Seattle Public Schools asks parents if 'racism and bias' are obstacles in students returning to campus

Seattle Public Schools sent out a survey to parents Monday night confirming their enrollment plans for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year but also attempted to ascertain why families of Middle School and High School students chose remote or hybrid instruction. The survey also asked if the school’s commitment to addressing "racism and bias" were obstacles to returning to campus.

Surveys for parents of students have become routine since school closures in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Typically, the surveys gauge parent comfort levels with new school policies and proposals.

However, Monday night’s otherwise routine survey caught parents off guard when asked, "What does your family need to return to in-person learning?"

Among the list of choices that have become routine on similar surveys was an option to check for "School has a clear commitment to addressing racism and bias."

Seattle Public Schools has been under fire for years for using Critical Race Theory material and racially charged curriculum in the classrooms as enrollment has steadily declined. For Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2021 and Black History Month, Seattle public schools removed Dr. King from the curriculum in favor of communist, Marxist and socialist radicals, which attempted to indoctrinate students into the 'abolish the police' movement, and glossed over the riots that lasted for months across the country and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Following the announcement that the schools would remain online in the fall of 2020, as well as a botched rollout for new online courses, thousands of parents have chosen other options including private schools, charter schools, pod learning and home schooling. Due to the demand, many private schools have growing waitlists.

Many parents cited the racially charged curriculum as a reason for the change. Some parents admitted that they were unaware of what their students were being taught the radical curriculum in the public schools until they overheard the lessons while children were learning at home.

SPS students finally 'returned' to school on Monday after multiple delays by the local teachers’ unions. Yet 6th-12th grade students who selected the hybrid model of learning which is the only in-person instruction, are only in-person two afternoons a week.

Meanwhile private schools have been in person in Washington state since September five days a week with no super-spreader events reported.