Bill de Blasio signs order allowing transgender access to NYC bathrooms – LGBTQ Nation

Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, signed an executive order on Monday that guarantees people access to single-sex facilities consistent with their gender identity at city facilities, including offices, pools and recreation centers, without the need to show identification or any other proof of gender. The move comes amid a continuing national debate over anti-discrimination laws.

“Access to bathrooms and other single-sex facilities is a fundamental human right that should not be restricted or denied to any individual,” de Blasio said. “Every New Yorker should feel safe in our city — and this starts with our city’s buildings.”
,,,
The order does not apply to New York City’s public schools because there already is a policy that students must be allowed to use locker rooms or restrooms consistent with their gender identity. A bill currently pending before the city council would require publicly available, single-occupancy restrooms in both public and private buildings to be designated as gender-neutral.

Bill de Blasio signs order allowing transgender access to NYC bathrooms – LGBTQ Nation

Charter Schools and the Destruction of Public Education

Charter schools are a scam inflicted on black and Latino children and are meant to turn education into just another profit center. These schools take public money without being accountable to the public and they are funded by organizations like the Walton Family Foundation of WalMart fame and hedge fund chieftains. There is no data which proves that they provide superior education. They don’t have to accept children with special needs and often expel children who are struggling academically because they may bring down the all important test scores they use to justify their access to public dollars.

[,,,]
Teachers at charter schools are akin to fast food workers. They are the least experienced and have a high rate of turnover, all of which happens by design. The hedge fund honchos and the Walton Family Foundation want to get rid of the teaching profession and make educators as insecure in their work lives as everyone else in the country.

[,,,]
Cuomo is running for re-election in November 2014 and depends on campaign donations from people like Daniel Loeb, founder of Third Point hedge fund and chairman of Success Academies charter schools. Together they and others developed a lobbying effort which demolished any hope of the small reforms de Blasio proposed. A previously little known group, Families for Excellent Schools, appeared on the scene with more than three million dollars worth of advertising featured black and latino parents making the case for charters. Families for Excellent Schools is certainly not made up of any New York City families. Its offices share an address with the infamous Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst organization.

It was obvious very quickly that the mayor’s little nod to protecting public education was no match for big money and his nemesis in the governor’s office. When Success Academy charters closed all twenty of its schools for one day, and brought 7,000 parents and children to a rally in the state capital, it was clear that they had won the day.

Charter Schools and the Destruction of Public Education

Muslim Public School Holidays Will Be Observed In New York City, Says Mayor de Blasio On The Brian Lehrer Show

POINT:
Muslim families in New York City have been requesting official recognition for Islamic holidays in public schools for years now, but they may finally see some changes under new Mayor Bill de Blasio.

On Monday he discussed the issue on the Brian Lehrer Show, declaring that he planned to move forward with closing schools for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, as well as for the Lunar New Year.

COUNTERPOINT:
Recently NYC public schools have adopted Muslim holidays into their calendar. This is bound for disaster. I can tell you that Muslim communities in the NYC area celebrate Eid on different days every single Eid. That means there will be students at NYC public schools celebrating Eid not on the day assigned by the calendar. How many meetings, efforts, funds and hours were spent trying to push this agenda to the NYC public school board? Was this time wisely spent? Was this effort worth it? Is this really a great thing for Muslims? Is it really?

Muslim Public School Holidays Will Be Observed In New York City, Says Mayor de Blasio On The Brian Lehrer Show