{"id":41263,"date":"2022-04-08T17:44:47","date_gmt":"2022-04-08T23:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/lgbtq-references-stripped-from-colorado-academic-standards-update\/"},"modified":"2022-04-08T23:44:47","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T23:44:47","slug":"lgbtq-references-stripped-from-colorado-academic-standards-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/lgbtq-references-stripped-from-colorado-academic-standards-update\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBTQ references stripped from Colorado academic standards update"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A committee tasked with revising Colorado\u2019s K-12 social studies standards to be more inclusive of minority groups will tell the State Board of Education next week that it has dropped language referring to LGBTQ people from its recommendations for kindergarten to third grade. (Associated Press file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A committee tasked with revising Colorado\u2019s K-12 social studies standards to be more inclusive of minority groups will tell the State Board of Education next week that it has dropped language referring to LGBTQ people from its recommendations for kindergarten to third grade.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s among the changes made by the 35-member Social Studies Standards Review Committee in response to months of public feedback dominated by a conservative backlash to draft revisions released in November. Nearly 2,000 pages of feedback reviewed by Newsline last month showed many of the public comments contained homophobic and transphobic attacks<\/a> and conspiracy theories about indoctrination and \u201cgrooming.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a presentation set to be delivered to the elected members of the State Board of Education on April 12, officials with the Colorado Department of Education say<\/a> that after \u201cnumerous concerns were raised about the age appropriateness of referencing LGBTQ in lower grades,\u201d the committee opted to remove \u201call references to LGBTQ below 4th grade.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the same grade range targeted by the strictest provisions of Florida\u2019s controversial new \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d law<\/a>, though Colorado\u2019s standards are merely a statewide baseline, and wouldn\u2019t prohibit school districts from establishing their own standards incorporating LGBTQ topics.<\/p>\n

The revised standards<\/a> released in November were the result of nearly two years of public meetings to draft language<\/a> to comply with House Bill 19-1192<\/a>, which required the state to update its academic standards to include the \u201chistory, culture, and social contributions of American Indians, Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans,\u201d as well as the LGBTQ community and religious minorities.<\/p>\n

Many of the changes are simple clarifications or additions to current standards. An existing expectation that first-grade civics students can \u201cidentify and explain the relevance of notable civic leaders from different community groups,\u201d for example, is edited to specify that such groups should include \u201cAfrican American, Latino, Asian American, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ, and religious minorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nonprofit Great Education Colorado has organized a petition drive<\/a> in support of the original revisions, and supporters plan to testify during a public comment period at next week\u2019s meeting, urging board members to reject the demands of what the group says is a \u201csmall but vocal minority trying to stop these changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want an honest, inclusive, comprehensive education for all students,\u201d Valeria Contreras, Great Education Colorado\u2019s director of organizing and partnerships, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Conservative backlash<\/div>\n

The revised standards would apply only to subjects such as history, civics and geography \u2013 not health and physical education, the category under which the state maintains sex ed standards. Existing Colorado law contains multiple provisions stipulating that sex ed instruction must be \u201cage-appropriate<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

But a broad coalition of conservative groups objected to any mention of LGBTQ people in the standards. A Jan. 27 letter<\/a> from 18 Colorado House Republicans said the standards would \u201cexpose children to material that is not age-appropriate\u201d as part of a \u201cradical leftist takeover of our children\u2019s educational institutions.\u201d Hundreds of opponents flooded the Board of Education with negative feedback, much of which was laced with homophobia, transphobia or misinformation about the revised standards\u2019 content.<\/p>\n

\u201cLGBTQ subjects should not be taught in any capacity or in any level in our public schools,\u201d Paul Carlson wrote to the board. \u201cIt is not the job of a teacher to explain various sexual perversions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur schools pushing racial and political agendas on our children is absolutely not okay,\u201d wrote Cassey Ohman. \u201cLGBTQ and sexual orientation are not topics children should be forced to be exposed to, especially in a school setting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Establishment conservative groups, including the Denver-based Independence Institute, worked closely with more extreme organizations such as FEC United, founded by Douglas County conspiracy theorist Joe Oltmann, to oppose the standards.<\/p>\n

On his \u201cConservative Daily\u201d podcast, Oltmann has repeatedly spread homophobic conspiracy theories, including elements drawn from the far-right Pizzagate and QAnon movements, which claim that the government is controlled by cabals of Satan-worshipping pedophiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re grooming them to be gay,\u201d Oltmann said on a March 15 podcast<\/a>. \u201cThis is a real thing \u2013 they are grooming your children so they can molest and abuse them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar rhetoric about \u201cgrooming,\u201d which rights groups say revives offensive stereotypes about LGBTQ people, has been used to justify Florida\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d law<\/a> and other efforts to suppress LGBTQ-related classroom instruction, library materials and more. Conservatives have proposed such measures in at least 15 states across the country, The Hill<\/a> reported in February.<\/p>\n

Alongside their objections to the inclusion of LGBTQ topics, conservative critics also attacked the revised standards for the supposed influence of \u201ccritical race theory<\/a>\u201d and for teaching what they called an unpatriotic, \u201cflaw-focused\u201d version of American history.<\/p>\n

The committee bowed to those requests, too. Its scheduled presentation notes that in response to complaints that the standards \u201cappeared to emphasize \u2018negative\u2019 elements of American history,\u201d the committee \u201cmade revisions to provide more balance to the standards,\u201d among other changes.<\/p>\n

The full text of those changes weren\u2019t available as of Friday. The board will hear the committee\u2019s presentation about feedback and responses in its April 12 meeting, and discuss possible changes before the committee presents a final set of recommendations next month, a CDE spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

For more stories from Colorado Newsline, visit coloradonewsline.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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