Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Curriculum Controversy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents and community members urge AACPS to cut ties with Southern Poverty Law Center materials
Summary
Multiple public commenters at the board meeting accused the Southern Poverty Law Center of misconduct and asked Anne Arundel County Public Schools to remove SPLC-linked materials from curriculum and unity-day lessons; the board did not take immediate action but received the remarks during public comment.
Several community members used the public-comment period to call on the school system to stop using materials developed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
John Fogarty, who identified himself as a parent of three AACPS students, said the district has used Learning for Justice resources from the SPLC and asked the board to "remove all curriculum related to Learning for Justice in Southern Poverty Law Center and call for a full public audit." He told the board that families "deserve to know" what materials are influencing instruction.
Gary Gillespie, who described himself as a parent, said parents had been labeled a "hate group" by the SPLC and criticized the district for using materials he described as sourced from that organization. "AACPS must thoroughly review its curriculum and completely remove everything tied to the SPLC," Gillespie said, calling the group "a corrupt organization" and repeating claims about indictments and payments raised by commenters.
Jennifer Fould, speaking virtually, repeated that the SPLC had been indicted on multiple counts and urged the district to sever ties and remove SPLC content from items such as unity-day lessons and a global citizenship course the commenter said is required for graduation.
Board members heard the comments during the allotted public-comment time; the meeting record shows the remarks were referred to the superintendent for follow-up per the board's public-comment procedures, but no formal action was taken during the meeting.
