This month, Townhall reported how an investigation showed that LGBTQ+ clubs are infiltrating America’s public schools as early as pre-school. This report came after a poll showed that almost half of all respondents indicated that lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity are receiving too much attention in schools.
Documents obtained by parental rights organization Parents Defending Education and shared with Townhall show that a Colorado school district discussed creating a fundraiser for “chest binders,” which flatten a women’s chest. Women who believe they are “transgender” are known to wear chest binders to appear more masculine.
This year, PDE requested information from Littleton Public Schools in Colorado about a number of groups and curriculum surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition to the chest binder fundraiser, it was discovered that children as young as middle school were taught to keep parents in the dark about students’ gender transitions.
At the high school level, PDE obtained documents about Arapahoe High School’s Sexual and Gender Alliance (SAGA) club. Resources that were available to students last year included links to organizations such as the Trevor Project and Gender Spectrum. And, the SAGA club's website previously featured books that students had access to in the “SAGA meeting room,” including “The Gay Revolution,” “David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music,” and “All Boy Aren’t Blue” (via PDE):
The organization Gender Spectrum previously offered resources specifically targeting “youth” and even teachers. Gender Spectrum offered resources to educators on a page titled “Integrating Gender Diversity Into Everyday Curriculum.” This page explained that the discussion of gender can be integrated into subjects like history, science, mathematics, and even physical education. In targeting the youth, Gender Spectrum offered online chatrooms for children as young as 10 years old who identify as “trans” or “non-binary.”
The Trevor Project is an organization specifically known for providing children with resources such as the “Understanding Gender Identities” guide. This resource states that “gender is actually a social construct.” The organization’s resource also appears to encourage children to question their gender and mentions the possibility of having surgery to transition:
If you decide that your current gender or sex just isn’t right for you, you may want to make your gender identity fit with your ideal gender expression and presentation. This is called transitioning, and can include social (like telling other people about which pronouns you like), legal (like changing your name), or medical (like taking hormones or having surgery).
In the SAGA club’s meeting slides for the 2022-2023 school year, it showed that the group discussed a “binder drive/fundraiser.”
Another high school in the district, Heritage High School, asked for the preferred pronouns of students, along with other questions about the students’ parents (via PDE):
PDE additionally received over 160 pages of material from Heritage High School’s GSA club. Page 73 of the first group of documents appears to show a Google form for students to complete. This form asks for the preferred pronouns of students. One question specifically asks: “Can I use your pronouns in front of parents?” Other documents include presentations on “neopronouns” and “different types of attraction.”
The second group of documents include resources for “National Coming Out Day,” the “Gender Unicorn,” and the “It Gets Better Project,” which is an organization that provides grants to schools for LGBTQ causes.
In September, PDE shared that Littleton Public Schools provided students with a survey that asked students their “preferred name” and “preferred pronouns.” The pronouns students could choose were “She/Her,” “He/Him,” “They/Them,” and “Other.” A member of the school community told PDE that students in a high school class were “forced” to complete the survey.
Additionally, PDE revealed that Littleton schools stated that parents can be left in the dark regarding their children’s gender identities.
“In general, a student should not be required to disclose information about their transgender status or gender identity to anyone until they are ready for others to know this information,” the school district’s guidance stated. “In situations where the student is requesting use of a new name or gender pronouns by staff and peers at school and/or access restrooms or locker rooms of a new gender but does not want to inform their parents/guardians, the school mental health professional will meet with the student to proactively discuss parental involvement, resources for support, limitations to privacy due to school being a public place and to clarify that school staff will not lie to parents / guardians if asked about this information.”
Erika Sanzi, director of outreach for Parents Defending Education, spoke about this with Townhall.
"Schools say they want parents as trusted partners while deliberately deceiving them at the same time. There is no justification for a school facilitating psychosocial or physical interventions without the knowledge or consent of parents,” she said.