Talking Points: Public Schools

Republicans are waging a war on public schools and our kids are getting hurt.

Sep 29, 2023

Republicans are trying to have it both ways. They ignite puritan witch hunts to destroy faith in public schools, and then accuse us of “politicizing” education. They attack us with their bigotry and scare tactics, in the hopes that we will spend all of our time responding to their attacks instead of presenting our own vision for public schools. Here’s how to fight back.

Messaging workshop live on ZOOM!

Yup, that's me! Come see an ultra-condensed one-hour version of my DNC message framing workshop via ZOOM, hosted by my friends at Network NOVA! It's a steal at $39!

2 girls smiling and standing near green trees during daytime — Unsplash

Welcome to Democrats Fight Back! Public Schools Edition

Top Talking Points! (More below)

On attacks about GLBTQ+ children and parents, Youngkin transgender student policy:

This is state-mandated discrimination, bigotry, and bullying. No child should ever be told that there is something wrong with them because of who they (or their parents) are.

On parents’ rights:

We take all parents beliefs into account, not just those who make the most noise. We’re not going to let a handful of right-wing vigilante parents with extreme minority views override the wishes of most parents.

On CRT and race:

We believe in teaching the truth about our history and our progress as a country.

On culture wars:

It’s puritanism for profit. It’s dangerous and dictatorial. It’s hurting our kids and impeding their education.
It’s book banning, surveillance and state censorship. This relentless teacher harassment is making it impossible for teachers to teach and driving them out of the profession.
This is a national campaign to discredit public schools for private profit and political power. It’s a coordinated effort by private corporations seeking to raid public school budgets. Keep public dollars in public schools.

On why public schools matter:

As a society, we have an obligation to educate every child.
Public schools are what make our children into free and functional adults. They are the engine of equality and economic mobility.
Public schools unite us and make us all Americans. They give us a set of shared American values and a common understanding of our history.

That’s why we need to:

Focus on learning. Help our kids get caught up, make up for lost time. Work with them and their parents to make sure that every single child is being challenged and inspired to do their very best.
Make our schools places where kids can feel welcomed, supported, and safe from bullying, discrimination and (gun) violence. Bring in new resources to support their safety and mental health.
To do that, we need to fully fund our schools. We need to recruit and retain teachers (and support staff) with the best skills and experience, and give them the pay they deserve and the resources, support and trust they need to do their incredibly important jobs.

Bonus:

Generally, we don’t want to engage in debates about gender issues in schools. That’s what they want us talking about. However, several Virginia candidates told me about events where voters were approached by Republican agitators and prompted to ask the candidates whether they wanted “men using girl’s bathrooms.” The best response to this is:

“Did it ever occur to you that Glenn Youngkin’s policy actually forces girls to use men’s bathrooms?”

Thank you for reading Reframing America, a newsletter about helping the Left learn how to stand up to the Right in the public debate! This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts by email please consider becoming a subscriber. All content is free, but some people choose to become paying subscribers to support this mission!

Intro

Hi folks! In the last few weeks, I have conducted message training sessions for candidates, staffers, and party activists here in Northern Virginia and in Blacksburg, and your feedback has given me a better sense of what people, especially school board candidates, really need in terms of message support.

Voters here have been exposed to a lot of right-wing messaging and attacks. According to polls, voters are sick of these attacks and would rather hear about education, so if others are not bringing up the attacks, don’t bring them up yourself.

Some voters may just need some reassurance from you first. They may be satisfied with a simple but firm, “No, that is not happening.” or “No, that is not true.”

If pressed to discuss these attacks further by voters, press or opponents, don’t defend, reframe the debate. Put them on the defensive. Don’t try to explain what’s wrong with their portrayal of us. Talk about how we see them. Change the subject to bigotry, bullying and privatization.

Even if we succeed at putting them on defense, many voters will tune this out as a “he said, she said” situation. Still, neutralizing Republican attacks puts us in a far better position than we are now: it creates the space for us to win on the merits. That’s why we have to swiftly pivot to messaging that creates a positive portrayal of public schools.

