YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → Parent Alert: Whose Kids Are They, Anyway?

Parent Alert: Whose Kids Are They, Anyway? — Transcript

by PragerU · 7,877 words · 1,282 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00Whose kids are they anyways? Well,
0:03you'll be encouraged to learn the answer
0:05right now on Parent Alert.
0:10Jill Simonian from PragerU Kids here.
0:12Welcome to Parent Alert. If you haven't
0:15already, friendly reminder to subscribe
0:18to pragerukids.com for free for all the
0:20resources you need to raise and educate
0:22kids about good character, history, our
0:25values, and the ideals of freedom that
0:28America is anchored in. Okay, you might
0:31be watching this live today on Facebook,
0:33YouTube, Instagram, and X. Later this
0:35episode is going to be on prageru.com,
0:37but before you go anywhere right now,
0:39drop me a comment. Tell me where you're
0:40watching from because we're in the belly
0:42of the beast of California and we want
0:44to know. So,
0:46today,
0:47we've had a lot of progress with
0:49parental rights these last few years,
0:51and the most recent one, of course, in
0:53March with Mirabelle versus Bonta. If
0:57you remember that case, if you don't
0:58know that case, go and look it up right
0:59now. It's an important one. But, with
1:02the return of back-to-school season
1:04happening now, of course, many parents
1:07still feel very helpless about how
1:11overreaching some school districts have
1:13become. I know that I am one of those
1:16parents who continues to feel helpless.
1:18I'm not despairing, but I do feel
1:20helpless many, many times. School
1:22districts and teachers unions are just
1:24not giving up
1:27their baseline philosophy of
1:30overreaching and implementing these
1:33these very overreaching directives that
1:36pretty much assault religious beliefs
1:38and parental authority.
1:41Take a look at the American Federation
1:42of Teachers and the National Education
1:44Association's
1:46resolutions this summer. You will see
1:48very quickly what I'm talking about in
1:50the most shocking and disappointing way.
1:52So, today, what we're going to do is
1:54we're going to share a vintage episode
1:57of Parent Alert from 2024.
2:00I know that seems like so long ago, but
2:01stick with me here. This was a
2:03conversation with Brad Dacus, founder of
2:06Pacific Justice Institute, which is a
2:08law firm that specializes in defending
2:10and protecting parental rights. So, with
2:14this conversation that I'm about to
2:16share right now, and I want you guys to
2:17comment along as you're watching or
2:19listening in real time, I hope this
2:22really encourages you and fortifies all
2:25of us with truth that we can stand tall
2:28with as we go deeper and deeper into
2:31this school year. So, enjoy this
2:33re-release
2:35clarifying
2:37all sorts of things, and of course
2:39arming us all with facts and tips for
2:43whose kids are they anyways.
2:47Just in time for this back-to-school
2:48season, I thought it would be helpful
2:51for all of us parents and teachers and
2:53grandparents and caregivers to really
2:55get informed and educated about what our
2:58rights as parents and caregivers
3:01actually are in this time where parental
3:05rights are being stripped away. And I
3:07couldn't think of any better person to
3:09talk about this with than Brad Dacus,
3:12attorney president of Pacific Justice
3:15Institute. You're the president founder
3:17of Pacific Justice Institute. You're a
3:19nonprofit law firm. So, are you ready to
3:21have the big talk today?
3:23>> I'm ready.
3:24>> Good. [laughter]
3:25I'm calling this a parent-to-parent talk
3:27because you are a parent, your children
3:29are grown and older, but today I really
3:31just want to tackle
3:33um
3:34things like what rights we have as
3:36parents, um compelled speech, mandates.
3:39Do us parents have any kind of recourse
3:42with all of these overreaching laws and
3:44directives that we see happening not
3:46only in California, but of course across
3:47the country, and you deal with all of
3:49that. So, before we begin, I'm hoping
3:52that you can share a little bit about
3:54Pacific Justice Institute and the
3:57wonderful work that you do
3:59um
4:00before we get into the conversation.
4:02>> Uh certainly. Um I founded Pacific
4:04Justice Institute uh by the grace of God
4:07uh with the help of former US Attorney
4:09General Ed Meese back in 1997.
4:12And I you know, at the time I you know,
4:15it was just right at the very beginning
4:17had a secretary, uh free office space
4:21and if I didn't uh if it wasn't up and
4:22running in 3 months, I was going to shut
4:24it down.
4:25>> [laughter]
4:25>> Uh I had a lot of conditions for to to
4:27God to make this thing work and he came
4:29through on all of it.
4:31Fast forward, we now have uh offices in
4:3430 states coast to coast.
4:37Um all our office space is donated.
4:39>> Wow.
4:39>> Uh we uh have uh a a a team of attorneys
4:43all across the country uh in those
4:45offices defending religious freedom,
4:47parents' rights against the government,
4:49the sanctity of human life
4:51all without charge. And what makes us so
4:52unique uh Jill, I think the most is that
4:55um we're very broad, but also we work
4:58hard to make sure that everyone gets
4:59help. So, we don't just cherry-pick a
5:01few high-profile cases. Uh we don't
5:04operate as a business. We have more of a
5:05ministry heart. We want to make sure
5:07that uh that no family is left behind,
5:09no church is left behind, or synagogue
5:11left behind. That's what we do uh to
5:13make a real difference. Right now, as we
5:16speak, we have 265
5:18cases in active litigation. And some of
5:20those are representing, you know,
5:22hundreds of plaintiffs at one time, just
5:24one case. So, uh we're very busy and we
5:27do all our work without charge. And uh
5:30we also have great resources as well
5:32that are also without charge. I know
5:34we're going to talk about a few of them
5:35that are going to uh really please a lot
5:37of people who are listening to the show.
