This week, reports broke that lawmakers in Nebraska were “clashing” over implementing “social emotional learning,” known as SEL, in schools. State Sen. Dave Murman, a Republican, reportedly said it's an effort to “rebrand” liberal ideology, according to Nebraska Television Network.
“There are still elements of critical race theory and sexual education in social emotional learning,” he reportedly said the legislature’s education committee.
This week, parental rights organization Parents Defending Education found that a public school district is spending thousands on this type of "training" at schools. PDE submitted a public records request to the Laramie County School District in Wyoming. The organization uncovered that the district had adopted an SEL program called Sources of Strength, which includes pro-LGBTQ+ training.
In documents obtained by PDE and shared exclusively with Townhall, it showed that Laramie County School District agreed to pay over $100,000 for SEL training (via Parents Defending Education):
One document PDE received was a grant application from the school district for 2022 through 2024. The grant application appeared to be for the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center. The school district asked for $86,080.40 for the first year and $43,330.40 for the second year for a total $129,410.80.
The grant application specifically states that the program will target students based on their identity: “Prioritizes groups historically deprived of resources.” The district explains that the program trains students “to observe, intervene, negotiate, report and make referrals for addressing problem situations while encouraging peers to do the same.” The grant application further explains:
The program equips students with the tools they need to influence and motivate their peers in positive ways. Students are trained to use non-threatening means of communication to model positive behaviors such as help-seeking, healthy coping, and identifying trusted adults.
PDE received two contracts from the school district with Sources of Strength. One contract is signed and the other is unsigned. The signed contract is for an amount “not to exceed $107,000.” Out of this, $25,000 is for “Local Coaches Training for 50 attendees to support district-level implementation” and $82,000 is for “curriculum packets for classrooms in 29 LCSD1 Elementary schools.” The unsigned contract is similar but for an amount “not to exceed $75,750.”
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PDE received several Sources of Strength curriculum documents. LGBTQ issues appear to be part of Sources of Strength training. In one document titled “Adult Advisor Field Guide,” Sources of Strength states: “Our Sources program partners with a variety of groups and coalitions that are focusing on different issues. (i.e. – suicide, bullying, substance abuse, dating violence, LGBTQ, etc.) We are well known.” The organization also explains that a “Peer Leader” is “a student on a Sources of Strength team who uses their story of Strength and their influence to positively impact and change school norms and culture through Strength-based messages.”
In the documents from Sources of Strength, it states that using the “preferred pronouns” and chosen names of transgender students is “life saving” because it reduces their risk of suicide. Supporters of the LGBTQ+ agenda often claim that people who identify as “transgender” are at risk of suicide if they do not “affirm” their gender identity through “social transitioning” as well as undergoing experimental, irreversible treatments and surgeries. Social transitioning includes going by a different name and preferred pronouns. Townhall has covered how many school districts across the country have been caught trying to conceal this information from parents.
In addition, the organization The Trevor Project is mentioned in the SEL training documents. The organization has reportedly pushed the narrative that “gender is a social construct.”
Erika Sanzi, Director of Outreach at Parents Defending Education, slammed the curriculum in a statement shared with Townhall.
“It is a red flag for parents and the community at large when you see a school district with a 42 percent average math proficiency and 49 percent for reading, funneling so much money to programs that have zero impact on academic proficiency,” Sanzi said.
“To add to this concerning picture, the local hospital is also funding this curriculum that promotes preferred pronouns as ‘life saving’ while the district does not offer an opt-out form to parents,” she continued. “It is a disservice to the kids that need time and resources for academic interventions, and a wake-up call for families to get informed and proactive in submitting their own opt-out forms as part of their ‘back to school’ checklist.”
