Pregnant pause on ‘Mr. Mom’
Outrage at preschool LGBTQ cards
A North Carolina teacher used LGBTQ-themed flashcards — including one depicting a pregnant man — to teach preschoolers colors, lawmakers and district officials said.
The lesson involving the Rainbow Families flashcards at Ballentine Elementary School in Fuquay Varina was flagged last week by a constituent who alerted state Rep. Erin Paré, state House Speaker Tim Moore said Friday.
Paré then alerted the school’s principal to the unapproved curriculum, and the flashcards were removed from the classroom, according to Moore.
“I am grateful that a concerned constituent reached out and that this issue is being addressed in a swift and professional manner by Ballentine Elementary School,” Paré, a Wake County Republican, said in a statement.
The Wake County Public School System confirmed that the flashcards were no longer being used in the classroom and said an investigation was underway, The News & Observer reported.
“The district is concerned to learn of the inappropriate instructional resource found in a preschool classroom,” district officials said in a statement Friday.
‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’
The flashcards were used without the principal’s knowledge or approval, district officials said.
The teacher who doled out the laminated flashcards was not identified by district officials. The cards were made by ByUs Box, which bills them on its website as a way to “bring anti-racism and inclusivity directly into family homes.”
The company launched its ByUs Box educational toolkits in July 2020 but is no longer accepting new orders, its website states.
The flashcards used in the preschool classroom were intended to be a way to teach diverse “races, ages, sexualities, genders and abilities” to young minds.
“Perfect for baby showers!” the company’s website reads. “A stunning gift for the progressive families in your life!”
In a recent poll cited by Moore, 57% of North Carolina voters expressed support for enacting a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” that would make “parents the primary decision-makers regarding their child’s health and medical decisions and provide parents with opt-out options regarding controversial surveys or age-inappropriate classroom materials.”
State lawmakers were reviewing legislation to address those concerns, Moore and Paré said.
“Schools should only be using age-appropriate materials, and these flashcards clearly do not meet that standard for a preschool classroom,” Paré said.
Republicans in the state Senate, meanwhile, were moving ahead with legislation that would bar sexual orientation and genderidentity lessons in K-3 classrooms.
Lawmakers could vote as early as Tuesday on a Parents’ Bill of Rights, The News & Observer reported.
Catherine Truitt, North Carolina’s superintendent of public instruction, also said the cards were inappropriate for young children.
“I can think of a hundred other ways to teach colors to preschool children,” Truitt tweeted Friday. “Classroom materials need to be age appropriate, and this certainly doesn’t meet the mark.”