At least five dozen teachers, parents and activists marched to the headquarters of Miami-Dade County Public Schools on Wednesday, speaking out against Florida鈥檚 newly passed standards on teaching Black history.
Scores of demonstrators marched the mile from the historic Booker T. Washington High School in Miami鈥檚 Overtown neighborhood to the district鈥檚 administration building.
鈥淭each no lies! Teach no lies!鈥� they chanted.
The protest came ahead of a school board meeting where new policies related to book challenges were approved 鈥� despite criticism that they could further empower 'parents rights' activists who have been targeting books that feature diversity.
READ MORE: 'We cannot be afraid': Black leaders rail against new African American history standards
Approved by the state Board of Education in July, the new African American history standards, among other things, require teachers to instruct middle school students that enslaved people 鈥渄eveloped skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.鈥�
鈥淚'm just tired of my daughter being utilized as a political pawn to further other people's propaganda,鈥� said Gina Jeffries, whose daughter is a rising sixth grader.
Jeffries told SA国际传谋 she had her daughter pick a book from a so-called banned books list to read over the summer 鈥� instead of her school鈥檚 assigned reading.
鈥淚'm just tired of my daughter being utilized as a political pawn to further other people's propaganda."Parent Gina Jeffries
鈥淚f she receives a zero for not completing the assignment, I'm okay with that too and I accept that as a consequence,鈥� Jeffries said.
Florida鈥檚 new African American history standards set a statewide for what students are expected to learn. What curriculum teachers use to help students meet those learning goals can be a district, school or classroom-level decision.
Parents, educators speak out against changes to Black history standards
Gustavo Rivera is a retired social studies teacher.
鈥淭eachers are worried about what they can and can't say in the classroom, and so they're inhibited,鈥� Rivero said.
The standards take effect this school year.
鈥淭hese new state standards that DeSantis has come up with will not be tolerated in our schools. We will not let our children be taught that slaves benefited from their slavery. That鈥檚 a lie,鈥� said march organizer Marvin Dunn, a professor emeritus of psychology at Florida International University.
Educators and community members carried the message into the Miami-Dade School Board鈥檚 formal meeting Wednesday as well 鈥� urging the district鈥檚 leaders to push back against the state鈥檚 new standards.
鈥淭his is an attempt to minimize the harsh realities and consequences of us chattel slavery,鈥� said Natasha Esteves, a curriculum writer who does not work in the district.
鈥淭his is obviously offensive to our Black American brothers and sisters, whose own family history is tied to the learning,鈥� Esteves told the board, 鈥渂ut it's also offensive to everyone who cares about quality education 鈥� of teaching the truth, even difficult truths.鈥�
Board approves changes to policies on book challenges
On Wednesday, the school board adopted new policies related to book challenges and empowering parents to be more involved in decisions on instructional materials.
The board voted 8-1 to create a new , which is meant to 鈥減romote parent involvement鈥� in the selection of textbooks and library materials.
The EMAC will be made up of 16 voting members, 9 of whom must be parents 鈥� one nominated by each of the board鈥檚 9 members. The group will also include district officials, teachers, students and a PTA member.
READ MORE: Shakespeare gets caught in Florida's sexual instruction laws
Just one board member voted against the measure 鈥� Lucia Baez-Geller. She鈥檚 raised concerns that the committee 鈥� which is required to meet just three times a year 鈥� isn鈥檛 an effective way to gauge the input of parents and community members across the district.
She argued that platforming a select group of parents could be counterproductive and ineffective, at a time when 鈥減arental rights鈥� advocates across the country are targeting books that feature diverse viewpoints or challenging issues.
鈥淚 am against this item. I thank staff for working so hard on this item but I do not support it,鈥� Baez-Geller said Wednesday.
In an emotional speech, Baez-Geller announced at Wednesday鈥檚 meeting that she would not be running for reelection when her term ends in 2024. A former MDCPS teacher and the parent of a toddler, Baez-Geller has been an outspoken advocate, especially on LGBTQ issues.
According to the literacy and human rights organization , there were more than 2,500 instances of books being banned 鈥� affecting more than 1,600 titles 鈥� from July 2021 to June 2022. Texas and were the states with the most bans, according to the organization's 2022 report.
Many of the challenges have been brought by parents set on removing books that feature and .
Additionally, the district updated its on challenging textbooks and library materials, in part to comply with changes in state law. The revisions come after MDCPS drew when a school in Miami Lakes moved Amanda Gorman鈥檚 book 鈥淭he Hill We Climb鈥� out of the elementary school section of its library because a parent claimed the poem was .
Under the updated policy, the school-level reviews of such challenges would be publicly noticed and a region director or region superintendent would attend the meetings, in addition to school-based staff.
Luis Atencio, who described himself as a former teacher, said he worries the policies undermine the expertise of certified educators, to the detriment of students.
鈥淕enerally, when we look for solutions, we seek expertise,鈥� Atencio told the board. 鈥淎s a former teacher, I love to see increased involvement and increased parent involvement.
"But at the same time, I cannot stand idly as this amendment gives individuals with essentially little to no expertise on the subject matter the capability to alter a more robust learning experience.鈥�
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
