Who’s Giving Your Kid Medical Care, Guest: Missie Carra, Texas Parent

Summery / Comments:

The "Parents Rights in Education" podcast episode delves into pressing issues in the U.S. educational system, focusing on how they affect children's welfare and parental rights. Highlights include:

Oregon's Civil Rights Monitoring: Discussion on Oregon House Bill 2281, raising concerns about potential overreach in enforcing social justice ideologies in schools.

Race-Based Education in Illinois: A critique of segregated classrooms in Evanston, Illinois, and their impact on students' learning and inter-racial interactions.

LGBTQ+ Education Lawsuit in Iowa: Examination of a legal challenge against Iowa's restrictions on LGBTQ+ content in schools.

Parental Rights in Texas: Insight into Texas laws governing parental rights in education, particularly in health care and medical consent.

Medical Care in Schools: An exploration of the often controversial medical services provided to minors in schools without parental consent.

Gender Identity Laws: Analysis of Oregon's legislation on gender identity and sexual orientation, discussing its impact on parental rights and children's health.

Sexual Education Controversies: Guest Missie Carra shares her experiences with sexual health education in Fort Worth, Texas, highlighting concerns about curriculum content and external referrals.

The Role of Parents: The podcast emphasizes the vital role of parental involvement and advocacy in children's education, offering strategies for effective participation.

This episode is a must-listen for parents and educators alike, offering a critical lens on current educational policies and their implications for parental rights and children's well-being. Tune in for an enlightening discussion that not only informs but also empowers listeners to engage more actively in the educational landscape.

Transcript

Hanna  0:01  
Welcome back to the Parents Rights in Education podcast. We are a grassroots movement of millions of parents and allies standing together, speaking as one to protect children and ensure parents crucial role in their child's education is protected. We come alongside millions of parents and allies and equip them to stand up for their rights by free trainings, membership and community support. You can join this movement for free by visiting parents rights and education.com. And hey, if you love the work that we're doing, please leave us a five star review. Your review helps us get out our message and allows us to keep advocating for parents rights. Thanks so much for being here. Let's get into today's topic. Hey,

Suzanne Gallagher  0:38  
welcome to the show. Let's get right to the news. I'm going to talk about a house bill that was passed last year by the Oregon house. It's called House Bill 2281. And it requires school districts to designate one or more civil rights coordinators. Did you hear that civil rights coordinators, and that goes into effect on January one of next year. Now, this person, this civil rights coordinator can be a district employee or school district can enter into contract with an education service district. Here's some of the duties of this person. They monitor, coordinate and oversee school district compliance with state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination and public education, oversee investigations of complaints alleging discrimination, they provide guidance to school district personnel on civil rights issues. They respond to questions or concerns related to civil rights and they coordinate efforts to prevent civil rights violations. So sounds like they're the Thought Police, right? This is not really civil rights people. This is promoting social justice. Once January one rolls around and they start instituting all these civil rights coordinators. I think we're going to have a lot of things to report in the state of Oregon. Okay, Evanston, Illinois, the this Illinois School District is implementing controversial race based classrooms. Now it's been around for extracurricular since 2019, but now it's being implemented. For core subjects. These affinity courses are in instructed exclusively by same race teachers. Are you tracking with me? So these are specifically segregated classrooms? You know, and they can be they can be segregated based on white or black or Latino or I mean, you name it. But segregation is now back. What this does is it promotes the idea to students that you can't learn from people of a different race. This is ridiculous. Teacher conference presentations included various student testimonials highlighting improve comfort with segregated environments. Really, that's coming from the teachers. Now the kids may not be doing any better academically because there's no proof that that they are learning better, but at least they feel good. Okay, next item. Iowa, Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa. Seven Iowa students are named as placement plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that challenges a new state law placing restrictions on LGBTQ students and school materials. The ACLU of Iowa joined two law firms in filing a lawsuit challenging the Iowa State Senate, which prohibits the instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation through sixth grade. It prohibits books with descriptions of sex acts, and requires parental notification when a K through 12 student wants to be referred to by a different pronoun or name in the school. So here's a case guys where the state legislature is telling local school districts what to do. Think about it. We need local control. I just want you to keep that in mind. We need local control. Hey, I've got an A shout out to a new affiliate. We're excited to announce our newest affiliate Vanessa Wells from Liberty Township, Ohio. She has been fighting for greater transparency in her school district since 2019. And is on her district's curriculum team to ensure students get the education they deserve. That's what we're talking about here. Parents being involved. Welcome Vanessa and thank you for standing up for parents rights deal of the work

