The Daily Signal - ‘On the Right Side of History’: Parents Defending Education Adviser Explains Fight to Save Title IX

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

Parents Defending Education filed a lawsuit on April 29 against the Biden administration's reinterpretation of Title IXallowing males in female sports and private spaces. The parental rights organization joined the Independent Women’s Forum, Speech First, and the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina in challenging President Joe Biden's rule change to the 1972 federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs across the nation. Michele Exner, senior adviser to Parents Defending Education, discusses the future of Title IX with “The Daily Signal Podcast.” Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm Elizabeth Mitchell, and this is the Daily Signal podcast for Wednesday, July 10th. Michelle Exner, Parents Defending Education, Senior Advisor and Mother of Two, joins the Daily Signal podcast to discuss Parents Defending Education's lawsuit against the Biden administration's Title IX reinterpretation. Exner covers a California bill that allows children to transition without telling their parents, the failure of restorative justice efforts at schools, equitable math, and more. Stay tuned for my conversation with Michelle Exner after the break. This is Rob Lewy from The Daily Signal.

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Thank you so much for joining us today. Michelle, how did you get involved in the parental rights movement? They shut my kids' school down. So 2020, as I'm sure, millions of parents were in the same boat. I was a staff around Capitol Hill, and March 14th shut schools down what we thought two weeks to stop the spread, right?

What a joke that. that was. Our kiddos at the time were four and five years old, so pre-kindergarten and kindergarten and then by the summer there was no plan to get them back in classrooms. And I'm like, this is going to be a huge crisis, right? My husband and I, we can probably figure it out, right? We had a nanny. But I started thinking about other kids, right? Those kids, I grew up in English as a second language household. If I didn't have school, would I be here today? I don't know. And so it was really personal. And at that time, I realized that there's no bigger fight right now, no more important fight in the fight for our kids' education.

And could you explain the Biden administration's recent reinterpretation of Title IX and what parents defending education is doing about it? Absolutely. Well, it's awful, right? I'd summarize as an anti-woman, anti-girl policy, right, that strips away also. So not only does it force young women across all academic institutions, not just colleges, right, to unfair situations, right, whether it's on the sports field, it also. gives biological males access to their locker rooms and field trip lodging, right? So if their

student goes on a field trip, there's now no requirement that a girl and girl will be the ones rooming together. That's a huge violation of their privacy, of that they should expect to have. And then also due process. I know that one does not get mentioned enough, but I have a son, right? At some point you might be in college. And I want to make sure if there's something that happens or if there's an accusation that there's a chance for there to be due process carried out. We're a country of rural law, and you're innocent until proven guilty. And so the fact that they strip that away is really. And then also the other thing is free speech, right?

So there are points in there and that 1,600-page rule that essentially says, so if you don't perhaps use the pronoun that someone wants you to use, well, now there can be disciplinary action, right? Well, that runs directly counter to our free speech rights, right? students free speech don't go away once they step foot in a classroom. And so now the student believes in two genders, which a lot of us do, so that student can get in trouble for that. So parents defending education did not take this lightly. We're taking the fight right to the Biden administration.

So we launched a lawsuit alongside speech first and also independent women's forum. And we're moving that process along and hopefully to find justice for all the women and girls out there. How's that lawsuit been going so far? I think it's going well. I know that there was a separate, just moving along the process here, and we know that it is, we're on the right side of history.

This is something that the majority of Americans want, right? There was a Gallup poll from 2023, I believe, that said that 70% of Americans polled don't think that male should be playing in women's sports, right? That's, I'm shocked. It's not 90 plus, but, you know, that's another conversation. But 60 is a substantial amount. And so we're going to continue,

We're going to keep this fight going. I know recently there was an injunction where several states the policy did not have to be enforced. But also a lot of this is at the state level. We've already heard from several governors across the country that said, nope, this isn't happening in our state. We will not be enforcing this, right? And so hopefully more of that continues.

