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Retaliation: The California "Enemies List"

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The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) represents over 14,000 California school administrators.

lineman repairing electric lineA few years ago, this group surveyed their membership to identify groups and parents who had been critical of schools and organized
the survey responses into a secret Enemies List.

A copy of the Enemies List that was circulated shows that the report is organized by district, with columns for the name of the superintendent, the name of the group, followed by names of the parents involved in the group. There was also a section for comments describing the activities of the groups and what they did to earn a place on the list.

Targeted parents were guilty of "disruptive" acts that included questioning special education placements, filing complaints with the Office of Civil Rights, and objecting to the way Parent Advisory Groups were set up.

Someone leaked the Enemies List to the press.

When the Association was confronted with their Enemies List, they claimed they were simply trying to identify "disruptive" individuals and groups.

"The existence of such a list confirms the worst fears of many parents - that schools single out parents who advocate for their children. It further suggests an adversarial and repressive attitude towards these parents - a precursor to the retaliation reported by many."

Get more information about the California Enemies List from the Observer site.

Related Article: Retaliation: A Primer (from The Observer) - Article describes a "Retaliation Triangle" that progresses from using passive tactics to delay (Level I) to frightening parents (Level II), to Level III that is characterized by overt hostility and the goal of punishing parents.

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