Controversy arises as Miami-Dade school seeks parental consent for Black History Month events

WPLG Local10 | By Hatzel Vela | Updated February 6, 2024

MIAMI – February marks Black History Month, an important topic being taught at South Florida schools, but now parents at IPrep Academy are being asked to sign off on whether they want their children to participate in some of the educational events.

“I was shocked,” said concerned parent Jill Peeling, who said she thought she may have misunderstood the document. “I’m concerned. I’m concerned as a citizen.”

The permission form is asking parents if they want their kids to participate in:

“…class and school wide presentations showcasing the achievements and recognizing the rich and diverse traditions, histories, and innumerable contributions of the Black communities.”

Miami-Dade School Board Member Steve Gallon said it all has to do with getting parental consent when individuals come on campus.

“This is a policy that’s an extension of a new state board rule,” said Gallon.

It’s a policy that was just enacted last year in November, an extension of the Parental Bill Of Rights.

“We have to follow the law,” Gallon said. “We have to implement the rules that are adopted by the State Board of Education, but we cannot throw the baby out with the bath water and we have to square some obligations we have to academic freedom.”

But Gallon said he is concerned about the unintended consequences this may have on children whose parents choose not to have them attend.

“Something feels very off here, and the fact that the school needs to cover themselves against the state feels even worse,” said Peeling.

Florida International University Professor Marvin Dunn, who is an expert in African-American history, said this will create a generation of people who are miseducated when it comes Black history.

“When parents become involved in making that decision, keeping some kids out, some kids in, you have unequal learning,” said Dunn.

Once again, Dunn said, the governor’s administration is interfering in the classroom and it’s not appropriate, and it’s having a chilling effect.

“The intent of the DeSantis attack on education is to make schools more cautious, to make teachers more cautious about what they teach, and it’s working,” he said. “It’s not about banning books necessarily, it’s about banning ideas.”