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The Benicia Unified School District board meeting began like any other.
The California town’s school board members filed into a small, gray conference room on April 20 and took their spots around a large crescent-shaped desk while fiddling with pens and paper for the board of education meeting. First on the agenda was an obligatory call to order and a recitation of the pledge of allegiance before the members began working through a carousel of district happenings.
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Forty-four minutes into the meeting, public comments began, and School District President Sheri Zada invited Janet Roberson to the floor. Before Zada could finish Roberson’s name, the agent appeared at a sturdy cherrywood podium with a stack of papers in hand. She swept back her shoulderblade-length blonde-gray locks as she moved closer to the microphone and began to speak.
Janet Roberson
“Hello, I’m Janet Roberson and I have three children in the district elementary school, middle school and high school,” she said in a live stream of the April 20 meeting. “At the last meeting, my time to speak was cut short, and there was so much to say about the new sexual education curriculum. I realize the curriculum has already been approved.”
By the time she had finished her testimony, Roberson had unleashed a critique of the school’s LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum for fifth, seventh and tenth graders, which provided varying lessons on gender identity, sexual orientation, STI (sexually transmitted infections) prevention and treatment and sexual consent alongside reviews on anatomy.
“To teach vulnerable children that a lifetime of dependence on [transgender] medical care is a viable option is completely unacceptable and evil,” she said. “Frankly, the new curriculum encourages gender confusion, not gender clarification.”
Roberson’s comments soon turned Benicia into the latest battleground between free speech and civil rights, as opposing community members claim Roberson’s calm demeanor hid her agenda to spark unfounded fears about LGBTQ+ people and allies “grooming” children, according to her critics.
A lengthy op-ed in Benicia’s local newspaper, the Vallejo Times-Herald, followed a week later and highlighted Roberson’s Facebook page and website, Benicia Freedom, which repeated right-wing talking points about the LGBTQ+ community “normalizing perversion” and using drag queens to “break the reproductive futurity of the nuclear family and the sexually monogamous marriage.”
Roberson’s school board and Benicia Freedom commentary led Compass to sever ties with the agent, at the behest of her team leaders. At Compass, principal agents make final decisions about who will be on their teams. If a principal agent wants to remove someone, they relay the decision to Compass’s corporate team, which handles the logistics, a spokesperson for the brokerage said.
“This person was not an employee of Compass – she was an independent contractor who worked on an agent team, and the decision to disassociate her license was made at the request of her team’s owner in April 2023,” a Compass spokesperson told Inman.
Roberson moved on to Keller Williams Vaca Valley in early May; however, she wasn’t over how her relationship with Compass ended. In August, Roberson produced a four-minute video with Libs of TikTok, a popular conservative Twitter account with more than 2.4 million followers, including Twitter owner Elon Musk.
“Is Benicia open-minded? Is this a town that values free speech?” Roberson said in the video posted on Libs of TikTok’s account on Aug. 15. “If you disagreed with someone, would you contact their employer and demand they be fired?”
“How can it be that in America, a mom who speaks at a school board meeting can be targeted and canceled, losing her livelihood?” she added. “Compass, a powerful national company that could have stood up for me and my American right to voice my opinion as a mom at a school board meeting, caved to the bullies’ demands.”
Within six days, the video gained more than 4.8 million views and a feature in Newsweek.
In an exclusive interview with Roberson, the agent told Inman she wants an apology from Compass and a commitment to protecting their affiliates’ freedom of speech.
“I would love to see Compass make a statement that they support, encourage, and will protect free speech for all of their employees and independent contractors (Realtors), whether they agree or disagree with them since free speech is ultimately the most important and very first amendment right,” she said.
‘It’s nonsense’
Benicia United School District’s March 23 minutes explain the new curriculum for tenth graders, which follows the California Department of Education, Adolescent and Sexual Work Group and CA Healthy Youth Act’s guidelines on providing inclusive sexual education. The curriculum begins with a review of human anatomy and then dives into 11 lessons:
- Lesson 1: Understanding Gender
- Lesson 2: Sexual Decision Making
- Lesson 3: Rights, Respect and Responsibility: Don’t Have Sex Without Them
- Lesson 4: Planning and Protection Avoiding STI
- Lesson 5: Getting Savvy about STI testing
- Lesson 6: HIV Now-Testing Treatment
- Lesson 7: Know your Options
- Lesson 8: How to Use a Condom
- Lesson 9: What are my Reproductive Rights?
- Lesson 10: Is It Abuse If…?
- Lesson 11: My Life, My Decisions
Roberson shared a portion of the parental notice about the lessons for fifth graders and seventh graders, called “Puberty Talk” and “Positive Prevention Plus.” Inman could not locate the specific lesson plans for fifth and seventh grade and asked Zada for a copy. She was unable to provide a copy in time for publication.
During the March 23 meeting, BUSD Coordinator of Education Service Stephanie Rice said the District’s goal was to create a curriculum with which all students could connect. However, parents had the right to opt their children out of lessons they deemed inappropriate.
