Former Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas owes her successor Kathy Hoffman and Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs apologies for insinuating, in a Facebook post filled with misspellings, that both of them, by wanting to modernize the sex education guidelines (Hoffman) or by showcasing the LGBTQ flag (Hobbs), is promoting pedophilia.
The former Superintendent, who turned heads during her tenure by challenging personnel at the Board of Education, attempting to steer the Science Standards towards the Inquisition Period, wanting to go after educators involved in the Red for Ed Movement, and asking the Board of Education to replace the state standards with those from a Pro-Christian organization, has admitted, in a later tweet that she mistook the pride flag Hobbs showcased for something else.
She has not apologized to her successor.
Commenting to the Arizona Republic, Superintendent Hoffman found Douglas’s tweet “disturbing” and further stated that:
“This feeds right into the discrimination and propelling of fear that leads to increased rates of bullying in our schools, an increased rate of suicide and other mental health challenges,”
“As someone who’s elected, as someone who is a former elected leader of our schools, her words do carry weight and that’s part of what makes it so appalling that she would post these comments in a way that propels this fear and discrimination and makes it even more difficult for survivors to come forward,”
A controversial figure while in office, Ms. Douglas should consider what she says as a retired state figure.
She should not, like the village idiots who filled the last Board of Education meeting who offered extreme reactionary positions in challenging the sensible modernization of the sex education guidelines, follow the lead of crackpots and make profoundly offensive and incendiary remarks accusing the leading educators of this state of wanting to encourage pedophilia.
If she does not correct this by apologizing to both Superintendent Hoffman and Secretary of State Hobbs, then she needs to leave the stage and fade away, never to be heard or read from again.
Thanks for this article. I would just say that even if she DOES apologize for her remarks she should fade away and not be heard from again.