- Jacqueline Battalora, PH.D., J.D., M.T.S -

Freedom To Learn Summer (FTLS) is an education experience with the goal of ensuring that students, parents, teachers, and others are provided with essential information that the gag-order legislation denies. To be effective collaborators within the most diverse citizenry of any preceding generation, we require an understanding of the role of race in our lives, our histories, and our future. FTLS seeks to support the development of cultural and racial competencies. FTLS is targeting those states with gag-order legislation and those that have similar bills in the legislative pipeline.

Freedom To Learn Summer is an opportunity to hear from nationally renowned speakers/trainers about racial understanding that is foundational for the 21st Century in order to competently address the challenges of our time. Freedom to Learn Summer takes inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement when those concerned with practices that denied Blacks access to voting, went to targeted areas of the south to support Black voter registration. Today, more than a dozen state legislatures passed laws that deny their public-school students the right to learn truthful history if it may cause one to feel guilty because of race; and many of the laws deny teachers and others access to training to improve cultural and racial competencies.