“No matter what language you speak at home, what religious beliefs you might have, whatever countries your family originates from, whatever genders or sexual orientations or ethnicities that you have in your families, you and your children are welcome here,” Rice said. “Furthermore, research shows that children learn best when they see themselves reflected in the curriculum, so as a public school district, we are spreading a wide umbrella to try to meet the needs of all of our families.”
“We ask you to be open and flexible, and see this education as an opportunity for your children to learn about themselves and others in their school community who may be similar or different from themselves,” she added. “If for whatever reason, what you see tonight doesn’t jive with your own family values, and you’d rather teach your child this information at home or through another venue, that’s fine, and we’ll let you know how to opt-out.”
In her April 20 speech, Roberson acknowledged only three out of approximately 4,000 parents objected to the new curriculum. Roberson also said she is aware of Rice’s opt-out disclaimer; however, she believes allowing any student to participate in the classes was dangerous.
“Teaching kids that there isn’t any standard or truth and that you can believe anything you want to believe is not scientifically accurate or medically correct,” she said. “For example, the notion that a girl can decide to be a boy or a boy can decide to be a girl is not true and should not be taught.”
“The new curriculum teaches that individuals can decide if they’re male or female regardless of anatomy, [and] does not explain that a boy cannot menstruate and a girl cannot impregnate someone. This is not scientific or medically accurate,” she added. “Our 10-year-olds will now be taught that they can receive puberty blockers to prevent their body from going through changes that make them uncomfortable. All humans are uncomfortable during adolescence.”
On the verge of tears, Roberson asked parents to fight back and said she’d share her research on the matter.
“All parents should question how this is helpful, scientifically sound or medically accurate. I get a little emotional about this because I think that’s wrong,” she said while citing religious and cultural standards regarding sex and sex education. “We are appalled that the school district has adopted this curriculum.”
“If anybody wants to know where to find this information in their curriculum, I’ve researched it very thoroughly,” she added. “I’m happy to provide that. Thank you.”
‘It gets worse. Much worse.’
Former school teacher Billy Innes heard Roberson’s call; however, he answered back with a Vallejo Times-Herald op-ed that lambasted the agent for her school board commentary, which he characterized as hate speech meant to stoke unfounded fears about LGBTQ people and allies grooming children.
“Benicia School Board meetings epitomize the civil war battlefields in the volatile political/cultural war that cripples our nation,” Innes wrote on April 27. “The language Roberson quotes exists for the sake of creating a safe, inclusive and accepting environment for all students attending Benicia Schools, regardless of gender identification or sexual preference.”
“To hear Janet Roberson tell it, however, she’d have you believing that Benicia’s schools spend the entire school day engaged in sexualizing and ‘grooming’ Benicia’s children for an alternative sexual lifestyle,” he added. “As a retired public schoolteacher, I can say with certainty that ‘grooming,’ along with gender identification [and] inclusivity, is hardly at the forefront of 21st-century public school curriculum. Instead, such gender-inclusive language — the very language that enrages Roberson — exists as a way to protect and safeguard marginalized students from self-loathing bigots such as realtor Janet Roberson.”
“But unfortunately, it gets worse. Much worse,” he continued. “Compass Real Estate’s Janet Roberson also hosts a website and Facebook page called Benicia Freedom,” Innes said. “Explore these web pages and you will find a plethora of racist, homophobic, transphobic, anti-COVID safety, and anti-COVID vaccine writings, along with content that favors eugenics.”
The Benicia Freedom website states current racial equity policies that benefit people of color “are another kind of racism,” Black Lives Matter “spreads falsehoods” about police brutality and claims there’s no scientific evidence that masks are helpful in reducing the spread of COVID alongside several other right-wing talking points on Critical Race Theory, Marxism and socialism.
Benecia Freedom’s ‘Local Concerns’ tab features an advertisement for Benicia’s 2022 UpBay Pride Festival. The website said the event was the LGBTQ community’s way of “disrupting” the “binary between womanhood and manhood.”
“Presenting sexual degeneracy and promiscuity as normal, natural, and healthy, particularly to children, is a communist goal to undermine and subdue American values,” the page reads. “As the drag queens take the stage in their sexually suggestive costumes, their task is to disrupt the ‘binary between womanhood and manhood,’ seed the room with ‘gender-transgressive themes,’ and break the ‘reproductive futurity’ of the ‘nuclear family’ and the ‘sexually monogamous marriage’— all of which are considered mechanisms of heterosexual, capitalist oppression.”
Benicia Freedom’s commentary on a 2022 local LGBTQ+ Pride event
The Benicia Freedom Facebook page has five posts, all of which focus on mask choice. The last post is dated Jan. 18. It’s unclear if Roberson or another page administrator deleted other posts on the page.
Inman could not locate any personal social media pages for Roberson.
“This in itself would be bad enough if Janet Roberson was one lone bigoted parent with web design abilities who is allowed to rant like a lunatic at school board meetings,” Innes continued. “However, Janet Roberson is also a local realtor whose unapologetic bigotry might well affect a marginalized person’s ability to purchase a home, contingent upon whether or not that buyer passes Janet Roberson’s racial [and] sexual purity test.”
