In Lowa, Parents Petition The District To Remove LGBTQ Topics From The Curriculum! – San Diego Gay & Lesbian News

November 25, 2022 Kim Martel

The parents of van meter school filed a petition to the lowa town district asking to remove the topics of LGBTQ+ content from the curriculum. The complaints aroused when a teacher discussed the topic in the classroom that contained the journey of transgender students. The petition also criticized the lowa district for using the learning curriculum CASEL which is a social, emotional, and political learning process.

Some parents raised concerns about including the contents related to LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer community) because the lessons on LGBTQ may bring ‘critical race ideology’ among the students. Members of the Van Meter Board of education clarified the incident before the parents.

parents of van meter school filed a petition to the district

Deron Durflinger, superintendent for the Van Meter School District said that they have received concerns from the parents about the curriculum calling it politically left-leaning. He claims that it was a mistake made by a substitute teacher and they quickly remedied the situation. He argues that CASEL is used to provide a framework to the teachers which encourages them to help and support the students both statewide and nationally.

He said that it is their responsibility to provide the needed resources to all the students and ensure their success today and tomorrow. Their mission was to provide students with personalized learning which will be more helpful to foster their future with the abandonment of opportunities. The New Iowa code allows the parents to address their concerns about the teaching method of the teacher or the school board.

The official of the organization ‘Iowa Safe school’ said that the parents can request the authority to extemp their children from certain contents but just because single parents disagree with the curriculum, it is not necessary to remove the topics which contain certain contents from the rest of the students. And the officials said the parents who are still concerned about the curriculum can speak to the administrator about opting for it.

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning

CASEL is the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning that helps to make evidence-based social and emotional learning considered as an integral part of education from preschool to high school learning. This system follows the 4Rs curriculum (reading, writing, respect & resolution) which engages the imagination and creativity of the student.

This helps the students in grades PreK-5 to develop critical skills including empathy, community building, and conflict resolution. Considering the benefits, many district schools opt for this method of teaching and include the curriculum in their educational system.

Durflinger said that anyone can appeal to the content or to the curriculum, books, or training provided by the teachers, but there is a process that is to be followed and they encourage the people to follow that process respectively and he ensures that they will follow their policies and existing agendas. He added that the teachers are doing their job properly by providing the proper knowledge and guiding the students to build a bright future.

The lowa district responded they are listening and considering the concerns and complaints related to the educational system and updating the policies as needed to make sure the people are satisfied. The main aim of the school boards and the curriculum following should be useful for all the students and encourage the teachers to mold the students in the competitive world.