Police Free Schools, Racial Equity, Teachable Moment

Hankison Trial

We know everyone’s busy and there’s a lot going on right now. Much more than usual! So, we wanted to make it easy for anyone who wasn’t able to keep up in real time to find the video of the testimonies given in the trial of one of the LMPD officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor. To date no one has been held accountable. As facts from this trial are revealed, we need everyone to keep #AllEyesOnKentucky.

Background article: https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082580545/breonna-taylor-officer-trial

Day 1

Opening Statements: https://fb.watch/bmpvG2cf9S/

10 AM – https://fb.watch/bmp9_5vxRr/

After lunch – https://fb.watch/bmp75OiLlG/

Day 2

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live?ref=watch_permalink&v=2813025929007135

Morning livestreams – https://fb.watch/bnR-_ydPG5/

https://fb.watch/bnR8kTUXME/

After lunch – https://fb.watch/bnRWKKN_SL/

Summary:

https://www.wave3.com/2022/02/24/former-lmpd-chief-says-visibly-shaking-hankison-didnt-follow-protocol-after-breonna-taylor-raid/

Keep checking back for more links as they become available.

Image credit from JCPS Educator Dr. Kimberly Johnson’s book, “Aaliyah’s Lost Mind: A No-Knock Situation” available on Amazon.

 

Budget, District Boundaries, EARN the People's Vote, Privatization of Public Education, Racial Equity

KY Supreme Court Hears JCPS Tax Increase Case

In the midst of everything else going on, on February 17, 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court heard the arguments for and against the tax increase appearing on the ballot in November of 2020.

Watch the KET recording here:

Program

Below is a summary by WFPL Reporter, Jess Clark.

Ky. Supreme Court hears arguments in JCPS tax case

The Court did not give an indication on when the justices will issue a ruling.

Racial Equity, Teachable Moment

NFL = Not For (much) Long(er)

On Feb. 2, 2022, Brian Flores sued the NFL and three teams — the DolphinsBroncos and Giants — alleging discrimination regarding his interview processes with Denver and New York and his firing last month by Miami.

The 58-page lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court Tuesday and seeks class-action status.

Flores alleges he was “treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with.”

​Flores, who is Black, alleges that the Giants and Broncos interviewed him only to satisfy a league-mandated diversity requirement, and not to offer him a legitimate chance at their head coaching jobs. 

Does any of this sound familiar? We think it does.

After a highly qualified, outspoken anti-racist ESL teacher in JCPS was overlooked while a choice position she had applied for at a JCPS school across town was held open for the wife of a controversial KY House Representative who conveniently continues to receive the teachers’ union endorsement despite often co-sponsoring ALEC bills and voting for pretty much every racist, anti-public education bill his corrupt party brings forward. She was able to apply for the position, and receive the offer, prior to even being qualified. Oh, and the principal behind the deal-making was none other than the spouse of the district’s HR director.

The NBCT teacher, who has 8 years experience teaching ESL to middle school kids in JCPS, was only granted an interview after she complained that protocol had not been followed. Jason Nemes’ wife was teaching in another district and had ZERO experience teaching ESL or teaching to middle schoolers, and her husband has been working hard in Frankfort to pass laws that could lead to deportation of parents of many of the students she teaches. Tell us again how hiring her for this position is what is best for ESL students? 

We blogged about it here, and as you can tell, we were pretty upset at the time: KY HOUSE REP SHITS WHERE HE EATS

PS. We’re still pretty upset. However, I think some folks overplayed their hands long ago and they are running out of runway. From Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL to Dr. Kimberly Mucker-Johnson’s lawsuit against JCPS, these patterns and practices are starting to come to light.

We want to send a message to individuals who have actively contributed to the harm, and the coverups, as well as those who have been complicit, your days of being able to do so without consequence are numbered.

If you feel you may have witnessed or experienced what may amount to a pattern or practice of discrimination in JCPS, bullying or coverups, or retaliation for reporting it, please complete our survey. All responses will remain anonymous.

