(PatriotWise.com) — A school district in Washington state is refusing to allow students to opt out of their schools’ Pride Month activities and lessons, the Daily Caller reported.
In its “Pride Month Proclamation,” Olympia School District announced that it would offer Pride lessons as part of a “journey toward Gender-Inclusive Schools.”
According to the proclamation, the district acknowledged the struggle for equality and said it is “committed” to expanding “partnerships” and “opportunities” to “exercise learning courage” to further its goal of becoming gender-inclusive.
Last week, in a statement to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH, an official from the Olympia School District confirmed that the district does not have an opt-out process since the “Pride-related lessons” are aligned with the required standards of what can be taught in Olympia schools, KTTH reported.
According to the statement, the district is “committed to gender-inclusive schools” and is following the guidance of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the district’s governing agency.
District parents told KTTH that the Pride lessons include books featuring transgender characters and Pride-themed songs, and students are required to participate.
According to Jason RantzOlympia School District Superintendent Patrick Murphy argued at a June 23 school board meeting last year that the district’s Pride lessons are part of its commitment to health, social, and emotional learning.
Murphy said at the time that allowing students to opt out of the lessons created an “undue burden” on the teachers and was “disruptive to the learning environment.” The superintendent added that wanting to opt out of the Pride lessons was “offensive” as well as “demeaning” to students and staff “who are protected.”
One parent told KTTH that if parents do pull their children out of school during the Pride lessons, it would be considered by the school as an unexcused absence.
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