Hanna  4:36  
we're doing here at parents rights in education and want to know how you can become more involved. Become a member for free today. By becoming a member you can connect with your local leadership, gain access to our free training, good advice, and stay up to date with the latest issues. Join today for free by visiting parents rights and education.com/join that parents rights and education dog Tom slash join

Suzanne Gallagher  5:01  
now to our topic for the day. Who's giving your kid medical care? Okay, when you send your child to school, are they getting medical care to which health care providers is your public school staff referring students? Often federal and state laws are violated by local school districts. And you got to know what they say. Our job is to challenge current activities and procedures based on these statutes, policies and rulings. So here's an example. You know, we're headquartered in Oregon. So Oregon is our go to example. Because we're, you know, we're way down the road on this guy's, but if you know what's common, or your antenna can be up and you can be a lot better prepared, and know what you have to fight. I want you to keep this in mind that every Oregon School Board has the option of embracing or rejecting specific curriculums policies and procedures. They do have that right. Often Oregon law is in violation of federal and state laws. Parents Rights and education believes that Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority, joined at the hip, by the way, have committed institutional betrayal, participatory child abuse, child endangerment, and child exploitation. The state has attained access to minor children influencing health decisions and behavior. And that all begins at the age of 14. And here are some examples. Oregon law supports minors rights over parents rights. Now that is on inspiration of United Nations actually, I won't list all these or s codes etc. There'll be in the show notes. But these are s codes, which was Oregon statutes violate US laws and codes and regulations. Parents have rights to guide the education and moral standards, religious beliefs and elements of good citizenship of their children. Oregon law violates two Supreme Court decisions upholding parental rights, Wisconsin versus Yoder and peers versus Society of sisters now that last one, Pierce and society of sisters was in 1925 in the state of Oregon. Minor rights to access health care are used in school based health clinics to supersede parental legal rights to guide the education and moral standards and religious beliefs of their children. Here's another law. This is House Bill 2307. And according to this house bill, which was passed in 2015, it is illegal for Oregon parents and guardians to seek counseling for minor children to help them with sexual orientation confusion or gender dysphoria. And by the way, these these counselors these psychotherapist can be charged with felonies if they tell your child that he is he was born a boy or was or she was born a girl. Okay, this is why we have to change the people we're talking to because this law should be overturned and then there's ill informed consent. Informed consent is gigantic. Without knowledge or consent of their parents. Minors within the jurisdiction of the school district may receive medical and or mental health treatment. The health evidence review commission in Oregon and unelected unaccountable committee, who was appointed by Governor John Kitzhaber, so he was governor more than nine years ago, voted eight to two to allow children as young as 15. Now it goes down to 14 to undergo transgender conditioning, including hormone replacement of genital mutilation without regard for the possible consequences, which can include lung damage, heart damage, sterilization, cancer, drug abuse, depression, and oh, that big one suicide? Yes, actually, all of these things can cause a student to consider suicide, not just their, you know, wondering if they should be a boy or girl. teenage students are used in some Oregon schools to teach subjects now this is this is something that most people don't have any idea about. Okay, we got kids teaching kids here. They're using high school kids to teach middle school aged kids subjects including contraception, HIV STD prevention. Oh, yeah, they know a lot about that. Uh huh. And abortion as a safe and to pregnancy, condoms for pleasurable sex and minor sexual rights. Now, this minor sexual rights thing is a big one. If somebody's telling your kid, your minor child, that they have the right to safe, pleasurable sexual activity. They're probably going to listen to that adult not to you. And they also tell them you know, your parents just don't understand they don't get it. We cite Oregon because we are headquartered there. But what about your state? What about Texas? If it's happening in Texas, it could be happening in your school district. Texas law states that a government entity cannot enter into a taxpayer resource transaction with an abortion provider or affiliate. Although technically, there is not a provable exchange of money. Hmm. But schools often advertise and encourage and brag about their advocacy for Planned Parenthood services. Now, Texas Family Code law states that the parent has the right to direct the moral and religious training and consent for medical treatment and make decisions about education. That means that Texas State law is broken at the school level if a student is referred to Planned Parenthood without parent knowledge or consent, right. Okay, our guest today is a Texas parental rights advocate. She lives in Fort Worth the 13th largest city in the United States, and has experience we can all use. Hey, parents