Police Free Schools, Racial Equity

HB63 Fails to Consider Black Experiences

As I sat and listened to a replay of Tuesdays’ House Education Committee Hearing where HB 63 was FINALLY heard after three false starts, and white lawmakers shared testimonies of their favorable experiences with SROs, I couldn’t help but notice one thing. Not one of them put themselves in the shoes of Black people when considering how “safe” they felt, and “how well it works” to have armed police in their schools. In fact, the committee chair (Huff) and the bill sponsor (Bratcher) did a bang-up job making sure the Black voices who came to speak against the bill were the very last ones to be heard, if at all.

Not only was HB63 at the top of last week’s agenda, only to be scratched last second after many of us had driven from Jefferson County to speak against it, myself included. Two previous times the bill had been on the agenda, the entire meeting was canceled. So when it made the top of the agenda this week, I thought, “fourth times a charm,” and we made arrangements for a member of our group to drive to Frankfort for the 8:30 AM meeting, once again. 

Due to various people of privilege’s schedules, despite HB63 being at the top of the agenda, the meeting kicked off with a “performance” by a very impressive young white student who remarked that he was asked to speak because February was National Trades Month (or something like that). He spent a great deal of time quoting Kentucky educator Carl Perkins and expressing the importance of diversity and equity in the types of programs students should have access to. Not that I disagree with any of that, I hardly think that’s what is meant when people refer to diversity and equity. I doubt the young man saw the irony in the words that he spoke, but I suspect the adults who recruited him and helped him practice knew exactly what they were doing.

Two more times throughout the meeting this handsome young high-achiever received compliments and accolades from white lawmakers who had very little problems allocating precious speaking time to this concern, while Black speakers from Jefferson County continued to wait to be called upon.

Then came two other bills that were heard prior to introducing HB63’s bill sponsor. The first was one on tornado disaster relief for Western Kentucky, which of course should be enacted. The second one was on “Erin’s Law,” which would potentially implement curriculum that would reduce child abuse, an area where Kentucky currently ranks highest. Both very important bills that were dedicated speaking time, including justification for not having to make up days because everyone has been dealing with trauma and needs time to get some normalcy back in their lives. While I don’t disagree, I just can’t help but wonder where the compassion is for our students who suffer from gun violence, racial discrimination, high poverty and over policing?

And after listening to bill sponsor Rep Bratcher wax on endlessly about how he was bused to Shawnee his 11th and 12th grades, and he never felt unsafe having SROs there, to reminiscing with Rep Charles Miller, who used to be his principal at PRP, about what he and his teammates did under the bleachers that led to him getting paddled by him. Those were the “good old days,” weren’t they, boys?

Our representative left Jefferson County before 7 am so that he could arrive in room 145 of the Annex building in time to sign up to speak. Once everyone with a microphone had exhausted their treasure trove of personal white experiences with SROs, there were a few minutes left to hear from the Black people. One man spoke as a parent of a Black JCPS student and Sadiqa Reynolds of Louisville Urban League did an outstanding job as well, even going so far as to ask, “how dare you?”

The vote was called. Every single yes vote, including some Democrats who should know better, was white. The bill passed out of committee. It now heads to the House floor and on to the Senate. 

Our friend asked why he was not called on to speak and he was told that “they ran out of time.” Please listen to this week’s episode of Save Our Schools with Dear JCPS for a recap of the House Education Committee Hearing on HB63, and ESPECIALLY to the speakers at the very end.

Again, I ask, when will the lives and experiences of Black and Brown students matter?

 

Privatization of Public Education, Racial Equity

The Systematic Dismantling of Kentucky’s Public Schools Is Happening Right Now

Senate Bill 1, a title reserved for the bill of the highest priority, passed the Kentucky Senate in a rare Saturday session, just 5 days into this year’s 60-day General Assembly. It is a heinous bill that undoes key components of KERA and puts the final nail in the SBDM coffins. The archived file is not yet available on KET, but if you would like to hear the discussion before then, you can listen to it here.


