By Brittany Jones, Esq., policy manager for Kansas Family Voice
Parents know their kids best. They know their moods, their sensitivities, their learning styles, and when they should be taught about things like sexuality. However, the government has largely decided that its job is to teach our children not just basic anatomy and biology, but also about sexual orientation and gender identity under the guise of “sexual education.”
It’s no surprise that parents’ rights in schools have been increasingly under attack. In California, the so-called “Healthy Youth Act” was passed in 2016 and requires that all California public schools teach children in grades 1-12 Comprehensive Sexual Education. The law requires, “[i]nstruction and materials shall teach pupils about gender, gender expression, gender identity, and explore the harm of negative gender stereotypes.”
The law does allow a parent to opt out their child from sexual education material that pertains to human reproductive organs and their function. However, there is one key instructional piece that parents are not allowed to excuse their children from—instruction on gender, gender expression, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.
Apparently, allowing parents to decide when their children are introduced to these complex topics is “discrimination” according to the ACLU and the California School Board Association. As the Orange County Department of Education General Counsel, Ronald Wenkart, made quite clear, parents cannot keep their children out of these portions of the teaching, but of course they are welcome to tell their children that they disagree with the material their teacher just spent all day teaching them. The General Counsel’s memo went so far as to say that once the legislature passes a law regarding what material children are taught in schools that parents have no right to interfere in that material.
The sheer breadth of this definition of “discrimination” is shocking, but the fact that a parent has no recourse to their first-grader being exposed to information about sexual orientation and gender identity is appalling.
In order for parents to reclaim their God-given right and responsibility to raise their children according to their faith and values, parents must first know what curriculum schools are considering—and what mandates schools are receiving from the government. Kansas Family Voice loves to partner with parents by providing them with easily digestible, easy-to-use information about harmful sexual education bills your state’s legislature may be considering.
Together, we can defeat bad sexual education bills like the one Idaho faced this year. We know your ministry is training up your children and grandchildren according to God’s Word. Our ministry is to alert you when your state’s legislature or Congress in D.C. is considering a bill that will protect (or harm!) your parental rights or have an impact on your family.
We are so thankful for your partnership and dedication to raising godly children—America’s next generation of godly leaders!