Hanna  10:56  
and allies here at Parents Rights in Education, it requires us to all do our part in protecting our children's education. That's why we created club 12 by 12. For just $12 a month, you can sign up to become a club 12 by 12. Member and help us continue our work on training and forming and empowering parents and allies to stand up for their rights. Being a club 12 by 12 member gets you access to our exclusive monthly trainings, swag such as hats, T shirts, buttons, a monthly newsletter, and more. But most importantly, being a club 12 by 12. Member It means you are doing your part to protect parents rights for one more day. To become a club 12 by 12. Member, visit our website, parents rights and education.com and click club 12 by 12. That's parents rights and education.com click club 12 by 12.

Suzanne Gallagher  11:45  
Okay, we're back and thanks for hanging around because you are going to love meeting our guest. Her name is Missy Cara, and she's a parent and resident in the Fort Worth Independent School District. She has been a leader in parents rights and education. And, and a friend, a leader and a friend. I just have to say that I love Missy, since 2020. And in April of 2021, Missy gave a very compelling presentation titled, we've got the playbook and we have the link to that in our show notes. Now, her presentation highlighted comprehensive sexuality education curriculum taught in Fort Worth schools, beginning in 2018. And that led to a deep dive into the who, how, what, and why driving this insidious agenda to sexualize our kids in K through 12 public schools. So welcome, missy. Thanks for coming on. 

Missie Carra  12:42  
Thank you, Suzanne, it's so good to be here with you.

Suzanne Gallagher  12:45  
So tell us about what happened in Fort Worth and what piqued your interest and most recently, share with us about your testimony in the school district what you've been tracking there, because I'm sure lots of lots of our listeners and the one that that I'm thinking of right now who's on this show? Who will benefit from this message? Well, thank

Missie Carra  13:08  
you so much. And thank you for your kind introduction. And so what led me to get interested in Parents Rights in Education was actually a personal experience of having my own children in our local public schools. And we had been in for quite some time and had wonderful experience with administrators, teachers, and frankly, was happy with our students until there was until day when my student had the class that is known as comprehensive sexual health education. And I tell people all the time that that is not your mama's sex ed. It is not the same as what it used to be years ago when you and I had it in schools. And so I was the best way I can put it was I was broadsided. Our school did not disclose to us the content of that class. It did not reveal to us all the different topics that it would cover and the depth and breadth that they would cover it in. And we as a family were unprepared for what my student experience. And so I developed a real interest in what exactly is this going on and through a series of meetings with school district employees that led me to understand that this is more than just an ordinary curriculum. I did a lot of research personally and found out that not only in Fort Worth ISD is their new version of comprehensive sexual health education. That's the old words what they call it, that there is a new version that is so much different from what we had anticipated and planned for our students are receiving school. So after I understood what was going on, I did quite a bit of research and learn that there was a connection between the CDC The public schools and the United States and Planned Parenthood. And I'll just leave it at that with Suzanne and see where you want to go next. Okay.

Suzanne Gallagher  15:08  
Well, so you begin to investigate something new that was coming into the school district. Right? It was it was they were introducing a new career curriculum. And what happened? Did you discovered something in in your interaction with the school district?

Missie Carra  15:30  
I sure did. So thanks for bringing that up. So what I've found out is that the CDC has something called the Division of Adolescent school health, and that that program has developed some strategic goals to be implemented all across the nation. And there's a couple of big items I'd like to cover. The first is they want to implement comprehensive sexual health education in every school district, all across the US. That's number one. And the second one is that they want to implement something called Sexual Health Services access, which means that students would be able to self access sexual health services in school, in a lot of cases, depending on what state you're in, that will occur without a parent's knowledge or consent. And so those two things were quite alarming to me. And as I looked more into it, what what got my attention the most was where they were sending the students to. So let's see if that's what you're ready to talk about. Now. You

Suzanne Gallagher  16:41  
bet. You bet. This is what moms and dads want to know, like, where did you get that? When their kids come home? With very, I would say, rebellious attitudes. The fact that they're told that you can pretty much do whatever you want. In fact, you have a right to safe sexual pleasure.