5:38>> And they're all like you said, they're
5:40all free, they're on your website. In
5:41fact, we've linked to some of those
5:43resources before, including the
5:45customized opt-out form for parents with
5:47kids in schools. but we're going to get
5:49to that. We're going to get to that. Uh
5:51let's talk about let's just open this
5:53conversation about parental rights.
5:55We've seen laws passed in California
5:57recently, AB 1955. Of course, there are
5:59other ones. I look at all of these
6:02different directives that are trying to
6:05oust parents from schools. And as
6:07someone who is not an attorney, um but
6:10you know, I I am fascinated with the
6:12First Amendment. I always look at our US
6:15Constitution and say, "Oh no, our US
6:17Constitution supersedes all of these
6:18things." Because I don't know anything.
6:20So, for our parents and teachers who are
6:23watching this,
6:24do we have any parental rights left that
6:28are legally protected? How does the
6:30hierarchy of all of these things work?
6:32>> Yeah, we do. Uh we definitely do. And
6:34you're actually correct, Jill, in that
6:35the the Constitution um it is recognized
6:38to give parents uh to recognize uh
6:41fundamental rights of parents over their
6:42children. Uh Meyer vs. Nebraska, Pierce
6:45vs. Society of Sisters, Wisconsin vs.
6:47Yoder. These These are cases that are
6:49about 100 years old. Established case
6:51law where they recognize that parents
6:53have a an inherent fundamental right
6:56over the education of their children,
6:58the religious moral instruction, the
6:59health and welfare of their children,
7:01the upbringing of their children.
7:02Clearly established. And so, we we have
7:05already from the starting gate solid
7:08protection in case law
7:10from the
7:11case law of the Constitution and
7:13interpreting uh the Constitution to
7:15recognize the rights of parents. So,
7:17that's that's the good news.
7:18>> Okay.
7:18>> And in addition, we have I think
7:21probably the most parental rights
7:23respective Supreme Court in our history.
7:27Thanks to the three Supreme Court
7:28Justices appointed by former President
7:31Donald Trump. Politics aside, um
7:34irrespective of how people are deciding
7:36they want to vote in November,
7:38I cannot uh
7:39even talk about this without giving him
7:42accolades of thanks and appreciation
7:45for the kind of judges we have which
7:47give parents a fighting chance in the
7:49United States today when it comes to
7:51challenges over their children.
7:53>> So then I have to ask, my next question
7:56is if these rights are already
7:58protected, then how are states like
8:01California getting away with passing
8:03things like AB 1955 that prohibits
8:06teachers from informing parents if their
8:08child requests a pronoun or a restroom
8:11change at school?
8:12>> Well, first off California um has a
8:14reputation of passing laws that are
8:16unconstitutional.
8:17>> Okay, not surprising.
8:19>> Yeah, we've had to take them to the
8:20Supreme Court more than once uh to get
8:23state laws struck down as
8:24unconstitutional or our governor edicts
8:27struck down. Uh we've had to do that
8:29when they shut down all the churches and
8:30synagogues, we had to go to Supreme
8:32Court uh to give an order
8:35to order the churches and synagogues be
8:37opened up again. Uh when the state told
8:39pro-life clinics that they had to have a
8:41large sign in the waiting room telling
8:43women where they can get a free or
8:44low-cost abortion,
8:46we took that Supreme Court, others filed
8:48suit afterwards, Supreme Court struck
8:50that down. So, that's one thing we need
8:52to understand. Just because it becomes
8:53law in California
8:55doesn't mean they really thought about
8:57it. Doesn't mean if that they really uh
9:00took the Constitution seriously. Uh
9:02they're very radical, very leftist uh in
9:05Sacramento. So, we have to challenge
9:07this. We're already challenging
9:09something similar to that in uh New
9:10Jersey out of our Trenton, New Jersey
9:12office. The Attorney General of New
9:14Jersey, Jill,
9:15he came out and said
9:18said teachers, all public school
9:19teachers,
9:21must use pronouns that affirm a child's
9:25gender confusion uh irrespective of the
9:28conscience of the teacher. Now, what
9:30teacher with any kind of love for
9:32children is going to want to knowingly
9:34encourage confusion in any child, much
9:37less confusion that statistically we now
9:40know results in a suicide rate 12 times
9:44greater than the average child. No
9:46reasonable teacher would want to do
9:47that. But the Attorney General goes
9:48farther and says, "Not only that,
9:51but teachers, you have to be willing to
9:53lie to parents, cover up
9:56if a child has gender confusion. If a If
9:58a parent asks you, lie."
10:00Uh even if you're using a different name
10:02for the child, when it's uh time for
10:04open house and parents are there,
10:07you know, use the child's name that the
10:08parents call the child,
10:10but otherwise,
10:11use the other name and lie to parents,
10:13cover it up, hide it.
10:15This is an egregious violation of
10:17parental rights.
10:18Uh when a school district deliberately
10:21and knowingly hides information, and
10:23they have no basis to do so.
10:26I once talked to a a principal of a high
10:28school here in Southern California. I'll
10:30keep it that generic.
10:32Uh he told me, he says, "Well, you know,
10:34the policy of the state is that you
10:36know, we have to have the school
10:38counselor help uh the child uh you know,
10:41to affirm affirm the child's gender
10:43confusion." And I said, "What about the
10:45parents?" He says, "Well, we keep the
10:46parents out of it." I says, "Why?" He
10:49says, "Well, you know, the parents may
10:50not understand and they may be hostile.
10:53They They may be violent or dangerous to
10:55students." I said, "What And what do you
10:56base this on?" "Well, what the what the
10:57the teenager tells us."
10:59>> Mhm. Right.
