St. Charles County, MO – August 14, 2024 – Francis Howell Families, a local coalition of parents, grandparents, and community members, today announced its support for new policies which will be voted on by the Francis Howell School District Board of Education at its August 15, 2024 board meeting. These policies have been proposed by the conservative board majority and cover several topics, including student privacy in restrooms and locker rooms, curriculum adoption requirements, teaching about human sexuality, library materials selection, and challenges concerning library and instructional material. The proposed policy changes demonstrate a commitment to balancing educational excellence with parental and student rights. They are designed to ensure that children receive education that acknowledges their values and respects the diverse perspectives within our community.

Francis Howell Families president Ken Gontarz stated that “We applaud the conservative majority of the Francis Howell School Board for proposing these common sense and long needed policy updates, and we encourage them to pass those policies at this week’s board meeting. For too long progressives have pushed their ideology on students, and these policies will help to restore the focus on academic education where it belongs. Students deserve an education that is based on facts and not leftist ideology. It is a shame that progressive board members Carolie Owens and Steven Blair, as well as progressive PACs such as Francis Howell Forward and the St Charles County Families for Public Schools, oppose this.”

Francis Howell Families specifically supports the proposed policies for the following reasons:

Policy 2116 implements commonsense direction around student privacy and use in restrooms and locker rooms that has been the basis of public facilities for generations. Up until now, the lack of a clear policy has resulted in varying directives being given by administrators across the district, leading to confusion and frustration. This policy is clear and focuses on student privacy and safety, which is an essential part of students being able to learn. It also allows for all students to use a single occupant restroom if they are uncomfortable using shared facilities.

Policy 6114 closes a loophole in the current policy which allowed curriculum to be used in classrooms without board approval if it was not developed by district employees. This policy change promotes transparency and requires that all curriculum used in classrooms be approved by the board, regardless of where it was developed.

Policy 6116 affirms our belief in age-appropriate education that respects parental authority. It ensures that discussions on sensitive topics such as human sexuality are conducted in a manner that honors diverse viewpoints and respects the rights of parents to guide their children’s age-appropriate education. Outside of approved and publicly disclosed sex ed and health curriculum, sex and gender discussions should be between parents and their children, not teachers and students.

Regarding this policy, Adriana Kuhn, mother of 2 children in the district, stated “Policy 6116 is a necessary policy to protect parental rights and our children at FHSD.  Only parents and legal guardians should make mental healthcare choices for our children, especially pertaining to risky behavioral therapy choices such as gender conversion/transition. There are a multitude of serious risks associated with the conversion of one’s gender such as exponentially higher suicide rates and irreversible physical damages from medication. Our children are not wards of the state and there is absolutely no reason our schools should be making pertinent health care decisions for our children.”

Policy 6241 demonstrates Francis Howell School District’s dedication to maintaining high educational standards by providing a structured process for addressing concerns about instructional materials. This policy guarantees transparency and accountability in our curriculum and learning materials, allowing for constructive dialogue and ensuring that materials align with the values of our community. It also makes it clear that the school board is ultimately accountable to the public for the instructional materials in the district.

Policy 6310 clarifies and updates previously confusing policy that lacked clear guidance on the purpose of school learning commons facilities and how they should select materials for purchase. It recognizes that the district’s funding is limited and that the primary focus of learning commons materials collections should be to support student learning and not ideological agendas. The policy also closes the classroom library loophole, where teachers could have materials in their classroom libraries that did not go through the materials collection vetting process. This policy ensures that students will not feel pressured by the school to make purchases at book fairs, and it also takes steps to safeguard the confidentiality and privacy of student records.

Policy 6341 reinforces Francis Howell’s commitment to a well-rounded education and outlines guidelines for materials, technology and content selection, emphasizing academic rigor and relevance while accommodating the needs and expectations of our diverse student body. It provides transparency in acquisition, parental notification, and age appropriateness in our schools. The far-left activists are calling these basic additions of transparency and common decency standards for school children an “overreach,” yet this is exactly what the community expects of school libraries and public school environments. Parents overwhelmingly support more transparency concerning materials available to their children in the Francis Howell School District.

Additional information:

In speaking about the far leftists (Blair and Owens) who were elected to the board this past April and are leading the opposition to these policy changes, one father of two in the district has stated:

“While Steven Blair and Carolie Owens vote to defund the St Peters Police SROs and discuss banning the Bible from public schools, the FHSD conservative board majority continues to collaborate with the community and district employees, ensuring all voices are heard and balancing their feedback during the process. As a result, the board should pass these well written policies, which clearly state: Parents should have a say in their children’s education.”

As concerned parent, grandparents, and district residents, the members of Francis Howell Families believe that our children’s education should be shielded from partisan agendas. As families invested in the future of Francis Howell, we commend the School Board for their thoughtful approach in crafting and implementing these policies. We believe that these measures not only uphold our community’s values but also prioritize the well-being and academic growth of our children.

We stand united in supporting Francis Howell School District’s commitment to excellence in education, respect for parental rights, and the cultivation of a supportive learning environment for all students.

About Francis Howell Families:

Francis Howell Families is a coalition of parents, grandparents, and community members dedicated to advocating for academic excellence, transparent accountability, and fiscal responsibility while encouraging in students a strong work ethic, good character, and respect for our nation’s founding principles.

Francis Howell Families rejects attempts to divide people by race, gender, or other immutable characteristics or to teach that those characteristics determine their destiny.  Instead, we work to create a district that provides a high-quality, knowledge-based education for all students so they can be fully prepared to participate in civil society.

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