Governor Lee To Consider Bill On LGBTQ Curriculum
Photo: Tennessee Governor Bill Lee
Photo Credit: Gov. Bill Lee / Facebook
Published April 15, 2021
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Governor Lee will soon be considering a Tennessee bill that would require schools to inform parents of any curriculum that includes instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation and would allow parents to opt their student out of that instruction.
The bill passed through the House Wednesday morning with a wide margin of 64-23. It was passed in the Senate last week.
The legislation was initiated by Republican Senator Paul Rose and Republican Representative Debra Moody, both of Covington.
It would require that school districts inform parents if they plan to provide any instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation. This notification must come at least 30 days prior to the instruction. Parents would then have the right to have their children excused from participation in that curriculum, and students could not be penalized in any way for that allowance.
Democratic Representative John Ray Clemmons asked Moody what she feared that children were being taught.
“I am not afraid,” Moody replied. “I am simply standing here for the parents, and the parents need to have the decision over what they think is appropriate for their child.”
Those who support the bill argue that the bill gives the power of choice to parents, allowing them to decide what is and is not acceptable for their children.
“Government does not own our children,” said Representative Terri Lynn Weaver of Lancaster. “Parents are responsible, and parents have every right to opt their child out of anything that is taught in the school that the parent does not believe their child should be involved with.”
Republican Representative Ryan Williams of Cookeville also agreed that the bill would allow him to shield his children from curriculum that he does not want them exposed to.
“As a parent, I find out when my child comes home what video they saw that day, not 30 days before so I can protect my own child from that,” Williams said. “Our kids are young and impressionable, and what we allow in their minds is important.”
Opponents believe that the bill will cause an even greater dividing line between gender minority groups and leave many students without an opportunity to understand the existence of LGBTQ communities.
“We continue to stigmatize LGBTQ students and people in our state to the detriment of these students,” said Representative Bob Freeman, a Democrat from Nashville.
Democrat Representative Antonio Parkinson expressed fear that allowing this measure was creating a slippery slope.
“It’s LGBTQ today. And then it’s Black Lives Matter tomorrow. And then it’s Black history tomorrow,” Parkinson said. “And then, depending on what school it is, it could be the insurrection the next day. It could be Trump the next day.”
Many educators across the state are also speaking out against the bill, calling for people to stand up and keep legislators out of classroom decisions.
Nashville teacher Lindsey Lieck spoke at a Metro Nashville Public Schools board meeting on Tuesday Night.
“We don’t want them denying our students access to inclusive materials. LGBTQ students deserve to see themselves mirrored in the curriculum,” Lieck said.
Another educator, Mae Christiansen, added, “We should not be prioritizing one student’s comfort over another student’s very existence.”
While the bill would require advance notice of any formal instruction of LGBTQ content, it would not place a ban on students asking questions related to the topic. It also would not require schools to notify parents if teachers planned to mention the sexual orientation or gender identity of a historical figure, if that information provided “necessary context.”
The bill’s wording does not define “necessary context” and makes it somewhat unclear as to how teaches should respond to questions from students.
This step marks yet another victory against the imposing of LGBTQ ideals in schools. Earlier this session, Tennessee legislators passed a bill banning the participation of transgender athletes in school sports.
Wonderful We need to find out what they teach the kids. The schools are not teaching our kids like they should, One in three can not read. It is so bad. Wake up people
There’s so much basic education to cover after the Pandemic and it’s best to get children up to speed on the education needed to forge their future. The Federal government shouldn’t impose the bedroom into the classroom.
Acceptance of all cultures: diversity is the foundation of our country, freedom of religion and basic freedoms to achieve our dreams in the land of the free.
Emphasis on any one culture doesn’t promote Acceptance…just further division by singling out one culture to be a historic perennial victim doesn’t uplift them. Education and achievement should be the goal.
While I think this is a great step in the right direction… my question is this.