11:00>> So,
11:01you know, we've had teen I've had
11:02teenagers, you know.
11:03>> Right.
11:03>> This is insane. And so, parents need to
11:07know what their rights are because we
11:09cannot trust public schools, the
11:11principals,
11:12uh even the teachers as a general rule.
11:15>> So, say uh it
11:17obviously this this law is is now going
11:19into effect in California to keep
11:21secrets from parents, to require that
11:23teachers keep secrets from parents. Say
11:26that there's a teacher who doesn't
11:27believe in any of this and says, "Well,
11:29I'm not going to do any of this. I am
11:31going to do what is right and true, yet
11:34that teacher fears that they will lose
11:37their job. So, is there
11:40Is there validity in that? I mean, can't
11:43I'm I'm I'm assuming that the school can
11:44in fact fire the teacher.
11:47>> Well, they can, but they're going to be
11:48sued by Pacific Justice Institute
11:50probably. Cuz that's
11:51Cuz that's exactly what we've done. Now,
11:54what we would encourage teachers to do
11:56in those circumstances, and
11:57unfortunately it's not a hypothetical,
11:58it's it's very real and it's it's
12:00becoming more and more rampant across
12:02the country, particularly in blue states
12:04unfortunately.
12:05Uh we advised teachers to first in
12:09writing
12:10let the school district know, the
12:11principal know, if if they're confronted
12:13with doing something that violates their
12:14conscience like affirming a pronoun or
12:16something like that.
12:17Say, I have sincere religious beliefs
12:19and convictions against doing this.
12:22Um site Bible verses, always site Bible
12:24verses. Uh that's like an ironclad
12:26guarantee. It's like kryptonite against
12:28the other side. They cannot uh
12:30in any way
12:32debate your sincerity of religious
12:33beliefs when you site scriptures as a
12:34general rule.
12:36Site that, explain that, and then also
12:38say how I would be willing to to meet
12:41with you to talk about how we can
12:42mitigate and work this out uh for for
12:45the benefit of all concerned.
12:47So, that's one way of dealing with it.
12:49And then under Title VII, they're
12:50required to meet with the teacher and
12:52try to work it out. Like for example, we
12:53encourage teachers, this is what we've
12:55done before, to say, look, offer to
12:58to not use um
13:00first names.
13:02Uh to say the child says, I assist you
13:03use the alternative gender name.
13:06Instead, say, you know what? Kids,
13:09uh in the real world, you're often
13:10referred to as your last name. I'm going
13:11to do something different. I'm going to
13:13refer all of you to your last by your
13:14last name.
13:16That's mitigating. Um but unfortunately
13:19these left-wing zealous teachers unions
13:21and a lot of school districts say, oh
13:22no, no. You must say the first name of
13:25the child. There's no room here for for
13:27tolerance or mitigation of your
13:28religious beliefs.
13:30Um that just makes the case all the
13:31better for the teacher and for us to
13:33represent them.
13:34>> Yeah, because at what point does a
13:35directive like that
13:38at what point is it considered compelled
13:40speech? I mean, aren't we you know, as
13:41Americans aren't we against compelled
13:43speech? Or are we is that out the window
13:46now?
13:47>> Yeah, you know, that is exactly what it
13:49is. It's compelled speech. Uh in
13:51addition
13:52parents uh they don't they generally
13:54want to know what's going on.
13:56So, if you have a friendly school
13:57district
13:58uh that school district can uh you know,
14:01teachers uh can uh allow parents uh to
14:04have information.
14:06Uh they can't have a policy as a school
14:08board under 1955
14:10uh saying uh you know, teachers cannot
14:13hide things from parents. They can't put
14:15that edict down. They have to give the
14:16teacher the ability to lie to parents
14:19and hide things from parents.
14:21And they have that teacher will have
14:22total immunity. However, school
14:25districts can allow teachers to be
14:27honest with parents. Uh that's still a
14:29possibility.
14:30So, teachers who are reasonable
14:34uh they can go out of their way and say
14:35to the child, "You know what? Um
14:38before I you know, refer to that, um I'm
14:40going to need to talk to your parents
14:41and see if that's what they prefer for
14:43you. Um in addition,
14:45um you know, we we you can have a policy
14:48that you know, says uh look, I I call
14:50you by how you're registered. So, if you
14:52or your parents want to re-register you
14:54with this different name um perhaps uh
14:57showing your a new birth certificate,
14:58changed birth certificate with your
15:00name, I'll totally respect that, but I I
15:02legally have to to go by the name that
15:04I'm given here by the school district.
15:07And so, therefore, I'll be happy to work
15:08with your parents." Some school
15:10districts will be amiable to that and
15:12work with teachers, others
15:14will not, like the LA Unified, the San
15:16Francisco Unified. And uh we we stand
15:18ready to to go to bat for teachers for
15:20those school districts not willing to to
15:22compromise and be accommodating towards
15:24uh teachers not wanting to be compelled
15:26to say something that violates our
15:28conscience and what they believe.
15:29>> What is your response to parents and
15:33teachers for that matter across the
15:35country outside of California that say,
15:38"Oh, no, that's happening in California
15:42and in New York. That's not happening
15:44here in Kansas or Wyoming or Georgia or
15:47any place."
15:48>> Yeah, the sad truth is that's how a lot
15:51of parents are thinking. In fact, a lot
15:52of people are moving to states like
15:54Texas and Florida and Tennessee saying,
15:56"Oh, we're safe."
15:58No, they're not safe. Uh the Nashville
16:01City of Nashville School District
16:03Dallas, Austin
16:05Houston Uh these are school districts
16:08that uh are very problematic. Um they're
16:12dominated by the uh Board of Education.