Missie Carra  17:05  
Talk about some of these things. So that's something I'd like to cover. And Suzanna, I'm gonna use a fancy word, but I think everyone can can follow. There's something called the high Galleon dialectic, which means that a problem is created, so a solution can be offered. And if you take into this particular instance, we're going to create a problem quote unquote, of students who are exploring their sexual health, there might be looking for ways to access contraceptives, or access pregnancy tests or STI test and treatment. And that would be STI sexually transmitted infection. And that all of these things could be be coming is something that a student is interested in all from what they've learned in class from comprehensive sexual health education. And what that's going to lead them to is the desire to seek out services that are available to students. And if we think about that, in the context of being in a campus in a public school campus, they will naturally and I say they, I mean, the student will naturally be drawn to what is called a trusted adult, that's a very careful a couple of words, but a trusted adult, so that could be a teacher, it could be a counselor, it could be something called an interventional specialist, it could be an administrator, or a school nurse, and that these students are seeking where do I go if I have interest or need for these services, but in a specific instance, that in the public schools, a student could be referred to a provider that provides sexual health services to minor children? And then our specific instance instance in Fort Worth ISD? Do you know who was the number one recommended sexual health services provider in Fort Worth? ISD in Texas, Suzanne, okay. Planned Parenthood.

Suzanne Gallagher  19:09  
I had a feeling Who else but Planned Parenthood. Exactly. International, by the way. Exactly.

Missie Carra  19:17  
And so what I discovered Suzanne is just that the program that I just mentioned before this CDC is Division of Adolescent School Health has strategic goals for every public school district in the nation to offer students comprehensive sex ed, that's that problem we were talking about with a high Galeon dialectic. Yep. And that they're offering a solution and that is to go to a sexual health services provider. And you will be in pressed to find out that the CDC actually uses Planned Parenthood as its number one resource for sexual health services as well.

Suzanne Gallagher  19:59  
Gee That's, there's a word that comes into my mind it's corruption. Because I want to know, who is paying for all of this? Mm hmm. That's

Missie Carra  20:11  
an excellent question, Suzanne. So it is essentially taxpayers. So I will say the program that brought it to Fort Worth ISD was actually from a Consolidated Appropriations Act, we got a distribution for a grant to receive funding to implement those things here in Texas in Fort Worth ISD. And then also, as you look at how our public schools funded across the nation, it is with taxpayer dollars. So this actually impacts people whether or not they have students in public schools, if you are a stakeholder of a public school, that your tax dollars are being used for this purpose with students in your area.

Suzanne Gallagher  20:54  
Wow. Wow. So so like, what if I have a child who goes to a private school? Can they also access these services?

Missie Carra  21:03  
That's a great question. So in my understanding that Planned Parenthood, depending on state law will see minor children depending on the age that's required at state law. And so if they are a private school student, that they can access that kind of service as well.

Suzanne Gallagher  21:21  
Okay. Okay. And and maybe we should be, you know, exploring a little bit. I want to mention to our listener, that Missy is a trained medical professional, you know, what you're talking about girl? Right?

Missie Carra  21:39  
That's right. I do have a Registered Nurse License. Okay.

