By: Sarah Cowgill | June 02, 2023 – 6:47 am | Liberation Nation – Opinion
Nobody likes a snitch. But you may be surprised to learn that a thing called bias incident reporting is being promoted in secular institutions and public schools, and it could be quite dangerous. For the most part, the tactic of tattling has been encouraged in colleges and universities for years, but one California school district is embracing the concept with fervor. So, ladies and gentlemen, the Hall Monitor is back: the kid no one liked.
The Acalanes Union High School District (AUHSD) has an advisory board, a Bias Team whose members review anonymous accusations of bias on the subjects of “physical harm – acts of racism, bias, sexism, microaggressions, etc.” An online form that anyone can fill out is just a click away on the AUHSD webpage. It’s anonymous, to some extent, and methodically walks you through fundamental questions about who hurt your feelings, where the incident occurred, and if you want to tell us who you are. The form can be filled out and submitted in less than a minute, and there are no qualifying questions about student status or any kind of password protection – and that should be of great concern to parents.
For instance, what if “Brittany” is mad about losing the homecoming queen contest and makes up a “microaggression” inflicted by her rival to cause trouble? What if a teacher or another parent does the same out of some misguided malice? That’s when the Advisory Team gets into the game. The district receives a monthly report and can correct kids as they see fit with “disciplinary” or “restorative” actions. Yes, it is that vague.
Scared Straight
CeCe O’Leary, a Southeastern Legal Foundation attorney, has been watching bias incident reporting on campuses for a while now. She has also instructed thousands of young people on their First Amendment rights. Her company webpage reads: “She believes that before college students can successfully convey their message, they must understand their right to share it.” But by college age, much is lost.
O’Leary spoke with The Daily Caller and summed up the programs now sprouting in secondary education: “No matter the student’s age, bias reporting systems violate their First Amendment rights because they scare students into silence out of fear of being reported to administrators for saying the ‘wrong’ thing,’” she said. If a college scholarship is on the line, scared straight makes sense.
Bias Incident Reporting Is Mental Waterboarding
Bias incident reporting has flourished across liberal-nee-progressive indoctrination facilities known as public universities and college campuses for quite a while. In fact, more than half of these esteemed institutions proudly advertise their programs to entice students to apply. However, there has been an outcry from conservatives as taxpayer-funded state schools employ tactics to liberalize the student body. A palpable angst has inspired Republican state legislators to pass laws about teaching American history, including but not limited to the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other notable elements of the Great American Experiment. Texas has gone as far as to attempt to legally disband its public school offices of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Florida and North Dakota have already put their anti-DEI bills into law.
What can only be called radical programming has become so commonplace that organizations have sprung up to protect students’ First Amendment rights during their time on campus. One such boutique group is Speech First, which claims that through “advocacy, litigation, and education, we will put colleges and universities on notice,” and it’s a zero-tolerance kind of warning.
But now, Speech First will have to add primary and secondary schools to its watch list. The kids need to understand that most cherished, freedom-defining amendment. As the organization declares, “Students’ speech rights on campus are threatened on a regular basis. But the prospect of standing up to a school can be overwhelming – it can be expensive and time-consuming (not to mention awkward, since the student probably still wants a diploma at the end of the day).”
So, it’s the slippery slope parents and educators find themselves on now. The pressure and pushback from all involved keeps tempers hot and strategies on desperate-measure status. And that begs the question: Who is keeping an eye on that vindictive, anonymous Hall Monitor?