16:14They are the the school boards are
16:15dominated by teacher union puppets, not
16:18people who are put there by parents, but
16:20by the teachers union. Teachers union is
16:23not just liberal, they're leftist.
16:25And they're putting in all kinds of
16:27horrific indoctrination material. Fort
16:30Worth People say, "Well, Fort Worth,
16:32that's a that's a conservative city, one
16:34of the most conservative large cities in
16:35the country." Really? Well, their school
16:37district adopted some of the same
16:40radical LGBTQ curriculum material that
16:43is being pushed here in California.
16:46Parents can take nothing for granted.
16:47Just cuz they live in a red state
16:49doesn't mean they're safe. Just because
16:51they live in a small town doesn't mean
16:53there's not going to be a teacher there
16:55uh that's that's going rogue even from
16:57the overall uh
16:59direction of the school board or the
17:01superintendent.
17:01>> Sure. I'm curious if you can offer
17:05insight about what education codes are.
17:09Every state has a different set of ed
17:12codes, as we say. And and I've gone
17:14through California's ed code, and I've
17:16looked at all of the things it outlines
17:18about what kinds of rights I have as a
17:20parent and I think, "Oh, this is fine.
17:23The California Ed Code says that I have
17:25a right to be involved in policy at the
17:28school and it says I have a right to uh
17:30you know, volunteer at the school." But
17:32but do those Ed Codes have any meaning
17:35left when laws and directives are
17:36passed?
17:37>> Yeah, I generally speaking they do have
17:40meaning. Now, they can be a they can be
17:41a law passed that um
17:44that actually maybe truncates part of an
17:46education code
17:48and uh and that has to that's that's
17:50what new laws do sometimes. But the
17:52reality is there's there's so many
17:54education codes in California
17:56uh that you almost have to be an expert
17:59in education code law in California. In
18:02fact, the state overall has four times
18:05the volume of regulation than the state
18:08of Texas.
18:09Uh so, it's it's very bureaucratic and
18:12and very regulatory.
18:13Uh the good news is that parents do have
18:16rights
18:17uh in the state of California. Students
18:20actually have more rights in California
18:23because of the education code than
18:25students actually in other states when
18:27it comes to issues of free speech and
18:29expression, for example. So, it's a it's
18:31really interesting. Now, these laws were
18:32passed during the you know, the the
18:35Vietnam War protests in the '60s. So,
18:37the intent was to push the left and and
18:39liberal thought but we're using it to
18:42help students today who are standing up
18:44uh for their beliefs and convictions and
18:46we're seeing fantastic victories uh
18:48because of the education because we have
18:50people who need to know what their
18:50rights are. Some great information we
18:53have on our website is a book my wife
18:55and I wrote called Reclaim Your School.
18:58Steps to practically legally evangelize
19:00your school. It talks what parents can
19:02do, teachers, students uh
19:04you know, uh school board members and uh
19:07we have model policies for school boards
19:09and it's a A of it is using
19:11uh education codes,
19:13uh but it's something that's applicable
19:14really to everyone in the country and
19:16it's they can download it for free on
19:18from our website pji.org.
19:22>> Good to know. Something else that's on
19:24your website. I want to talk a little
19:26bit about these opt-out forms that so
19:29many of us are just obsessed with if
19:31there is age inappropriate sex education
19:34happening at school or even some of some
19:36of these social emotional learning
19:38surveys that are given to kids that
19:40really mine sensitive information. I at
19:43one time when my kids were in public
19:45school, I was obsessed with opting out.
19:47I would tell everyone opt out opt out
19:49and you say that opt-outs in every state
19:53are different, but you have something
19:56that is applicable to everyone on your
19:59website. Can you describe?
20:00>> Yes. So people can go to our website and
20:03we have a we have opt-out forms
20:05customized for 41 states. I like to be
20:08able to say 50.
20:10We're not 50 yet. But
20:12>> be soon.
20:12>> Yes. There's some states out there that
20:14we don't have yet and but with they're
20:17usually states where very few people
20:19live relatively speaking. So
20:21we have these and they're customized for
20:24each state and I people say, "What do
20:25you mean by customized? I got this
20:27generic one. Why isn't that one good?"
20:29Well, that's great because it's you
20:31know, it's looking at federal law and
20:32what are parents' rights under federal
20:34law and there are some statutory rights
20:36for parents. However, that's only
20:39halfway. Um the rest is looking at the
20:43state laws
20:44and the the the specific rights given by
20:47state legislatures.
20:49Some states give more protection to
20:50parents like Oklahoma.
20:52Um some states give a lot less
20:55protections like California.
20:57But there are still specific
20:59protections.
21:01We did our homework. We honed in on
21:03specific protections. We added that with
21:05the federal law protections and of
21:07course constitutional case law
21:09protections,
21:10and we customize these opt-out forms
21:12that are very easy to use. There's boxes
21:15just to check.
21:17And uh I do want to give one qualifier,
21:19and that is like, for example, in
21:20California,
21:21we used to have more protections than we
21:23used to, but Governor Gray Davis, right
21:24before he was impeached, out of
21:26desperation signed radical bills
21:29truncating a number of rights of
21:30parents. It's a shame.
21:32Uh so, parents can opt our children in
21:35in the state of California out of sex
21:37ed.
21:38Clearly, they can do that.
21:40However,
21:42that they cannot opt their children out
21:44of LGBTQ
21:47propaganda.
21:48>> And what's the
21:49that how
21:50what
21:51What's the difference? Yeah, what's the
21:52difference?
21:53>> So, sex ed is uh where do babies come
21:55from?
21:56>> Right.
21:57>> And that is very narrow.
22:00Uh as far as LGBTQ, that's to do with
22:03lifestyles. And
22:05>> But why can't we opt out of that portion
22:08as well if we don't deem that our
22:09children are old enough or mature enough
22:11to understand that?
