(FW) – The Nebraska Department of Education recently released new educational standards that would give teachers the framework to begin discussing familial structures as well as “identity” and “sexuality” with kindergarteners.
According to a draft of the state agency’s “Health Education Standards,” which is available on the department’s government website, children in kindergarten could soon be learning about the “fundamental components of sexual health” as well as “characteristics relating to identity, sexuality, and healthy relationships.”
The framework, which the agency stated is not “mandated” curriculum, encourages educators to “discuss different kinds of family structures (e.g. single parent, blended, intergenerational, cohabitating, adoptive, foster, same-gender, interracial).” First graders would then be exposed to definitions of “gender, gender identity, and gender-role stereotypes.”
By third grade, the framework calls upon teachers to discuss the “range of ways people express their gender and how gender-role stereotypes may influence behavior.” It encourages instructors to teach the 8- to 9-year-old children “ways to promote dignity and respect for people of all genders, gender expressions, and gender identities.”
Children would also be expected to “define sexual orientation” and would be exposed to “trusted adults, including parents and caregivers, whom students can ask questions about gender identity and sexual orientation.” READ MORE
