Conservative parents at Saticoy Elementary oppose teaching children about LGBTQ+ parents at an assembly
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A group of parents at Saticoy Elementary School in North Hollywood are urging families to “keep your children home and innocent” on Friday, June 2, when the school is holding a pride-oriented assembly that will include discussion of LGBTQ+ parents.
The opposing parents plan to protest outside the school on June 2 at 8 a.m., according to posts on an Instagram page that expressed outrage that the school plans to teach children about LGBTQ+ identities during a book reading. Conversely, LGBTQ+ advocates are upset by the parents and support the school’s effort to educate students about different sexual identities.
According to a district spokesperson, the event at Saticoy Elementary will include a reading of The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman, which cites family types including multi-cultural families, multi-racial families, single parent families and — to the chagrin of protesting parents — families with LGBTQ+ parents.
The group called Saticoy Elementary Parents on its Instagram page says the school has a significant population of Armenian and Hispanic families who “share conservative values” and “don’t feel this material is appropriate to teach to the children.”
“We respect everyone, but some things are appropriate for children (of) that age, and some things are not,” Saticoy Elementary School parent George Dzhabroyan told KTLA on Tuesday, May 23. “Hopefully the message gets across and people understand that parents should be the primary contact of what their children should be exposed to and shouldn’t be exposed to.”
Noah Reich, a San Fernando Valley-based LGBTQ advocate and co-founder of the non-profit organization Classroom of Compassion, thinks the reading is a good way to introduce young students to the topic of sexuality.
“I don’t think anyone is ever too young to learn about a world that reflects and welcomes them,” he said. “I don’t know if there is a more innocent way to begin a conversation about LGBTQ+ people not only being parts of our family but also being worthy to create families.”
He was echoed by Kevin Perez, president and co-founder of Somos Familia Valle, an LGBTQ+ support group in the East San Fernando Valley.
“Even in the San Fernando Valley, there are a lot of LGBTQ+ parents. That is certainly what we need to accept,” Perez said.
When asked what he would say to parents who object to an assembly focused on the book, he responded: “I would say, ‘have an open mind and an open heart.’ There are many different family units that exist and have always existed. This is nothing new.”
SEE: Target pulls some LGBTQ+ merchandise ahead of June Pride month after backlash from some shoppers
An LAUSD spokesperson said the district is committed to creating a safe and inclusive learning environment that reflects and embraces the diverse population it serves.
“As part of our engagement with school communities, our schools regularly discuss the diversity of the families that we serve and the importance of inclusion,” LAUSD said in a statement. “This remains an active discussion with our school communities and we remain committed to continuing to engage with families about this important topic.”
The conservative parent group at Saticoy Elementary was also active in opposing the school district’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. In October 2021 about a dozen staff and parents held an anti-vaccine protest outside the school.
“We said no to COVID-19 vaccines and it’s now over,” the group wrote this month in a May 17 Instagram story. “It was a hard fought battle and we won! Now it is time to say stop grooming our children.”
Reich, the Classroom of Compassion co-founder, said he was dismayed, but not surprised.
“This type of homophobia and fear tactics is nothing new that our community has faced,” he said. “Nevertheless, it’s an absolute shame that there are kids and students in our home city being subjected to this rhetoric.”
Reich and his fellow non-profit co-founder, David Maldonado, grew up attending LAUSD schools in the San Fernando Valley and at that time both felt unsafe being openly gay.
“As students and products of LAUSD, it wasn’t easy for us being queer in those environments,” he said. “We’ve seen the incredible progress that so many schools and spaces have made to make their campuses and classrooms more inclusive and more welcoming for students. In a time where the world can feel scarier and scarier, the classroom is so often a sanctuary for students, especially queer ones.”
Perez, the president and co-founder Somos Familia Valle said he was “shocked” to see the strong pushback from the Saticoy Elementary Parents group. His own group provides support groups and workshops at nearby high schools for queer and transgender students, including several LAUSD schools.
“It (the protest) is part of the anti-LGBTQ push in general,” he said.
The argument over whether Saticoy Elementary students should be taught about different sexual identities in school is part of a tense national debate.
In March 2022, Florida passed a ban on teaching sexual orientation and gender identity in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade. In April, the Florida Board of Education expanded this ban, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay Law”, to apply to all grade levels.