We say that we support public schools, but rarely talk about why, assuming everybody already knows. Meanwhile support for public schools is dropping due to this nationally coordinated negative campaign. Talk about what public schools mean to our children, families, communities, and our country as a whole. That will put your specific policy proposals into a meaningful context.

More Talking Points

Discredit and Pivot

Republican attacks are designed to create associations between certain words or concepts and voters’ mental image of public schools. When you use those words or concepts together or in the context of a conversation about public schools, even to argue against them, you strengthen those associations in people’s minds.

BTW - I can’t actually use certain words or this will end up in your SPAM filter!

Do not use their terms or engage in debates about what they mean:

Critical race theory (CRT), Anti-racism. Woke. Parents’ Rights. Liberal indoctrination. Grooming. S— predators.
Whether we allow “men” to compete in “girls” sports or use girls’ bathrooms. Simple answer: “We don’t.” (The people in reference are not men.) Do not debate how we define “men.”
Whether there is por— in our schools or public libraries. Simple answer: “There is not.” (The works in reference are not por—.) Do not debate how we define p— or whether any particular book or work constitutes p—.
Do not debate what content is or isn’t “age appropriate.”

Change the subject to:

Bigotry. Intolerance. Book banning. Adults bullying children. Vigilante parents with extremist right-wing agendas.
Teacher harassment, surveillance, and censorship are driving teachers out of the profession at a time when we desperately need them.
A national campaign to discredit and privatize our public schools. A politically and financially motivated campaign that is hurting our children and getting in the way of their education.
(Not “universal vouchers.”) The school privatization movement, school privatization activists, for-profit schools, and private school corporations.
(Not “parents’ rights.”) A puritan crusade of AstroTurf or puppet parent groups, bankrolled by private financial interests seeking to raid public school budgets.
What motivates people to do this?
Some people need to bully others to feel good about themselves.
Some are doing this purely to gain political power.
Some are part of a coordinated effort to destroy faith in public schools, so they can seize public school budgets for private profit.

Still, remember that voters are sick of all of this. Use these tactics to shut down opposition but move quickly to positive messaging.

Why we support public schools.

Our mission is to remind people why we all love public education.

Public education is one of the most important institutions in our society.
Our children can’t become free and functional adults unless they know all the options that are available to them in life and have the education that they need to succeed in whichever option they choose. Public schools give us all that freedom, regardless of who we are, where we came from, or our ability to pay.
As a society, we have an obligation to educate every child. We oppose vouchers because they take resources out and leave most kids behind.

Making the case that public school values are American values is the positive way we counter the “woke indoctrination” attacks without reinforcing them.

Public school values ARE American values.
Public schools take kids from all cultures and walks of life and make them into Americans by instilling in them a set of shared American values like equality, fairness, responsibility, and respect for others.
Public schools make us Americans by giving us a common and honest understanding of our history and of our progress as a nation.
The Radical Right (not “MAGA”) is trying to drive children out of the public school system (and into ideologically segregated private schools) precisely because it is a critical positive force for freedom, unity and equality in our society, critical thinking in our public debate and democracy in our political system.
Universal free public education is what creates the common ground that keeps America together.

For more details on this, read “Why We Believe in Public Education” from my previous issue, “Can Public Schools Save America?”

Put your policies into context.

The most important part of your message is the “why” as in “Why I support public schools” and for some of you, “Why I am running for school board.” Moving past the attacks is what allows you to do that.

Your “what” is the policy specifics. They may vary from district to district.

Always start with the “why.” For example:

For our kids to become free and successful adults, they need to know all the options available to them and be prepared for whatever option they choose. That is why we should restore full funding to our high school creative arts and skilled trades programs.

Your “why” puts your “what” into meaningful context. The “why” communicates your values, emotions and motivations: why you care. That’s what voters will respond to.

More talking points to come! Thanks for reading and for everything you do!

Please help distribute these talking points to everyone with an interest in reframing our public debate and winning in Virginia!

Please let me know if you have any comments or compliments, questions about the talking points above, or requests for talking points on any particular topic.

Reframing America