Suzanne Gallagher  21:42  
Okay. So, in your own, you had some challenges with your own daughter? My understanding is that, that this, you know, all became kind of evident to you what other services besides some of the obvious ones, like, you know, contraception and STD testing, and, you know, those seem, you know, fairly, fairly common, what is planned parenthood doing now that a lot of a lot of people already know, but many don't, that would shock them dangerous

Missie Carra  22:17  
treat? Yes, I think that's a great point to bring up. So that yes, that Planned Parenthood is one of the potential providers that a student could be recommended to go to from a school location, that's just one. And just to briefly touch on it, I'll let Alyssa couple two or three more that are also possibilities. And we'll cover the next. So that with a student accessing services, depending on your state and your location, they could also be recommended to go to any county hospital or affiliate, which is also paid for by tax dollars, it could be to private practice. So that could be to private physicians offices, or practices. And they also could be directed to federally qualified health centers, which are also funded by tax dollars. And so there's just a few and we could go in a little deeper, we can put it on a link if you need it. But that all of those services can be accessed by a student depending on state law and what their age requirements are. And then specifically for what you're talking about with Planned Parenthood, they offer a variety of services that is just like most people are aware it is a well known abortion provider. They also provide contraceptives, they provide pregnancy tests, they provide STI treatment and test. And then they also are providing they've switched their business model to include providing gender hormone therapy, and that would be for what they call gender affirming care. And so if you think about it, as a parent, if you have a student who might be experiencing gender confusion, depending on your state, where you have your student attending, they might be able to access on their own at Planned Parenthood facility and be directed how to take gender affirming medical treatment, like hormone therapy, or hormone treatment. And so to me, that seems to be very dangerous. Those are very long term effect medications that can be given to the student before they have their full cognitive development to make decisions like that for their body going on for the rest of their life. And so that's that's a very concerning to me.

Suzanne Gallagher  24:41  
Now, I just mentioned before you came on the Texas family code, that is a law that states that the parent has the right to direct the moral and religious training and consent for medical treatment and make decisions about education. Right? It's pretty basic, pretty straightforward. Okay, and that means Is that the tech at Texas State law is broken at the school level if a student is referred and I mean, it could could be referred by a counselor or a teacher, you know, any adult of the school could do that. referring them to Planned Parenthood without parent knowledge or consent. Do you think that Texans are aware of this?

Missie Carra  25:21  
You know, I think that's a great question. I think a lot of people here locally in Texas assume that we're a fairly conservative state where things like this would not happen. And that there are some that I think, just say, you know, this is something this is the 2023 we live in, and they they anticipate things like this. But I would say on the whole that several people that I get to have the privilege to speak with about it, have no idea if I'm talking about it, whether they're my local sphere of influence, or if it is actual legislators that I've spoken to, many people are still unaware that this is a potential occurrence with public school students. Right,

Suzanne Gallagher  26:05  
right. In what do you advise parents to do Missy in there? Texas is a gigantic state. What would be the first thing that you would tell a parent to do? Perhaps in East Texas, somebody who doesn't live very close to you, but maybe in a small community? This is very common, where people think if they're insulated, especially if they're in a red state, and they live in a rural area?

Missie Carra  26:31  
I think that's a great question. So I actually wish someone had told me this before my kid got to that, that age. So as a parent, that you have access to go see what is available to your student in school, whether it's their curriculum, whether it's services that they could potentially be offered. If it is surveys, it could be a variety of things, but as a parent or guardian, that it is within your right to go see every little thing in the public education setting. And so I would recommend to go to your administrators that are in your school or school district and approach them and say, Do you have a policy that allows students to access sexual health services without my knowledge or consent? And if they say, Yes, you need to get a copy of the policy, you need to ask them, Where will you send my student, if they came to you, and I was unaware? Where are you going to recommend? And here's some things that you might hear, I'll just reiterate, you could hear Planned Parenthood, you could hear a county hospital facility, you could hear something that is called a school based health clinic, you could hear something that is called a well being center, or a family resource center, there are many different names that this is able to umbrella under. And so I would approach the administrator directly and get those policies, I would also as a parent, I would begin to educate and and build a bridge with my student and say, I am your parent or guardian, and I love you. And I care about where you are and what you're doing. And if you've gotten yourself into a situation where you are seeking out a quote unquote, trusted adult, please understand that I want to be your trusted adult, first and foremost, no matter what is going on, just tell them that and tell them you always want to know what have they heard at school, what has an adult instructed them to do at school, and have those discussions at home freely? And without, you know, without bias or without accusation to your student? Just open that door and allow them to come to you because many students will they have questions. And I want to make sure that parents understand that there are so many resources, Suzanne can help you with that, about how to educate your child about sexual health, how to educate your child about how to have bodily autonomy, how to educate them about how to take care of themselves, and do that in a way that you want to have with with your child. So does that answer your question? Lovely.

