By Scott Carlson-North Platte Post
NORTH PLATTE, Neb.-Health standards proposed by the Nebraska Department of Education, which would teach students about gender stereotypes and gender identity, have come under scrutiny by many educators, including North Platte Public Schools officials.
Under a draft of the proposed standards:
- Kindergartners would be taught about different kinds of family structures, such as cohabitating and same-gender families.
- Fourth graders would be taught the difference between assigned sex at birth and gender identity.
- Fifth graders would be taught that gender expression and gender identity exist along a spectrum.
- Sixth graders would be taught what sexual identity is and learn about a range of sexual orientation identities such as heterosexual, bisexual, gay, queer, asexual, and pansexual.
North Platte Public Schools Superintendent Ron Hansen said schools are not required to adopt the proposal and spoke firmly against it.
"North Platte Public Schools will not adopt the proposed health standards as they are currently written, " said Dr. Hanson. "If the Nebraska Department of Education reevaluates these standards and shares draft two, the administration will share the updates with the North Platte board of education for review."
"Once the board has had an opportunity to review the revised standards, they will discuss and determine next steps and notify the district and community of the district's next step before taking any action," said Dr. Hansen.
The North Platte Public Schools Board of Education addressed the issue at its meeting Monday night.
Officials also invite all stakeholders to review the health standards and express their questions or concerns to the Nebraska Department of Education at https://www.education.ne.
The state Board of Education votes on the standards later this year.
View the full draft HERE.