GA school worksheet characterizes 'hypothetical' abortion ban as ‘abuse of power,' prompts parental pushback
SAVANNAH, Ga. - A concerned Georgia-based parent brought to attention an assignment that appeared to have characterized a "hypothetical" abortion ban ruling as an "abuse of power."
The prompt in the assignment states, "The state of Georgia passed a law that bans all abortions under all circumstances. How can the constitutional principle of judicial review deal with this abuse of power?"
The assignment was issued at Savannah Arts Academy and was given to Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., by a parent who wishes to remain anonymous. The parent was able to hand the congressman the assignment because the lawmaker held a "parents roundtable" for parents who were concerned over the state of the education system.
Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools (SCCPSS) confirmed to Fox News Digital that the assignment was indeed issued at Savannah Arts Academy.
SCCPSS is a school district based in Chatham County, Georgia, and has over 38,100 students.
SCCPSS sent a statement to Fox News Digital saying that "this assignment was intended to pose a variety of hypothetical scenarios for the purpose of eliciting constitutional analysis."
"In researching this assignment, the principal discovered that it was originally written in 2021. At that time, the Dobbs decision from the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade had not been issued. Perhaps the teacher should have framed the questions with the language ‘to challenge this as an abuse of power" as opposed to ‘deal with this abuse of power.’"
"There are more than 3,000 teachers in the Savannah-Chatham School System. Our teachers are required to teach a curriculum in line with the Georgia Standards of Excellence and we trust that they do so. This is not considered indoctrination and the questions would not run afoul of Georgia’s ‘Divisive Concepts’ law."
A parent brought the worksheet to Fox News Digital's attention. It was given out at Savannah Arts Academy, a public school in the Savannah-Chatham School System (SCSS) has confirmed that the assignment was given out.
On September 8, Carter sat down with concerned parents from across the First District during a roundtable to discuss the state of parents’ rights in education called "A Future that is Free."
Rep. Carter told Fox News Digital that he hosted the roundtable because he "was concerned about the state of education in his district."
"Parents know what is best for their child, especially when it comes to their child’s education. I hosted this roundtable because I was concerned about the state of education in my district, and unfortunately, those fears were confirmed," Carter said.
Fox News Digital was able to speak with one of the parents who submitted the assignment at the roundtable discussion. The parent, who is a mother of a student in SCCPSS, said that she does not expect any teachers in a school to impose their personal political views on the students.
The parent said that the reason she attended Carter’s roundtable is that she feels "powerless" as a parent and the students "don't have a voice" in the school district because they can’t challenge the curriculum without pushback.
"My kid is a junior. We are getting ready to go to college. We are applying for scholarships and stuff," the parent commented. "I cannot afford to get him or her on the wrong side and the teachers that are friends with these teachers get him or her in trouble and create issues in the school because then you're like done."
"Nobody can say anything because you don't want to be retaliated against and have issues. So, no, I cannot go to the school and address the teachers. Or I cannot do anything because there, they will not do anything about it. The kids get in trouble, and then you don't solve anything."
The parent added that the discussion over controversial assignments is "happening every day."
"What we discussed with Buddy Carter is what is happening in Savannah right now where the political situation is overcrowding the school system, which it should not," the parent said.
Parents all over the country have been speaking out against coronavirus-related mandates in schools and progressive curricula that have been associated with critical race theory or gender theory.
An mix of proponents and opponents to teaching Critical Race Theory are in attendance as a California school board discusses a proposed resolution to ban it from being taught in schools. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The issues prompted parents to rise up to run for school board seats after concerns over educational content during the coronavirus pandemic. Some parents who had little political experience pulled off victories.
Similar groups to Fishers One emerged to speak out against indoctrination.
A new parent's rights group in Minnesota called the Minnesota Parents Alliance launched an effort to train and support school board candidates, and get parents involved in their schools and communities.
Minnesota Parents Alliance has hosted trainings for school board candidates across the state, and plans to provide support for new school board members after they are elected.