Legal group releases guide on how parents can fight back against ‘illegal woke education’

EXCLUSIVE – The Southeastern Legal Foundation, a conservative nonprofit legal organization that sues the government on constitutional violations, released a guidebook Thursday that aims to give parents an offensive edge against “against unconstitutional and illegal woke education.”

The guidebook, dubbed “America’s guide to saving schools,” shows how critical race theory appears in K-12 schools, outlines a student’s First Amendment rights, and options people can take if they believe a school has stepped on their rights. 

“Critical race theory was dreamed up by legal scholars seeking to subvert the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution. Those scholars and the K-12 cartels have worked for decades to push critical race theory into every aspect of America’s education system,” the general counsel of the foundation, Kimberly Hermann, told Fox News Digital. “We hope that our guidebook shows parents that the law is their most powerful weapon. The law can be confusing, but whether public schools can treat people differently based on race or compel students to affirm ideas they don’t believe in. We will not win this constitutional war without fighters … This is also about courtrooms.” 

CRITICAL RACE THEORY CURRICULUM IN K-12 SCHOOLS IS GOING ‘HORRIBLY WRONG,’ TEACHERS SAY

The press release said that public schools are “pit[ting] racial groups against each other” and “then use the full power of government to investigate and silence criticism of this hateful ideology. This is totalitarian tyranny, not a democratic republic.”

“SLF’s guidebook provides … an overview of what to look for in their children’s schools, their rights as parents, their children’s rights as students, and hypotheticals to help them navigate problems they may encounter,” the press release continued.

Hermann argues that as public schools are “arms of the government,” therefore treating students differently based on skin color is unconstitutional and in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“Examples of this include segregating students into racially exclusive affinity groups, requiring kids to take anti-racist pledges, and continuously reinforcing discriminatory messages that a person’s whole identity comes from their skin color,” she said.

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The guide also outlines parents’ rights under the law to know what their children are being taught in schools. “States’ open records laws require schools, school boards, and functional equivalents to make their records available,” the guidebook states. 

Materials parents have the right to access include lesson plans, books, presentations, meeting agendas and meeting minutes, according to the legal group. Schools also must get parental consent before asking students about their political beliefs, psychological issues, and sexual behavior or attitudes, the guidebook said.