22:12>> Because California education codes do
22:15not allow for any opt-out for that. Now,
22:18that said,
22:20um there are a few left and right turns
22:22that we can take at PJI. Uh for example,
22:25if parents say, "I can't pull my kids
22:28out of the public school,"
22:29um
22:31in certain circumstances, we can say,
22:32"You know what? If we get a letter from
22:34a psychiatrist
22:35and says, 'This such instruction uh will
22:39be can be very harmful and traumatic to
22:41this child, creating tremendous injury
22:44to them mentally and emotionally,'
22:46putting them on front notice.
22:48>> Wow.
22:49>> That's a different ball game. A tort
22:50lawyer would love to take something like
22:52that. If the school district district
22:54says, "We don't care. We're going to
22:56expose a child. We don't care about
22:57their background. We don't care about a
22:59psychiatrist and what they say." That's
23:02That is one weapon using tort law
23:05uh to go after a school district. Um but
23:08parents need also realize
23:10they say, well, I've opted my child out
23:12of I let my child stay home sick
23:14uh for this day. We found out that this
23:17uh these uh two transgender individuals
23:19are going to come and flaunt what they
23:20do and try to convince kids that they
23:22may be the opposite of what they're born
23:24with. Um I'm opting my child out of that
23:26day by just having them call in sick and
23:28then give us a notice. And there's a way
23:30you can do that, uh certain language you
23:32want to put in.
23:33Um however, the problem is
23:36in in places like California, it's not
23:38just one visit. It's not just one day.
23:41It's all throughout the school.
23:43State law requires this at every grade
23:46level all the way down to kindergarten,
23:47LGBTQ propaganda material. Uh and and
23:51it's it's it's so unbelievable. So
23:54parents need to understand if they have
23:55their child in a public school
23:57there are some opt-out measures they can
23:58take. But some states like California um
24:02children are still left uh to in what I
24:06call a spiritual death camp. They're and
24:09it's very very dangerous.
24:11>> You have done a lot of work with helping
24:15parents with children in public schools
24:18uh establish alternative educational
24:22uh institutions. Can you describe that?
24:25>> Oh, you bet. So
24:27a lot of parents are pulling their kids
24:29out of public schools. This last school
24:30year more than 50,000 children were
24:33pulled from the LA Unified School
24:35District alone.
24:36>> Wow.
24:36>> Uh there's a lot of angry parents out
24:38there.
24:38So they're pulling their kids out. Now
24:39here's the problem. They say, well, I'll
24:41put my child in a solid uh you know
24:45private school reflective of my faith.
24:48Well, most of those schools, in fact
24:49almost all of them have waiting lists.
24:52And a lot of it's because of the
24:53pandemic.
24:54And we helped a lot of the private
24:55schools open up a lot earlier despite
24:58the shutdowns and especially in blue
25:00states. It was fantastic, but these
25:02schools have been over well with kids
25:04coming into them more than they can
25:05expand to accommodate. So, then you have
25:08parents who say, "Okay, well, then what
25:09about homeschooling?"
25:10Well, the hardcore reality reality is
25:13um a lot of families for a lot of
25:15families it doesn't make sense. They
25:16can't do it. Maybe their language is
25:18different than English and they know
25:19their child needs English immersion. Um
25:22maybe they're a one-parent family and
25:24that one parent has to work. Or they're
25:26a two-parent family and both of those
25:28parents work because they live in places
25:30like
25:31California or, you know, Manhattan and
25:34some of these places that it's just very
25:35expensive to to live.
25:37So, what do they do?
25:39You know, those that cannot homeschool
25:41on their own.
25:42Uh what they can do is be a part of what
25:44we're helping to start across the
25:46country and along with others, which are
25:49uh homeschool co-ops. Uh generally
25:52there's they can be sponsored by a
25:53synagogue, by a church.
25:56And it could be a tiny little church.
25:58They can start a a church homeschool
25:59co-op.
26:01It's it's easy. Um it's not a private
26:03school.
26:04Um they have a lot more freedom.
26:07These are parents working together
26:09and uh maybe uh elderly people in the
26:11church volunteering to provide uh a an
26:14environment where the child can have an
26:15education in a homeschool kind of
26:17format. There's a multiple different
26:19models, by the way.
26:21>> And do we Do you need an attorney to be
26:22able to do that?
26:23>> No, not at all. And in fact, we at
26:25Pacific Justice do we can direct people
26:28to where they can find out information
26:29on the different alternative models that
26:32they can set up at their local church or
26:34synagogue.
26:36Uh these are booming across the country
26:38and they are
26:39they're the answer, I believe, to saving
26:41a lot of children, particularly if
26:43they're in a state that doesn't have
26:44school choice or school vouchers. Most
26:47blue states don't. And uh this is the
26:50the back door that's still there to be
26:52taken advantage of.
26:53>> Well, absolutely. There's there's
26:56there's endless possibilities now
26:57because the mandates, I say {quotation
27:01marks} the the mandates that were
27:03imposed on so many of us, whether it was
27:05for masks or
27:08COVID vaccine mandates, I mean they
27:10scared a lot of people. And so a lot of
27:12people said, "I have to get out of this
27:14system." For the people that let's just
27:17say were stuck in that system,
27:21what recourse, if any, do they have
27:24against mandates that the same kinds
27:27that were imposed on us?
27:29>> Yes, especially during the the pandemic.
27:31Well, we at Pacific Justice Institute,
27:33we did a lot of suing during that period
27:35of time. So
27:36>> Which is so quite frankly, it's very
27:38scary for some of us to hear, "Oh, well,
27:41we have to sue people. We have to sue."
27:42But but this is the avenue, right?
