Candidate qualifying for elected office is now over and those running for various offices are fully engaged in campaigns for the primary elections. That also means that groups statewide are going to be poking and prodding the candidates to learn their stances on a wide variety of issues, education being a prime one. Other than debate forums, a favorite way for organizations to learn about candidates is the questionnaire/survey.
For instance, back in 2016 the organization Clay Family Policy Forum sent questionnaires to the candidates that were absolutely jam packed with loaded questions about conservative issues. Among the questions on the six-page survey school board candidates got were these:
- Parents should have the right to withdraw their child from classes teaching material contrary to their sincerely held ethical values and/or religious beliefs.
- Evolution should be taught as a fact.
- Both strengths and weaknesses of evolution should be taught.
Candidates were simply asked to check a box for support, oppose or undecided. On Clay Family Policy Forum’s forms there was no extra space afforded for candidates to write a more nuanced response. They just had to mark whether the were for or against the provided statements.
The above examples are from the 2016 election season. But groups should start announcing the results of their 2018 candidate surveys soon. We here at Florida Citizens for Science are asking you to be on the lookout for them and let us know when you find some, especially if they include questions related to science education. We can then link to them and help inform voters. You’re assistance in this is invaluable!