On Tuesday, January 4, Kentucky General Assembly began their 60-day session, in the midst of a raging pandemic. Despite the Omicron variant driving our state to new record numbers of cases and one in three who take the COVID tests testing positive, on Wednesday, January 5, I masked up and drove to Frankfort to meet with lawmakers and share some of our concerns about several racist bills.

While there, I also inquired about the opportunity to testify against Senate Bill 1, which had been assigned to the Senate Education Committee. SB1 focused on two things, and two things only. Taking principal and curriculum selection authority away from local, site-based decision making councils (SBDMs). By weakening SBDMs, they take away some of our key arguments about why HB14 and HB18 are unnecessary. The dismantling local decision-making ability, of course, has been a driving factor behind this bill for six or seven years. And our continued pushback is a key reason it has not passed. Until now, during a time when our democracy is facing the greatest threat of our nation’s history, and our ability to address injustices and be heard is the lowest it’s been during most, if not all, of our lifetimes.

By Thursday, January 6, #SB1 had already had two readings on the Senate Floor and was poised for passage. As a looming snowstorm threatened school closures and driving conditions, adding insult to injury when it comes to the limited access we’ve had to our halls of freedom since the pandemic set in nearly two years ago. After encountering several vehicles that had spun out on the ice and snow, experiencing added delays and dangerous conditions, I called again to make sure I was on the list to speak, so I could focus on driving safely and arriving alive. I arrived moments after they collected the sign-in sheet, so they almost didn’t let me speak. But after some interventions by one of the Senators sitting near me who overheard the kerfuffle and advocated for me, they kindly did. Here is my testimony.

While sitting in one of the waiting rooms, I learned that a Saturday Session had been called. Not much ado had been made about it in any of the news media I follow, so being there in person gave me the opportunity to find out some of these things and pass them along to our coalition members. You see, our super-majority GOP legislature had been working diligently on gerrymandering their districts and guaranteeing their re-elections, so Saturday was the soonest they would be able to approve those maps, and they wanted to get that out of the way as soon as possible.
 
On Saturday, January 7, I had no idea SB1 was even on their Saturday agenda, but when a friend alerted me it was being debated so quickly, I turned on my handheld mic I carry with me and captured what I could. #SB1 passed the Senate 25-9.
 
If you missed today’s floor debate, you would normally have to wait until the following day for them to load the replay on KET Archives. However, I have decided to share my audio recording, with added screenshots, so you can see who was speaking when, for those who are interested and able to take the time to watch it while it’s still fresh. (I apologize for the washing machine and cussing sounds in the background.) 
 

EXCLUSIVE. #SB1 is a heinous bill that undoes key components of KERA and puts the final nail in the SBDM coffins. It passed the KY Senate in a rare Saturday session, just 5 days into this year’s 60-day session. A great deal of misinformation was provided during the floor debate prior to its passage. The archived file is not yet available on KET, but if you would like to hear the discussion before then, you can listen to it here. 
 
As mentioned above, this bill strengthens their arguments for HB14 and HB18 because it takes away the authority to make curriculum decisions at the local school level, so we need to be calling our House Reps in opposition to this bill, in addition to HB14 and HB18. 
 
Please join us for a press event at the Capitol on Tuesday at 12:45 PM and Rally Wednesday at 2:15 PM. There will be indoor and outdoor options for the rally. Please mask up.
 
Hope to meet you there.
 

 

 

Police Free Schools, Privatization of Public Education, Racial Equity

JCPS School Board Meeting Today

The new meeting will be held at 2:15 p.m. Thursday at the Vanhoose Education Center.
 
On the agenda is the recommendation to approve the “test-to-stay” protocol, despite this program not being recommended or endorsed by the CDC.
 
What they’re saying: “At this time, we do not recommend or endorse a test-to-stay program,” the CDC told the Times. “However, we are working with multiple jurisdictions who have chosen to use these approaches to gather more information.”
 