A week after the op-ed’s publishing, her Compass team leaders severed ties with Roberson.
Pulling in the Libs of TikTok
Throughout the summer, Roberson stayed relatively silent on social media and found a new real estate home, Keller Williams Vaca Valley.
However, on Aug. 15, Libs of TikTok posted a four-minute video about Roberson’s story where she called out Compass for terminating her contract at the alleged behest of the Progressive Democrats of Benicia. Progressive Democrats of Benicia chair Kathy Kerridge denied the claim and said the organization never sent Compass any demands; however, an individual member did send a letter to express her displeasure with Roberson’s speech.
“A letter to her employer was written by a member, but under her own name,” Kerridge told Newsweek. “We do not require our members to seek club approval before exercising their free speech rights and we do not control our members’ activities.”
In an exclusive email conversation with Inman on Friday, Roberson said the blowback from her school board appearance has brought her career to a standstill, with her garnering only one active listing since joining Keller Williams Vaca Valley in mid-May.
“This situation has impacted all aspects of my life,” she said. “The sales momentum I had built since joining Compass in late 2021 came to a grinding halt.”
Roberson said the slide in sales comes from the assumption that her personal views stop her from offering the best service to buyers and sellers of different races, genders, religions or sexual orientations.
“I have done everything in my power to continue providing excellent service to my clients,” she said. “This assertion makes me so very angry, and it is absolutely untrue. I have clients from all walks of life, with different beliefs, cultures and backgrounds, and I treat everyone with respect and dignity.”
When asked about Roberson, Vaca Valley Team Leader James Villa took the middle ground — saying he supported individuals’ rights to speak in public forums and valued fostering an environment of diversity and understanding.
“Public forums are valuable spaces for individuals to share their perspectives and engage in meaningful conversations about various topics affecting our community,” Villa said in an emailed statement. “Oftentimes they spark important discussions that we believe are crucial for growth, education, and creating connections among diverse viewpoints.”
“At KWVV, we are committed to promoting an environment that embraces diversity, fosters understanding, and encourages open conversations within our community,” he added.
Hate speech or free speech?
LGBTQ Real Estate Alliance CEO Ryan Weyandt said Roberson’s comments violate the National Association of Realtor’s Code of Ethics and California’s fair housing laws. “[The law] clearly states that discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited,” he said. “Period.”
Weyandt likened Roberson to Missoula pastor and former Realtor Brandon Huber, who came under fire in December 2021 for pulling his church’s support of the Missoula Food Bank due to the organization’s decision to include an LGBTQ+ Pride Month insert with the free lunches it distributed to local families. The insert, Huber claimed, went against his beliefs as a Christian and the biblical principles he teaches his congregants.
A Missoula community member filed a complaint with the Montana Organization of Realtors and cited NAR’s hate speech provision which reads Realtors cannot use “harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity” in or outside of their real estate activities.
Huber attempted to sue MOR and NAR for religious discrimination, but a judge struck down the case since he never completed a MOR disciplinary hearing. Huber quit real estate and is now spending his time on Brandon’s Law, which would prevent Realtor organizations in the state from enforcing Standard of Practice 10-5. The law is still working its way through the Montana House of Representatives.
“As we saw last year in Montana, both the judicial system and the National Association of Realtors agreed that it’s impossible for Realtors to separate their personal beliefs from their professional beliefs,” Weyandt said. “In expressing her opinion verbally she made it well known that she was no longer objectively able to serve all members of the public equally and equitably, thus invalidating her ability to do her job.”
“Real estate agents are leaders in their communities and rightly held to higher ethical standards,” he added. “This seems to be another case where a person is in violation of the Code of Ethics, and in this case, I would even suggest state law.”
Roberson hasn’t said she is a Realtor. Inman reached out to the California Association of Realtors to confirm her membership and whether the Association has received any complaints about her school board commentary or Benicia Freedom. A CAR spokesperson said it does not comment on whether or not any ethics complaints have been filed against any member. However, the California Department of Real Estate doesn’t show any disciplinary action or public comments.
In a previous Inman article, Freedom Forum First Amendment Specialist Kevin Goldberg said the line between Americans’ personal and professional lives has been blurred, meaning situations like Huber’s — and Roberson’s — are becoming more common.
“I think we see this conflict between our business life and personal lives all over the place,” he said. “We’re seeing it more and more where people are being fired from jobs for things they say publicly.”
Goldberg said the First Amendment’s primary function is to prevent Congress (i.e., the government) — not private companies or organizations — from creating laws that infringe on citizens’ freedom of religion and speech, including hate speech, and people must take on the risks associated with exercising their First Amendment rights.
“We have proven over the almost 250 years of this country and the 230-ish years of the United States Constitution that we created that we can take a little or even a lot of the bad in order to get all of the good,” he said.
Roberson said she’s sticking to her viewpoint, and will continue to lobby for the curriculum to be overturned.
“I have always had and continue to have a respectful relationship with the BUSD,” she told Inman. “My children currently attend elementary school, middle school and high school in the District,” she said. “I will continue to speak up on behalf of my children, and I encourage all parents to be actively engaged in their public school systems. ”
