Gender identity topic of discussion at West Hartford Board of Education meeting
By Mike Agogliati, Patricia Del Rio, Roger Susanin
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WEST HARTFORD, Connecticut (WFSB) — A topic of discussion that has been hotly debated in school districts around the country was front and center at a Board of Education meeting in West Hartford on Tuesday night.
The topic was teaching young children about gender identity.
Parents for and against the idea gathered at the board meeting to voice opinions on its new gender literacy curriculum that was started in the fall.
The district adopted the element last year as part of its social and emotional learning program. It included a new gender literacy curriculum that focused on identity and inclusion.
It sparked a backlash from some parents who said it exposes young children to concepts like gender identity. But others said it just teaches kids to respect and understand differences.
At the board meeting in West Hartford on Tuesday, some parents argued that the ideas were too complex for young children to understand.
“No kindergarten [student] is lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender or queer,” said Kyle Zelazny, a parent. “No kindergartener is heterosexual. They do not have the required hormonal or brain development or sexual inclination. They do not care if someone has gay or lesbian or heterosexual parents. They just want to hang out with friends, play games and sports or music.”
Others said it encroached on parents’ rights to be able to teach these ideas to kids themselves.
“Parents have the right to impart values to their children.,” Zelazny said. “Story books that teach 5-, 6- and 7-year-old children that they can change from a boy to a girl or that their sex is assigned or perhaps miss-assigned at birth is contending material. Parents need to be the ones to decide if and when to have these sensitive conversations.”
Other parents in support said it provided a message of support for those who feel different and can stop bullying before it starts.
“The social justice curriculum just teaches people to treat each other with respect,” said Cathy Davis, a parent. “And to talk about our differences with love so that we can understand each other. It gives kids a language to discuss the things they notice are different and to be able to communicate with each other and understand each other.”
The board meeting was not to vote the curriculum up or down. It was actually a budget meeting vote.
However, school funds were used to buy books that discuss ideas about gender identity and that was one of the reasons it was brought up at public comment.
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