The fight to keep parents in the dark is curiously intense. Why so secret? As parents begin to ask questions, some teachers and school officials have become indignant and protective – not necessarily of the students, but of their own ideas.

“GLSEN is coaching teachers how to sneak their programming into every classroom, and it appears it’s working.” That, from Jill of Scottsdale referencing an Altadena Middle School teacher who encouraged sixth graders to blur the lines between boys and girls. The news coverage quoted the teacher as saying, “As your generation coming around and the generations that are gonna come after you, we are hoping that that line completely disappears and there is no line and you are free to be whoever it is that you want to be and you dress and act and do whatever it is that you want to do because that is who you are.”

Jill keyed in on what she sees is the teacher’s effort to coach students to distrust their parents because the “older generations” hold to a biological view of human sexuality. The teacher is quoted, “No longer for most people is that line a hard line. OK? That line gets blurred. There are still people in our society, the older generations, who, that’s the hard line. That’s how they grew up.”

GLSEN is the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, an activist organization that aims to integrate their agenda into the public school curriculum and after school activities. Their website boasts, “We coordinate a network of 43 chapters in 30 states across the nation, to ensure that we have access to schools and districts across the country to reach every student.”

In an email opposing the CAP-supported parental rights bill HB 2161, GLSEN sent out talking points to argue against a parent’s right to direct their child’s upbringing. They included this eye opener: “LGBTQ+ youth should be able to manage their identity without interference from parents or schools” (assumably schools under the restrictions of HB 2161). According to GLSEN’s educational model, parents have no place in their children’s lives as they “manage their identity.” Apparently, that should be left to the LGBTQ activists.

It also included this video from a transgender fifth grade teacher in Phoenix, and member of GLSEN.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also sent out an email asking teachers if they would break the law to teach the “truth” about history. The email sets up a scenario where teachers are “censored” from teaching “accurate and equitable” history about “systematic racism,” and LGBTQ+ issues, among other things. At a time when parents throughout the country are pushing back against critical race theory (CRT), social emotional learning (SEL), diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), the ACLU paints any interference by parents or lawmakers as “censorship and discrimination.”

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) are legally defending parents’ rights, including at one school district in Wisconsin that claims parents are “not entitled to know their child’s gender identity. That knowledge must be earned.” Presumably, parents earn that right by agreeing with school officials who affirm transition. ADF is challenging the district’s policy, which forbids teachers from notifying parents without the student’s consent and requires teachers to deceive parents by using the child’s proper name and pronouns when parents are present.

This gives you an idea of why HB 2161 is necessary, and why CAP also supports SB 1211, which ensures parents have reasonable access to instructional materials and activities. HB 2161 ensures parents have access to their children’s medical and educational records, along with any surveys before they are given to kids. And SB 1657 increases eligibility for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) so more Arizona families have options when it comes to choosing an educational environment for their children.

Capitol Update

It was a big week for CAP-supported bills.

All three of the following bills passed out of the House Judiciary Committee along party lines. I testified in favor of all three, making a case for protecting life, women, and children. The bills now go through Rules Committee and then onto a full House vote.

SB 1138 protects children struggling with their gender by prohibiting experimental and irreversible gender related surgeries for minors. Hear my testimony here at 2:47:17.

SB 1164 protects preborn babies and their mothers from the harms of abortion by limiting abortion to 15 weeks of pregnancy. Hear my testimony here at 47:19.

SB 1165 protects female athletes and ensures a level playing field for all by prohibiting biological males from competing against girls and women. Hear my testimony here at 1:48:25.

Also this week, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously passed HB 2659, ensuring Arizonans with disabilities are not discriminated against when in need of an organ transplant.

ICYMI

• Read here chilling stories of parents caught off guard by the secret transgender movement in many schools and the devastating consequences, including the loss of custody, and suicide.
• Breakpoint looks at how Christians who “see reality as it really is” can live at peace in the world. Read here.
• Read here a brief observation on the connection between the war in Ukraine and religious freedom.

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