WHY are schools even allowed to teach this garbage to our kids? In their ‘teaching’ are they going to be explaining to the kids that “Gender Identity” is a psychological problem called Gender Disphoria?
This kind of thing has NO business being taught to young children, period!
Its simpler than this: WHY DO WE HAVE TO OPT OUT ? Those who want their kids gender confused can OPT IN and none of that garbage gets taught without full knowledge and consent of parents.
Another educator, Mae Christiansen, added, “We should not be prioritizing one student’s comfort over another student’s very existence.”
Isn’t this comment exactly what the left have been pushing on students themselves? Forcing girls to undress in the same locker room or share bathrooms as boys who identify as girls? Prioritizing one student’s comfort over another (majority of) student’s very existence?
Student’s only requirement in school is to learn English, writing, math, science. They will be more than exposed to alternative communities and lifestyles the rest of their lives – and it’s not something that schools should be teaching – that should be left to the parents of the children to decide when and how they learn that. Teachers are overstepping – stick to the 3 R’s and improve those numbers because are children are failing to understand and comprehend basic educational skills.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. The same reasoning as to why halloween costumes, celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas, learning about Christopher Columbus etc. have been challenged (despite being non-majority issues)!
As an educator for many, many years, I see no point to teaching anything dealing with the sex or gender issues. Those issues should be left for the parents and churches to teach. We as educators are hired to teach our children the basics of reading, math, history and science. And that being said, we are failing in many of these areas especially history because our political outlets want a certain agenda to to taught to further their so-called agenda and preference. We need to get back to the basics and leave the fringe alone. Our teachers should not be asked to teach something that is contrary to God’s word. Our Representatives and Congressman need to be men and women of character who pursue the ethical ways of the scriptures as our ForeFathers and Documents reflect.
the students do not belong to the teachers, they do not have the right to decide what they should and should not learn about sex education, Leave it out of the schools,
LGBTQ curriculum is training not education. We are supposed to live in a free country where all opinions are valued. I do not want my children taught that this lifestyle choice is just a variant of normal. There is such a as truth, and truth is not subjective. We can love everyone without being indoctrinated into their value system. Will schools also teach acceptance of conservative values as well?
The public school system is a godless institution. It is time for parents to opt out totally from using the system and homeschool or use private, God fearing institutions. Parents make financial adjustments to homeschool. It can be done. There are too many dangers in public schools nowadays for children to be there. As Alex Newman says, paraphrased, when a school is on fire and the firemen come to put out the fire, the first thing they do is get the children out of the school and then put out the fire. They don’t put the fire out with the children in the building. People have been battling for school reform for decades and look where we are at! It is time to get the children out of the government indoctrination camps. https://youtu.be/3y9NjlX1coA
As a Christian retired teacher I say kudos Governor for keeping our classrooms for instruction and not for teacher opinions. Teachers should not teach their opinions and that would be a result.
Parents…wake up!.
This has no place in schools PERIOD! Until they start teaching children how to read and write and do math well enough to pass the proficiency exams! We should not be worried about things parents and churches should be addressing. This is the reason my kids went to parochial school at that time it was “just” sex education.
Other states are banning this and Critical Race Theory grow a spine and do the same here in Tennessee. Ask DeSantis how to do it.
Gender disphoria is a mental illness. You don’t’normalize’ it nor do you stigmatize it. However, when is a person’s private sexual orientation significant enough to be a matter of curriculum?
Truth! Thank you.
Let the parents parent. and let the schools teach. nothing sexual should ever be taught from any private or public school. If I am not mistaken sex education was canceled years ago.
Other subjects which should not be taught children include politics. Children hear more garbage in school than parents can rebut since teachers have the children’s attention more waking hours than the parents. Schools have turned into political mills. Schools should have each classroom set up for monitoring so that parents may tune in to classes on a random basis to find out what their children are being taught.. nothing should be impossible to set up electronically these days..or even exorbitant in cost..