Beginning this fall, Colorado’s first and second graders might learn about the story behind Harvey Milk’s gay pride flag, while down the hallway, third graders learn about California’s failed 1978 ban on lesbian and gay teachers, Milk’s death, and his murderer’s controversial sentencing.
Teachers now have access to new state-provided sexually based educational resources to teach students about the history, culture, and social contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals to meet the state’s revised social studies academic standards. Using the state’s teaching materials is optional; the subject matter and developing a resource bank was required by House Bill 19-1192.
Colorado law does not allow comprehensive human sexuality education to be taught until fourth grade. Yet, majorities in the state legislature and the Colorado State Board of Education determined that teachers must introduce sexual orientation and gender identity to children as young as first grade during social studies classes.
School districts don’t have to offer comprehensive human sexuality education, but if they do, they must provide parents with the course content and written notification of their right to excuse their children from the lessons. Even so, there is no required parental notification of sexually based topics or the opportunity to opt children out of social studies. Parents are best suited to decide when their children are mature enough to discuss such topics. They should be alerted as social studies units may expose young children to weighty and complex topics.
Examining some LGBTQ resources for first grade makes one wonder what questions curious six-year-olds will ask their trusted teachers as they try to grasp the meaning of a photo of a man clad in a rainbow costume during a Gay Pride Parade, an article about Governor Polis being the country’s first openly gay elected governor, a video of a teacher telling the children that sometimes boys love boys and girls love girls before reading a storybook about Harvey Milk’s Gay Pride Flag, and a book about Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay Democratic presidential candidate. More concerning is how teachers will answer the questions during the discussions.
According to Colorado’s academic standards, first-grade students are expected to explain how diverse perspectives and traditions of families from many cultures have shaped the United States. In addition, they are to identify and explain how the significance of notable people and places, holidays, and civic symbols reflect the origins and values of the government and its citizens. Students demonstrate their knowledge through several outcomes, including:
- Discuss common and unique characteristics of different cultures, including African American, Latino, Asian American, Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ, and religious minorities, using multiple sources of information.
- Identify and explain the relevance of notable civic leaders from different community groups, including African American, Latino, Asian American, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ, and religious minorities.
- Identify and explain the meaning of various civic symbols important to diverse community groups. For example: The American flag, the National Anthem, Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Liberty Bell, Emancipation Proclamation, a yellow sash (i.e., for women’s rights), tribal flags of Native Nations whose ancestral homelands include present-day Colorado, LGBTQ Pride Flag, and the Colorado Flag.
Parents generally don’t have time to read the state academic standards, but educators might suggest they read the “Community and Family Guides,” which summarize the standards. Nonetheless, guides for the first and second grades don’t disclose to parents that their children will learn about the history and contributions of LGBTQ individuals. This omission is disingenuous and leaves parents of first- and second-grade children in the dark. The third-grade guide is more forthcoming.
The state’s third-grade resources are another example of age inappropriateness. Eight-year-olds learn about Harvey Milk’s successful effort to defeat California’s 1978 Proposition 6, an initiative to require the firing of lesbian and gay teachers. Milk was murdered soon after the election. The third-grade resources include an audio recording of interviews from people who were attending Milk’s memorial service, as well as audio from discussions about his murderer’s jury trial and the controversial verdict.
Before the Colorado State Board of Education could adopt the new proposed standards, they underwent the typical public feedback process. Never had the Colorado Department of Education dealt with thousands of statements from the public about proposed academic standards. Emotions ran high from both those in support and against the recommendations.
In the state board’s final action, the Democrat majority voted to disregard parents’ pleas to at least hold off until fourth grade to introduce their children to sexual topics, a logical request based on existing health education law.
Informed parents who disagree with the state’s overreach are now burdened with uncomfortable conversations with their children’s teachers about what will be taught in social studies class. Unfortunately, most elementary school parents don’t know what’s included in academic standards, let alone the state’s new contentious LGBTQ social studies resources.
In today’s culture, there is significant disagreement about what is an age-appropriate topic for elementary children. Be that as it may, cultural shifts should not nullify parents’ instinctive discernment of their children’s cognitive and emotional maturity and should be respected by policymakers.
Pam Benigno is the director of the Education Policy Center at the Independence Institute, a free market think tank in Denver.
