People showed up to the Nampa School Board meeting on Monday to speak out against discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom.
The controversy stemmed from a multiple choice quiz in an elective Intro to Psychology class at Nampa High School. A handful of questions focused on gender and sexuality. One asked, ”Is gender a choice?”
About 50 Nampa residents spoke during public comment on April 17, which lasted almost three hours. Natasha Hugo, a mother of a student enrolled in the class, said she was shocked by the curriculum and expressed concerns over the classroom environment being one-sided.
“My child's education should not be in jeopardy because her core beliefs and values do not align with the teacher.”
Many comments focused on the transphobic and homophobic beliefs that children learning about gender and sexual orientation are being coerced into adopting LGBTQ+ identities.
Speaking to the board, Nampa resident Larry McLintock called gender diversity “evil.”
“Our country was founded upon Christian values and truth. Teaching our youth that there are more than two genders is against science and godly truth,” he said.
Kara Hudson, the mother of an adult transgender son, said she was not exposed to gender concepts growing up in a conservative Christian household and at first, did not understand what he was going through.
“Fortunately, he survived me,” she said.
“If someone would prefer to not allow the child to take class and learn about people like my son, who I love with all my heart, they are welcome to do so,” Hudson said. “But to remove a course for all parents and their children is telling me that my child gets to be erased because somebody doesn't like who they are.”
Janelle Stauffer, a social worker and therapist in Nampa also spoke in support of the gender curriculum. She said the board’s job was to provide students with a well-rounded education.
“That job does not supersede my freedoms or my kids’ freedoms to choose and to listen and engage in hard conversations about hard things,” she said.
Another resident, Jaci Johnson decried parents' attempts to censor information they disagree with and said it prevented open discussions.
“Withholding specific information from students with the purpose of isolating them from different ideas is the very definition of indoctrination,” she said.
Trustees are discussing options including parental oversight or banning the curriculum altogether.