Rantz: Teacher gives students script to send lawmakers to oppose in-person voting bill
Feb 2, 2025, 6:54 PM
Fort Vancouver High School in Vancouver, Washington, can be seen in a recent photo. The two inset images were screenshots of a teacher offering school credit to reach out to a state representative captured by a district parent. (High school photo courtesy of Vancouver Public Schools; screenshots courtesy of @Mac86C16860 on X)
(High school photo courtesy of Vancouver Public Schools; screenshots courtesy of @Mac86C16860 on X)
A teacher at Fort Vancouver High School Center for International Studies, in Vancouver, Washington, offered students an extra credit assignment to contact Washington lawmakers and oppose a House Bill 1584 (HB 1584), according to a parent. The teacher even offered students a script to send.
HB 1584 would end Washington’s vote-by-mail system for non-absentee voters and restoring in-person voting at polling places. It has long been the desire of Republicans to return to what they feel is a more secure election system.
A screenshot of the assignment was posted to X by a concerned parent of a child in the class. The assignment says, “As a future voter, it is your right and civic duty to participate in local elections. Part of that is telling your representatives how you would like them to vote on certain Bills for state or federal laws.”
But the teacher seemingly did not want students to tell lawmakers their own views. The teacher wanted her students to write to lawmakers to parrot her views.
“Below is a script. If you contact your representatives and would like to ask them to maintain the right to vote by mal, use the script below!” the teacher said, per the screenshot. It includes a link to the representatives of the district where the school resides.
The script is: “My name is (Name) and I am a student in Vancouver, Washington. I am calling to ask you to reject House Bill 1584. Please keep my future right to be able to vote by mail.” (It’s unclear what the last sentence actually means.)
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Vancouver Public Schools finally responds
After six requests for comment, Vancouver Public Schools finally provided a statement to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.
“We have the expectation that staff should offer a balanced, objective presentation when controversial or political issues are included as part of the instructional curriculum. Such topics should directly relate to the pertinent learning standards and teachers should provide students the opportunity to critically explore all sides of the issues. When those expectations are not met, we do take corrective action as part of our progressive discipline process,” Jessica Roberts, a spokesperson, emailed.
The spokesperson did not directly answer any question that was posed, including how often these assignments are provided and whether or not the district finds this inappropriate. The statement is sufficiently vague enough that you can assume the teacher will face discipline, but only if the school district finds this assignment lacks balance. The district seems unwilling to take a stance on whether or not they think it does.
The teacher needs to file with the Public Disclosure Commission and report on their grass-roots lobbying efforts. https://t.co/W58sqiXGEP
— Brad Tower (@brad_tower) January 30, 2025
This political assignment is beyond inappropriate
To say this school assignment was inappropriate is an understatement. It was a blatant abuse of power.
This teacher wasn’t just introducing a political viewpoint — she was using students as pawns to push her own agenda. It wasn’t about encouraging critical thinking; it was about coercing students into parroting her beliefs. And if this is what made its way to parents, it raises serious concerns about what else is happening in that classroom behind closed doors.
Vancouver Public Schools doesn’t appear to be taking this seriously. Their statement doesn’t even explicitly condemn the assignment. That’s not just a failure to communicate their stance clearly — it suggests they don’t see anything wrong with it.
Why is it so hard for them to say, unequivocally, that this was unacceptable? Their reluctance to be direct makes one thing clear: this won’t be the last time something like this happens.
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