7 Things: Education pros don’t understand why parental rights laws were passed, attacks continue in Alabama’s Senate race and more …

—

April 22, 2022

7. Florida has voted to remove Disney’s self-governing status; Corporations on notice

The state of Florida’s legislature has officially voted to remove Walt Disney World’s self-governing status. This comes after Governor Ron DeSantis (R) advocated for the legislature to consider the move in their redistricting plans.
The change in Florida, if approved by DeSantis, could change tax burdens for Disney as it’s changed The Reedy Creek Improvement Act from 1967. The push to remove the company’s self-governing status came after they said they would challenge the parental rights bill, deemed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, in court.

6. New lawsuit filed in transgender medical treatment case

A new lawsuit has been filed against the “Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act” by the same plaintiffs who previously filed a suit against the legislation but dropped the case after it was to be considered by Trump-appointed Judge Liles Burke.
Burke said the “Plaintiffs’ course of conduct could give the appearance of judge shopping.” Attorney General Steve Marshall stated, “After having demanded emergency relief and then agreed to have their case heard in the Northern District Federal Court, both sets of plaintiffs unexpectedly and inexplicably dismissed their case within nine minutes of each other Friday night. Their actions strongly suggest that they do not, in fact, have an urgent need for emergency relief. It is difficult to come to any other conclusion.”

5. Another Alabama city considers becoming more lax on marijuana

After Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced that he would once again pardon all misdemeanors for simple possession of marijuana in the city, the Huntsville City Council could now consider changing policy to where only tickets are issued for misdemeanor possession.
City attorney Trey Riley advised, “I think the thing this type of arrangement that we’re discussing is designed to combat – to allow that injustice to be corrected, especially when you’re dealing with more minor offenses and offenses that do not involve danger to the public that would necessitate custodial arrest.” If the City Council votes for the change, they would still have to advocate for lawmakers to change current law rather than the change being immediate.

4. Trump won’t be coming to Mobile in July

It’s been announced that the July 9 rally for former President Donald Trump in Mobile has been canceled. This comes after Trump’s expected appearance in Birmingham in June was postponed. The American Freedom Tour said organizers are “planning a country wide tour and will be announcing dates as they become available.”
Further details on the rescheduling of the Birmingham appearance haven’t been given. Trump’s events being canceled brings more questions surrounding his potential endorsement of another candidate in the U.S. Senate race after pulling his endorsement from U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville).

3. Governor Ivey could avoid a runoff

In Governor Kay Ivey’s reelection bid, she’s being challenged by candidates Lindy Blanchard and Tim James, but recent internal polling from the Tarrance Group suggests that Ivey could avoid a runoff in the primary election.
Ivey is currently polling at 57%, while Blanchard sits at 14%, James is at 12%, and another 17% of people claim to be undecided. The poll also showed that 54% of “extremely conservative” voters support Ivey, and Ivey has a 77% job performance approval.

2. More attacks from Durant and Britt camps; Mo Brooks must enjoy this

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa)/Katie Britt super-fan Steve Flowers, a former legislator and no-show employee at the University of Alabama, has penned an attack piece on U.S. Senate candidate Mike Durant. The crux of the piece is that no one knows what Durant believes, which has some merit, but the attack is personal, strange and filled with innuendo. It is believed it is being shared as a photo of a newspaper column and not a link to a reputable outlet because the column appears in very few actual places, and they want it to appear as a widely-read newspaper piece.
The new attack on Britt includes references to deleted social media posts from Britt and her husband Wesley that show support for Black Lives Matter, a trip to China and support for Shelby. Sean Ross, from the Britt campaign, responded by pointing out that Durant’s image appears in an attack ad for “The Lincoln Project” and Durant never asked for it to be removed from social media.

1. Decatur superintendent says new laws unneccessary

Decatur superintendent Michael Douglas recently indicated that new laws passed by the state legislature that apply to LGBTQ teachings in schools are unnecessary. One of the laws requires that students only use bathrooms that correspond with their birth gender, and the other requires schools to inform parents of “information related to a minor’s perception that his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with his or her sex.”
Douglas said when it comes to the issue of bathrooms, “We haven’t had a big issue with that. Generally, we have separate bathrooms that are multi-gender, so we were already accommodating those students either way.” With other issues related to new laws, Douglas said, “[H]ow do you address something that you’ve never done and that’s never been a problem? Are we passing legislation for political reasons? We’ve never dealt with it and it’s almost like we’re addressing a problem that never existed.”