27:44>> they just contact us. We pick up all the
27:47costs, all the expenses.
27:48Uh we do that.
27:50>> I don't mean to laugh, but it's I mean
27:51it's it's insane that the gymnastics
27:54that we have to do now.
27:55>> It really is. And
27:57it's because we really don't have local
27:59schools anymore.
28:00>> Mhm.
28:00>> They're teacher union state driven
28:04uh you know, institutions or government
28:06schools, not really public schools. So,
28:09let me give you an example. Contra Costa
28:11uh school district in the San Francisco
28:12Bay Area,
28:13they came out with an order ordering all
28:15children, elementary school children,
28:17all of them had to have the
28:19controversial COVID-19 {quote unquote}
28:21vax.
28:23That was it. No exemptions, no opt-out
28:25at all.
28:26We went it right into court.
28:28And before one child had the injection,
28:32we got it halted. And we saved every one
28:35of those children from having the
28:36injection. Of course, now unfortunately,
28:38you know, medically
28:40that the ramifications to a lot of
28:41children, it's it's very very uh
28:43serious.
28:44Uh from those aged 12 to 19, there's
28:46been a more than 13,000 percent increase
28:49in heart myocarditis. And we see that
28:52with children dropping dead on the
28:53soccer field, etc.
28:54It's tragic. We were able to save a lot
28:57of children just that one school
28:59district. Go to the other part of the
29:00country, West Palm Beach.
29:02They said, "Every child must wear a mask
29:05no matter what, no opt-outs."
29:08We went right into court on behalf of
29:0911,000 angry parents.
29:12And we said, "No, you cannot mandate
29:14this against these parents." Make a long
29:15story short, we prevailed.
29:18And we have some very happy parents in
29:19West Palm Beach. But we've taken all
29:21these cases all over the country. The
29:22fact is, just because there's a mandate
29:25doesn't mean it's lawful. And doesn't
29:27mean we can't challenge it based on
29:29parental rights.
29:30>> I have to ask this question because I I
29:33often say personally one of the reasons
29:36why we've gotten to this place is
29:39because my generation somehow missed a
29:45breadth of education regarding civics.
29:49And do you disagree or you agree?
29:52>> Yeah, I I I agree. As far as public
29:55education goes, I believe they missed
29:57out on everything.
29:59As a general rule. As a general rule.
30:02Mind you, there are some public schools
30:03that are are excelling in some areas.
30:06But they're the the small tiny minority
30:09compared to what we're getting in public
30:11schools. And public civics civics is one
30:14of those subjects that
30:16are I don't think they really taught
30:18students to really empower students.
30:20A lot of it frankly is is filled with
30:23political propaganda.
30:24And same thing with history and even
30:27English literature.
30:28It's public schools are not the same.
30:31Parents need to understand that. And
30:33they need to know what their rights are.
30:35Parents need to be aware. It doesn't
30:36matter where they live, it doesn't
30:37matter how conservative, how many
30:39churches or synagogues are in the in the
30:41area,
30:42they need to go into their library and
30:44they have every right to do so in that
30:46public school library, say, "I want to
30:48look at all the books addressing uh
30:50LGBTQ issues, sex issues, sexuality
30:54issues,
30:55um politics, I want to look at all of
30:57it, philosophy, all of it."
30:59And then that parent has a right to take
31:01note of it and write an op-ed piece
31:04letting people know. There's a bus
31:06driver in Idaho.
31:07Idaho, you think what's going to happen
31:08in Idaho, right?
31:10He found out in the public library all
31:12the stuff was in there.
31:14The principal would do nothing, the
31:15superintendent would do nothing. He
31:17wrote an op-ed piece exposing all of it.
31:20He was fired from his job because he
31:23said something negative about the school
31:24district. Well, this isn't China. You
31:27don't surrender your First Amendment
31:28rights when you work for the government.
31:30We went to court, we filed our lawsuit,
31:33and needless to say, uh it ended in a
31:34very nice settlement for him that
31:37hopefully other school districts will
31:38learn from.
31:39>> So, one question when you mention the
31:41settlement, because in Southern
31:43California not too long ago, I'm sure
31:45you heard the story about the high
31:47school PE teacher Jessica Tapia who won
31:49the settlement against her school
31:52district who who fired her for sharing
31:54her religious beliefs on her own time.
31:56For all of these people who are bringing
31:58legal action and are winning with
32:01settlements, does that then set a
32:03precedent so that these other school
32:05districts can't do the same thing to
32:07others?
32:08>> Yeah, that's the downside on a
32:09settlement versus a a judgment.
32:11>> Oh.
32:12>> Um a settlement uh is not is not a
32:15binding precedent. However,
32:17school districts and others, they do
32:19listen and they they watch. And even if
32:21they can't disclose the amount, the
32:23monetary amount,
32:25um they know
32:27often times that it's significant
32:29and especially when the plaintiff is
32:32very happy,
32:34um they know that that school district
32:36lost uh in the settlement and uh and
32:39they learned from it. So, practically
32:41speaking, there's a big lesson learned
32:43in the process.
32:44As far as precedent, those settlements
32:46really do not provide any precedent.
32:48>> I see. And here I thought they did. I'm
32:51happy to hear your response, but then I
32:52also think, "Oh, okay, we got to win
32:54these cases."
32:55>> [laughter]
32:55>> Yeah, and some people some parents will
32:57say,
32:58"I don't want to settlement."
32:59>> Yeah.
33:00>> "I want to win. I want precedent. I want
33:02to send a loud message
33:04that every judge will have to pay
33:06attention to in the future." And that's
33:08what we have in terms of precedents,
33:10especially in federal court cases. If
33:13you win in a federal district court
33:15anywhere in the country,
33:16it may not be binding on all the judges
33:18across the country, but every
33:20federal judge must take that decision
33:23into consideration before making their
33:25decision in a similar case.
