As North Carolina lawmakers consider passing legislation similar to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida, two elected officials are taking issue with flash cards they said were used in a preschool class.
According to a Friday press release from Speaker Tim Moore of the North Carolina House of Representatives, his fellow Republican state Rep. Erin Paré “received an email from a concerned constituent” about flash cards that appeared to depict a “pregnant man” and were used to teach preschool students about primary colors.
He said the “LGBTQIA+ themed” cards were found at at Ballentine Elementary School, part of the Wake County public school system.
“Rep. Paré immediately contacted the principal of the elementary school to alert her of this constituent concern and to confirm the use of the flash cards in the classroom,” said Moore. He added that Ballentine’s principal – identified on the school website as Lutashia Dove – confirmed that a teacher used the cards.
The principal said that the cards were not part of approved curriculum for the district and she did not know they were being used, according to Moore.
She “immediately took possession of the cards, contacted the WCPSS area superintendent, and engaged human resources,” he said. “The principal expressed appreciation for the constituent’s information via Rep.
Paré, as she would not have known about the flash cards otherwise.”
“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,” said Paré. “Schools should only be using age-appropriate materials, and these flashcards clearly do not meet that standard for a pre-school classroom.”
A majority of people who responded to a nationwide Morning Consult poll conducted last month said they would support sexual education in k-12 schools as well as teaching the history of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement and sexual and gender identity. In North Carolina, however, 57% of people who responded to a Cygnal poll conducted this month said they supported legislation that would allow parents to “opt-out options regarding controversial surveys or age-inappropriate classroom materials.”
Per the proposed legislation currently under review in North Carolina, “instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity shall not be included in the curriculum provided in grades kindergarten through third grade, regardless of whether the information is provided by school personnel or third parties.”
Previously, a similar stipulation was included in Florida’s Parental Rights in Education or “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which passed in March and is set to become effective in July. Since that legislation passed, it has drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ activists, who argue that such policies could have negative consequences for LGBTQ+ students.
“School should be a place where students learn and find acceptance, not where talking about LGBTQ people is a crime,” said Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, in a statement about the Florida bill.
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