Parents asked, we listened: Training changemakers in our schools

FPF to launch nation’s first biblically based school board training

It’s not hard to see that our public schools need help.

From pandemic shutdowns that allowed parents to see concerning curriculum and ideology in their children’s classrooms, to the “new normal” of boys playing on girls’ sports teams, to students being encouraged to “socially transition” their gender without parental knowledge (much less consent), we all know our schools need better leadership.

We’ve heard from anguished parents and grandparents from across the country—and even school board members themselves—all asking for help. And we’ve listened!

That’s why Family Policy Foundation is launching the School Board Academy this December – the first national training program for pro-family school board members that will be taught from a biblical worldview. The virtual program will include training in:

We have a relevant and readily applicable curriculum, plus a highly capable faculty of veteran school board members and national policy experts, but we need your help to fill the seats of our first class. The inaugural School Board Academy will meet online Dec. 13-15, 2022, from 7-9:30 p.m. ET. All pro-family school board members and candidates are welcome to apply, however, space is limited.

If you know a school board member or candidate, or if you meet that criteria yourself, please invite them to apply here. The cost of $179 per student covers 7.5 hours of training as well as membership to the School Board Exchange, which provides ongoing community and resources to those who have graduated from the School Board Academy.

If you don’t know a school board member personally, you can still get involved and help turn our schools around by providing scholarships for those who need assistance to attend. To sponsor a school board member or support the School Board Academy in another way, visit here.

Please help us spread the word by sharing the School Board Academy webpage with your family, friends, church, and neighbors. With your support, we will equip and empower school board members to honor God, protect children, and preserve parents’ rights through their service.

Thank you for partnering with us!

Amanda Banks
Vice President, Education
Family Policy Foundation

Your daughter says she wants to “transition” to living as a boy. As a wise and loving parent, you graciously but firmly say “no.”

What happens next?

If a new bill becomes law in California, your daughter could flee to California and seek transgender drugs and surgery, getting court protection to do so – all without your consent.

According to California Family Council (our state ally leading the charge against this bill):

“Senator Scott Wiener’s bill, SB 107, would empower California courts to take ‘temporary emergency jurisdiction’ of children if they come to California for trans-drugs, surgery, or mental healthcare. The bill calls these treatments ‘gender-affirming care.’

Courts would also be instructed to ignore the fact that a child has been kidnapped from the parent or parents with legal custody, if the minor comes to the state for gender transitioning.”

All that stands between now and that reality? A governor’s signature. This is a serious threat to parental rights and to the well-being of struggling children across America.

Please sign our open letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom NOW asking him to veto this bill! This is not just a California issue—this is a parents’ issue and this is a child protection issue.

Many times we hear about radical anti-family policies advancing in California. The rest of the nation breathes a sigh of relief that they don’t live in California. Maybe they even live in Arkansas, the first state to bravely stand in the gap for children and prohibit “transitioning” on minors. But if this bill passes in California, it won’t matter where we live. California is brazenly attempting to insert its radical policies into the rest of the nation—even rubber-stamping the kidnapping of your kids for the purpose of dangerous gender transition to do it.

Governor Newsom could sign this any day – time is working against us.

Sign onto our letter NOW – it takes less than a minute, and this is a critical threat to parental rights!

Standing with you,

Craig DeRoche
CEO and President

 

 

 

 

 

A daughter in Arkansas says she wants to “transition” to living as a boy. Her wise and loving parents graciously but firmly say “no.”

What happens next?

If a new bill becomes law in California, that daughter could seek transgender drugs and surgery, getting court protection to do so – all without her parents’ consent.

According to California Family Council (our state ally leading the charge against this bill):

“Senator Scott Wiener’s bill, SB 107, would empower California courts to take ‘temporary emergency jurisdiction’ of children if they come to California for trans-drugs, surgery, or mental healthcare. The bill calls these treatments ‘gender-affirming care.’

Courts would also be instructed to ignore the fact that a child has been kidnapped from the parent or parents with legal custody, if the minor comes to the state for gender transitioning.”

This is a serious threat to parental rights and children’s health and well-being in every state. All that stands between now and that becoming a reality? Our governor’s signature.

