After failing to pass the State Senate in 2023, State Rep. Ed Oliver's (R-Dadeville) "divisive concepts" bill was reintroduced by State Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road), strengthened, passed, and signed into law in 2024. Yet opponents are still pushing their ideological-driven racial talking points and LGBTQ+ sexual agenda in schools throughout the state.
Oliver said he's already spoken to colleagues, and the state legislature is poised to revisit the issue to address those openly flouting current laws and regulations.
1819 News recently reported that Magic City Acceptance Academy (MCAA), a public charter school catering to LGBTQ students, still promotes diversity, equity and inclusion in its handbook.
Oliver said he doesn't have to look at the latest news reports to know MCAA is breaking the law. "It's not only not trying to hide it; it's their selling point," he said.
The school's commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is still in its Student/Parent Handbook, dated after the law went into effect. Recently, a "trans-identified" author taught a two-day workshop based on her book. The book presented a distorted version of American history that attacked our founding fathers, secure borders, traditional families and Southerners in general.
Oliver said that the State Department of Education needs to investigate the school. "The whole premise that you can take kids and isolate them in this school and have them function in the real world is ludicrous," he said.
The school sells itself as a welcoming and affirming environment not just for LGBTQ+ students but also for their "allies." Oliver said, "Victimhood sells,” which was sold to promote the school. Supporters of the school claim any objection to it, including concerns about the faculty "Drag Show" that got national attention and now its flaunting of current laws, is just a form of bullying.
A review of recent images from the school posted across various social media platforms shows teenage students wearing fuzzy animal tails as they do a math lesson.
Oliver pointed out that administrators have "created an artificial world that doesn't prepare these students for the real world."
Oliver strongly noted, "The issue for us is not the sexuality or identity challenges these kids are facing. All these kids are protected and deserve a safe place to get their education. No one thinks otherwise. However, we do care about protecting taxpayer dollars and ensuring that these kids are getting what they need to be successful in the future."
"It's not fair to taxpayers to spend money on things we've passed laws to say we're not going to do," he added.
Oliver believes the delay in passing his divisive concepts bill when it was first introduced was largely due to lawmakers' failure to realize how pervasive the problem had become in K12 schools and universities.
Since then, there's been a national reckoning with medical professionals, parents, politicians and voters coming out handily against divisive concepts and the push to invalidate biological reality. President Trump has taken numerous actions beginning the first day of his second term to rid the federal government of DEI and pervasive attacks on women's single-sex spaces and the reality of biological sex.
Apryl Marie Fogel is a Birmingham resident who frequently appears on and guest hosts radio programs around the state. She can be reached at aprylmarie.fogel@1819news.com or on X and Facebook at @aprylmarie.
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