Local media coverage following the chaos at Tuesday night’s meeting can be found here.
 
There were over 30 individuals signed up to speak at Tuesday night’s meeting, but only about six were able to be heard before the chaos erupted.
 
Speakers will not be permitted at today’s meeting. Anyone wishing to share their thoughts or concerns with board members prior to this afternoon’s meeting are encouraged to use this link to send them all an email with one click.
 
 
Police Free Schools, Privatization of Public Education, Racial Equity

White Female Domestic Terrorist Threatens Black Mother, Causing JCPS School Board Meeting to Be Abruptly Canceled

LOUISVILLE, KY  – There were over 30 individuals signed up as guest speakers at Tuesday night’s school board meeting, but only about six were able to be heard before the chaos erupted after a white women, who had come at the invitation of Beanie Geohegan, a known right-wing radical, changed her seat in order to more easily confront and ultimately threaten a Black mother. One of the speakers with their group, Dr. Frank Simon, spoke about his concerns for Black students, yet ironically, they not only refused to listen to what the Black parents and students had to say, they instead threatened and attempted to silence them. Further frustrations were expressed when one of the officers, who was Black, took the side of and protected the white woman who had instigated and escalated the situation, instead of the parents and children who were being berated by a racist.



Here’s a glimpse of some of the local news coverage:
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Jefferson County school board meeting abruptly ended early Tuesday night when security cleared the meeting room after a…
 
Supporters and opponents of school resource officers shared their views during Tuesday’s board meeting, often drawing cheers and jeers from…
 
Courier-Journal – Arguments, yelling disrupted a JCPS school board meeting — again. What happens now?
Bickering in the audience escalated to the point the school board went into recess, later adjourning the meeting altogether.
 
Board members adjourned Tuesday night’s meeting after a shouting match erupted between audience members at Central High School.
 
WAVE 3 – JCPS students, parents protest against SROs outside of school board meeting
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Jefferson County Public Schools students, parents and other community members gathered outside Central High School…
A JCPS board meeting was forced to adjourn as the issue of returning school resource officers to schools caused a disruption at Central High…
 
A JCPS school board meeting became heated as supporters and opponents of spoke about school resource officers returning to schools.
 
The Jefferson County Board of Education’s meeting Tuesday was forced to adjourn early due to a disruption among several people in the…

Pattern or Practice, Racial Equity

Pattern or Practice: Falsified Reports

In solidarity with the four brave female US Olympic gymnasts who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, we are releasing more details of a situation we became aware of last year. We want victims to know they are not alone.
 
As we continue our series on “patterns or practices” of wrongdoing in Jefferson County Public Schools, in particular, this story focuses on “falsified reports.”

> Read more >>

To confidentially share a related story in JCPS, please complete our survey or email moderator@dearjcps.com

Pattern or Practice, Police Free Schools, Racial Equity, Safe Return to School

White Teacher to Student: “You’re Just Going to Be Another Black Boy Shot”

A top story out in today’s Courier-Journal reveals a sordid history of abuse, misconduct and denial, inside and outside of the classroom for William Bennett, the Science teacher at Moore High School who was recently involved in an altercation with a student after telling him he was just going to be “another Black boy shot.” The trail of dirty laundry and terminations runs from Etown, to Hardin, to Bullitt County, before Bennett finally landed a teaching job in a high minority population district. It turns out Bennett was fired from his hometown school system, Elizabethtown Independent Schools, in 2001 after he was arrested for breaking into an apartment “to see if his then-girlfriend was cheating on him,” according to the article by Olivia Krauth.

This incident, while one of the most egregious in recent memory, is not all that unique. In fact, I was just about to release my latest blog post entitled, “Our Schools are Not Safe for Black and Brown Kids,” when I became aware of this latest update on William Bennett and decided to lead with it and some intel of our own. Please check out my latest blog, which also details two other incidents of violence toward Black JCPS students since the start of the school year. The post will be updated.

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