California Strips Privacy From Kids: The Co-Ed Bathroom Law

As I wrote about recently, California is dead set on stripping away the privacy of children - and we need to do what we can to stop the madness.

A few short months ago, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1266, a first-of-its kind law, now known as the “Co-Ed Bathroom Bill.” The bill, as I’ve noted previously, opens girls’ restrooms, locker rooms, and school showers to any child who ‘self-identifies’ as a girl---including boys who decide they really ‘are’ transgender girls. The same holds true for boys—a girl who decides her ‘true gender self’ is a boy, must be allowed to use the boys’ restrooms, showers and locker rooms. In addition, so-called ‘transgendered’ children must be allowed to play on opposite-sex sports teams if they so choose. (Which really means that enterprising boys will dominate girls’ sports teams.)

The law hinges on the child’s right to decide his or her gender—a child might decide to “be” female one day and ‘male’ the next. It all depends on feelings and the child’s “self-identification.“ Translation: I am who I say I am, no matter what my body looks like.

It’s the very definition of unreality.

The consequences are significant, impacting far more than the ‘transgender’ child. Under this law, children lose their right to demand privacy while undressing, showering, or going to the bathroom. Instead, the left’s priority is for transgendered children to feel ‘included’ on an ‘equal’ basis, at all costs, even if that means other children lose their privacy.

The transgender lie is the root of the problem. For the left, it’s an axiom of faith that children must be allowed to choose a gender identity based on how they perceive themselves, regardless of whether they are born boys or girls. Many liberals go even further, holding the nonsensical position that human beings are meant to be gender-fluid, not boxed into the “binaries” of male and female. Gender, they say, might even change from one day to the next.

It’s hogwash.

Even so, normal kids—boys who are boys and girls who are girls—are expected to get with the program in California. If the law stands, you can expect that children who balk at welcoming an opposite-sex child into the locker room or bathroom will be reprimanded and singled out for being hurtful and transgender-phobic. The normal kids will be ‘the problem.’

Worse, where California leads, other states will follow. When California outlawed reparative therapy (treatment designed to help children overcome unwanted same-sex attraction) for children under 18, New Jersey quickly followed suit. Other states are considering similar legislation. If California’s law stands, it’s not just California students who will suffer from the loss of privacy and threat to their safety and well-being. Other states where the homosexual lobby is strong will soon get in line.

How to Save Your Family: Sign, Donate, and Send

This law cannot stand! The only way to stop it is by getting this issue on the ballot as a voter referendum. Parents and other concerned citizens, organized under the coalition Privacy for all Students, have mounted a petition seeking to give California voters a referendum on the new law. That means that if Privacy for all Students collects 505,000 signatures by the November 6thdeadline, California voters will have a chance to vote on the new law—and polls indicate that the repeal of the law would win hands down.

The people of California do not want this law. They deserve a chance to cast a vote in favor of protecting children. But they need our support. Call, text, Facebook, or email your friends in California. Tell them to sign the petition. Go to PrivacyforallStudents.com, sign, donate to help the effort, and share the link with all your friends asking them to donate to the referendum effort regardless of where they live.

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Cordray: 'We Want to See Financial Education Topics Integrated Into School Curricula'

"Financial education in schools is critical, but enormous benefits also exist if the education starts at home," Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray told a meeting of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission at the Treasury Department Wednesday.

"We want to see financial education topics integrated into school curricula. We believe this education should begin at a young age and continue through graduation," Cordray said.

"I was down in New Orleans Monday morning arguing to the American Bankers Association that bankers should be going to their state legislatures and their state governors and insisting that financial education be taught in our schools."

Cordray noted that earlier this year, the CFPB released policy recommendations for youth financial education starting in kindergarten and continuing through the end of high school.

(Among other things, CFPB recommends that states strongly consider including a stand-alone personal financial management course as a graduation requirement for high school students. It also advocates that financial management questions be added to standardized assessments.)

Cordray said personal financial management should be mastered by parents as well: "Research has demonstrated that if parents engage their children by establishing a savings account for them, the children are seven times more likely, all other things being equal, to attend college than those without a savings account."

"We want to see every youth, regardless of income, develop financial skills and access services that will help them better navigate the complex financial marketplace. We are particularly looking towards summer youth employment programs as a way to engage youth, teach them about financial services and provide them with opportunities to practice new skills by working with financial partners."

Cordray said the goal of his agency is to "give all consumers the confidence and peace of mind that the financial world is not full of pitfalls that will ruin their lives. The best and most immediate form of consumer protection is self-protection, being able to avoid problems in the first place and to know what you can do about it when you do experience a problem."

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Britain: Coursework axed as 'easy' A-levels are made harder and students return to studying traditional subjects

Tough new A-levels will see a return to teenagers studying traditional subjects in greater depth to restore rigour to the exams.

In English literature pupils will focus on eight instead of 12 texts, while in history they will examine a broader sweep of crucial events to better prepare them for university.

Sixth-formers will also need to display more mathematical ability in biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, economics and psychology exams.
A-levels will see a return to teenagers studying traditional subjects in greater depth

Changes: Tougher new A-levels will see a return to teenagers studying traditional subjects in greater depth

In a separate move, coursework at A-level is set to be cut back in an effort to toughen up the exams and prevent cheating.

In future, the qualifications should include coursework only if a particular skill cannot be assessed by exam, such as in geography fieldwork or art, exam regulator Ofqual said.

The Government is introducing harder A-levels in most subjects from September 2015, with reformed maths, further maths and languages A-levels following in 2016.

Ministers have already announced that teenagers will be tested at the end of two years – with no exams in the first 12 months – to stop courses being broken into bite-sized chunks that encourage formulaic teaching.

AS-levels, currently taken in the first year of the sixth form, will become stand-alone qualifications, with marks no longer counting towards final A-level grades.

Professor Mark Smith, vice chancellor of Lancaster University, chaired an independent review of A-levels and yesterday a consultation document, drawn up by exam boards and university academics, was published outlining the proposed subject content of the ‘rigorous’ new exams.

In English literature, pupils will need to study a minimum of eight texts, which must include at least three works from before 1900, including one Shakespeare play, and a post-2000 work.

This will enable sixth-formers to look at novels and plays in more detail. Currently, teenagers study six texts at AS-level and a further six at A-level.

English literature candidates will also be examined on a previously ‘unseen’ text. ‘To prepare for examinations with “unseen texts”, students will need to read widely, broadening their knowledge and their critical and comparative understanding of literature,’ the consultation document says.

In history, sixth-formers will have to study topics from a period of at least 200 years rather than the current range of 100 years, which is now considered ‘too narrow’.

The focus on British history has been reduced from 25 per cent to 20 per cent because it was felt that pupils will have already developed a ‘good understanding’ from GCSE studies.

More maths is being introduced to economics, computer science and psychology A-levels as well as the three sciences.

Other changes include a new emphasis on drawing in art and design, and fieldwork being reintroduced in geography so pupils ‘relate their learning to real experiences of the world’.

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