Similar laws are in the works, or have passed, in at least at least a dozen other states. Debates have also arisen over gender neutral bathrooms and the rights of transgender students to utilize the bathroom of the gender they identify with.
The ban on teaching about sexual orientation in classrooms is championed by Florida governor and potential presidential contender Ron DeSantis, who has made a conservative attitude towards LBGTQ rights a cornerstone of his platform. In November 2022, he convinced the Florida Board of Medicine to ban hormone treatment and surgeries for transgender minors.
The California state legislature, meanwhile, has continued to pass laws intended to uphold the rights of LGBTQ youth. Senate Bill 48, passed in 2012, requires all public schools to include LGBTQ+ history in their social studies curriculum. The California Healthy Youth Act, which was enacted in 2016, requires that schools teach about sexual orientations and gender identity.
And on Wednesday the state Senate approved SB 407, a bill that would direct the Department of Social Services to strengthen the foster care vetting process to ensure LGBTQ+ foster youth are not placed in hostile homes.
Click here to read the full article in the Los Angeles Daily News
What happened to having pride in accomplishment of the 3 R;s. It made no difference what your orientation was or is. Now it is about in your face arrogance of less then 5% of the population
Teaching things that should be left to the home and parents.
As the State crumbles, and values of society are told you are a bigot if you believe in parental control and keeping the State out of your buisess.
So much for a nation that created the strongest generation and survived the great depression.
I have had it, and will not spend money at Target, Disney, Bud, etc.
Pass all the bills you want…you will drive out people and create anger and resentment where there was little to none before.
Homeschooling is fun, your child will learn in a non-threatening environment and will actually learn to read, write, learn science and actual history not something contrived or made up to make you feel better. You can actually read banned books like the classics, Of Mice and Men, 1984, Atlas Shrugged and To Kill a Mockingbird. All banned by the triggered racist baiters. We got together in Torrance to meet with a group only 3 days a week for learning from texts and teachers. The rest of the week we went to interesting places where we learned even more. Camal farms, theater, learned to pan for gold at Knott’s while discovering the Goldrush in California, science museums, gator farms, zoo always learning, always free to homeschoolers. We taught cursive, which is highly important for science and math, proven but not taught due to agenda affirming pedophile grooming which is exactly what the Marxists of California want. No time when you have more important things on the agenda like affirming their affirmations of sickness. So, look into homeschooling. I worked at a prominent hospital only 3 days a week, but each parent will have a different schedule and you switch off. Homeschooling is popular in Pasadena, Thousand Oaks, Torrance but not LA, so you might have a small drive. Do not buy the government’s curriculum but rather go to homeschooling fairs offered once a year or consult with a homeschooling professional. All parents had background checks and our kids now young adults are all friends to this day. Most took the California High School early Exit test for college at 14 years. They waste so much of your child’s time when you have institutional government education that you only have to do 3 days of class to surpass what they won’t and don’t teach today. Your child will have mental illness, anxiety and all kinds of issues with government SEIU union run common core curriculum teachings. My child finished her high school education by 14 and attended a early education college group where the professor comes to a class from a junior college so many in her pod finished early, my daughter finished her AA in Liberal Arts by 17yrs. She has a full ride in a great college and all of her course work was transferable. Colleges actively recruit from homeschooling groups. She saved me thousands of dollars, I do have to pay for food, dorm and out of state tuition. She will finish honors college with a Forensic Science degree in 3 semesters. So there LAUSD, take that! For that selfish teacher who told me “You will never be able to teach your daughter, you aren’t credentialed”! Fooled you, didn’t I?
I am always amazed at the attitude that conservatives can be offended or “triggered” but you must not question politely whatever deviance a perverted minority wants to impose on your kids.
“Aberrant behavior” best describes the LGBQ++++++push for unrequited approval. Reportedly less than 1% of the population is the proverbial tail wagging the dog. Sorry, but human nature is still a dominant trait in our society. Most heterosexual individuals will never be comfortable believing that “normal” sex can be accomplished by any and every possible combination of parties. Forcing it down our throats is a bad plan.
What goes on behind closed doors is usually protected and ignored. Screaming and rioting in the streets for acceptance will never win the day.
Yup, keep the kids home, homeschool if possible.