Some elementary schools in Massachusetts observe “Transgender Awareness Week” in a district that prohibits parents from opting their children out of lessons about gender identity and sexuality.

“November 13th through November 19th is Transgender Awareness Week,” Angiers Elementary Principal Orla Higgins Averill said in an email obtained by The Daily Signal. “This week helps raise the visibility of transgender people and address issues facing members of the community.”

The link provided takes parents to the website of GLAAD, a radical LGBTQ activist group which advocates so-called gender-affirming care saves lives for young people who believe they are transgender.

Angiers Elementary teaches kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Newton Public Schools in Newton, Massachusetts, a predominantly liberal area north of Boston.

Parents whose children are enrolled in Newton public schools cannot opt ​​out of lessons about sexual orientation or gender identity, according to guidelines approved in October by the district’s school board, called the Newton School Committee.

“While parents/guardians/caregivers may opt out of sexuality-specific health curriculum
reproduction, our commitment to gender and sexuality education remains steadfast,” the document reads. “Our curriculum aligns with state guidelines to promote understanding and inclusion of diverse identities and
guidelines.”

A footnote clarifies that parents and guardians can legally exempt their children from sex education lessons, but this does not include lessons in which the themes of “sexuality, gender identity, or sexual orientation” are “embedded in the curriculum course or in the training lesson, but not in the main subject of the course.”

Newton Public Schools said The daily signal gender identity orientation is not a policy. The district did not immediately respond to a follow-up question about why that distinction matters.

“With respect to district policy related to sexuality education,” the communications office said, “parents have the option to exempt their student from any part of the curriculum that primarily involves human sexuality education or the issue of human sexuality.” The district did not address the “gender identity” portion of the policy.

Massachusetts’ 2023 health standards include lessons on “Sex, Sexual Orientation, and Sexual Health” beginning in Kindergarten, from which Newton parents are not allowed to pull their children.

In third grade, students learn to “describe the differences between biological sex and gender identity and explain how one’s behavior or appearance does not define one’s gender identity or sexual orientation.”

The standards say that 8-year-olds in Massachusetts should be able to describe “a range of ways in which people can express their gender and that some people’s gender identity (how they think of themselves) matches the expectations of others with look at how their body looks on screen. out and others not.” Children should also be able to explain “how gender identity and sexual orientation can vary for each individual,” according to the standards.

In accordance with state standards, Newton Public Schools “integrates inclusive LGBTQ+ content across all grade levels (PK-12) and subject areas into age-appropriate practices and provides ongoing professional development for educators,” according to gender identity guidelines.

A person claiming to be a Newton parent posted anonymously in a Facebook group “Newton Community” claiming that she had asked her child’s principal for permission to opt out of her child’s Transgender Awareness Week lessons, but the principal denied her request .

The parent did not specify which school her child attends. However, the moderator of the Facebook group confirmed that he is a father.

Anna Nolin, Newton’s school principal, responded to the anonymous parent saying that Transgender Awareness Week does not include lessons at the school. Rather, she wrote, parents are encouraged to use the recommended resources to discuss transgenderism with their elementary students at home.

The anonymous parent said her child’s principal did not inform her that there were no specific lesson plans, but that the child’s teacher told her the class would not be learning about transgenderism.

The Newton Public Schools communications office told The Daily Signal that the information posted on the Facebook group “was not accurate because the district does not have a Transgender Awareness Week curriculum.”

“Transgender Awareness Week is recognized by Human Rights Campaign as a moment to recognize transgender people in our society,” the school district said in an emailed statement. “Newton Public Schools did not create this awareness week and any mention of it is for informational purposes only.”

Critics say the Human Rights Campaign, a major LGBTQ rights group, supports irreversible transgender medical interventions for children and colleague the lie that children are less likely to kill themselves if they “transition” to the opposite sex.

Another parent shared a screenshot of an email from the principal of Bowen Elementary informing parents about Transgender Awareness Week.

The week aims to “increase visibility about transgender people” for children in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to a screenshot of the email.

Recommended library books include I am Jazz, Julian is a Mermaid, When Aidan Became a Mermaid, and They She He Me: Free to Be!, all controversial titles that teach children where they would could be born. the wrong body.

In June, someone dressed as Bowen Elementary’s mascot waved a “pride” flag in front of a student assembly to celebrate Pride Month, according to footage obtained by the Massachusetts Family Institute.

Sam Whiting, general counsel at the Massachusetts Family Institute, said he believes sexuality and gender identity lessons should be included under the umbrella of human sexuality lessons, from which parents are allowed to exempt their children.

The district’s legal counsel did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s inquiry about Whiting’s statements. This article will be updated if a response is received.

“When you talk about what I’ve seen a lot of times, which is something framed as an anti-bullying presentation, but really it’s just indoctrinating kids into whatever genres there are and how great it is to celebrate LGBT and all that. , we think that definitely falls under the sex education opt-out law because it’s an issue of human sexuality,” Whiting told The Daily Signal.

The legal arm of the Massachusetts Family Institute is looking for a plaintiff to file a lawsuit against school districts with guidelines like Newton’s.

The mother of a Newton Public Schools elementary student who asked to remain anonymous told The Daily Signal that schools should not be teaching young children about transgenderism.

“They suggest that if a child feels that they are not a boy but a girl, then they can become a girl based on those feelings alone,” said the mother. “This approach is worrying.”

“We are responsible for our children, and I and many parents don’t want our children to be taught in a way like, ‘If you want to be a girl, I’ll support you,'” she said. “Children are children, they live in a different world, they believe in Santa Claus, they can believe anything an adult says, if that adult is someone very close to that child.”

It’s “emotional manipulation” and “legalized abuse” for parents to transition a son because he likes to play with dolls, the mother told the Daily Signal.

“Children often live in a world of imagination – they may pretend to be animals, or boys may play with dolls, while girls play with cars,” she said. “There is nothing unusual about that; just explore and have fun.”