If you read nothing else of what I write then you need to only read this: When conservatives fight, we win.
Carroll ISD and its bold leaders on its Board of Trustees have just laid bare what so many of us have known for years. If you stand up to the bully, the bully runs.
A bit of context, first. You may remember national headlines earlier this year like this one from NBC News that read, “Feds find civil rights violations in Southlake, Texas, schools, students’ lawyers say.”
At the time the Department of Education, and its left-wing ideology enforcement arm the Office of Civil Rights, announced an “investigation” into Carroll ISD for alleged violations of federal law regarding race and sexual orientation.
The media treated these allegations as fact to the surprise of absolutely no one. The pressure came commenced and a scene that’s played out hundreds of times, if not more, across the nation began to unfold.
Allegation. Investigation. Capitulation.
But Carroll ISD didn’t capitulate. They didn’t do what the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) and other “grown-ups in the room” regularly suggest: surrender. Carroll ISD treated these allegations and the witch hunt that followed as we all should…with equal force. In fact, Carroll doubled down and sued the Department of Education on their ludicrous Title IX policies while this OCR investigation was open, thus taking the Feds head-on in two fronts simultaneously.
The federal government is not used to encountering force. The mere suggestion of an investigation and the release of “findings” at a later, and never defined, date, scares most school districts and other local entities into mediating a settlement that always involves far-reaching new policies that reinforce the Left’s worldview.
These Maoist Struggle Sessions are not about finding alleged “wrong doers” and punishing them. They’re more about forced acceptance of a federal edict by simple threat.
Again, Carroll ISD did not writher and retreat. They stood up. They asked questions. And most importantly, they demanded that the Office of Civil Rights uphold its end of the bargain: outlining what evidence it believed it had to substantiate wild claims of systemic discrimination.
The result was clear. Full retreat. The feds blustered and flexed. But never delivered on the cold hard facts. And why bother? Countless schools across the country have voluntarily accepted blame and punishment from this entity without even a whimper.
Why? Because it’s easier. It’s easier to agree with the Left and its enforcement arms within our institutions than it is to fight for the truth. But these bullies don’t know how to fight. And even moreover, they don’t want to learn.
Carroll ISD made it plain: put up or shut up. Show us what you think you have so that we can then evaluate their position and negotiate, if necessary, with the feds towards a resolution.
On August 9th, the Office of Civil Rights did what those of us who have encouraged the fight have always known they would: they shut up. Under the guise of “pausing” its investigation, the white flag was raised.
To observers of process, it’s clear. Always resistant to a bad headline, the feds won’t admit they have nothing. Instead, they’ll quietly pause the investigation and quieter still, when everyone’s forgot, they’ll drop it altogether.
When we fight, we win. When we surrender, we lose.
We should look at the bold leadership of Carroll ISD as not an exception but a model. Push back, use force, stand your ground, and defend your institution. The feds are paper tigers who count on fear, and their lackeys in the media and organizations like TASB to force conformity.
Never again.