At a kindergarten open house in East Lancaster, Pennsylvania, parents were surprised to discover their children’s long-term substitute teacher identified as “nonbinary”– neither male nor female. The Blue Ball Elementary School teacher asked to be addressed with the title “Mx.,” rather than sex-specific terms like Mrs., Ms., or Mr.

As a result, some parents are removing their kindergarteners from the class, at least until the regular teacher returns.

LNP – LancasterOnline reported that parents spoke out, both in favor of and in opposition to the teacher’s hiring, at an East Lancaster County School District School Board meeting. About 150 people attended the August 19 meeting, which normally has only 25-50 people in attendance.

The news outlet quoted parent Kimberly King, who told the board:

Please hear me out when I say I have nothing against this person personally. However, as a mom with Christian beliefs and one who had a child placed in the class, I cannot help but share my concerns.

King and her husband withdrew their son from the class, enrolling him in online learning while the “nonbinary” teacher remained in the classroom.

Libs of TikTok posted audio on the social media platform X of one frustrated father testifying before the school board, saying:

I’m here today to share our concerns with our son’s long-term kindergarten substitute teacher. Thursday night at the kindergarten meet-and-greet, my wife and I were startled to find that our assigned substitute teacher is a nonbinary or transgender person.

Parents at @ELANCOSD in Pennsylvania blast the school board after a non-binary teacher who makes students use the “Mx.” honorific was assigned to a KINDERGARTEN classroom.

One father said he pulled his child from the class.

Parents, do you know who’s teaching your kids? pic.twitter.com/R73vmRAmRZ

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 29, 2024

The father calmly and kindly explained that he and his family held no ill will or contempt for the teacher, adding, “We love everybody for the God-given person that they are, and they probably want to just live their life and may have no agenda at all.”

But he held strongly to his convictions, saying:

However, my faith, my beliefs inform me that a transgender or non-binary lifestyle goes against the moral values that we’re teaching our children. We don’t want them exposed to that in a classroom by a teacher they’re supposed to look up to.

I’m here to protect my innocent children from the confusion that will surely come when, at such a young age, they’re faced with such a twisted ideology that boys can be girls, or that you can decide to be something that you’re not – that’s different than your God-given biological sex.

The father explained that he had “serious doubts” that inquisitive children wouldn’t ask questions in the classroom that raise “this hot button topic.”

He and his wife are pulling their student from the classroom until the full-time teacher returned from leave, and he encouraged other parents who were uncomfortable with the situation, “Follow your gut, and do what’s right for your child.”

Some parents were upset that they’d been given no notice of the hiring. LNP-LancasterOnline reported that Eric Ziemer told the board:

As parents, we were not made aware of the situation or given any sort of indication that we needed to be prepared to have these conversations with our child. I don’t know how you expect 5- or 6-year-old children to process this.

Hope Adkins-Durante, a nurse with students in the district, supported the hiring decision, saying that children would not become gender confused by having a “nonbinary” teacher, “Just think about how many people your child is exposed to. Do they become that? I don’t think they do.”

But that misses the point. Teachers influence their students. There are only two sexes, male and female, and teachers should not expose children to sexual confusion

Elanco Superintendent Michael Snopkowski told LNP-LancasterOnline that the district is an equal opportunity employer, stating:

We adhere to the legal requirements stipulated through state or federal law and do so with our own employees as well as those who are contracted through any of our other agency partners.

On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County, redefining the word “sex” in the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act to include homosexual and transgender individuals.

The National Education Association explains the impact of that decision for educators:

LGBTQ employees – including all LGBTQ educators – are protected under federal law from discrimination at work based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This means that employers, including public employers like school districts and public universities, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

But parents have the right to control the education of their children.

Children shouldn’t be left in classrooms where a sexualized and confusing ideology is promoted, and we applaud those parents who are protecting their children from confusing influences and false teaching.

Many parents, grandparents and concerned citizens are deeply concerned about what’s happening in public and private schools, such as students not learning basic skills; boys playing girls sports; and profane, violent and sexual books in school classrooms and libraries. Focus on the Family has a free, downloadable resource, Equipping Parents for Back-to-School, that explains what’s happening in public schools and offers guidance for protecting and advocating for children.

Related articles and resources:

Back to School With Sexualized Lessons

Bill that Teaches ‘Gender Identity’ to Kindergarteners Signed into Law by Illinois Governor

BLM Coloring Book Teaches Elementary Students the Nuclear Family is Racist

The Bostock Slippery Slope: Girls Who Think They’re Boys Must Be Allowed to Use High School Boys’ Restroom, Appeals Court Rules

Cynthia Tobias – ‘Reclaiming Education: Teach Your Child to Be a Confident Learner’

Equipping Parents for Back-to-School

Resources for Parents Teaching Children About Healthy Sexuality and Marriage

Sex Educators Say ‘Early Grades May Be the Best Time’ to Introduce Children to LGBT Issues

Sexualizing Schoolchildren: Comprehensive Sex Ed

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