33:27So, it's very, very powerful.
33:29>> What is your response to parents
33:33who might find themselves in a situation
33:36where
33:37compelled speech was imposed on them or
33:39they were obeying mandates that they
33:42didn't agree with
33:43who might just say, "I don't have the
33:46energy to fight. It's fine. What
33:49difference does it make?"
33:51>> Their silence makes a huge difference.
33:53Because you're allowing that tyranny to
33:56happen again and again and again. But
33:58when they stand up
34:00and there's a resistance, that sends
34:02ripples across the country. It sends a
34:04message to the other side,
34:06"You can't do this and think you're
34:07going to get away with it."
34:09You know, we at Pacific Justice
34:10Institute, we have offices across the
34:11nation uniquely for a reason.
34:13That reason is I want Satan to have no
34:15place to go for vacation in the United
34:17States of America.
34:19And we intend that we stand ready to go
34:21against any school board, any school
34:23district
34:24anywhere in the country
34:26that decides to step on the rights of
34:28parents. We're there. We're committed
34:31unconditionally to represent parents
34:32without charge.
34:34>> I have a I want to take a turn for a
34:37little bit here.
34:38One nation under God indivisible.
34:41A lot of teachers and schools and
34:44administrators have just airlifted the
34:46Pledge of Allegiance out of classrooms
34:47because they don't want to offend
34:51teachers and families in any way. Is the
34:54removal of the Pledge of Allegiance
34:56because of that phrase an attack on
34:58religious freedom?
34:59>> It's interesting. So, uh the the phrase
35:03In God We Trust, uh we defended that and
35:06we had the Ninth Circuit to rule that
35:08that is constitutional. Our national
35:11motto is constitutional. And that was a
35:13fantastic victory in this deal with the
35:15state of California and some people who
35:17wanted to to pull that from our our
35:19currency. In the same way, uh our Pledge
35:22of Allegiance is constitutional.
35:25Um you can have one nation under God
35:27that is constitutional. Um that's
35:30that's that's clearly established. So,
35:33schools cannot justify removing it
35:35because it's on somehow a violation of
35:36separation of church and state. Uh
35:38that's that's bogus.
35:40Um and in fact, uh many states require
35:45uh school districts to say the Pledge of
35:48Allegiance. So, all the classrooms must
35:50say the Pledge of Allegiance. Um that's
35:52becoming actually more common. And
35:54schools that don't do that,
35:56um those parents should contact us and
35:59we'd be happy to go to bat for them to
36:01make sure that the law is complied with.
36:03>> So, generally speaking, let's just play
36:05a game. If I were to walk to my local
36:07public school and place the Ten
36:10Commandments on the wall, could I get
36:13arrested?
36:14>> Uh
36:15It depends on what state you're you're
36:17California, possibly.
36:19>> Probably.
36:19>> Possibly, but I will say and we would
36:22would defend that because of the Supreme
36:24Court we have now because of President
36:26Trump's appointments. Uh things have
36:27changed. Um this we have so we have hope
36:31that we never thought we would have ever
36:33seen in my lifetime come to pass because
36:36of those three judicial appointments on
36:38the Supreme Court. Uh but if when you
36:40look at it for example Louisiana, uh we
36:42worked hard
36:43uh through our legislative division. We
36:45worked hard uh to help them pass a law
36:48that uh
36:49mandates
36:50uh the Ten Commandments to be posted in
36:52every single public school classroom
36:54including public university classrooms
36:57in the state of Louisiana.
36:59And 20 years ago I would have thought,
37:01"Oh, this is going to get struck down as
37:02unconstitutional."
37:03But no. The Supreme Court will say, well
37:06that the standard they have now is does
37:08the state action amount to a
37:10proselytizing and endorsement of a
37:12particular religion?
37:14Well, the answer is no.
37:15The Ten Commandments first is recognized
37:18not only by Christians and Jews and
37:20Muslims. Uh it also is the the
37:22foundation by which Western law
37:25came into existence.
37:27So, this is about history, heritage that
37:31children should be able to to know about
37:33because they don't know their past,
37:35how are they to
37:36decipher and decide on the future uh for
37:39future generations to come.
37:42>> Brad, this conversation has given me so
37:44much hope because you know, quite
37:47frankly, with all the headlines I see
37:50and all the research I do trying to
37:52educate myself as a mom, I get
37:55pulled down in the dumps a lot, but this
37:56is giving me a lot of hope. Are you very
37:59hopeful for the next maybe 10 or 20
38:02years the direction of education?
38:04>> Well,
38:05I will say overall I'm I'm hopeful and
38:08optimistic because homeschooling is
38:10booming, private schools are booming,
38:13and uh homeschool consortiums and
38:15churches and synagogues
38:17that's booming.
38:18That's my greatest confidence.
38:20Uh I'm also confident in those states
38:22that are having uh school choice, school
38:24vouchers like Florida, soon to be Texas
38:27and other red states are passing it. I'm
38:29excited about that, particularly in red
38:31states passing laws we were able to get
38:33them to pass saying, "Hey, boys can't
38:34compete in girl sports." We got six
38:36states through our efforts to pass that
38:38kind of legislation. So, in red states
38:41in particular, I'm very optimistic. Um,
38:44in uh the alternative education, I'm
38:46very optimistic. Public schools overall,
38:50uh I'm very concerned because they're
38:52clearly heading in the wrong direction
38:54and parents need to to take note of
38:55that. But, you know, the the battle is
38:57not just in the public schools against
38:59parents' rights.
39:00It's also outside the public schools
39:03with social workers.
39:04>> Yes.
