I recently gave testimony in the Utah House of Representatives in support of Bill HB399, Prohibition Against Student Character Tracking and Grading Systems by Rep. Trevor Lee.
The video of my testimony can be accessed on the Free YOUR Children YouTube channel.
The Higher Ground team, Monica Wilbur and Natalie Cline, consulted with the bill sponsor on the drafting of the bill. I had the pleasure of interviewing Monica and Natalie back in 2024. That interview can be accessed on my website at freeyourchildren.com.
Their bill seeks to provide protections for students from invasive social emotional learning programs being implemented in Utah schools. If you are wondering why someone from Tennessee would be concerned about public schools in Utah, you need to understand that social emotional learning is being implemented across the U.S. The state of Tennessee recommends that SEL competencies be embedded into every area of school life.
Tennessee law states:
“Section 49-6-1007 – Character education
(a) The course of instruction in all public schools shall include character education to help each student develop positive values and improve student conduct as students learn to act in harmony with their positive values and learn to become good citizens in their school, community and society. Public schools are urged to include the use of nonviolence as a means of conflict resolution within character education.
(b)
(1) The department of education shall provide the appropriate method of instruction in kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12), in conformity with the elementary school curriculum provided for in subsection (c).
(2) Local boards of education may implement additional courses and materials in character education at their discretion.
(c) Each LEA shall provide the character education curriculum set forth in the curriculum provided by the department or a comparable program approved by the department.
(d) Human resource agencies created pursuant to title 13, chapter 26 may serve as the service delivery system for the character education program.”
There has been a shift in education away from academics to psychological education. According to the NAEP, 68% of 4th grade students in Tennessee are not proficient in reading and 58% are not proficient in math. 69% of eighth grade students are not proficient in math, while 69% are not proficient in reading.
While Tennessee public schools’ academic performance remains abysmal, billions of dollars are being pumped into SEL programs in the state. Via coordinated school health, the SEL web in Tennessee encompasses counselors, psychologists, social workers and school nurses, as well as private mental health providers who have contracted with the state, in addition to other community partners.
CASEL has been integral in embedding SEL in schools across the U.S. Their focus is specifically on self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making.
This is a direct attempt to usurp parental rights and responsibilities. This replacement parenting, in addition to usurping parental autonomy, seeks to change the thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of our nation’s children. States do not need a government-funded program teaching children basic principles of parenthood. The teaching of beliefs and values belongs in the home and is the right of the parents. My article “What Is Social Emotional Learning” goes into more detail on the history and ramifications of SEL.
SEL has also been a topic I have covered numerous times on various radio shows with guests from across the nation. Those interviews can also be found at freeyourchildren.com.
The implementation of SEL is being driven by Personalized Competency Based Education via dynamic curricula and assessments which parents can not review. Dynamic curricula and assessments can be changed and formatted at any time. The data harvested is then used to inform and manipulate software systems designed to achieve predetermined outcomes.
The vast amounts of data harvested from students can then be used to create character competency/digital passports which hold records of soft skills, which include attitudes and social-emotional characteristics. These passports, via interoperable data bases and advancing technology, can potentially follow a student indefinitely. What would this mean for students outside of the government school system, whose parents have chosen freedom in education? This could prove disastrous for their future. If they lack these competency passports, they could be denied opportunities. The lack of a passport could impede college admissions and future jobs.
State tracking, conformity and control systems, while using children as vehicles for profit, is a violation of our inalienable rights.
The irony in this is that prior to the vast changes made to the Republican Party National Platform, Republicans claimed they were against the use of federal funds for socio-emotional screening programs and the collecting and sharing of social emotional, personal, and family data, yet it was happening and expanding under their watch. It is no surprise that this excerpt has now been removed from their platform. How did supposed conservatives go from “this is wholly incompatible with the American Experiment and our inalienable rights” to supporting and advancing these initiatives?
As I watched the committee meeting in Utah via Zoom, it was interesting to listen to legislators discuss the bill and education in their state. I found it particularly alarming that a few were oblivious to the SEL programs currently being implemented, a fact which underscored the need for education on the part of the legislators. It was a stark reminder that it is the responsibility of parents and citizens to ask questions and do their own research. If anyone is depending on a politician to serve as a gatekeeper of protection for their family, they are in for a rude awakening. As a resident of Tennessee, I knew more about the educational climate in Utah than some of their own legislators.
The Utah bill has a unique opportunity to set a precedent for upholding true conservative beliefs and protecting inalienable rights. It will be interesting to see if their legislature does exactly that. We will be watching in Tennessee.
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Photo, top, courtesy of Lukas Blazek / Pexels
