In direct opposition to many parents, Arlington Public Schools (APS) is crafting transgender and gender nonconforming policies for children as young as kindergarten under the guise of nondiscrimination. These policies are being quietly pushed in Arlington, Virginia, and if successful, could be coming to your schools very soon.
Background:
You may have read this controversial news story earlier this year about the reading of the book I am Jazz to a kindergarten class at Ashlawn Elementary school in Arlington. The book, about a transgender child, was read to five-year-old kindergartners by a transgender woman who had been invited into the classroom through a relationship the county has formed with a transactivist rights organization.
After hearing about the book reading, parents began to investigate what was going on in the school and why they were not given the option of opting their child out of such a reading. What they learned was that the APS school board was working on a policy proposal they said was in regards to transgendered students’ safety and civil rights. However, should this policy be adopted, under the guise of nondiscrimination, the integration of transgender curricula and ideology will be forced upon every young child at school without parental consent.
In response to the proposed new policy, a group of politically and religiously diverse Arlington county parents came together to form the Arlington Parents Coalition to expose what is happening in the school system. Read news coverage here and here.
Action Items:
Whether you have children currently in school or not, you are a tax paying citizen and therefore have the right to voice your opinion.
- Please complete the APS survey on their proposed policy changes. This is an opportunity to voice your opposition to the proposed changes. The deadline to complete the survey is this coming Tuesday, June 11.
- Visit the Arlington Parents Coalition There you will find specific action items to fight back against the enormous overreach by the APS.
- If you do not live in the APS district, stay alert to similar proposed policies in your communities, and be sure to let me know of any concerns.
- Please pass this e-alert onto those you know. Encourage them to both pray and act.
As women and mothers, we love our children and cannot imagine the anxiety when a child is hurting about their identity. I can only feel love and compassion for children who feel as if they identify as the other sex. These children must be loved and supported by other children, teachers, and adults in their lives. God says in Matthew 25:40, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Our charge, directly from the Lord, is to care for those who are hurting.
However, we can love and support gender-dysphoric children (who make up less than 1% of the population) without advocating for the ideological transactivist indoctrination of the other 99%.
Prayer Items:
Please pray for the parents and children of Arlington. May the Lord give them extraordinary discernment. Please pray for Arlington School Board members by name.
Thank you in advance for both your prayers and actions concerning this issue.
Sincerely,
Toni DeLancey
State Director
CWA of Virginia