Michigan Democratic Party deletes post critical of parental rights in education

The Democratic Party of Michigan retracted a Facebook post it published over the weekend that said public schools existed to teach children what “society” wants them to learn.

Screenshots of the post went viral, but on Monday, the party deleted the post and issued a follow-up post that said its original post “ignored the important role parents play — and should play — in Michigan public schools.”

“Parents need to have a say in their children’s education, end of story,” it added.

The initial post said that parents who want to control what their children are learning “have the option to choose to send their kids to a hand-selected private school at their own expense if this is what they desire.”

YOUNGKIN BATTLE WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS OVER MASKS SET TO ESCALATE

“The purpose of a public education in a public school is not to teach kids only what parents want them to be taught,” the now-deleted post added. “It is to teach them what society needs them to know. The client of the public school is not the parent, but the entire community, the public.”

The post was met with widespread criticism online. The Republican Party of Michigan touted the post as evidence that its political rival is “ready to indoctrinate your children,” before citing widespread support for school choice policies as the reason Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin won the election last year.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Youngkin was aided by a now-infamous quote from his opponent, former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who said in a debate with the now-governor that he didn’t “think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”

The Democratic Party of Michigan did not respond to a request for comment.