NEW HANOVER COUNTY — After last week’s precursor discussion of sex education curricula and vote to remove diversity, equity and inclusion from the district’s strategic plan, the New Hanover County Board of Education voted Tuesday to combine its sex education offerings to comply with a federal mandate.
READ MORE: School board members weigh in on Department of Ed’s fate after one shares views on CNN
ALSO:NHCS strategic plan nixes DEI to comply federally, sex ed changes could be next
The board voted 5-2, Democrats Tim Merrick and Judy Justice dissenting, to accept staff recommendations on combining two programs offered for middle school sex ed curricula and removing lessons on gender and sexuality. The change will not kick in until next school year.
In total, four lessons will be removed from sex ed curriculum, including sixth- and seventh-grade lessons on gender roles and seventh- and eighth-grade lessons on the LGBTQ+ community.
Merrick questioned Tuesday if entire lessons needed to be removed.
“Between executive orders and Dear Colleague letters [formal communication used in federal agencies], the only thing that it discusses is gender identity, which is to say ‘transsexualism,’” Merrick said. “And as much as I would like to leave them there, I would sayL ‘Yes, I think probably it’s good just to take those out,’ but to understand gay and lesbian relationships is also important for children.”
NHCS Superintendent Chris Barnes urged the board to consider changes to the sex ed curricula at last week’s agenda review meeting, in light of recent federal action.
President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community, the foremost for NHCS being the one titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.”
Trump’s directive calls on several department heads to develop a strategy to accomplish the goal set out in the title, which includes a process for rescinding federal funds from being used to “support or subsidize the instruction, advancement, or promotion of gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology in curriculum, instruction, programs, or activities teacher certification, licensing, employment, or training.”
The district also received a “Dear Colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, mandating districts cease the use of DEI, though this letter did not speak to gender directly.
School districts receive federal money to support students in high-poverty schools, students with disabilities and the National School Lunch Program. These are all Congressionally approved funding streams, and as stipulated in the Constitution, the Trump administration would need Congressional authorization to suspend those funds.
Much of the conversation last week revolved around removing the gender and sexuality lessons and fear of losing federal money. Board members Merrick and Justice homed in on Trump’s lack of authority to pull funding and urged the board to resist sweeping changes.
Ultimately, the board asked Barnes and his staff to put together recommendations on how to proceed. He put together a committee of 10 district staff to do so.
Before Tuesday’s vote, parents were given the option between the “My Life” and “Stepping Stones” programs, the latter of which covers a broader range of topics, including contraception and how to conduct testicular and breast exams. However, both programs stress the importance of abstinence first.
According to a memo outlining the recommendation, the committee believes the title “Stepping Stones” is misunderstood by parents, though district data shows it’s the most popular choice at every middle school.
“Potentially controversial curricular details were added in 2021,” the memo indicates, referring to the addition of sexual orientation and gender roles. “We have called the Family Life program, ‘Stepping Stones’ for years. The parents of current students who had ‘Stepping Stones’ in our district as students, may believe that ‘Stepping Stones’ is the same program they had years ago.”
The combined curriculum would include all areas of “My Life,” in addition to topics covered in “Stepping Stones” — contraception, self-breast or testicular exams, fetal development, sex trafficking and abuse.
The recommendation memo states “it is clear” the community values the lesson on contraception.
“We did want to stress, one of the reasons staff came up with that list that you’re seeing is that contraception is required — it’s mandated that we at least offer it,” board attorney Norwood Blanchard said, referring to state law on sex education. “Parents do have the statutory right to opt out, but we are required to offer contraception.”
Still, board member Josie Barnhart clarified to the public that the school system does not distribute contraception to students; it is prohibited by law.
However, much of Tuesday night’s debate centered on whether the district requires parents to opt in or opt out of sex education. Right now, parents must specify their child be removed from the program, or opt out, if they do not want them to participate.
Part of Bradford’s motion was to add that the district requires parents to “opt in” to the curriculum, which was not staff’s recommendation. Pushing for opt-in when it comes to parent permission has been a key issue for the school board’s Republicans in the past, as they’ve voted to require it for school surveys. Their argument is opt-in further reinforces parents’ rights in education, though Merrick argued those rights can’t come without responsibility.
“So if you’ve got a parent’s right, we also have to make them responsible to opt out,” Merrick said.
Board chair Melissa Mason said she thought it important to acknowledge parents have off days.
“There are definitely things that get lost, don’t get read; there are definitely text messages that don’t get seen,” Mason said. “And I want to make sure parents have that choice.”
Justice used the same argument to suggest opt-out remain, as parents that aren’t opposed to the curriculum also might lose the permission slip in the shuffle, resulting in their child missing state-mandated education.
Barnhart, noting she was in favor of parents having the ability to choose what their child learned in sex ed, questioned if the board’s policy on alternative assignments could apply to sex education modules. Barnes replied these requests could be accommodated within reason.
However, the board member has been taking heat from a regular school board meeting attendant and activist Sandy Eyles, both on social media and via email.
Eyles drew a comparison between the board’s view on relying on alternative assignments in sex education and in community member Katie Gate’s challenge to the book “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You” in 2023. The board voted to ban the book from the AP curriculum.
“Gates was provided with an alternative assignment and her parent’s request had been honored, yet you voted this was not sufficient almost 2 years ago,” Eyles wrote in an email shared with media.
Barnhart replied: “Recalling the stamped process our curriculum should be well rounded and not one sided. After reviewing the materials provided it was the will of the board to ensure that was happening.”
Eyles was not the only vocal community member against the sex education curriculum changes; several speakers took to the podium Tuesday night to advocate against changing the offerings.
Dr. Cynthia Pearson, an OBGYN, advocated against changes that would focus more on abstinence. She detailed a story of an encounter she had with a12-year-old girl who was impregnated at church camp.
“I delivered her baby while she’s clutching a teddy bear,” Pearson said. “We all want what’s best for our kids. We want them to practice abstinence only up to a certain point. But the reality is, that’s not what they’re doing. They are having sex. We need to protect them by giving the knowledge of what happens when you have sex.”
Other commenters focused on the impacts removing the LGBTQ+ and gender role lessons would have on school communities.
“Think about the damage you are doing to the entire population of county, of our community that affects every classroom, every family, every business,” Rachel Daw said, “when you make it unsafe for [the queer community] to be honest about who they are, they don’t stop being queer, but they can’t share their gifts or live their life to the fullest. We all suffer when that happens.”
A few speakers also encouraged the changes, including former school board candidate and Moms for Liberty Legislation Chair Natosha Tew.
“Over the past five years, in every school board meeting, liberal leaning residents have repeatedly — and, rudely, I would say — encouraged this board and other members of the community to trust the experts and trust the subject matter experts when it comes to curriculum matters,” Tew said. “Yet, when they are advised by the very staff and their subject matter experts to adopt a sex education curriculum that promotes abstinence as the best way to prevent pregnancy, instead of promoting various alternative lifestyles and abortion as a contraceptive method, these community members throw a temper tantrum.”
Later in the meeting, the board clarified abortion as contraception is not covered in the sex education curriculum.Though the board voted Tuesday on the sex education curriculum, Bradford’s motion also included a directive to staff to review recommended policy changes related to gender and sexual preferences as suggested by the North Carolina School Board Association. The NCSBA has stated Title IX and hiring processes could be affected based on Trump’s definition of “discrimination based on sex,” which does not include gender identity.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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