A whistleblower is raising concerns over allegedly red flag policies by climate groups recruiting Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) students.
The whistleblower, Monika Jane Browatzki, contacted TUSD to warn that Arizona Youth Climate Coalition (AZYCC) and Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) lacked adequate safeguarding governance practices for students. Browatzki is an alumna of TUSD.
As Browatzki noted in a letter sent to the district, AZYCC recruits youth aged 11-23 through social media and directs prospective participants to submit their personal information to the organization, including their birth date and Instagram account handle, and encourages youth to join its Discord server, a messaging platform. Discord requires users to be at least 13 years old to use the platform.
It is also unclear what access controls AZYCC has in place for its Discord server.
Discord has been recognized by experts as one of the main platforms rendering youth vulnerable to grooming, sexual exploitation, and other harm.
Additionally, Browatzki noted that AZYCC and CCL regularly transport and supervise students in advocacy settings, yet reportedly lack clearly defined safeguarding policies, reporting procedures, and organizational accountability measures.
“Publicly available materials demonstrate collaboration between Citizens’ Climate Lobby and AZYCC, including fundraising to send students to Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s national conference in Washington, D.C., where participants engage in congressional lobbying activities, as well as joint youth programming and engagement with school districts,” according to Browatzki.
Browatzki disclosed that CCL terminated her volunteer membership in March within an hour after she contacted the CCL executive director, Ricky Bradley, about her concerns. In an email to Bradley, Browatzki advised Bradley that she planned to ask at a meeting whether CCL had a designated safeguarding officer handling concerns about volunteer boundaries and youth safety.
In his response email terminating her volunteer affiliation, Bradley alluded to past conversations about the sufficiency of existing CCL boundaries and policies regarding youth. Browatzki indicated in her outreach to TUSD that CCL may not consistently implement and communicate governance expectations with volunteers interacting with youth participants.
CCL’s youth volunteer policy is publicly available online. CCL requires all minors to be accompanied by a parent, grandparent, or legal guardian for overnight and out-of-town events, and requires minors aged 13-15 to be accompanied by a parent, grandparent, or legal guardian for local events. Minors aged 16 or 17 may attend local events without a parent, grandparent, or legal guardian.
AZYCC didn’t respond to Browatzki’s questions regarding their safeguarding personnel or procedures. The organization does not have a youth volunteer policy publicly available.
AZYCC was behind the passage of TUSD’s Climate Action Resolution, which proposes reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.
The resolution entails entirely electric powered vehicles, equitable prioritization of electric bus routes, restricting vehicle idling on its properties, elimination of fossil fuel reliance, installing solar, local sourcing of plant-based and organic produce, increased recycling, implementing composting, increased biking and walking, and establishment of designated cooling rooms for hot days.
The resolution also directed a comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory to occur the first year of enactment and potentially every three years thereafter.
Browatzki clarified in her communications to TUSD that she supports the groups’ mission goals of youth climate advocacy and environmental education. Her problem, she said, lies with the groups potentially placing youth in vulnerable situations.
“[My concern] is whether organizations engaging youth have clearly defined safeguarding policies, reporting procedures, volunteer boundaries, and designated individuals responsible for receiving and responding to safeguarding concerns,” said Browatzki.
TUSD was encouraged to review the safeguarding governance structures offered by AZYCC and CCL.
“I hope to encourage a review of safeguarding governance wherever organizations recruit or work with students through school-related activities,” said Browatzki.
Who knew religious fanatics would attempt to indoctrinate children?
Are there no rational, educated adults at TUSD? For a high school system to implement a “climate action resolution” is absurd and completely outside the concerns a school system should have. If the resolution is implemented it will be ruinous. Electric vehicles are expensive, costly to maintain, and are well documented as fire hazards. Parents should never let their children onto electric buses, there are numerous examples of electric buses bursting into flame and quickly being engulfed. “Elimination of fossil fuel reliance” is complete fantasy. Apparently the school system is teaching nothing about science, economics, or the realities of electricity generation. The Arizona Youth Climate Coalition is clearly a propaganda organization that is seriously misleading and lying to high school students.
close down TUSD – let private schools flourish as they are
Way to go Browatski! We need more brave people standing up for our children.
These left wing wackos can’t convince objective thinking adults to buy into their cult so they go after children.
Got to give her props for being concerned about the safety of the kids, but if she supports that kind of climate fear she is as nuts as the rest of the tree huggers.
What happen to Little League ? Climate change?
Hello, please correct the transporting of minors statement, the quote is: “Publicly available materials demonstrate collaboration between Citizens’ Climate Lobby and AZYCC, including fundraising to send students to Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s national conference in Washington, D.C., where participants engage in congressional lobbying activities, as well as joint youth programming and engagement with school districts.” Thank you.