Laws passed earlier this year by the Georgia Legislature provide parents with a procedure to object to subjects their children encounter in school.

MOULTRIE, Ga – The Colquitt County School District is implementing four new policies for the upcoming 2022-2022 academic school year. 

Dr. Marni Kirkland, the CCSD assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, initially presented the policies to the CCSD Board of Education during the board’s June 27 meeting. 

The board approved the policies at the July 25 meeting. 

The new policies include a Parents’ Bill of Rights, Unstructured Break Time, Divisive Concepts Complaint Resolution Process and Material Harmful to Minors Complaint Resolution Process.

Each of the policies and procedures were adopted in response to new legislation from the Georgia General Assembly. 

Kirkland explained that once a law is passed and affects policies on the state’s school board then local school districts must review and update their policies accordingly. 

“The Georgia School Board Association forms a template, and that’s what we use,” Kirkland said in an interview Monday morning. “It’s based [on] the law through their lawyers and our lawyers to make sure that we don’t violate it. It’s pretty comprehensive.”

In February, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced the legislation to create the Parents’ Bill of Rights.

“At a time when our nation is more divided than ever, we’re leading the fight to ensure parents do not have any barriers which prevent them from playing an active role in their child’s education,” Kemp said in a press release at the time.

Kirkland said the CCSD has had the policy for years as a “normal operating procedure.” 

Before the legislation, each school district had its own procedure. Now, all school districts have a particular procedure in line with the new law.

The “Unstructured Break Time” policy requires students in kindergarten to eighth grade to have a break time that is not interrupted or restricted due to punishment. 

Each school handles the unstructured time differently based on their schedules, and the unstructured break time for students in grades six to eight are at the discretion of the school principal. 

“Unstructured time” is not an additional break added to schedules. The policy only affects what time is already scheduled.

CCSD Chief Communications Officer Angela Hobby explained, “It’s not saying that we’re putting that time into every school. It is if you already have it in your schedule then you cannot use it as a punishment by taking it away, so it’s not an addition.”

Another updated policy is the “Divisive Concepts Complaint Resolution Process” and the “Material Harmful to Minors Complaint Resolution Process” which allow a teacher, parent or student to file a complaint if they experience or encounter a divisive concept or materials harmful to minors.

“The divisive concept is, if something comes up in a classroom, and is divisive or is perceived that way, you go that route [with the complaint],” Kirkland said. “The harmful material is that we’ve brought something in video, a person, a worksheet, an assignment, and that falls in that category, according to the complaint.”

According to the Board Policy Manual from the Georgia School Boards Association, a divisive concept is defined as

A. One race is inherently superior to another race;

B. The United States of America is fundamentally racist;

C. An individual, by virtue of his or her race, is inherently or consciously racist or oppressive toward individuals of other races;

D. An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race;

E. An individual’s moral character is inherently determined by his or her race;

F. An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race, bears individual responsibility for actions committed in the past by other individuals of the same race;

G. An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race, should feel anguish, guilt, or any other form of psychological distress;

H. Performance-based advancement or the recognition and appreciation of character traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or have been advocated for by individuals of a particular race to oppress individuals of another race; or

I. Any other form of race scapegoating or race stereotyping.

When a teacher, student, parent or guardian wants to file a complaint, they have to submit a written complaint to the principal of the school where the alleged divisive concept or harmful material was shared.