The Austin Independent School District has announced plans to host Pride events next week celebrating LGBTQ students, staff, and family members, but some parents have expressed their disapproval of the school’s push to promote sex and gender ideology to children.
“Pride Week” will be celebrated at schools throughout the district March 18-23 and will have themes for each day to promote the LGBTQ community. The event will culminate on Saturday with a “Pride Community Event” at the district’s performing arts center, featuring student dancers and other special performances, speeches, a social, and food trucks, Texas Scorecard reported.
The purpose of “Pride Week” is to “highlight the district’s commitment to creating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment,” according to Austin ISD’s website.
“This year’s weeklong celebration is March 18-23, 2024, which aligns with the National LGBT Health Awareness Week. Each campus will receive a guide of suggested activities and resources for PRIDE Week. Campuses are encouraged to coordinate activities that engage, educate and inspire,” the website reads.
The school district will also provide “Pride” swag for students on each campus.
According to the American Bar Association, “A growing body of scientific, psychological, and social-scientific evidence shows that an LGBTQ-inclusive education benefits the health and well-being of all students, not only LGBTQ-identifying youth who represent at least 10 percent of the public school population in the United States (that is, 5 million students).”
But the mother of an Austin ISD elementary student told the Texas Scorecard that she plans to keep her daughter home from school next week because the celebration is not appropriate for young children.
“We are keeping her out because we want to protect her innocence, and her view on the world is simple. She can’t add or subtract fully. She can’t read a book. She doesn’t understand the fundamentals of life yet. How is someone at her age and functionality going to understand this?” she said.
“My children will stay home. This kind of education is not acceptable for this age,” she added.
She also expressed concern that only pride flags were displayed outside a Pre-K classroom at her daughter’s school while no American flags were displayed.
“I cannot think of a single reason a school should promote, much less celebrate, sexual deviancy,” Brady Gray, the president of Texas Family Project, told Texas Scorecard. “Especially considering more than 60% of AISD students are not proficient in reading, and more than 70% are failing proficiency in math.”
“Unless parents are willing to step up and demand more of a district, whose superintendent makes $335,000 per year, this evil will continue, and our children’s education and future will be left behind,” Gray said.
Dallas ISD recently faced public backlash for posting a guide for students on how to transition genders. The document listed two Dallas-based transgender clinics as resources for its students, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Its student achievement scores are also lackluster, with just 41% of students scoring at grade level on their STAAR exams.