"A small school district in Michigan is pushing back against those who would alter its sex ed program by incorporating discussions of sexual and gender identity.
"In Allendale, Michigan, a town of roughly 26,000 people, the sex ed program has been titled “Willing To Wait,” and holds fast to the "benefits of abstaining from sex until marriage." Allendale School District Superintendent Garth Cooper stated, "It doesn't matter what your sexual orientation is. The bottom line is that abstinence is the best and only proven way to keep yourself from getting a sexually transmitted infection or from getting pregnant. And so whether you're straight or trans or bi, the message is the same."
"But last spring, some parents decided they wanted the school district to change the program so students would discuss LGBTQ issues; a teacher named Tiffany Harp who taught a class titled "Family and Relationships" had spoken with the class about sexual and gender identity. Harp asserted:
I would explain to them how gender identity is your internal sense of what it is to be male or female. And then, for some people, their gender identity sometimes doesn't align with their biological sex. And kids — when they asked those questions — they were like, “Oh!” Like it made sense to them."The situation engendered anger among parents, many of whom wanted the sex ed message to champion abstinence until marriage. " . . .
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