First-graders in New Jersey will be learning about gender identity with new sex education curriculum which includes a lesson that teaches children they can have ‘boy parts’ but ‘feel like’ a girl.
The new lessons, which are part of a broader, K-12 health and sex education curriculum adopted by the New Jersey Board of Education, are alarming some parents, Asbury Park Press first reported.
One of the 30-minute lesson plans, called ‘Pink, Blue and Purple,’ teaches the students to define ‘gender, gender identity and gender role stereotypes.’
Another lesson plan, this one for second-graders called ‘Understanding Our Bodies,’ tells teachers to instruct students that ‘being a boy or a girl doesn’t have to mean you have those parts, there are some body parts that mostly just girls have and some parts that mostly just boys have.’
‘Most people have a vulva and a vagina or a penis and testicles, but some people’s bodies can be different,’ the plan states. ‘Your body is exactly what is right for you.’
The new state sex education guidelines, which go into effect in September, were handed out to parents at the Westfield Board of Education meeting in February, and included instructions for teachers to tell students that their gender identity is up to them.
‘You might feel like you’re a boy even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are ”girl” parts,’ the lesson plan states.
‘You might feel like you’re a girl even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are ”boy” parts. And you might not feel like you’re a boy or a girl, but you’re a little bit of both. No matter how you feel, you’re perfectly normal!’
Many New Jersey parents are outraged over the new lesson plans, with some weighing the decision to remove their child from the public school system.
‘I am honestly appalled at this curriculum,’ Maria DeMaio-Esposito, a mother of two told the Asbury Park Press.
‘I am debating whether to place my child in a private school if I can afford it. Is this curriculum really necessary? Children need to stay children. Their innocence is beautiful and I do not want their little minds filled with this very adult topic.’
Parents are able to opt out of the curriculum, but some say the move would be too much for their child, possibly putting a target on their back.
Paula McCarthy-Mammana told the Asbury Press she believes her granddaughter would be seen in a different manner by her peers if she were to opt out.
‘She may be bullied or harassed and I don’t agree with a child being targeted because of family moral issues.’
The new materials emerged amid controversy over the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law that was signed last month by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – which bans the discussion of gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
Politicians have weighed in on the new sex education guidelines in New Jersey, with former Gov. Chris Christie slamming Gov. Phil Murphy for embracing ‘crazy liberal policies.’
‘I think this is just a further indication of the crazy liberal policies of my successor, Phil Murphy, who is in the progressive movement,’ Christie said on the ‘Brian Kilmeade Show’ on Friday.
‘He’s on the left of the progressive movement, and this kind of stuff just should not be going on,’ he added.
State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-Westwood) told Fox News that as ‘a mom and a legislator, I can appreciate the need for students to receive age-appropriate instruction, but this is beyond the pale.’
‘We knew that when Gov. Murphy used the cover of the pandemic to push these new standards through that something was terribly wrong, and now we can clearly see why they needed to do this in secret,’ she said.
‘The agenda has swung so far left in an attempt to sexualize our precious children that parents are fighting back.’
State Sen. Michael Testa (R-Cape May) called the new guidelines ‘abuse.’
‘We fought for kids to return to school in person. Then we had to fight to take off our kids’ masks. Now, we have to watch our elementary school children, who have already fallen behind thanks to the Murphy lockdowns, learn about genitalia and gender identity?’ Testa said.
‘It’s abuse, plain and simple.’
Westfield Schools Superintendent Raymond Gonzalez told Fox News that the lesson plans handed out at the meeting were ‘a sample list of resources aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards to be considered as school districts work on revisions to the health and [physical education] curriculum.’
‘We made it clear at the meeting and subsequent meetings that these are resources only — they are not state-mandated — and that the district is in the process of developing its revised curriculum to meet state standards,’ Gonzalez said.
New Jersey’s Board of Education broadened its sex ed standards in June 2020 to include lessons on both abortion and gender identity.
The new guidelines go into effect in September.
Reporting from The Daily Mail.
