It felt surprisingly cloak-and-dagger, as if I had wandered into the secret war room where the top brass was formulating the plan of attack in a righteous holy war — and was allowed to stay.
The Tustin-based California Policy Center’s “Parental Rights Virtual Open House” last month was a how-to pep rally on precisely how parents can bypass hopelessly liberal lawmakers in Sacramento (“useful fools”) and seize control of the levers of government.
“OK, let’s take it to the local school boards because they can’t stop us there,” said Assemblymember Bill Essayli, R-Corona, whose bill (seeking to require school districts to notify parents if their child changes pronouns or seeks to play on sports teams misaligned with their biological gender) ignited a firestorm.
The bill was crushed, but courage is contagious, Essayli said. Parents’ rights warriors pivoted to Plan B, encouraging local school boards to step up and embrace policies the legislature refuses to consider. The latest iteration comes to Orange Unified on Thursday, Sept. 7, but it has also played out to dramatic effect in Murrieta Valley and Chino Valley, and percolates up and down the state.
“You see that spreading now,” Essayli said. “What’s the other side doing about it? Nothing. They can’t do anything about it. They can’t sue — there’s no law (the school boards) are violating. The attorney general, all he can do is saber-rattle and send nasty-grams….
“The left wants you to think you’re powerless. ‘Don’t even try. Don’t even vote. It doesn’t matter,’” he continued. “School board races, a lot of them are won by like a dozen votes or so. Every vote matters. Get involved. Seize control, and that way we can push back on this woke agenda.”
(It’s worth noting here that the attorney general actually sued the Chino Valley school board, arguing its policy endangers LGBTQ+ kids who haven’t told their parents for a reason, and the San Bernardino…
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