Dear Friends of FAIR,
As students return to school this Fall, families and educators alike are aiming for success. In order to keep the critical school/family partnership strong, FAIR has created its 2023-2024 Success @ School Handbook. This handbook provides succinct overviews of the pressing issues facing parents and students today, and offers a wide range of helpful resources and action tools that can help you attain success this school year. Whether you’re new to the hot button issues cropping up in the K-12 education space, or a seasoned current-events veteran looking for help as the school year begins, this handbook has something for you.
Inside, you will find:
FAIR’s suggestions for how to most effectively communicate with schools about questions and concerns;
High-level overviews of the prevalent issues and the accompanying legal rights that could be impacted;
Tools and resources families can use to help make sure that students’ and parents’ rights are honored and upheld, all while maintaining focus on our common humanity.
No matter our political persuasions or locations across the country, we’re all unified by the desire to make this school year the best one yet for our nation’s students. That’s why it’s more important than ever to Keep Calm, and be FAIR.
Warmly,
The Team at the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism
Jason Aldean: A Retrospective with Braver Angels
Join us Tuesday, September 12th from 8 - 9:30pm EST join FAIR in the Arts and Braver Angels Music for a free community discussion about Jason Aldean, whose hit country song "Try That in a Small Town" has stirred up controversy since its release in May 2023. Co-led by FAIR in the Arts Director Brent Morden, BA Music Co-Director John Carroll, and Choralosophy Host Chris Munce, we will explore questions including: How do we make sense of the polarizing reactions to figures like Jason Aldean and Oliver Anthony? How do these reactions reveal broader trends in our culture? How can we use this moment to find common ground? What should we take away?
Parent Advocacy Training: Engaging School Boards
Join FAIR in Education fellow Tanya Simons on Thursday, September 21st from 7 - 8pm EST for a meeting in which you will learn how to effectively engage school board members and other decision makers. School boards make decisions that directly impact the education your child receives. Learn how to effectively advocate on behalf of your child in the public education system.
SEL, Surveys, and Student Data: What Parents Need to Know
Join us on Tuesday, September 26th from 7 - 8:30pm EST for a 60 minute webinar followed by 30 minutes of Q&A about parental rights and the harms of the seemingly innocuous surveys that students are being asked to take in schools.
What is transformative Social Emotional Learning? Which surveys and screeners do schools commonly use, and how are they being used to collect student data? Could the content of these be harmful to your child’s mental health? What are your rights and responsibilities as a parent to protect your child from these data collection tools?
This webinar will explore the application and implications of screeners and surveys used to collect data on K-12 students in the domains of Social Emotional Learning and mental health. Panelists include child and adolescent psychiatrist and FAIR in Medicine Fellow Dr. Lauren Schwartz, school law and FAIR Network Attorney Daniel Rhoads, and SEL consultant Jennifer McWilliams. Each panelist brings their own expertise on this important topic.
Tales from the Homefront in the Fight to Save Our Kids
Join FAIR in Medicine and Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT) on September 28th from 8 - 9:30pm EST for a discussion of their new book Tales from the Homefront in the Fight to Save Our Kids. Hear directly from PITT parents about their experiences with their child’s trans-identification. How did this impact their families, their mental and physical health, and their relationship with their child? What wisdom do these parents have to share with families and clinicians touched by gender dysphoria?
Genspect Presents: The Bigger Picture, a Healthy Approach to Sex and Gender
Save the date! November 4th and 5th, join friend of FAIR, Genspect, for a conference in Denver, Colorado on gender care and the thought leaders creating better solutions. The tickets go on sale exclusively to friends of Genspect today! Friends of Genspect also receive a 25% discount off all events.
FAIR News Podcast
For audio versions of our FAIR News and FAIR Weekly Roundup newsletters, subscribe and listen to FAIR News Weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or via RSS feed.
FAIR Educators Alliance & Other Networks
Connect with other pro-human educators through the FAIR Educators Alliance. We bring together educators from all levels to share experiences and work on developing resources that can support teachers, community members, and FAIR chapters.
Teachers, administrators, librarians, and educators of all kinds are welcome. For more information and to join any of these networks, please email educators@fairforall.org.
Join the FAIR Community
Join us, and become a member of FAIR.
Become a FAIR volunteer, or join a FAIR chapter.
Take the Pro-Human Pledge and help promote a common culture based on fairness, understanding, and humanity.
Sign-up for a Welcome to FAIR Zoom information session to learn more about our mission.
Share your reviews and incident reports on our FAIR Transparency website.
Diversity and Fairness are a contradiction if your a heterosexual white male. Thank you for your good work though.
Thank you for this excellent resource.