California students at a charter school will not be able to opt out of lessons on transgenderism after the school board voted this week.
The board voted unanimously to reject a “model parental rights” proposal that would have allowed parents at the Rocklin Academy School to read sensitive material before teachers use them in the classroom. The proposal would have allowed parents to then decide if their child needed to opt out of the lessons.
California law already requires parental notice and allows opt-out for lessons on sex education.
The board, however, did vote to approve a policy to allow teachers to “try” to notify parents on any lessons that have controversial material, but critics say the policy is “really weak.”
“There’s no mandatory requirement,” said Greg Burt of the California Family Council.
The amendment “doesn’t require any accountability if the teacher doesn’t do it,” he added.
The board meeting came after a kindergarten boy transitioned to a girl at the academy. His teacher then read two pro-transgender books to the class.
Parents at the school complained to the board that their children were now afraid they could “change” into the opposite sex, but the school board said it didn’t have to notify parents about the lesson beforehand since it wasn’t sexual education.
“To teach my kid that biologically this boy was born a boy and to teach him that now he's a girl is very confusing and I feel that it’s a lie,” parent Chelsea McQuistan told board members at the meeting.
Supporters of the school board and transgender advocates were also at the five-hour meeting.
"It’s important tonight to support transgender children. It’s not about me. It’s about transgender children,” Beryl Mayne, an LGBT advocate, told the Bee.
The five-member board then voted against allowing students to opt out of transgender lessons.
Burt said 71 students have left Rocklin Academy because of the vote.
“We’re not giving up,” he told LifeSiteNews. “We knew it would be a long haul, and that initially they would reject our suggestions, but this is not the end of it.”
Photo credit: ©Thinkstock/RedlineVector
