By Laurel Duggan
Daily Caller News Foundation
The Olympia School District (OSD) in Washington state is refusing to let students opt out of LGBT Pride curriculum and activities, a school representative told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH in a written statement.
The district offers Pride-related lessons in schools as part of its “journey toward Gender-Inclusive Schools,” according to the OSD Pride Month Proclamation. An OSD spokesperson said the lessons are part of the educational standards and that there’s no opt-out process; student who skip the lessons will be marked for an unexcused absence, according to KTTH.
“The Olympia School District has no opt out process for Pride-related lessons as they are aligned with the standards that are required to be taught within our schools. OSD is committed to gender-inclusive schools, and we will follow the guidance of our governing agency, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI),” a spokesperson told KTTH.
The OSD Board has proclaimed June Pride Month. Pride Month shows support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, (Questioning), Intersex, Asexual, and (Agender)(LGBTQIA+)students, families and staff.https://t.co/UcL0bPpQ5P pic.twitter.com/pyXCHflMyl
— olympiaschools (@OlympiaSchools) June 7, 2023
Pride lessons include Pride-themed songs, books with transgender characters and gender-neutral pronouns, parents told KTTH.
“The month of June is an opportunity to celebrate the narratives, identities, and contributions of those within the LGBTQIA+ community,” the Pride Month Proclamation read. “We recognize the struggle for equal rights continues today and are committed to expanded partnerships, policy reviews and updates, and opportunities to exercise learning courage that further our journey toward Gender-Inclusive Schools.”
OSD previously offered lessons on puberty blockers and preferred pronouns as part of curriculum created by Planned Parenthood, which included displays of pubic hair shaped to resemble animals.
A man identified by KTTH as Superintendent Patrick Murphy previously claimed in a June 2022 meeting that Pride lessons fulfilled the district’s commitment to standards on health, social and emotional learning and non-discrimination and argued that pulling students from these lessons was a burden on staff and an insult to other students.
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“Acknowledging and celebrating the variety of backgrounds and families of our students and staff aligns with state and federal directives to ensure that we have gender inclusive schools and to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment,” he said. “To ask students, to ask staff to excuse students when those types of activities would occur, it’s not only disruptive to the learning environment and an undue burden, I would say, on staff. Much more importantly, it’s offensive and demeaning to the very students and staff who are protected.”
OSD did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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