39:05>> Uh in in unbelievable ways taking
39:07children from parents, wonderful
39:09parents. They're supposed to take them
39:11because the parents are abusive or
39:12neglectful, they're not feeding the kids
39:14or they're hitting the kids over the
39:15head with something. No.
39:18They're taking children now because the
39:20parents say are traditional in their
39:22Jewish or Christian beliefs
39:24and not wanting to encourage gender
39:26confusion in their children. Because a
39:28parent refuses, social workers are
39:30coming in and taking children. We've had
39:32a case um in uh Placer County,
39:34California,
39:36uh near Sacramento. Uh they took a girl,
39:38she didn't want to be taken. She says,
39:40"I feel like I'm a boy." She told her
39:42friend who told the teacher told the
39:43counselor told the social worker.
39:44They took her
39:46and had her examined by their in-house
39:47shrink psychiatrist. I call him shrink
39:50because what he advises "Oh, yes, we
39:51need to immediately start the process of
39:53changing her quote gender."
39:55And they took her from the family and
39:57they would have started the process but
39:59for the fact the parents called us and
40:01we went right into court and we got it
40:03halted and we fought for two years for
40:05that girl.
40:06And at the end of the two years, that
40:08girl was reunited with her family and at
40:10the last hearing she said, "You know,
40:11your honor, also I just want you to know
40:14I really don't feel like I'm a boy after
40:15all."
40:17Had had we not intervened, she would
40:18have been permanently sterilized
40:21and her suicide risk would have
40:22skyrocketed.
40:24That is the state of California. That
40:26was under the authority of Governor
40:27Gavin Newsom in the state of California.
40:29And I'd like to say that was one freak
40:31isolated case.
40:32Oh, no, it's happened in Orange County,
40:34San Diego County. It's happening all
40:36over the country.
40:37And parents need to understand, this is
40:40the agenda.
40:41The good news
40:43is we have a resource
40:45that will give parents the protection.
40:48Once a child is taken, I give it about a
40:5050/50 chance that they're going to get
40:52their child back ever.
40:54>> Yeah.
40:54>> And they're often put in in
40:56families and homes that are divergent
40:58completely for what they believe is best
40:59for their children.
41:01The good news, if they follow what we
41:03tell them to do,
41:04uh the odds are better than 98% that
41:07their child will not be taken in the
41:09first place. It's very successful.
41:12Parents just need to know what to do and
41:13what their rights are. So, we have a
41:15It's on our website called 12 Steps to
41:18Protect Your Children
41:20from CPS, Child Protective Services.
41:22It's called different things in other
41:23states, but 12 Steps to Protect Your
41:25Children from CPS.
41:26It's applicable to every state in the
41:28country.
41:29Every family should have this printed
41:33out.
41:34They should make it available to
41:35everyone in their church and synagogue.
41:37Um they should put push it out by the
41:39email.
41:41Um they need to have it on hand because
41:42when the social worker calls or they
41:44knock on the door,
41:46it's too late.
41:47That's when the most critical decisions
41:49need to be made and that's why we make
41:51this available up front. And it's it's
41:54something I think every single family I
41:56know, not just think, I know every
41:57family in America should have a copy of
41:59this and it's free on our website.
42:02No charge.
42:03Uh
42:04n- nothing. It's just it's it's right
42:06there. We make it very easy on our
42:07website pji.org.
42:10>> I I have no idea when you and the rest
42:14of you at Pacific Justice Institute
42:16sleep because you're doing so much and
42:18you're doing such great work and I just
42:21uh you know, on behalf of the parents
42:23and the teachers, everyone who's
42:24watching or listening, thank you for
42:26doing all of this uh you know, from a
42:28from a legal mind because we parents
42:31well, I I I know nothing and so I
42:32appreciate it when I hear wisdom from
42:34you. For people who don't yet follow you
42:37on social media, your Instagram handle
42:39is Pacific Justice Institute and your
42:42website is once again
42:44>> is pji.org.
42:47P for Pacific, J for Justice, I for
42:50Institute.org. We also have a a
42:52newsletter once a week talking about our
42:53cases. We love people to pray for our
42:55work. And uh maybe support our work,
42:57too, but it's all right there on our
42:59website, pji.org.
43:02It's We have a very empowering website
43:05and I I we really want to do uh to help
43:08people. And also, I just want to say you
43:10didn't ask me to say this, but I just
43:11want to tell you, Jill, how excited I am
43:13about PragerU.
43:14>> Oh, thank you.
43:15>> Um it's been a blessing to so many young
43:18people in my church. Uh they listen to
43:21it. They may not listen to their parents
43:22all the time, but I know they listen to
43:26PragerU.
43:27>> Yeah.
43:27>> And uh I'm a big fan of of Dennis
43:29Prager. He spoke at one of our big
43:30galas, our celebration of justice. Uh
43:33and uh we uh just it's a it's a joy and
43:35privilege to be able to uh participate
43:37as we are right now in this program.
43:39>> Thank you so much, well, this
43:40conversation was long overdue. Brad
43:42Dacus, follow him, Pacific Justice
43:44Institute. And of course, if you have
43:46not yet subscribed to pragerukids.com,
43:49parents, teachers, do it now so that we
43:51educate our young people so that they
43:53can know about civics and our history
43:57and our shared values as Americans and
43:59they can carry that love of country with
44:01them. Also, for more conversations uh
44:03discussing parental rights, uh gender
44:06ideology in schools, how to audit your
44:08school uh your child's school library.
44:11We've got all the conversations on
44:12prageru.com/parentalert.
44:15Brad, thank you so much, and we'll see
44:17you all next time.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Parent Alert: Whose Kids Are They, Anyway? by PragerU, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 7,877 words across 1,282 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.