Indoctrination and gender ideology: A look at Moms for Liberty claims about NC schools

National and local leaders of Moms for Liberty came to Raleigh this week to promote a message that parents have to fight against indoctrination of their children by public schools.

Panelists at the Town Hall voiced concerns on issues such as a rise in school crime and teacher turnover and the difficulties of parents getting educational services for children. Along the way, panelists charged that public schools are attempting to usurp parental rights and promote Critical Race Theory and “gender ideology.”

“Our children are being taught to hate America, to hate the Christian values and the principles of liberty that American was founded upon ...” said Abigail Prado, chair of Moms for Liberty’s Union County chapter, near Charlotte. “Our children are not being educated. They are being indoctrinated.”

The event drew about 50 people Wednesday to the Wake County Shrine Club in Raleigh. The Town Hall ended with a protester being escorted out by Raleigh Police after loudly calling the panelists “f---ing liars” and other insults.

Here’s a look at some of the items discussed at the Town Hall.

What is Moms for Liberty?

Moms for Liberty was initially formed in 2021 in Florida to protest pandemic school closures and mask mandates. The group now has more than 300 chapters across 48 states.

Moms for Liberty now focuses on trying to limit discussion of gender and sexuality and racial equity in schools, as well as trying to remove books from schools that group members say are age inappropriate.

In North Carolina, Moms for Liberty lobbied for legislation such as the Parents’ Bill of Rights law that bans instruction of gender, sexuality or sexual activity in K-3 classrooms.

Last year, the Wake County chapter of Moms for Liberty unsuccessfully filed challenges to have 189 books removed from school libraries.

Last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center released a report that labeled Moms for Liberty as an “anti-government extremist group.” The organization has called the report a “leftist attack, political hit job,” USA Today reported.

Debate over ‘fundamental’ parental rights

Moms for Liberty wants state lawmakers to revise North Carolina’s Parents’ Bill of Rights to say that parental rights are “fundamental.”

The change is needed, according to Britney Bouldin, a member of Moms for Liberty’s North Carolina Legislative Committee, because parental rights aren’t given by the government.

“We want the government to know we are telling them parental rights are given by God to us and they can’t take them,” said Bouldin, who is the former chair of the group’s Union County chapter.

Wording about parents having fundamental rights is part of the federal Parents Bill of Rights Act passed by the Republican-controlled U.S. House in March 2023. The legislation is stuck in committee in the Democratic controlled U.S. Senate.

Should schools end restorative justice?

Multiple panelists said school violence is getting out of hand, citing this week’s incident caught on social media of a Forsyth County high school teacher being slapped in the face twice by a student. The student has been charged with misdemeanor assault and faces expulsion, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.

Moms for Liberty is asking state lawmakers to increase penalties for assaulting school personnel and for schools to no longer use “restorative justice” programs, which focus on making amends over punishments.

Panelists placed the blamed a rise in teacher turnover in North Carolina on lack of school discipline instead of low pay.

“Children need consequences,” said Brooke Weiss, chair of Moms for Liberty’s Mecklenburg County chapter and vice chair of the state legislative committee. “Restorative justice has been an utter failure. You can’t just send a kid to an office to talk it out and send them back to class with a lollipop.”

But supporters of restorative justice practices say they can reduce out-of-school suspensions and keep more students in school learning and can help students recognize the harms of their actions.

Opposition to school-based health clinics

Moms for Liberty is urging parents to oppose the inclusion of school-based health clinics.

Schools across the country have adopted the Whole Schools, Whole Community, Whole Child model, which can include school-based health clinics. Often called the community schools model, this approach provides a wide range of services to parents, students and employees, including wellness and nutrition information and mental health support.

Speakers called the clinics “dangerous,” saying they’ll allow schools to provide services to students without the knowledge of parents.

“The school-based health clinics are a danger,” said Tiffany Justice, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty. “Everybody needs to be aware of them. You should be asking your elected representatives about them, asking if they’re putting them in your schools and actively working against them.”

Questions about groups with access in schools

Panelists urged parents to closely monitor what groups are getting access to their children in school.

Mary Summa, general counsel for the N.C. Values Coalition, suggested that parents ask schools which groups are involved with after-school clubs.

Justice said parents should write a letter to their superintendent and school board asking what non-profit groups are coming into schools where students may have access to an adult who isn’t a school staff member.

Melissa Merrell a Union County commissioner and former school board member, suggested parents put in public records requests for the visitor logs at schools. She said members of Union County Chamber of Commerce’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee were visiting schools to talk to students.

“As a new county commissioner, we decided to pull our membership from the Chamber of Commerce when we discovered that,” Merrell said. “It has been extremely controversial.”

The Union County Board of Commissioners rescinded its membership weeks after the chamber passed a resolution critical of the board’s handling of an ongoing issue over wastewater, according to WBTV.

Are activist teachers ‘infiltrating’ Union County Schools

Merrell was chair of the Union County school board when it took steps such as making face masks optional before most other North Carolina school districts in 2021. She also worked with Moms for Liberty members to remove some books from schools that she claimed were so pornographic that “I don’t know if even Hustler or anything else comes close.”

Merrell also charged that groups “are infiltrating us at every opportunity.” She said activist teachers are moving into Union County who “have certainly been indoctrinated in their universities and their internships.”.

“What we saw in Union County was a flood of teachers,” Merrell continued. “I truly believe Union County has a target. There is an agenda to change Union County so they are moving in in mass droves.”

NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com