School Stirs Controversy With “Genderbread,” Sex Checklists

Lafayette, CA—A school program that offers a transgender twist on a holiday tradition and tells young teens they might be “ready for sex” has some parents in the Bay Area alarmed and taking action. 
 
Parents of freshmen at Acalanes High School in Lafayette started asking questions after students began reporting disturbing behavior in a sex ed class at the school.  Students reported that instructors threw a model of female reproductive organs at a student and that the instruction left them feeling pressured to have sex.  The parents eventually obtained documents from the school district that confirmed their fears and indicate that some of the instruction may have been illegal.   

Among other things, the district admitted that the class is not taught by AHS teachers but instead by staff from a local Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.  The district further disclosed that the class used a diagram called the “Genderbread Person” to teach students that they could be “agender,” “bigender,” “third gender,” “two spirit,” and “gender queer.”  The district also disclosed documents including a checklist given to students entitled, “Sex Check!  Are You Ready For Sex?”  The checklist suggest to the 13 and 14-year-old that they are ready for sex if they won’t feel bad about it and know how to tell their partner what feels good.  The young teens were also encouraged to ask each other questions like, “Is it okay if I take my pants off?”   
 
Pacific Justice Institute has begun working with the parents in Lafayette.  PJI sent a letter to the district on Nov. 24 raising “serious concerns” as to the legality of the program and included requests for public records.  The district briefly responded Dec. 4 to insist that it needed an additional two weeks to locate the records. 
 
Meanwhile, parents have collected more than 100 signatures on a petition and are working to educate the school community about what is happening behind closed doors at AHS.  To date, the district and AHS principal have resisted calls to pull the program, which is scheduled to start back up in January.  A number of parents are expected to speak out about the program at a Dec. 10 school board meeting.  
 
Brad Dacus, the president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented, “What is happening in Lafayette should be a wake-up call to parents about what Planned Parenthood and some school districts want to teach our kids.  I would challenge anyone to read some of these materials and try to defend their use with 13 and 14 year olds.  We firmly believe some of this program is illegal, and the district has a lot more explaining to do.”

Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit legal organization dedicated to defending religious, parental, and other constitutional rights.