LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – School board meetings used to be sleepy affairs that practically no one ever attended – with discussions about budgets, textbooks, and maybe conversations about bake sales. Not anymore. Across the country, these meetings have turned into political battlefields over transgender policies, library books, COVID restrictions, masking rules, and parental rights.

The days of pretending these boards are “nonpartisan” are long gone. Most members vote along predictable party lines and a new bill in Michigan would allow parents and other community members to know ahead of time what the political leanings of their local school board members are.

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For parents trying to find out whether their district will embrace gender ideology, mandate masks, or keep “explicit” books on the shelves, knowing a candidate’s political affiliation isn’t just useful – it’s essential.

The masks might finally come off.

Enter state Rep. Jason Woolford (R-Howell) who has sponsored House Bill 4588 that would change state law to require school board candidates to declare what party they belong to – and run in a primary. This would give information to a community about the ideology of a candidate instead of them having to act as private detectives and scour their social media for comments on their candidate’s political leanings. Woolford says it’s about transparency: “You deserve to know who aligns with your values without having to play a detective,” he said.

Liberal opponents, however, are not on board with the change – including left-leaning groups including the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA), Michigan Education Association (MEA), Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan, and the Michigan Democratic Party.

If Democrats are so confident their school board policies are popular, why not be transparent about party affiliation as Republicans are willing to do? Transparency shouldn’t be terrifying unless the real fear is that voters might finally connect the dots between classroom chaos and party lines.