Please send a message to California Governor Gavin Newsom NOW and ask him to veto this bill!

Our legislature is determined to make California a gender transition orphanage for the rest of the country—stripping parents in other states of their rightful and protective custody of their children.

Governor Newsom could sign this dangerous bill any day – time is working against us.

Send your message NOW using the form below. It takes less than a minute, and this is a critical threat to parental rights!

Standing with you,

Craig DeRoche
CEO and President



My own memories of “back to school” are happy ones filled with excitement over new folders, pens, clothes, friends, and things to learn.

For parents, though, back to school is an increasingly anxious time, and ensuring that our kids are safe in every way is the top priority.

That’s why Family Policy Alliance teamed up with our friends at Focus on the Family to create the only Back to School Guide for Parents.

Inside The Guide:

Learn How to Protect Your Child:

Download your free copy today!

How would you respond if you discovered your school clinic was dispensing contraceptives to your child — without informing you? Or if a boy took a spot on your daughter’s high school soccer team because he felt like a girl? Or if you found out your six-year-old child’s teacher is reading books about gender-confused children to the whole classroom?

We’re concerned too. We read the news and receive numerous phone calls, emails, and letters from parents, grandparents, and family members every week. They tell us what’s happening at their children’s schools and ask for help responding.

We pray Back to School—for Parents is a blessing to you and your family as you navigate the challenges of sending your children back into the classroom this month.

DOWNLOAD FREE GUIDE

Standing with you,

Autumn Leva,
Sr VP of Strategy

 

 

 

 

 

When you’re facing opposition from radical activists and the Biden Administration, you must be doing something right.

This afternoon, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law. The new law ensures parents are not kept in the dark about what is happening with their children in schools and protects kids in kindergarten through 3rd grade from sexualized classroom instruction.

And, in the words of John Stemberger, President of Florida Family Policy Council, “The Florida parents rights law is necessary because schools have become places more concerned with indoctrination than they are with education.”

Florida Family Policy Council, our ally in Florida and a trusted voice for parents and families, shepherded the bill through the Florida legislature. We are grateful for their work on this bill, and for Governor DeSantis’s bold leadership in signing this bill in the face of pressure.

If you’ve been following this story, you know that Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek pressured Governor DeSantis to veto the bill – and some LGBT activists both outside and within Disney want the company leadership to go further. In fact, the well-funded and largest LGBT activist organization, the Human Rights Campaign, rejected a $5 Million donation from Disney in an attempt to pressure Disney to do more to oppose Florida’s pro-family bill.

But Disney clearly picked the wrong side in this fight. Not only did Governor DeSantis sign the bill this afternoon, but polling indicates that the law is strongly supported by Floridians – including by Democrat primary voters—and by Americans generally.

Disney leadership weren’t the only ones who missed that memo, though. Today, President Biden put out a tweet clearly targeting the new Florida law. And now the Human Rights Campaign is  raising even more “emergency money” where every dollar is matched to “fight back.”

This activism isn’t limited to Florida. Of course, the Biden Administration and Human Rights Campaign have each committed themselves to an activist agenda across the nation. But now Disney has publicly insinuated that it wishes to “take action” against other states with pro-family laws and has even said that its goal “is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.”

TELL DISNEY TO STAND DOWN: sign our open letter!

As a company that caters to families, Disney needs to hear from you that their stance is anti-family and opposed to public values. We’ve sent this open letter to Disney, along with Florida Family Policy Council, and thousands of you have already added your names to it. If you haven’t yet, though, it’s not too late. Disney will keep facing pressure from LGBT activists to oppose good pro-family laws, so they need to keep hearing from you, too.

Sign the letter today.

After you sign the letter, we have more good news from the states: Utah’s legislature just passed a law to protect female athletes in their state, making Utah the 12th state to Save Girls’ Sports!

But the full story is remarkable. After the bill passed the Utah legislature, the Republican Governor vetoed the bill, even in the wake of male Lia Thomas winning a women’s swimming title in the NCAA. But rather than giving up, lawmakers in Utah voted to override the Governor’s veto and make it law anyway!

