Parents rights group demands a ‘seat at the table,’ expands reach into Horry County

A parents rights group has expanded its reach into Horry County — and wants to make its voice heard by the school district.

Moms for Liberty, an organization that has more than 100 chapters across the nation and 18 across South Carolina, formed in Horry County on Dec. 1, co-founder Tina Descovich confirmed.

“We’re just a group of parents that have decided that we want to have more of a say in our kids’ education,” David Warner, the local chapter’s chairman, said.

The nonprofit group is a conservative-leaning group that “demand a seat at the table as they defend their boundaries and rights in education,” a press release states.

The chapter’s first meeting will be some time in January, Warner confirmed.

Moms for Liberty wants to remove books from the school district

One key issue Warner said the local chapter is focusing on is removing inappropriate books from the school’s libraries.

It’s a misconception, Warner said, that the parents rights group is supportive of complete book banning.

In a November meeting, the Horry County School District decided to approve a media advisory committee that would be able to remove books from school libraries, both on a district level and a school level.

Books currently banned in Horry County schools, as of that meeting, include “Julian is a Mermaid,” “Last Night at the Telegraph Club,” “Lily and Dunkin,” “Melissa,” “This Book is Gay,” and “What Riley Wore.”

All books are centered around LGBTQ themes. A local teachers union argued that the policy, backed by the Moms for Liberty group, was an attack on LGBTQ education.

Warner disagreed.

“We are not specifically aimed at LGBTQ books; we are looking specifically at the content,” he said. “We have far more heterosexual books removed from the school than LGBTQ books by massive numbers.”

Warner said it was only political to some degree.

“This is a real issue that most parents don’t know,” he said. “Parents are busy, they don’t have the time to sit back and read through all of this stuff. People make it political. It is political to some degree, but its really about our kids.”

Warner added that the group plans on donating educational books that teach life and finance skills to the school district as well in the future.

‘We clearly aren’t for critical race theory.’

Warner said the Moms for Liberty chapter is also actively against critical race theory, a graduate level concept that examines the nation’s history through the lens of racism.

“We clearly aren’t for critical race theory,” he said. “The teaching of history on its own is something we totally support. We don’t support a theory being taught that devalues our history.”

Critical Race Theory is not officially a part of any K-12 curriculum in South Carolina.

Warner argues that he has seen examples of critical race theory being practiced in the school district — citing a Freedom of Information Act request he submitted and received that states the district attended an annual Equity in Education conference in 2018, 2019, and 2020, which discusses issues around equity in education and teaching African American students.

The Moms for Liberty chairman ran for a district seat earlier this year

Warner ran for school board District 10’s seat earlier this year, losing to incumbent Neil James in November.

In 2020, Warner filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on behalf of his 9-year-old son, alleging the school district and Superintendent Rick Maxey violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act.

He filed the suit after the district continually refused to allow his son’s ABA therapist into the school.

In addition to Critical Race Theory and removing books from school libraries, Warner said the Horry chapter wants to focus on teacher pay and how the budget will be spent.

Warner has had a history of being outspoken about the Horry County School District.

“Anyone who knows me knows I have a history of fighting hard for our kids,” he said.