“There is no reason to inflame the divisions, and leaving these discussions of sex out of the classroom does not inflame those divisions,” he said.
“I will not vote for standards that don’t include references to LGBTQ students at all grade levels.”īut board member Steve Durham, a Colorado Springs Republican, said the state risks a parent revolt if it adopts social studies standards that mention LGBTQ issues in younger grades, a topic he conflated with teaching about sex. “We must provide a safe and accepting environment, and we do that by empowering teachers with the tools and the resources to teach to inclusive standards.
“We have to be bold in supporting our LGBTQ students just as we are bold in supporting all our students,” said board member Lisa Escárcega, a Denver Democrat. It gives the impression they should not exist, and that’s harmful, not just to LGBTQ students but to all students.” “It is inappropriate to single out one discriminated-against group from the standards. “I want them back in,” said board member Rebecca McClellan, a Littleton Democrat. While Board Chair Angelika Schroeder said the State Board needs to find a way to assuage those concerns, the three other Democrats were adamant the references be restored.
The committee charged with making recommendations removed all references below the fourth grade in response to backlash from both conservative parents and school administrators worried about local community reaction.
#Online civics today textbook update#
The seven-member State Board plans to take until the end of the year to finalize the update after the board has been inundated with conflicting public comment from parents, teachers, school administrators, and advocates.Īmong the most contentious issues is whether to include at all grade levels references to gay, lesbian, and transgender people. Three Democrats on the Colorado State Board of Education won’t vote for a long-awaited update to state social studies standards if LGBTQ people are excluded, they said at a Tuesday meeting.