The Family Life Advisory Committee convened on November 30th to assess the lesson plans crafted for elementary school grades pre-K to 1st.

Comprising 31 members, the committee encompasses 25 parents of public-school students, along with educators and healthcare professionals. The lesson plans are designed to align with the Maryland State Health Education Framework requirements, covering topics such as family structure, gender ideology, and social empathy.

The committee zeroed in on the sections related to “gender identity and expression,” prompting several members to voice concerns about the appropriateness of these topics for elementary school children.

One committee member asserted, “There’s no reason the school system should be teaching kindergartners that girls can be boys and boys can be girls.” 

Christine Tobias, the assistant supervisor of health education and committee advisor, explained that although the state mandates the county to address gender identity, the lessons provide minimal coverage of the topic. She explained, “It basically says boys and girls can do any activity they want.”

Amanda Jozkowski, a committee member and candidate for the Board of Education, held a contrasting view, feeling that the gender identity lessons for kindergartners were not comprehensive enough. She stated, “If we tell boys and girls they can do any activity they want, it defeats the purpose of teaching how gender identity can be expressed differently.”

This viewpoint faced resistance from several committee members who argued, “They’re kindergartners. They’re not going to get this.”

The elementary school lessons will undergo further scrutiny during the committee’s upcoming meeting scheduled for February 2023 and are slated for implementation in the 2024-2025 school year.