I live in an absolutely beautiful state. In this state, we have access to any number of outdoor activities and natural wonders that I appreciate. My state is also one of the largest in the union, but with one of the smallest populations. When I take time to scroll through news stories and I see Montana pop up, I always pause to read the content as Montana's history in the national spotlight consists in many memories as the place where the Unibomber hid out and that crazy lady killed her new husband on their honeymoon. People forget about the cool stuff like Jeannette Rankin. This week I have found all kinds of scary stuff coming out about the state legislature, though. Some of it is leaking into the national discourse making us look ridiculous.
Yes, Goat. I'm giving them the side-eye, too.
One that's not quite there at the national level though is the fact that once again the legislature has decided not to fund special education. This should be in the national spotlight since we now have an education secretary who does not believe in the administrative sate of equal protection under the law for students with disabilities to receive a free and appropriate public education. This was part of her statements prior to confirmation, so look it up. One of the favorite arguments is that state and local governments should be deciding and paying for things like this, not the federal government. Well, this is why federal protections were in place--because states won't do it! I teach students with disabilities. My district is facing a shortfall on their budget that might mean cuts in jobs among other things. Follow that line from federal down to my district and it means my students who are already at risk, are at greater risk. What will be left to ensure they receive an education? The answer for some is charter schools, which only help deepen the divide between have and have-nots. In a vast expanse of rural districts, charters aren't practical. They also help to further segregate. Charters help to further push those students out of public school into strip mall schools where they won't count on drop out rates nor will they count against testing measures for a successful school, but according to one source I read today from propublica.com entitled "'Alternative' Education: Using Charter Schools to Hide Dropouts and Game the System" my students might simply be brushed out the door and left to an absolutely horrible stare at computer and never get a high school diploma school. But they'll be gone so other schools will look really good on paper. An increasing number of students with autism are coming through school doors now and what will happen to them under this? Their intelligence, gifts, and needs will be ignored. Rather than bringing them into society, we'll force them back to the institutionalized system of bygone years. It's shameful and I admonish my legislature for being a part of the system to allow it to happen.
Yup, makes me want to throttle someone.
The current legislature is tackling school safety though. They've advanced a bill that would allow concealed carry on school campuses including public elementary schools. I blame DeVos for this, too. That whole grizzly bear comment just added fuel to the stupid debate. We actually did have a bear in a Bozeman school, but you know what? The school's lockdown procedure saved them while wildlife management agencies were able to secure and remove the bear without shots being fired. Yet, the legislature thinks we need weapons on campus in the hands of trained staff. Those heroes will be able to take down an armed intruder no problem in their delusional narrative. Fuck that! How many experts need to tell us that access to guns just means more likelihood of the gun used in an accident? I'm sure any of those parents of toddlers who wound up killing their sibling, cousin, or playmate thought they could manage the firearms, too. But hell! Let's just put them right into a school like mine where early in my teaching career a young person walked in, went to the bathroom, and committed suicide. Seriously? He brought that from home, but if there are guns on campus that aren't in the hands of our School Resource Officer (a policeman who is supposed to be armed) it wouldn't take long for the teenage network to discover who has a gun and where it's kept. Armed civilians won't make it safer for anyone. I for one will feel less safe. I get anxiety when I see people open carry at the pharmacy--I don't want to know my colleagues have guns in their classrooms! When a gun is available, that's where the mind and body reach to resolve conflicts. That's how our high numbers of spousal murder-suicides happen. What in the fuck's sake are these people thinking? The reassuring notion is that our democratic governor is unlikely to pass such rubbish. Oh! And they did opt for concealed carry upon review rather than the initial open carry, but they did say that someone could conceal their weapon even if they don't have a background check or permit. What the actual fuck people?
Me, too. If safety is the goal, none of this makes any sense.
Along with the stupidity of concealed carry in schools, they also saw fit to decide that LGBTQ students don't need protection. This is part of the wider state proposal to include LGBTQ under the non-discrimination clause. I got news for anyone who thinks that LGBTQ individuals are already included--they aren't. The laws that are there currently don't spell it out, and with the whole religious freedom debate, these individuals are at even more risk. The idea that adding LGBTQ specifically somehow opens the door to any minority in the future to be added is a good thing! That is not an argument against as one person from my home city testified. The rights afforded in the Constitution are not absolute--we are supposed to expand and redefine them as our country grows and changes. Well guess what? LGBTQ people have waited long enough. When a former student of my school speaks up and says that she's been told someone "doesn't rent to her kind," that pisses me off. That tells me that without redefining who is protected, people like her and her family will experience that kind of discrimination over and over again. One person in the legislature actually invoked "the will of God" as an argument against expanding non-discrimination to include LGBTQ people. Until all citizens are specifically protected, no one is truly equal. Your religious argument is invalid.
No! Wrong direction. Turn it around!
On a non-education topic, the legislature is also very concerned about abortion rights. We made national news because of the 24 week abortion ban that they advanced and how the application of it also means that doctors would have to resuscitate fetuses. Again, law makers are trying to put in place laws about things they don't seem to grasp. Number one, late-term abortions are exceedingly rare. According to he Huffington Post article, less than 2%. I think that follows with a NARAL article I read as well. When it was pointed out that the lawmaker who introduced this bill was an orthopedist, not an obstetrician, he said he "blushed" too much during that rotation to become an Ob-Gyn. WTH, dude? If you couldn't make it through medical rounds without blushing, maybe you should just step aside and let people who actually understand the way this works concern themselves with reproductive health rights. This bill would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion after 20 weeks for any reason--including harm to both mom and fetus. That's right, if the mom is at risk of dying, the doctor would have to deliver that baby by some means and resuscitate it if needed or face jail time and loss of all rights upon release because he or she has a felony record. Fuck off you fucking fuckers! Again, thankfully we have a democratic governor who is not going to sign that bill when it comes to his desk. I shudder what would happen should we get a GOP in that office though. Our last GOP governor was an embarrassment, but she was an Olympian. No really. Look her up. Judy Martz.
That's right, Red. She was a bonafide dumbass just like these people.
Furthermore, Montana made national news due to our need to replace Ryan Zinke in the house. Since he is likely to join the Tangerine Shart in D.C. as part of the cabinet, our one seat in congress is vacant. Since we had to do a reprint of all the ballots for the November election due to a candidate's untimely demise, our counties are all more than a little poor right now. They have suggested a mail in ballot since that will save considerable money. The head of the MT Republican party though encouraged individuals to vote nay on this idea since Democrats are apparently more engaged with mail-in elections. Can you believe this? He's worried they might lose, so he wants the counties to shell out more money they don't have. How's that for fiscal responsibility? Asshat! The good news is that the MT Senate passed the bill for a mail in election despite his opposition. It's not a for sure thing yet, but at least the Senate rejected the absurdity of the GOP chairman's argument.
That's right, Colbert. Cross your fingers that there's hope.
Ultimately this week in legislative news form MT, the Montana Senate wrapped up early. No. Really. They got so much done last week, that they get to go to break early. While getting shit done is a good thing, when I look at the shit they did, I want to scream. I can only hope that when these lawmakers return home, they also have town-halls like their counterparts in D.C. did and they hear what the students, teachers, parents, LGBTQ community, women, and men, AKA Montanans, think about their job performance so far. I know I'll be sending out some emails and faxes and also making some phone calls. It all starts at the local level, right?
Back to Helena in March.
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