Focus on the Family on the front lines of these challenging cultural issues. It is critical that parents be equipped with the information they need to understand and confront the gender ideology being promoted through our schools. CWA commends Back to School—for Parents as an invaluable resource to educate and engage families and policymakers in your community.
Doreen Denny, Vice President of Government Relations
Concerned Women for America LAC
Gateways to Better Education
“Today, more than ever, Christian parents with children in public schools need to be involved. This handbook is a valuable, and much-needed, resource for every parent! It gives practical advice on how to advocate for children regarding a variety of crucial issues.”
Eric Buehrer, President
Gateways to Better Education
Save Women’s Sports
(Endorsement of the guide’s sports section)
“The issue of males competing in female sports is serious threat to women. We need to protect the rights, privacy, and safety of the future generations of females. If we continue to allow males to compete as females, female sports will cease to exist. We applaud Family Policy Alliance’s and Focus on the Family’s efforts to Save Women’s Sports.”
Beth Stelzer, Founder
Save Women’s Sports
We are so thankful to these leaders for sharing their endorsements of this guide. Download your FREE copy today and be sure to share with friends!
Parents, as you head into this Christmas week, giving your children the gift of being prepared to handle situations that arise in their public school setting is a wonderful one! And so is sharing this Guide with a fellow parent you know could use this information.
Back to School—for Parents is Family Policy Alliance’s gift to all parents and grandparents this 2020!
Autumn Leva
Vice President for Strategy
Dear Friends,
Education is best left to local school boards and parents.
Textbooks have historically been approved and purchased by local school boards that are accountable to parents and community members. But now, state legislators want to remove you and your school board from the decision-making process regarding educational materials.
This new “state approved textbook database” would restrict school boards from purchasing textbooks from any vendor of their choice. They would be legally required to purchase textbooks from companies that publish LGBTQ-inclusive material. Academic excellence, accurate content and well-placed images and questions are no longer paramount.
This legislation will have the consequence of forcing publishing companies and textbook authors to elevate sexual attractions and gender identities in their publications in order to be approved by the state of NJ to sell books to your school district. Elected school board members in collaboration with parents serving in curriculum committees should decide what is best for their community, not the all-encompassing overreach of state government.
Your help is needed now to contact members of the Assembly Education Committee, urging them to oppose A3052, the “state approved textbook database”. This bill has already passed the Senate Education Committee and will soon be heard in the Assembly Education Committee.
Once you have sent your message to the Assembly Education Committee members, I will email you their phone numbers and a quick script you can use to follow up with individual phone calls, if you wish.
Please share the link with others. Thank you for spreading the word!
Sincerely, 
Advocacy Director
Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey
Dear Friends—
After an abysmal month at the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts and the conservative wing of the Court handed school choice and religious freedom proponents a major victory last week in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts ruled that Montana’s application of a “no-aid provision” discriminated against religious schools and families, in violation the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
In 2015, the State of Montana enacted a tax-credit scholarship program to help low-income families send their children to the better schools, including private, faith-based institutions. Sadly, the Montana Department of Revenue subsequently issued a rule declaring that children receiving these scholarships could not use them at religious schools. The Montana State Supreme Court agreed, citing the infamous “Blaine Amendment” in Montana’s State Constitution.
Thirty-eight states, including New Mexico, have the discriminatory Blaine Amendment in their state constitutions. The Amendment arose in the late 19th century in an effort to keep Catholic influence from public schools. In the Court’s opinion, Chief Justice Roberts provided the historical context, noting that “[t]he Blaine Amendment was ‘born of bigotry’ and ‘arose at a time of pervasive hostility to the Catholic Church and to Catholics in general.’”
Since that time, the Blaine Amendment has been repeatedly used to discriminate against religious schools and institutions, and to exclude them from public funding and programs. In 2012, for example, two anti-religious activists sued the State of New Mexico, arguing that our textbook lending program violated the state constitution because it allowed children from religious schools to access educational materials available to children in other schools (Moses v. Skandera). To defend their case, the activists pointed to the Blaine Amendment found in Article XII, Section 3, of New Mexico’s Constitution.
Thankfully, five Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the bigotry of the Blaine Amendment, ruling that the U.S. Constitution “condemns discrimination against religious schools and the families whose children attend them.”
With the Court’s ruling, Montana families are now free to choose the education that best suits their children, and religious schools cannot be disqualified from a school choice program simply because they are faith-based. Although New Mexico currently has no such programs or scholarships available, this decision provides yet another reason why our state should enact school choice legislation and offer families more options when it comes to educating their children.
No parent should be discriminated against for choosing a better education and future for their child, and no government should be able to place limitations on a child’s future because of that child’s zip code or family income.
We want to thank our allies, including Montana Family Foundation who authored the legislation, and several of our New Mexico State Legislators who signed an amicus brief in support of the petitioners in the case—Sen. William Sharer, Rep. Rod Montoya, Rep. Cathrynn Brown, Rep. Rebecca Dow, Rep. David Gallegos, Rep. Gregg Schmedes, and Rep. James Strickler.
Thank you all for helping us fight for children, parents, and families, and better opportunities for all.
Vince Torres
President & Executive Director
“The group consisting of mother, father, and child is the main educational agency of mankind.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.