More And More Schools Not Showing Obama’s Stay-In-School Speech

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It’s become clear that as President Obama delivers his speech on staying in school, a whole lot of schools won’t be showing it.

As we noted before, some local groups are organizing in favor of the speech, and opposing school officials who have decided not to show it. Most schools are doing the sensible thing and allowing parents who object to their kids seeing a speech by that evil socialist dictator to opt out. But some aren’t showing it at all.

Here’s just a small sampling of some more schools and school districts that won’t be showing the speech, available after the jump.

• In Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Collins High School principal Mark Eversole sent out an e-mail announcing that the video will not be shown in school, after the local district left the decision up to each school. “I have received a number of calls opposed to the viewing based on several issues,” Eversole wrote in the e-mail. “I do not make this decision based on any political views, but rather there are alternative options.”

• In Berthoud, Colorado, Berthoud Elementary and Turner Middle School will not be showing the speech. Turner principal Bill Siebers said in a note sent home to parents: “Teachers would like to view the speech and possibly show it at another time with educational purpose and support of curriculum. If the speech is shown in class after September 8th, teachers will send a letter home to parents.”

• In Prescott, Arizona, Superintendent Kevin J. Kapp sent out this notice: “As the superintendent of schools, I am not comfortable with school district resources being used for this purpose; therefore Prescott Unified School District will not carry the speech either via television or via computers in our schools.”

• Also in Arizona, at least three more school districts won’t be showing the video: Bullhead City, Mohave Valley, and the Colorado River Union High School District. “If a government class or current events class decides to show the video at a later date, opt out forms will be sent home to the parents with the time and date of the video being shown in class,” said one administrator

• In Nixa, Missouri, a Republican stronghold, the local school district opted to not show the video after local conservative bloggers and a talk-radio host made it a cause célèbre.

• Schools won’t be showing the speech in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District, Pennsylvania. Said an administrator: “We will not broadcast the speech live in our schools, based on the timing of the speech, and we want to let teachers review the speech first to see if it fits into their curriculum.”

• Also in Pennsylvania, the North Penn School District won’t be showing the video, saying that there was not enough time to give parents proper notice.

• In the Alamance-Burlington school district, North Carolina, some schools are opting to show the video — but only if students have a signed permission slip from their parents. Students without a signed slip will be given an “appropriate education alternative” during the speech. So these schools are going beyond giving conservative parents the ability to opt out — everyone else has to opt in.

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