Citrus School Board approves resolution supporting parents’ rights

Today at the conclusion of our Citrus County School Board meeting I offered up a ‘Resolution Supporting the Rights of Parents as Partners in Education’ for my fellow school board members to review and approve. I am grateful and honored that my fellow school board members unanimously approved this resolution.

Parent empowerment is nothing new for Citrus County School District. As a recent Citrus County Chronicle Newspaper Editorial Board column stated, “at the conclusion of the 2022 Legislative Session, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared this is the year of the parent in Florida. Here in the Citrus County school system, it has been the year of the parent for many years.” Today’s Citrus County School Board resolution publicly affirms those beliefs and actions.

The resolution reads;

CITRUS COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD

RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF PARENTS AS PARTNERS IN EDUCATION

WHEREAS, parents are their children’s primary teacher and are responsible for the upbringing, education, and care of their children; and

WHEREAS, providing the highest quality public education is critically important and requires meaningful collaboration between children, parents, families, educators, school board members, and communities; and

WHEREAS, the education of children comprises of a variety of activities that are used by families and communities to teach content and skills, including social, behavior and cultural; and

WHEREAS, students and families are entitled to equitable access and fairness from the public school district; and

WHEREAS, public school districts welcome and value the support of families and communities to foster effective partnerships; and

WHEREAS, Citrus County School District has a longstanding commitment of supporting and encouraging parent involvement and input in multiple areas including but not limited to school advisory councils, code of conduct adoption committees, textbook adoption committees, calendar adoption committees, Superintendent’s Parents Council, Title 1 Parents Council, personal meetings and communications with teachers, school administrators, district staff, Superintendent of Schools and school board members; and

WHEREAS, all educators and school board members should support and respect the relationship between families and their children; and

NOW THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED, that the School Board of Citrus County encourages all school district staff to honor parents as the child’s primary teacher and collaborate with families to continue the longstanding commitment to provide a safe environment and ensure parents’ rights are respected when it comes to decisions about their children’s education and safety.

Given at Inverness, Florida this April 12, 2022.

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA

Virginia “Ginger” Bryant, Chair

Douglas A. Dodd, Vice Chair

Thomas Kennedy

Sandy Counts

Linda B. Powers