It’s an inspiring story for Indiana, where the Save Girls’ Sports bill was also vetoed by its Governor (and is awaiting a potential override vote) and for other states still hoping to get similar bills into law this year.

But even more than that, it’s inspiring for each of us who want to see a better, more pro-family America. It’s a reminder that no matter how much the Biden Administration tries to push its radical agenda on America, and no matter how much woke companies rattle their fists and pocketbooks against pro-family laws, they’re out of touch.

The American people are on the side of parents and children, truth and fairness. And when we stand together, those values will win the day.

So, we’re looking ahead with hope. Today, parents and children in Florida are protected. Female athletes in Utah and 11 other states know their state believes in them and stands for fairness in sports. And really, this is only the beginning.

Will you join us?

Meridian Baldacci
Director of Strategy

P.S. Don’t forget to sign our open letter to Disney today!

 

 

I’ll cut straight to the chase: the greatest threat to the radical Left’s agenda is you. You are leading the way in promoting school choice and parental rights around the country. You have been, and will continue to be, a driving force in ending abortion in America. And you are playing a key role in protecting women and children and combatting the radical gender ideology of the Left.

Here are some of your key victories:

But for every one of these wins, the radical Left frantically continues to push its own agenda. For instance:

The Left continues to celebrate men taking titles from women – in sports and even in Jeopardy! The radical Left knows you are faithfully standing for truth and for what’s best for families, so they are trying to push through as much as they can. And with the mid-term election just months away, they know their time is running short – so their attempts are becoming more desperate.

One example of this phenomenon: the Equality Act. This radical bill has made repeat appearances in Congress and would create new protected classes based on a person’s self-identified sexual orientation and gender identity. Under the Equality Act, males could enter female-only spaces like locker rooms and women’s shelters, and they would be legally empowered to take female athletic titles and championships – and more.

Thankfully, you helped stop this bill from becoming law.

What was the next play for the Left? In Congress, nearly one hundred bills include Equality Act language, an attempt to integrate its policies piece-by-piece.

To be sure, the radical Left has its own offensive strategy. But you keep speaking up, engaging with your state family policy council, and responding to action alerts. You are an integral part of the pro-family movement.

Ours is a movement that believes children should be helped to embrace their God-given sex, not taught to question it.

We believe that when some children do struggle to embrace their God-given bodies, they should receive loving and meaningful help, not the harm of hormones and surgeries.

And no matter what happens in those policy areas, females still deserve a level playing field in sports, privacy and safety in sex-specific spaces, and the dignity not to be reduced to terms like “pregnant people.”

This is what real America believes- and the Left knows it. You are the greatest threat to their agenda.

Now, most states are in the thick of their legislative sessions, presenting many opportunities to protect families and stop the radical Left’s agenda. Nationally, Congress and the Biden Administration continue to provide many opportunities for action.

As your state determines what will happen for families in 2022 and beyond, here are 5 things you can do to keep making a difference:

  1. Pray. Pray for our nation, your state, and your community. Pray for leaders at all levels, and for the people their decisions affect. Sign up here to receive periodic prayer updates from our team.
  2. Reach out to your elected officials. We make it easy through our Action Center!
  3. Get plugged in with your state family policy council. They represent your voice and your interests in your state! Find yours here.
  4. Learn more about the issues. Click here to learn more about our vision for Help Not Harm for kids struggling to embrace their God-given bodies, and click here to learn more about the movement to Save Girls’ Sports.
  5. Spread the word! Share the truth with friends and family. (For easy-to-share content, you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).

Together, let’s work for a nation where female athletes have a level playing field in all fifty states, where children across the nation are protected from dangerous agendas and transgender interventions, and where families can truly thrive.

Standing with you,

Meridian Baldacci
Director of Strategy

 

 

This morning, House Democrats passed H.R. 5376, the so-called “Build Back Better Act.” It’s better known as the “Tear Down, not Build Back Act,” or the “Socialist Tax and Spending Spree.” The 2,466-page bill contains Equality Act language, pushes the Left’s radical agenda in public schools, and could force you to pay for abortion. Read our press release statement here.

GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy fought against the bill for over 8 hours last night in a record-breaking floor speech- causing the vote on the legislation to be delayed. Unfortunately, only one Democrat listened to reason and the bill passed this morning 220-213.

Here are some of the worst anti-family provisions to the bill:

Equality Act Agenda

Radical Left Policies in Public Schools

Taxpayer Funded Abortions

The “Tear Down, not Build Back Act” is now headed to the Senate. We will keep you updated on how you can tell your Senator to STOP this dangerous legislation!

In the meantime, the Senate started debating the National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation still contains Equality Act language and would force women to register for the draft. Tell your Senator to tell them to STOP the left’s radical gender agenda and DON’T draft our daughters here.

While news like this can be discouraging, know that our team at Family Policy Alliance is committed to standing against these radical, anti-family agendas. We just recently saw how the tide is turning on these issues in Virginia, and in other elections across the nation. We can’t stop fighting now- will you join us?

For faith, family, and freedom,

Nicole Hudgens
Government Affairs

Your support to Family Policy Alliance and the alliance of state family policy councils we host is making family policy THE issue on the ballot.

For decades we have seen our culture decline while the far Left targets our parents and kids. Our parents have been told they don’t matter. They want families to forego the hopes and dreams we have for our children and allow them to be indoctrinated by the divisive and failed ideology of state-controlled thought.

At Family Policy Alliance, we were encouraged by the election results in Virginia and New Jersey. We know that the ground that was gained yesterday for families in America was huge. We also know that it was just a beginning—the opening battles in a much larger fight as we head into 2022.

The far Left and their leaders don’t want the voice of parents to matter. They aren’t going to stand down or change direction willingly. We know this. There is too much at stake for them and their decades-long plan to erase families—from conception of our children through their education and how they choose to live, work and enjoy the greatness of America that God has blessed us with.

The time is now, and our moment is here. We need to rise to this challenge and make sure that the victory in Virginia and gains in New Jersey are not just one-and-done events. You saw for yourself the power of leaders who don’t shrink from standing up for our values in family policy. The far Left threw everything and the kitchen sink at the candidates yesterday. They even resorted to calling Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin and Lt. Governor-elect Winsome Sears (the first African American woman elected statewide in Virginia) racist because they believe in – you guessed it – families and parents.

Family Policy Alliance is America’s leading national organization standing up for the civil rights of parents and families in state, local and federal policy. What makes us unique is our focus on organizing, educating and mobilizing around family policy.

We host an alliance of the most talented, impactful and amazing organizations working to advance the rights of families in America. What made the success possible yesterday was the work two of the forty state organizations in that alliance. The Family Foundation in Virginia and Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey organized, educated and mobilized voters like never before. And the leaders in Washington DC, pundits and news stations all took notice. It was their work and the good people who support it locally that ushered in this huge change in the national conversation about families.

And this work is just beginning. FPA hosts this alliance so the lessons learned that led to the victories for families last night can be shared across America as we head into 2022. Together, our organizations will invest more than $30 million just this year in the cause of family policy. Our alliance has more than 300 employees, dozens of lawyers, millions of advocates and more than 40,000 churches.

If you don’t already support the work of your state Family Policy Council Alliance member, we encourage you to get involved now!

Thank you again for your amazing support of  Family Policy Alliance. Praise God that he is using each of us in such a powerful way for families today!!

Please, stay plugged in. Look for the videos and invitations we send for you to participate. Support your state organization, and if you are in one of the states yet to have its own organization (OR, NV, IL, VT, OK, – help us create one there now!

Thanks again and may God bless your family,

Craig DeRoche
President and CEO

By: Jonathan Lange

It was Joseph Heller’ 1961 novel that introduced the term “Catch-22” into America’s modern vocabulary. In Heller’s “Catch-22,” he satirized a bureaucratic loop that prevented a military man from requesting a psychological evaluation because, according to the “catch-22” rule, the very act of asking proved he didn’t need one. Merriam-Webster defines the essential meaning of this phrase as “a difficult situation for which there is no easy or possible solution.”

