The lessons are based on books including Pride Puppy, My Rainbow, and Prince and Knight that explore untraditional themes.
“There are concerns that the plot of some of the books center around sexual orientation and gender identity,” the memo, conveyed to Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) by the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals, states. “There are concerns that some of the books are not appropriate for the intended age group, or in one case, not appropriate at all for young students.”
Principals, for instance, said that using My Rainbow in lessons for children as young as 7 was problematic because the plot centers around a girl who believes she is transgender, with the book also using the word cisgender.
Prince and Knight, used in lessons for kids as young as 8, explores a romance between a prince who falls in love with another man.
Another newly introduced book, Love, Violet, features a young girl who falls in love with another girl in her class.
“It is problematic to portray elementary school age children falling in love with other children, regardless of sexual preferences,” the memo, released to the public in late July, states.
It also said: “Some teachers have shared their discomfort about the content, the terminology, and the appropriateness of the books developmentally as well as from a sexual education perspective. For example, family life isn’t taught until fifth grade, but a second grade book uses terminology such as cisgender or transgender.”
MCPS officials have said that the books, introduced for the first time at the start of the 2022–2023 school year, are aimed at promoting “inclusivity” and that they represent children who identify as transgender or gay.
“Principals are requesting that MCPS consider other titles that more closely align to the communicated intent of the materials,” the memo states.
The principals also raised concerns with sample answers provided by MCPS to questions students might ask.
If a student asked, “What body parts do they have,” then educators could say, according to MCPS: “When we’re born, people make a guess about our gender and label us boy or girl based on our body parts. Sometimes they’re right and sometimes they’re wrong. Our body parts do not decide our gender.”
That claim was “stated as a fact” but “some would not agree this as a fact,” the principals said.
If a student said that being gay, lesbian, queer, or transgender was wrong and not allowed in their religion, educators could respond that “not everyone believes that” and that “we don’t have to understand a person’s identify [sic] to treat then [sic] with respect and kindness.”
That would be “dismissive of religious beliefs,” the principals said.
MCPS did not respond to a request for comment.
“The purpose of this white paper was to honor our member’s voices (elementary school leaders) and to be partners with MCPS by providing them with feedback,” Christine Handy, president of the principals’ union, told The Epoch Times via email.
MCPS and union leaders met to discuss the white paper but Ms. Handy declined to say whether the memo led to any policy changes.
“As this topic is pending litigation, we will respect the court process and not provide further comments,” she said.
Some parents sued MCPS over the newly introduced books after the district abruptly stopped letting children leave the classroom when lessons based on the books were taught. MCPS has said the change was made because too many parents requested opt-outs, some for religious reasons.
The memo, sent in November 2022, was obtained by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the groups that opposed the opt-out revocation.
“Regrettably, instead of addressing these concerns raised by elementary school principals in November, MCPS exacerbated the situation by later eliminating the opt out option and banning advanced parental notification,” Robert McCaw, government affairs department director at the council, told a briefing on Aug 1.
“It is imperative that Montgomery County Public Schools take these concerns seriously to restore the opt out option to engage in a meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders in the community to ensure that a safe and appropriate classroom environment develops that respects the diversity of beliefs and values in our open society,” Mr. McCaw added.
The disclosure came as a federal judge considers whether to force the county to restore the opt-out option.
MCPS officials have defended the move and urged the court not to intervene. Allowing opt-outs again would cause “significant disruptions to the classroom environment,” one official told the court, primarily because the number of requests became too many.
Parents say the county has violated their constitutional rights by not allowing their children to leave the classroom, and that the change was driven by complaints.
In a meeting in May between Muslim community leaders and MCPS officials, one of the leaders said in a declaration to the court, MCPS chief academic officer Peggy Pugh said that the opt-outs were rescinded “after a few parents of the LGBTQ community complained they (children) were offended and had their feelings hurt when students started leaving classrooms during instructions of these texts.”
“At no point did Dr. Pugh or any other MCPS official present claim that the number of students requesting opt-outs had become too burdensome or disrupted the functioning of the schools,” Hisham Garti, outreach director of Montgomery County Muslim Council, said in the declaration.
