Wake County elementary's project skirts Parents' Bill of Rights (updated)
A "wax museum" 5th grade project of athletes includes transgenders
A Wake County Public Schools elementary project appears to come close to skirting the new Parents' Bill of Rights law.
Apex Friendship Elementary school fifth graders were given a list of suggested athletes for a "Wax Museum" project. The list includes multiple transgender athletes; mainly males identifying as females.
Laurel Hubbard (weightlifting)
Lia Thomas (swimming)
Iszac Henig (swimming)
Nikki Hiltz (track)
Schuyler Bailar (swimming)
Unlike the other suggestions on the list, the transgender athletes' names do not have their sex listed along with their sport.
Of note in the list is "Lia Thomas," a male who identifies as female, who has been the topic of debate nationally for wins that should have gone to female swimmers. One of Thomas' main competitors is missing from the list; All-American champion swimmer Riley Gaines.
Gaines came to North Carolina to testify in front of the General Assembly on a bill that protects women's sports by barring biological males from women's teams. The bill passed into law after an override of Gov. Roy Cooper's veto.
More To the Story
The Parents' Bill of Rights is specific when it comes to gender ideology topics being banned from classrooms in grade K-4:
"§ 115C-76.55. Age-appropriate instruction for grades kindergarten through fourth grade.
Instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality shall not be included in the curriculum provided in grades kindergarten through fourth grade, regardless of whether the information is provided by school personnel or third parties. For the purposes of this section, curriculum includes the standard course of study and support materials, locally developed curriculum, supplemental instruction, and textbooks and other supplementary materials, but does not include responses to student-initiated questions.
What makes the Wax Museum problematic is that students in the lower grades have been invited to view the project this week.
At least one student has opted to profile one of the transgender athletes.
A request for information and clarification sent to Wake County Public Schools' communications department about the museum was answered on April 4.
”The activity is in keeping with the law. It appears that the lower levels are no longer included,” WCPSS Communications Director Lisa Luten said in an email reply. “However, if they were included, the student presentations would all be reviewed to make sure they were age appropriate.”