Tallahassee Reports has learned that the principal of Montford Middle School, Lewis Blessing, will facilitate a planned student protest this Friday related to the Parental Rights in Education bill that was recently signed into law by Governor DeSantis.
The bill requires school officials to notify parents when counseling students on sensitive issues and limits instruction on gender identity for K-3grades.
TR has obtained an email (provided below) from Blessing sent to the Montford faculty which states that “It has come to our attention we have some students planning a walkout this Friday in protest of the Parental Rights in Education bill…”
In the email, Blessing informs teachers that “We will treat this as we treated the anti-gun violence walkout from a few years ago. We will let the students leave class and go out to the PE fields after an allotted amount of time, bring them back to class..”
One of the concerns voiced by parents who contacted TR about the protest is the impact on students that choose not to participate. Will these students be subject to the “Don’t Say Gay” rhetoric adopted by those who oppose the bill.
In addition, how will teachers address the situation in their classroom. Is there an approved response by the school district?
TR has asked for a comment from the Leon County school district and will update our report when it is provided.
Montford Middle School Principal to Facilitate Student Protest Over Parental Rights Bill added by Steve Stewart on
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Lewis Blessing is no ‘blessing’ whatsoever. He is an extremist liberal and dislikes those who have even the slightest conservative view about anything. He started all this foolishness by not making the right decision. It’s time for Rocky to move him from his throne and place him in a struggling school or in the principals’ prison at the District office. He’s been at MMS way too long. It’s time for someone who actually likes children to lead MMS. Get him out!!!
@Teacher
Thanks, Teach, 😉
So that protest would be on April Fool’s day? Very very appropriate, as its a day or foolishness.
Anonymous,
I support your right to protest and free speech as I am sure you support my right to counter protest and speak against your talking points.
THE Masks were a perfect cover to scare people to get them to conform and once we woke up to this we started to fight against the mandate. Cotton, Surgical, n95 kn95 etc masks cannot stop a virus. If they can then why do the CDC lab techs were full protection gear including a pressure suit when handling the viruses? Because they know that is the only way to protect yourself from exposure. Yes the mask may have made you feel safer but that is a false sense of safety. Sadly our superintendent did nothing but follow the democratic talking points on masks ignoring science and the LAW along with scientific data handed to the school board by parents certified in PPE proving the masks don’t provide any protection. Those plexiglass shields you see all over someone got rich selling that garbage as providing protection from the virus ? and people, schools and business all bought it, Common sense should have easily seen that scam.
How did you protect yourself from the flu season in 18, 19, 20, 21, 22? No masks and we came thru it fine. Yes people get the flu it’s a virus and mask won’t stop it either.
Gun control, what exactly is your concern? Law abiding citizens legally owing them or the fact that when a crime is committed with a gun it’s the guns fault and we need to prevent guns from being sold. Remember CRIMINALS WILL NEVER FOLLOW THE LAW.
Last time I checked these tragedies happen when a criminal or mentally ill person pulls the trigger. The gun doesn’t go off on its own. LAW abiding citizens owning guns is what give this great country safety and security. When you take guns away from law abiding citizens you then are at the mercy of a tyranical government. You and I enjoy our right to freedom of speech and protest due to the 2nd ammendment. Why do you think Ukrane is against being disarmed as a condition to end the war? Without guns Ukraine would have already fallen instead guns have allowed their citizens to fight to maintain their freedom. Don’t think this could happen to the USA, take all the guns away from citizens and tell me how long our right to free speech and protest will last??
@DavidB
Cite is the correct spelling
Y’all parents need to chill out, they are 7th graders exercising their legal rights…
@ Cogent Observer : Yes, even Children have 1st Amendment Rights.
@ Anonymous : Every Bill Passed sets precedent for more restrictive rights. This Bill needed to be Passed. Any Parent or Student that is against this Bill worries me. I think I understand what you are trying to do, you’re saying the Protest is not about what the Bill IS but what Legalese can lead to in the future for other Rights, I get that. When you protest, you’ve chosen a Side, even with this Protest. If you are against HOW the Bill is written, that is what you should Protest. Protest to have the Bills written so you do not have to hire an Attorney to explain it. Protest to have the Bill written so it only cover ONE Item and have no Earmarks or Pork included and no Loop Holes. I also get what Mr. Blessing is doing. By allowing you to Protest on School Property, he still has control of it and his Problems are now minimized.