Suzanne Gallagher  29:24  
Yeah. Now I know you've done quite a bit of testifying and let's close with this example. In Fort Worth, and bring us up to date on your latest challenge regarding the the curriculum. I thought that was a really fascinating story, how you've been following this new curriculum, and what what happened with it in the course of of your advocacy, and what happened most recently. Yes,

Missie Carra  29:58  
that's a great question. And it is, as you know, Suzanne, it is a long story, I will try to condense it in in Fort Worth, Texas that we have two separate issues related to this one is an adoption of the, what they now call human sexuality instruction. And what happened was Texas in 2021 updated their state laws about the process of adopting and implementing sex ed. And then also updated what's called in Texas, the Texas Essential Knowledge and skills that are required for sexual health education in Texas. And that is one issue that our district went and, uh, circumvented. This is the interesting thing is they knew what their policies and processes were. They knew what the law was. And they at the shack level, which I think people are familiar, but I'll state it is a school health advisory council, that they are a board appointed council that is supposed to be involved in the process of adopting and implementing sex ed, our school district has circumvented the law. They circumvented the work of this section of excuse me, the school health advisory council. And they purchased a renewal of a human sexuality instruction from a publisher that is in California. And it's called E T. R associates and the curriculum is health smart. And Suzanne, I'm just going to tell you now I'd love to come back and do a whole podcast on that. But that, that they the point is they circumvented the law to pay for it, they bought it for $2.6 million. And they broke a series of Texas laws, including Texas Open Meetings Act to do it. And they we caught them. And so we were able to stop their adoption of this sex ed program for two years. And we are at the end of the two year mark, where they are about to go forward and adopt this curriculum. And it has been quite an experience for us and the most recently, Suzanne, I'll point out, okay, as I have gone over and over to the school board, to tell them their offensive like their Texas Open Meetings Act violations or them circumventing the law, that they actually censored me at a board meeting about a month ago. And so yes, they did, they censored me and violated my First Amendment. Right, Suzanne. I know, as parents, as you get out there and get bold and speaking to your district, you have to be ready to hold the line. But that happened. So we are in January going to be due to make this formal adoption at this school board level. And I'm just interested to share with the scene about what that looks like. Because we have we have really tried to prevent them from what they're trying to do. And several parents are stepping up. It's very exciting, actually. So that's your number one. Yeah, okay. And then the final issue is, again, the the access to sexual health services that we filed grievances against the district, because they're in the state of Texas, a school district should not have a relationship with an abortion provider or affiliate. And being currently Yep. And currently our district does. And I challenged them and said that you should not have this. And you claim that you did not have a relationship with Planned Parenthood. However, this still remains your number one referral for students in Fort Worth ISD. And so we are going to continue to challenge them at the state level, and see if we can stop that. But just to encourage parents out there or, or your listeners, you know, as a stakeholder, or as a parent of children in public schools that you do not have to have special training to stand up for your child that you can there should be a process in your state or in your area that allows you to go and file a grievance or complaint with your district about when they do things like break the law to adopt these things or break the law to get these access points for your for their student that's in the school, but is your student that they are breaking the law? Absolutely.

Suzanne Gallagher  34:39  
They're using our kids, they're using our kids to to make money in some cases with it with medical treatments, etc, that taxpayers are paying for. So that's just one of many things is going on. We appreciate you so much Missy. You're a rock star and we want to have you back well, we will spend more time Talking about Texas. But keep in mind that this applies to lots of other states throughout the United States. And, and I love the idea that we're that we're looking at Texas today, because people think everything's so good there, and they would never go against the law, not the public schools. Thank you so much for coming on. We appreciate you, missy.

Missie Carra  35:26  
Thank you for having me. Suzanne.

Hanna  35:29  
Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Keep up with everything we're doing. Check out our website, parents rights and education.com and sign up for our newsletter. You can also join our movement for free by visiting our website parents rights in education.com. To do your part in protecting parents rights, you can become a club 12 by 12 member by donating $12 a month. It takes all of us to make the change that we want to see. Thanks so much for listening. Talk soon

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