The Democratic Party of Michigan is trying to walk back a post that dismissed the role of parents in education, but it is clear that the post was a slip of the mask rather than a slip of the tongue.
The Michigan Democratic Party posted on Facebook that it was “not sure where this ‘parents-should-control-what-is-taught-in-schools-because-they-are-our-kids’ is originating.” The clients of public schools are not parents or students, but “the entire community, the public.” If you don’t like that, parents do have the choice to send their children to “a hand-selected private school at their own expense.”
In other words, if you can’t afford it, well, you should just try being rich.
The party, of course, tried to walk this back, saying that “parents need to have a say in their children’s education, end of story” and that “the post does not reflect the views of Michigan Democrats and should not be misinterpreted as a statement of support from our elected officials or candidates.” But, in politics, social media accounts are no longer just handed to the nearest intern. The Michigan Democratic Party posted its true thoughts on schools, and we know this because Democrats have been living up to them at every turn.
The obvious example of this was in Virginia, where former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe was running for his old job in 2021. With racial essentialism in schools becoming a hot-button issue, McAuliffe declared on a debate stage that “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” He didn’t misspeak or stumble into that thought; he reiterated it multiple times in the campaign.
The post also reflects what we’ve seen from Michigan Democrats. Just a few months ago, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed two bills that would create an education scholarship program that could be used for tutoring, textbooks, extracurricular programs, or other learning aids for disadvantaged students. That’s because the program could also be used for private school tuition, allowing parents to take their students out of failing public schools with financial help, though not “at their own expense,” as the Michigan Democratic Party posted.
You don’t need to look very hard to see where the current Democratic Party stands on parents’ roles in schools. From an unflinching opposition to school choice to a disastrous alliance with teachers unions, nearly every decision the Democratic Party makes in education puts parents and students last. The Michigan Democratic Party only made the mistake of admitting the party’s real view of parents in education. No amount of backpedaling is going to change its record.