What options do female athletes and students have now who aren't comfortable sharing spaces in sports with males now that they could be accused of discrimination or even harassment if they spoke out about how they feel? Yeah, I think the silver lining that we have now that we didn't have several years ago is that parents and these female athletes, they have the courage to speak up and stand out. And we've seen so many, right, Riley Gaines, I know leading the charge there, we've seen so many that are saying like, no, this is not okay. They're leading lawsuits. They're taking action. They're speaking out. They're advocating for younger females that are following in their footsteps. And so I think it's encouraging to see that. And they don't have to fear being called a transphobic. or bigot, right, because Americans are watching these terrific videos, right, of either, there's a video of a female athlete getting a volleyball spiked in her face, right? There are images of these track meets where the male athlete, I'd like to say, the mediocre

male athletes had now decided to compete with females, where they win and they steal a recognition away from a female athlete. And worse, there's been where they've literally erased the name of a female on a record board to now be replaced with this man that shouldn't even be competing in that. category. And so I think you're seeing a lot of strength out there. So as far as options of what females and parents has had to do is say no, right? Go to your school district and say no, I'm not, I'm not, I'm going to take a stance, right? And find friends. I think that there's strength in numbers, obviously, get parents involved. And I think you're going to see hopefully

positive change happening. So something that I think parents defending education is working on that we've seen in a lot of schools is that they're not disciplining students in kind of the traditional way that they used to. What is going on with? that? Yeah, so we actually have an ongoing list. Right now, we are tracking that there's been about 1,100 school districts that have policies in place that are called restorative justice practices, right? And so to summarize it for you, it's an approach to justice where one of the response is to the seat or someone, a student committee and infraction is to organize a meeting between the victim and the offender and talk it out, right, with representatives of the

wider community or school. And really, you know, what it does is, I think it sugarcoats what happens, right? And I think one of the really terrifying examples that I'd like to point out is that in Watertown, Massachusetts, there was a transgender student that created a hit list of families and staff at the school. This was just a couple months ago that we exposed it. We got a tip from a parent. And the school's response was to create, to have empathy for the creator of that list, right? And then to create an LGBTQ affinity group, right?

So they could feel more comfortable. And the question that I think a lot that I have to ask is, what about the students and the parents, right? The peers that were on this list. I mean, luckily, right, it was not the worst outcome here, right? It didn't happen. But, I mean, the potential was there. And the fact that they're treating it like this, I think really underscores how bad this restorative justice practice is. Another thing kind of going on in schools right now is that a lot of districts are trying to make their math more equitable.

What do you think about this? I think that is so wrong. So it is just dumbing down education in America, right? It's counterproductive. We just spent two years of closures, a lot of children, right? Especially in most of the bluest areas of the country. Just completely two years just gone of their education, right? They're still trying to climb their way out. And what is the school's response? Well, let's add equity in grading, right? Let's not, they can't fail. They turn in an assignment slate. They won't get penalized. It's impossible to fail, right? The lowest grade you can get is now a deal. even if you turn nothing in because it might hurt some feelings. It's crazy, right? That's not where we should be in 2024. I think it's sad for us as a parent myself to think that somehow I had a better education in the 90s and my kids are getting now in 2024 and that's not the trajectory. We should be going as a country.

And so I'm proud to be part of parents defending education to hopefully turn that trajectory around because children should be challenged, right? We need the advanced classes. We need the AP classes. We need to make sure that we're not teaching to the lowest common denominator, but we're helping all children exceed. And by the way, this is hurting minority students. I grew up in an English as a second language home. I was able to take advanced classes throughout grade school, elementary school.

I went to a public school that was, I applied and was admitted into it. And so the left's response is, let's wipe those things away. Well, what happens to kids like me, right, from a blue collar, a family that maybe that, Maybe that was their only option to kind of figure out a whole successful future. So anyway, we're certainly bringing awareness to that. And that's a unifying issue, right? Whether you're a Republican, Democrat, or independent, you're going to want your child to get the best education.

What rules should schools have about students having phones during the school day? So that has been a controversial. I think you have some parents that probably want their child to have phones in school for emergency or whatnot. And of course, there's the other element where it could be disruptive. And so I think at this time, it's kind of dependent on the parent and having that, hopefully, that conversation with the schools. I'm going to avoid my children having phones altogether. And so hopefully we won't have to worry about that for the next couple of years. We've seen a rise lately in anti-Semitism in higher education, particularly.

How should Americans respond to that? And I want to say, so higher education has gotten kind of the spotlight, but at parents of education, we've taken a very comprehensive look at what's happening on the K-12 level, right? Because I think it would be naive to think that these college students show up freshman year, completely radicalizing unhinged, right, and sympathizing with terrorists. It's starting much earlier. And so we've done a lot of work in exposing how things like ethnic studies that are being taught in classrooms are pushing an agenda and curriculum on students that is this oppressor versus

oppressed, right? where, oh, well, Israel is the oppressor. And so it's okay. It justifies violence against him. It's frankly disgusting. And so our advocacy, we were able to get a hearing in the House Education and Workforce Committee just last month that really put a spotlight on specifically Montgomery, County, New York City, and also Berkeley County.

