Image Credit: PickPik / Public Domain
By Sheri Super [Chair, Moms For Liberty-Knox County, TN] –
The LGBTQ agenda was on full display last week when the Knox County Board of Education discussed removing the specific reference to perceived gender and sexual orientation from the Harassment of Students policy and replacing it with the word sex.
During the December policy review session, all members agreed with Deputy Law Director Gary Dupler that the revision would bring the policy in line with other school systems and with the Supreme Court decisions that held anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination is sex discrimination.
The current language in the policy states, “Knox County Schools does not discriminate in its programs nor does it tolerate harassment for any reason including, but not limited to, harassment based on actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, religion, race, color or any other Federally identified protected area.”
Several board members wavered after receiving feedback from constituents who felt removing the specific gender language would encourage harassment and make an already marginalized group feel more isolated. Three LGBTQ supporters opposed to the policy changes made the following comments during the public forum.
• 84% of transgender youth are bullied or harassed at school based on a recent survey from this past year. Of the country suicide ideation and completed suicide rates are exponentially higher for transgender and other LGBTQ youth when compared to cisgender and gender majority youth.”
• “University presidents were criticized and some lost their jobs recently because they hemmed and hawed about the hate lodged against certain groups of people hiding behind liability concerns. The board’s decision to not leave well enough alone, to not show simple human compassion is at risk of committing the same mistake. These children are not potential lawsuits. They are flesh and blood and will feel the effects of the stroke of your pen and taunts and fights and worse.”
• “I’m curious about your intentions. I don’t know if this is extreme tone deafness or if it is a loud and clear message that you are sending to these children and their families that you do not value their safety…”
• “Regardless of the arguments you use, we’ll learn a valuable lesson about who you are and your intentions for protecting all the children of Knox County.”
Even though several members would have voted to change the policy, a motion was passed to send it back to policy review.
If parents in Knox County are under the impression their children are immune to the LGBTQ agenda, let this be a wake-up call.
Queer Theory has jumped from the universities and landed in K-12 education. Books on gender can be found on the shelves of Knox County school libraries from elementary to high school, and policies contain provisions to elevate LGBTQ students above others.
When parents are reluctant to voice their opposition to gender lies, they leave a vacuum, one the LGBTQ activists are happy to fill.
The comments made during the public forum have no facts supporting the argument, only emotion, veiled threats, and intimidation.
During testimony before the House Subcommittee on Health, Child Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist, Dr. Miriam Grossman said, “I’m here today to provide you with facts you haven’t heard. You haven’t heard them because when it comes to youth gender dysphoria (also called ‘transgenderism’), the public and most importantly parents, are, I am sad to say, consistently fed misinformation.”
She went on to say suicide of youth with gender dysphoria is extremely rare, that it is a psychiatric condition with no established evidence of a biological cause, and most cases resolve on their own by young adulthood.
Everyone knows gender identity is divorced from reality, that biological sex is determined at conception, not assigned at birth, and that no amount of affirmation or medical intervention will change one’s sex. That being the case, why do parents, educators, and politicians find it so hard to defend the truth?
The obvious answer is fear. Fear of being ridiculed, losing a job, or being called phobic can be a powerful deterrent. Especially when the evidence shows these tactics have been used to great effect. The only way to stop our kids from being damaged and destabilized is to join forces and take a stand.
Activists have gotten a foothold in our institutions because they never miss an opportunity to pressure policymakers, and the pressure is largely unopposed. Giving the impression they are in the majority.
For the madness to end, the silent majority must speak up with one clear voice. Email your school board members, attend meetings, and join like-minded groups.
The revised Harassment Policy will put all students on equal footing. There is no need to single out or give special preference to one group. Harassment is not tolerated in Knox County schools, and it shouldn’t be.
Susan Horn is correct when she said, “I’m in favor of changing it (the policy) to be a more broad term because I think it does include everyone,” “And I think if we start having a list of groups, then we’re going to have a policy that’s like 400 pages long.”
It is time to restore education to factory settings, the place where children learn how to read, write, and do arithmetic instead of wasting time with divisive concepts like DEI, SEL, and Gender Ideology. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
For any parent concerned with gender ideology in schools or have a child struggling with identity, Resources are Available.
About the Author: Sheri Super is the Chair of Moms For Liberty-Knox County, TN. A Mom of eight and a former Realtor in Knoxville, TN.
