I think one has to be very wary of trying to reduce these contentious issues down to "Both sides are equally wrong - sensible people are always in the exact mathematical center", because the temptation is to think of Right and Left as mirror images when there are unique, defining characteristics to each.
In the Florida case, the issue is chiefly about what happens in the classroom - a place where the government has always told people (i.e. teachers and administrators) what they may and may not say and do, because of the unique requirements of educating children. So if you want to espouse radical woke views outside the school wails, have at it - but if parents decide they don't want their children indoctrinated into the left (or right) then that is what is taught. The most sinister salient of the woke movement has been the effort to radicalize children - and worse, to groom them (and exploit them) into the bizarre trans movement. All this either kept secret from parents or done without their consent - and if they do kick up a fuss, the FBI will be knocking on their doors.
In the Colorado case, there is a blatantly unconstitutional attempt to control speech absolutely everywhere - even in the home, even among family members, and in case a parent and a mixed-up teenager disagree the state can confiscate the child (and send it off for surgical mutilation if it wishes). Shades of Pavel Morozov. This is a free speech issue, but moreover it is an issue of power and morality because if you control children, you control the future (as Noah Cross said in "Chinatown").
Like you, I have serious concerns about the nature of some of the content being taught to children in Florida, but parents don’t have much of a legal case beyond moving schools, as far as I can tell.
The courts have repeatedly ruled that public schools can teach ideas parents dislike and that they are not obligated to tailor curricula to every individual family’s preferences.
Parents can petition school boards or run for local school board seats, but they cannot force curriculum changes just because they disagree with the material.
The basic problem is, if the state targets gender ideology, for instance, that’s viewpoint discrimination and therefore a violation of free speech. If instead it has a blanket rule that’s viewpoint-neutral, all clear.
Additionally, in many states, parents do have opt-out rights for courses such as sex education, but not for core subjects such as math or history, even if the history includes woke material.
I think one has to be very wary of trying to reduce these contentious issues down to "Both sides are equally wrong - sensible people are always in the exact mathematical center", because the temptation is to think of Right and Left as mirror images when there are unique, defining characteristics to each.
In the Florida case, the issue is chiefly about what happens in the classroom - a place where the government has always told people (i.e. teachers and administrators) what they may and may not say and do, because of the unique requirements of educating children. So if you want to espouse radical woke views outside the school wails, have at it - but if parents decide they don't want their children indoctrinated into the left (or right) then that is what is taught. The most sinister salient of the woke movement has been the effort to radicalize children - and worse, to groom them (and exploit them) into the bizarre trans movement. All this either kept secret from parents or done without their consent - and if they do kick up a fuss, the FBI will be knocking on their doors.
In the Colorado case, there is a blatantly unconstitutional attempt to control speech absolutely everywhere - even in the home, even among family members, and in case a parent and a mixed-up teenager disagree the state can confiscate the child (and send it off for surgical mutilation if it wishes). Shades of Pavel Morozov. This is a free speech issue, but moreover it is an issue of power and morality because if you control children, you control the future (as Noah Cross said in "Chinatown").
Like you, I have serious concerns about the nature of some of the content being taught to children in Florida, but parents don’t have much of a legal case beyond moving schools, as far as I can tell.
The courts have repeatedly ruled that public schools can teach ideas parents dislike and that they are not obligated to tailor curricula to every individual family’s preferences.
Parents can petition school boards or run for local school board seats, but they cannot force curriculum changes just because they disagree with the material.
The basic problem is, if the state targets gender ideology, for instance, that’s viewpoint discrimination and therefore a violation of free speech. If instead it has a blanket rule that’s viewpoint-neutral, all clear.
Additionally, in many states, parents do have opt-out rights for courses such as sex education, but not for core subjects such as math or history, even if the history includes woke material.