References to gender identity or stereotypes have been dropped with a few exceptions in the second draft of the health education standards released quietly this week by the Nebraska Department of Education.
The new draft removes gender identity and same sex-couple references from early elementary education, with the only remaining related references being a definition, and in seventh grade, a standard to ‘recognize that biological sex and gender identity may or may not differ’.
With regard to areas of responsibility for promoting childhood health, the new draft says “Parents, guardians, and families share in the responsibility of helping students learn the health-related knowledge and skills needed to maintain and improve lifelong health. As such, the content included in the Nebraska Health Education Standards recognizes the rights, duties, and responsibilities of parents, guardians, and families as primary educators. Local school districts/school systems should provide resources for parents, guardians and families so they can help their students become health, responsible and engaged while promoting inclusive health education.”
The update is drawing praise from those who opposed the first draft, and expressions of disappointment from the LGBTQ+ community in separate news releases.
A joint statement from Nebraska Family Alliance and the Nebraska Catholic Conference praises NDE for recognizing the role of parents and making progress addressing controversial passages. The organizations encourage patrons, educators and all Nebraskans to review the new document, saying there are still some areas needing improvement.
Governor Pete Ricketts agreed the standards still need work, saying “this draft proposes to teach the concept of ‘gender identity.’ The continued presence of gender ideology in the standards leaves the door open for this material to be expanded either before these draft standards are approved or in future years when these standards are revisited.”
OutNebraska Executive Director Abbi Swatsworth said in her statement that the new proposal “largely omitted the reality of LGBTQ+ youth and families. Nebraska schools need to be welcome, safe spaces for all students. This erasure does nothing to protect LGBTQ+ students. The fact that LGBTQ+ people exist should not be controversial. We will continue to advocate for medically accurate, inclusive standards for our community.”
The second draft of the proposed standards can be found at the NDE website.
