By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
With the “Workers Rights” Amendment now part of the state constitution, expect local teachers unions to test the limits of their new powers. Sure they’ll demand more pay given the record inflation, but it’s around school curriculums where Illinois parents should be most concerned. The amendment gives Illinois teachers new collective bargaining rights to negotiate over more issues, including curriculums, potentially eroding parents’ rights further. (If you missed out on the details and wording of the amendment, click here).
That makes local government elections in April all the more important to parents and taxpayers. The school board candidates Illinoisans elect will be the first to negotiate new contracts under the “Workers Rights” Amendment. Teacher contracts in 200 Illinois school districts are set to expire in 2023 and another 264 contracts expire in 2024. In all, more than half of Illinois’ 860 school districts will be bargaining with teachers over the next two years.
Parents would be smart to carefully vet candidates in those districts on their positions on everything from taxes to DEI to make sure officials won’t sacrifice their rights in favor of union powers.
The trend in Illinois and across the country has been the steady loss of parents’ rights.
Here, state laws like “Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading” (CRTL) standards have transformed teacher education standards from “critical thinking” to “systems of oppression” and other equity issues that politicize education. The new standards weren’t even passed by the legislature, but instead were created by special interest and advocacy groups and then implemented by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). See Politicizing the classroom: 9 things to know about Illinois’ pending ‘culturally responsive’ K-12 teaching mandate for more details.
There’s Illinois’ first-in-nation adoption of controversial national sex education standards that include materials for children as young as five. Yes, the state has made the adoption of the standards optional for school districts, but the pressure on school board members to implement them from both teachers unions and the administration will continue indefinitely.
And then there’s the state’s draconian, one-size-fits-all policies imposed during the pandemic – from school shutdowns to students masking to vaccinations requirements – that took away control from parents and put decisions in the hands of state officials, local administrators and teachers unions. Some examples:
- Notes from the front: Illinois parents, students continue to protest school mask mandates
- No “gathering outside the home” extends into winter break, school administrators tell parents
- Demand a return to normalcy for New Trier students this fall
- Appease the Chicago Teachers Union and this is what you get
- School Closings, Sports And A Tragic Suicide At An Illinois High School
- True inequality: In-class at Chicago’s Catholic schools but remote learning at public schools
It’s the same trend nationally that was epitomized by Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, stating “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” McAuliffe was lambasted for his comment and lost the race as a result.
But since then, teachers unions have pushed back hard against parents’ rights. Even in Republican-controlled Indiana, for example, the unions and their allies managed to quash legislation that would have “given more power over curriculum and classroom activities to parents.”
Banding together
Illinois parents’ have a chance to stop the erosion of their rights by electing local school board members that hold firm against union demands. That means banding together to activate and educate about the upcoming election like parents in Tazewell County have done.
If not, parents across Illinois will continue to find their rights eroded in favor of teachers unions with every new contract that’s signed.
Read more from Wirepoints:
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If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Lawsuit was filed against Amendment 1 on ballot. Follow David Shestokas.
Not too Hopeful that School Boards will gain a majority of non-union endorsed candidates. Maybe one or two might get on, but without a majority it will do no good. These candidates who are running up against the system, have NO IDEA what they will be up against should they get on the School Board. They need to study and learn Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals and get a Spine to stand up against the forces of evil they will be interacting with. These are some of the worst people you would want to associate with.
They are going to ask for a pay cut to help out with the budget. Taxes will have to go higher and higher and higher. Smoke the marijuana and you will not be as high as the taxes are going to be. You will look back and say remember when in the 2022 when taxes where low. This is like cancer, and it is getting worse every year. The greed of the government employees and huge pension costs have DESTROYED the quality of life for the average hard-working families. Illinois is now in the hands of the Public Unions and… Read more »
End the racist facist far-right systemic hegemony testing or any evaluation of performance. .to be replaced by manditory drag queen bingo/ story hr 24-7. THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN!!! https://archive.ph/2022.12.20-184227/https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2022/12/19/23510909/far-right-school-board-candidates-well-be-back-column-ben-jealous
The one thing that can save us in the short-term is that even the unions don’t fully understand the Workers’ Rights Amendment.
Amend 1 is going to be a train wreack as the Covid $bucks$ run out and we are in a recession/stagflation maybe for years—-Say bye-bye to JB’s presidential ambitions.
The kids graduate not even knowing that they didn’t get an education.
Attention tax payers! Get ready! Bend over and grab your ankles!
I find it reprehensible that parents on school boards find it acceptable to restrict parents’ access to what’s going on in their students’ classrooms. How does anyone justify that? Do they no longer care because their children have exited the system? I despise doxxing, but this might be that one instance where it’s justified.
The good: Most teachers are moderate and only care about compensation.
The bad: The most active union members are typically the wacko teachers.
The ugly: School boards have no clue what they’re in for.
My District will bend over and give the teachers everything they ask for, and probably throw in a little extra too. Then they’ll all pat themselves on the back for being so great. I’ve never seen such a chummy relationship exist as chummy as my district’s board and the administrator. They probably take vacations to Mexico together for all I know, they seem like best friends. The second anyone tries to criticize the administration, the Board will defend them like a loyal spouse.
Nixit, I also have the sense that most teachers are moderates, except that they elect radicals to their unions. How is that?
They elect them because they’re usually the only ones running and union elections are notorious for low voter turnout. Plus any moderate isn’t going to excite the ambivalent electoral base to show up.
And who counts the votes?
Asking for a friend.
Stupid chickens.