Hello.
I made reference to the Tinker V. Des Moines Supreme Court case due to the fact that the case is taught in the 7th grade curriculum, and is pertinent to the current topic. And in all truthfulness, parents have less time than students do. And if it all seemed as though I was lecturing any individual that was most certainly not my intent, and I apologize if I conducted the statement in a manner that would imply as much.
By referring to current issues I am referring to the topics of gun control & somewhat to mask mandates. That is all I was referring to.
Best of regards.
@Anonymous Montford Student.
An eighth grade wrote that, and sited Tinker V. Des Moines?
How do you EVER have time for social justice?
Nice try, parent. Try not coaching so much next time.
I do not believe that middle school students would come up with all of this on their own. If they did, the the Left has succeed in shifting student focus from academic to social justice, and society if heading for the toilet.
Some adult kicked this off somewhere.
Hello, i am one of the students that protested during the event. We were exercising our first amendment right, and i would ask the people calling us puppets of the school and liberal wokists to chill out please.
Everybody that is hating be freaking adults and let children know how it feels to have rights.sit back and learn. Respectfully. Mr.Blessing is giving them experience.. <3
Care to expand on present issues in your community that you are protesting? This bill isnt stopping you from choosing to be confused about your biology nor your right to free speech.
It is stopping a woke sick agenda in the schools pushing sexuality on children.
A child in K thru 3 has no clue about sexuality nor should they understand their brains are still developing.
If any discussions are to occur that is a family matter, not a school matter and the school has no business pushing that agenda on innocent kids.
Sad to say that your community wants to be the loudest and shut down others who disagree with your community and ideology.
One fact your community can never change is biologically you are male or female, no matter how hard you try to transition or surgeries you have you cannot change chromosomes.
Anonymous student care to expand on present issues in community other than confusion. This bill isnt stopping you from choosing to be confused about your biology nor your right to free speech. It is stopping a woke sick agenda in the schools pushing sexuality on children.
A child in K thru 3 has no clue about sexuality nor should they. If any discussions are to occur that is a family matter, not a school matter and the school has no business pushing that agenda on innocent kids. Sad to say that your community wants to be the loudest so you can try and be relevant. One fact your community can never change is biologically you are male or female.
Children do not have First Amendment rights during school hours.
Rocky’s lazy way out of being responsable for his position as Superintendant is to allow principals to run each school as their little autonomus kingdoms. “Hey not MY fault” says Rocky.
This is a very lazy and dangerous way to run the business of education or any business for that matter.
Our kids need an experienced administrator who did not “come up in the system” one who will not appoint his buddy buddies he “came up in the system with” to positions of power.
Any retired government administrators out there who want to get up off your lazy boy recliner and make a needed contribution to our kids? Former school board/teachers need not apply.
You dont need an education background to make a 100% improvement to Hanna’s $hit show. Ppl
@David T. Hawkins
Greetings. I am a student at Montford Middle School that has been involved in the protests that are planned to occur tomorrow. I would like to preface by saying these protests are student led, and while Mr. Blessing did state that we would not be punished for exercising our right to protest, he was not directly involved in either the creation of the idea of the walkout nor the facilitation of said walkout (no faculty members were). Students were not pressured to join, students are not pressured to express any one view, and the idea to hold the walkout was entirely student composed.
We are protesting the bill since it sets precedent for more restrictive rights involving discussion of present issues regarding the LGBTQ+ community. We are not advocating for any one political ideology, instead advocating for the protection of the 1st Amendment (precedent for use of 1st Amendment in schools established by Tinker V. Des Moines). I’m sure there are several if not many students that would be happy to discuss their side to both Tallahassee Reports and/or the Tallahassee Democrat, as a free & fair media is crucial to maintaining our democracy and preventing misinformation from being spread. And in the planning of the protest, the leaders of the movement have read over the bill countless times to truly identify and discuss the ramifications of both the bill and its counter movement.
