A Wakefield mother is fighting back in her daughter’s district, demanding clear answers on how the school handles critical race theory curriculum.
Nicole Solas has reportedly filed over 200 public records requests after the district didn’t answer her questions about the way race and gender are approached in the classroom.
The school board committee members are convinced that the mother’s flood of requests is an intimidation strategy to force gender-inclusive and anti-racism policies out of the district. This is why the school district initially considered taking her to court but has since determined that negotiation is the way to solve the issue.
How did it all happen?
Nicole Solas said that when she enrolled her daughter in kindergarten for the 2021-2022 school year at the South Kingstown School District she distinctly asked if the kids would have any lessons on gender or race.
The principal reportedly told her that they avoid referring to kids as “boys and girls”, using neutral pronouns instead.
“I was also told that they refrain from using gendered terminology in general terms of anti-racism. I was told that kids in kindergarten are asked what could have been done differently at Thanksgiving, and this struck me as a way to shame children,” Solas said for the Fox News.
It was precisely because she wasn’t able to get straight answers that the mother filed several public requests for information.
On Thursday Nicole Solas told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that she will keep asking the school district to divulge the information related to its race-based program.
What was the school district’s reaction?
After the repeated requests, a schoolboard member accused Solas of being “racist.”
“That is a patently false, outrageous, defamatory statement that should be retracted, and the chair of the school committee should resign immediately. This is what they do. They smear people who ask them questions, who disagree with them, and it's just a false accusation of racism that they use to bully you into silence,” the mother said for the news outlet.
“They reduce everyone down to the color of their skin and a human being's worth is more than that,” Solas added.
The mother believes the school district is “stirring up deep trouble” and that all parents should try and find out what kids will be taught inside the classroom.
“I want parents to know that if they are going to get answers from their school district, they need to submit public records requests. This is a way that you can legally compel your school to answer questions so you can know what is being taught. Parents across the country have to start holding their school officials accountable. They are our civil servants. They work for us,” the Wakefield mother pointed out.