The American Library Association (ALA) touts Heller’s novel among the famous “banned books.” However, it was only temporarily banned in one Ohio library from 1971-1974.

Banned Books Week, which takes place the last week of September every year, gives a platform for libraries to treat parental concerns with utter contempt. They ban classics while housing sexually explicit books in children’s libraries.

First, it gives woke school administrators—not parents— the ability to remove classics like John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” from a high school English curriculum.This enables them to claim that these books are “censored.” Second, the ALA uses the dubious claim to include these kinds of books on their “Top 10 #BannedBooksList.”

Third, the same ALA then puts eight other books on the list that are truly objectionable but makes it look on a par with American classics.

This brings us to the real Catch-22: The pornographic language and pictures found in the children’s book section of Wyoming’s libraries. This obscenity is so over-the-top that these books would never be printed in any respectable newspaper.

Any teacher or librarian unable to see why sane parents would object to the open display of “Doing It,” “The V-Word,” and “This Book is Gay” in the children’s section of a library has no business being around our children. Despite what progressive ideologues will tell you, this has nothing to do with “sexual identity” and everything to do with exposing children to inappropriate sexual content.

So, what can we do about it in Wyoming?

First, educate yourself. Concerned citizens should use the card catalogue of every child’s library to search for books of a sexual or otherwise objectionable nature. Work with other people in the community to share this workload.Second, go and talk to administrators to discuss your findings. Seek a solution that protects the community’s children. Sexually objectionable books should, at the bare minimum, not be displayed on the direct eye-level of your average seven-year-old. These books must be moved to the adult part of the library.

Third, learn the library’s policies that pertain to your concerns. If it is not being followed, correct the abuse. If the policy itself is inadequate, go to the appropriate oversight board—either the school board or the library board. Schools and counties are not answerable to the American Library Association. They are answerable to the voters.

Finally, remember that it is not only the business of parents to make public libraries safe for their children. It is the business of the entire community.

Your voice must be heard. This should not have to be a Catch-22.

By: Jonathan Lange



NathanWinters
Executive Director

 

While the temperatures have been falling across the country, the Biden Administration has been hit with a heat tsunami for doubling-down on their radical gender agenda.

Last week, the House Judiciary Oversight Committee Hearing caught fire when the Attorney General was asked questions about the Department of Justice Memo deploying the FBI in every federal district. Why did the DOJ want to deploy the FBI? Because parents are standing up and speaking out against radical gender ideologies, critical race theory, and more at their local school board meetings.

The DOJ Memo was issued after the National School Board Association (NSBA) sent a letter to the White House calling out concerned parents who stand against radical ideologies. The NSBA letter identified parents’ actions as “threats” and “equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism.”

Exchanges in the House hearing revealed alarming information on the Biden-Harris Administration including:

The Attorney General’s responses haven’t aged well since the NSBA Board now says they “regret and apologize” for the letter and several state school board associations have distanced themselves from NSBA after the incident. And members of the House Judiciary Committee have called for Attorney General Garland to withdraw the memo.

But on Friday, the Biden-Harris Administration, completely tone-deaf, released a new gender strategy document. The 42-page document, entitled “National Strategy on Gender Equality and Equity” outlines the Administration’s promotion of a range of liberal priorities– including transgender policies – in schools, the workforce, and international efforts. The document also promotes abortion and the removal of the Hyde Amendment, meaning President Biden wants to force taxpayers to pay for abortion.

Read our press statement here.

Today, in a lively Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, the Attorney General received more questioning about the DOJ memo. Here are a few highlights:

Amid this crazy storm, one thing is clear: parents have a God-given right to speak out and stand up for their children. And we will continue to stand with them. But this will take a significant investment of money and resources.

Will we let the left cancel parents’ voices at school board meetings, and even members of Congress, from daring to speak truth about biological reality? Or, will we come together and push back?

Join us today in taking a stand against radical gender ideology coming out of Woke DC that is now showing up in children’s schools, affecting their safety, and silencing their parents.

Your generous gift will help us know how aggressively we can fight back against the political agenda spreading out of D.C.

For our children,

Nicole Hudgens,
Government Affairs