And so the fact that you've had teachers, right, you've had administrators that have been okay with this anti-Semitic behavior. And so what I think needs to happen is that, again, I think, I think the exposure, that sunlight is key, right, making sure that it's not happening. And then I know that there's policies running through Congress as well that can, again, continue to make sure that, especially these universities, are doing the right thing and holding people accountable for anti-Semitism. Schools across the country are telling kids younger and younger that there's more than two genders, they can be anything they want to be. How can parents educate their children at home to prevent them from falling prey to this sort of ideology?

Absolutely. So I think talking to them, right? Every day, my kids are younger, so perhaps it's easier to get them to have dialogue when they don't have their high school friends to run off to. But really having that exchange of information every day to find out what are they learning in classrooms, right? Hopefully it's math reading science, but I think we found out that unfortunately it's not always the case. So I think that dialogue is really key. And to really instill your values, right? I think if you are able to really strongly instill your values at home, I think that's going to strengthen them as they go to class.

and to go to their schools, you're going to be like, that's not right. I can't wait to tell mom or dad about this because it's wrong. I know that there's whatever the case may be. I think the one example is Christopher Columbus. When I went through school, he discovered America, and now apparently he's a bad individual. And so that's something that we did a little deprogramming at home and just went through the facts of what actually happened.

And so my kids are only 9 and 10, but I think they have the awareness to know, okay, to identify, like, wait, I don't think that's something that mom and dad told me about. So I think that's really an effective way to kind of get ahead of it. A bill in California would ban schools sharing the child's preferred name and pronouns with their parents. What does this mean for California families who have kids in public schools? And what should they do? I think it is a disgusting, and we're saying actually at parents defending education, we've been tracking these what we call parental exclusion policies.

And so these are policies where, again, just like you mentioned, if a child shows up to school and says, I want to be called a different gender, there's no requirement from that school to tell the parent, which is insane. And so the school's impacted. So right now we have nearly 1,100 school districts that we've seen that includes about 20,000 schools and millions of students, 11 million students. And so if these students go to the school and say, I want to be called by a different pronoun, there's no requirement by that school to say something.

And so I think what I could encourage parents is to continue to advocate for policies that mandate that parents are informed in Kempt in the Lute. What are some warning signs that parents should look for either on back-to-school type of nights when talking to their kids' teachers or just talking to their kids that maybe they might need to take their kid out of that school? Pronouns in their signature blocks have become kind of just kind of a tell-tale sign there. I don't think that's needed and appropriate in school settings where politics should not be in the classroom, and I think that is a pretty clear sign of what side you're on.

And look around the classroom walls, right? is there a map that erases Israel? Oh, well, it's probably time to have that conversation with the principal and perhaps pull your child out. And so I think, do I want to be encouraged and say that schools can be changed and influenced by parents engaging their school districts? I think so. But of course, there's going to be some that are so far left. That may not be a possibility. And so that's where hopefully school choice continues to play a role where parents do have a say of where their child's can go to school.

And if it's somewhere where they just can't seem to get politics and their own personal, opinions and agendas that have the classrooms, well, then a parent should be allowed to get their student out. What parents and families benefit most from states that allow school choice? It's about finding a school and a classroom in an environment that it best suited to meet your child's learning environment, right, where they're best able to thrive. And so I think being tied to a school because of the zip code, because of the block, and a dress that you live on, I think that is a very antiquated way to look at education. And children aren't one thing. size fits all, right? It could be that some are okay and in whatever ratio, others need a smaller

class ratio to be able to thrive. And so I think by restricting those states that restrict school choice are really limiting the students in their state from reaching their true potential. Thank you so much for joining us. I really enjoyed talking to you. Thanks for having me. And that's all for my conversation with Michelle Exner of Parents Defending Education. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you haven't gotten a chance, be sure. sure to check out our evening show right here in this podcast feed, where we'll bring you the top news of the day. Also, make sure you subscribe to the Daily Signal, wherever you get your podcasts, and help us reach more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and review. We read all

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