I hope I was of some assistance in this statement. Best of regards.
There is absolutely no child from that school that gives a rats ass about any of this. It’s all about the liberal parents. Thank you for subjecting our children to your ideological indoctrination of your ridiculous left-wing communism.
@ Ken …… Yes, the 1st Amendment IS extremely important and it is a RIGHT we can not afford to lose. I would really like to hear from some of those Students Protesting on WHY they are against this Bill? It is about protecting Toddlers.
PS: Steve Stewart, THIS would make a GREAT follow up, Interview some of those Students.
The fact that students want to exercise their firts amendment rights should be an event that we should all celebrate. We should also support an educator that is willing to refuse to allow supression of those students rights.
To call out Mr. Blessing, for his support of his students rights is an anathema.
You can’t have it both ways and expect someone to only support Free Speach when it agrees with your position.
Free speech, is,Free speech, and i Fully support Mr. Blessing’s position to not restrict it
ken Mccracken
I’ll ask it again, and everyone should be asking… Why are Democrats, teacher unions, and taxpayer funded public school personnel obsessed with children’s sexuality and protecting pedophiles?
It’s obvious that critical thinking and reading for information is just so “yesterday.”
These kids will, at some point, grow out of their impressionable behaviors, look back on this and know that the activist educators lied to them. Played them for their own ends. Child abuse. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Should we question those parents who are for this walkout and against the bill? Just a thought. 🙂
Thinking because it’s school property non-students would not be welcome to participate… But let it be known, I encourage student activism and those parents who wish to punish this activity are missing the point!
All of them have to go. If you are on the school board right now, you should start looking for a job. Personally, I wouldn’t hire any of you to deliver a pizza…
That isn’t “facilitating”: that is proactively acknowledging reality in an effort to recognize the constitutional rights of students (if teachers/staff are involved in this at school, that seems pretty close to, if not violating the law). (I do worry about both those who walk and those who don’t —- for the potential back lash against both positions playing out at school.)
I trust those participating will have an unexcused absence and not be able to participate in the end of the year trips and activities that students who do not have perfect behavior are banned from. (Students do need to know that protesting does have consequences and they need to be willing to accept those, as part of standing for or against something. And if the protesters do not receive the same consequence that anyone else who skips schools or otherwise violates school rules gets in not being trusted to represent the school on those trips/activities.) I would hope that the principal announces that over the intercom so that students can decide whether they are or aren’t part of it.
you have the email address, please send an email with your thoughts. Here is another important address hannar@leonschools.net. Several parents from the Leon County Parents for Liberty group have already contacted the principal with their thoughts. Just be respectful if you wish to be heard.
and if you haven’t request information from LCSB here is a sample of the one I used to get lot of information about what was going on.
https://github.com/GovInteg/Notices.Affidavits/blob/main/States/FL/LeonCOo/LCBS.Records.Request.pdf
Principle Blessing (and others) have been promoting his liberal agenda for years, and the “woke” school board & Rocky let the fraction of students push lib views on the kids that want to actually learn reading writing and arithmetic. Absurd – and nothing will be done.
Each para-protester (student) should write, then read out loud, an essay, citing the exact provisions of the new law, justifying their objections to the language and provide grounds for their opposition. Then, define sexual orientation and give legal grounds for their determination that school faculty are the best at providing them guidance and information on their so-called identity.
Then, take a nap.
Y’all are crazy. People commenting are just as weak as the far left. SMH
The whole pro-LGBT crowd are useful idiots (as Stalin would say) to the Marxists.
If the students want to be rebellious, which most do, they should rebel against the constant LGBT brainwashing and manipulation that they are subjected to.
Of course, this would require them to be taught how to think and not what to think.
Lets have our kids counter protest and every student walkout of class and off campus. “The law abiding students have rights too counter protest and support the bill” We will call this the support the 2nd amendment walkout.
WHY would High Schoolers be against this Bill? It is about protecting Toddlers. The organizers and the Principal should be Suspended.
The principal could show leadership and say no…
I bet it is just an excuse to get out of class. The principal should be fired for condoning the action. This is an example showing our school system is run by immoral liberals.
The students should be required to read the bill before they protest.