Parents Angry after Children Read Transgenderism Book in School

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: Apr 21, 2015

Parents Angry after Children Read Transgenderism Book in School

Parents in Maine were riled when an elementary school read a book featuring a transgender character to students. 

The Blaze reports the children’s book “I Am Jazz,” a book co-written by transgender teen Jazz Jennings, was read to students at Mitchell Primary School without consent of parents. The school intended to teach a lesson on “tolerance and respect.” 

In an email to Hannity.com, one parent said she was anger that she was not given a choice to decide if her child was ready for a conversation about transgenderism. 

“I feel like my thoughts, feelings and beliefs were completely ignored….My right as a parent to allow or not allow this discussion with my child was taken from me. It is very upsetting to me that I didn’t have an option at all,” she wrote. 

School superintendent Allyn Hutton later apologized for the incident. 

“We have a practice of if a topic is considered sensitive, parents should be informed. In this situation, that didn’t happen,” he said. “The whole culture at Mitchell School is about teaching tolerance and respect. The people presenting the lesson thought (the book) was one more piece of teaching that lesson. In retrospect, we understand that toleration is tolerating people of all opinions.”

Publication date: April 21, 2015



Parents Angry after Children Read Transgenderism Book in School