Dive Brief:
- The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Washington state released new learning standards for the fall of 2017 that include self-identity in the sexual health section, providing an opportunity to teach children about gender identity.
- KING 5 reports the new standards can be used to teach children as young as kindergarten that there are different ways to express gender, while offering instruction to fourth graders about sexual orientation.
- The new standards do not represent curriculum requirements, and schools are expected to decide whether to include new units based on dialogue with parents.
Dive Insight:
Gender identity ranks high on the list of controversial topics many parents believe they should be able to discuss with their children on their own. Washington schools are surely bracing themselves for a firestorm from parents who do not want their children to learn there are different ways to express gender or hear about differing sexual orientations as though any one is acceptable.
In Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, a plan last spring to add information to the curriculum for seventh through 12th graders about how there is a gender spectrum and how sexual orientation can be fluid throughout a person’s life drew widespread criticism. As schools aim to create accepting environments for all students, however, lessons like this may become more commonplace.