School districts across the state are awaiting revisions of the Nebraska Department of Education's proposed health education standards that have faced controversy since they were first released in March.
The proposed standards create a framework for K-12 health education for Nebraska schools and cover a wide variety of topics — from gender identity and gender expression to sexual orientation and diverse family structures.
The standards, if approved, could be adopted on a voluntary basis by school districts.
Thirty Nebraska state senators, including District 16 Sen. Ben Hansen, drafted a resolution for school boards across the state to oppose the new standards.
Several schools have already announced their opposition of the standards. One — Sidney Public Schools — passed the resolution.
The Blair Community Schools Board of Education has taken a stance against the proposed standards, passing a motion saying as much and directing Supt. Randy Gilson to send a letter to the Nebraska Department of Education informing of their decision.
Gilson has also denounced the standards and promised to keep the district's current health curriculum.
These are important topics for students to learn, but at a much more advanced age. Schools don't need to be teaching second-graders about gender identity or sexuality. Fourth-graders don't need to learn the difference between sex assigned at birth and gender identity.
These are also topics that should be addressed by parents at home rather than in schools.
Other districts should follow suit and at least express to the state board of education that revisions need to be made and allow parents to decide when their child learns some of these life topics.
