No indoctrination here

HURON — A local state representative who is pushing for passage of House Bill 616 — the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill — said Thursday there aren't any school districts in Erie or Ottawa counties where teachers are radically indoctrinating students. "At no point did I ever say or intend to ever say that I knew this was happening in the 89th House District or that parents had told me that," state Rep. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, said, replying to an email asking about comments he made in late April. That was when Swearingen said he and his colleagues who support the legislation "cannot sit idly by when radical indoctrination in schools is threatening (children's) fundamental right (to a quality education)." Ohio teachers have bristled at lawmakers' vague and unsubstantiated allegations levied at unnamed state educators. "If lawmakers are unwilling to address the myriad issues that are exacerbating Ohio's recruitment and retention crisis (among teachers) — including the constant state of attack under which our educators operate because of the threats posed by House Bills 327 and 616, specifically — they should at least stop making the situation worse," said Scott DiMauro, a high school social studies teacher from Worthington, Ohio, who is president of the Ohio Education Association. When pressed, Swearingen refused to provide any information about who complained to him or where it was happening. He later wrote that it was "constituents" who brought the matter to his attention. "I value the input and conversations with concerned constituents and refuse to tell you who they are and subject them to questioning from the newspaper," he wrote in a June 8 email to the Register. In an email he sent on June 14, Swearingen suggested again that he had spoken with constituents who have children enrolled in local schools. "Parents have said that, even if it's not in their schools now, they don't want sexual curricula being taught to their kids in classrooms K-3. It's that simple, and schools work for the taxpayers," he wrote. When asked at that time if he was backtracking on his original comments, he said no, and reiterated that he had provided a reporter information earlier about a complaint that was made about a school in New Jersey. Swearingen was told Thursday that there are no reports from any public school districts in Erie and Ottawa counties — the counties that comprise the 89th House District — that any parent ever complained about "radical indoctrination" programs. The Register made public records requests earlier this month to every school district in both counties asking for documents related to any complaints made in the last three years. All the school districts responded that there were no such complaints. When asked Thursday about the accuracy of his original comments, and why parents would complain to him but not to their home school districts, Swearingen complained that the reporting by the Register was unfair. If the newspaper reports he "backtracked or state(d) that I said that this happened in the 89th House District, it will be a total and complete lie. I have neither backtracked nor said this was happening in the 89th House District," he wrote Thursday. None of his statements say that, Swearingen wrote, "and you have ZERO documentation to that end." He said he told a reporter "that examples were present in the public domain" and that never got printed. "It never did," he said, complaining about the "unfairness of that not getting printed for the general public to read my full remarks." Swearingen has consistently refused to answer questions about his support for HB 616, including addressing criticisms from teachers and other professionals that it is bigoted, homophobic and will result in banning discussions about any family situations in classrooms. Critics also contend, if it is approved, it will result in books being banned. "The out-of-state extremists behind these bills are intentionally manufacturing controversies to control the political narrative and distract voters from the real issues facing Ohio's schools," DiMauro said. Coming Saturday: Allegations of indoctrination, but no records of complaints.