Officers’ group accuses Kentucky educators of negatively influencing kids about police
A local law enforcement group says “the good men and women of law enforcement” are being targeted by Kentucky public educators.
The Kentucky Peace Officers’ Association said in a statement Tuesday night that “we have recently noticed a constant, steady undertone of derisive publications from KDE (the Kentucky Department of Education), as well as local school districts specifically targeting the good men and women of law enforcement. While it is the responsibility of educational leaders to shape the future, it is not their right to do so in a manner designed to intentionally and negatively influence young minds and promote a political agenda.”
On Monday, the group shared a screenshot of an assignment from a Fayette County teacher in which one of the questions was, “What is the relationship between Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor?” The first answer to the multiple-choice question is, “Both were victims of police violence, sparking protests against racial injustice.”
“Here’s an example of what Fayette County Public schools administrators are asking 5th graders,” the peace officers group said in the Facebook post.
Fayette County Public Schools spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said in a statement Tuesday night that the teacher who gave the assignment asked students to read an article about the NBA playoff games being postponed because of players boycotting as a means of protesting racial injustice. The article was followed by four reading comprehension questions, including the one the peace officers apparently took issue with.
Deffendall said the teacher did not create the assignment. The article and the questions that followed it were taken from the Newsela website, which Deffendall described as “a resource where teachers regularly find articles about current events to augment social studies lessons.”
“The assignment in question presented the very adult issues facing our nation in a benign way that students could comprehend,” Deffendall said in the statement. “While we appreciate that some may believe the topic was too mature for fifth-graders, it is critical that our classrooms be safe places where students can discuss current events. Fayette County Public Schools is committed to helping students become civically engaged citizens who are wise consumers of digital media able to think critically about the world around them. That requires we address difficult topics and teach students to have civil conversations with people who have different points of view.”
The Kentucky Peace Officers’ Association said in a Facebook post Aug. 4 that they disagreed with a statement in a publication from the Kentucky Department of Education called “Understanding Trauma and Traumatic Stress.” In a section about racial trauma, the publication says, “structural and systemic racism is seen in police brutality and chronic discrepancies in the arrest and incarceration of Black and Brown people.”
“This statement is inflammatory and prejudicial and as such serves no purpose other than to negatively influence someone’s opinion of law enforcement professionals,” the peace officers said in the Facebook post. “To understand these issues should be the goal.
“The majority of law enforcement officers go to work every day with the goal of helping others and to go home safely at the end of the shift. To attempt to cast a different light on those hardworking men and women is irresponsible and slanderous.”
Chip Nowlin, president of the law enforcement group, said the organization has about 155 members.
The association said in their statement Tuesday that “sensationalism fuels the mainstream media companies.”
“When our educators are designing curriculums based on what a media company reports with no other facts, and using wording designed specifically to mold negative opinions of anyone wearing a uniform, we have a problem,” they said. “As the commonwealth’s oldest professional organization of law enforcement officers, the KPOA will continue to speak out in support of all the dedicated public servants who run toward situations when everyone else is running away.”
The Kentucky Department of Education recognizes “that we all have much to do to be trauma-informed and achieve equity and justice in our schools and communities,” said spokeswoman Toni Konz Tatman. “To ignore this problem diminishes the pain and persistent negative impact of such experiences. “
“We acknowledge that we have a great deal of work to ahead of us and it is our hope that the Kentucky Peace Officers Association will join with the KDE, school resource officers, our legislature and other community partners in achieving these important goals,” Tatman said.
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 8:45 AM.
