Idaho School Board Member Suggests Teachers Must Be Able To Discuss Gender Identity Or Kids Won’t Learn Math

An Idaho school board member suggested that if teachers are not permitted to discuss gender identity with students, children may not be able to learn math, reading, or writing.

On Monday, the Nampa School District just west of Boise voted to adopt a policy banning discussion of gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender identity, and gender expression in all grades.

School board trustee Mandy Simpson was the sole board member to vote against the policy in the three-to-one vote.

“My biggest problem, and the most sleep I’ve lost over this, is this idea that our teachers can’t survey our students,” Simpson said during the board meeting.

“I know from firsthand experience that if kids don’t feel safe in a classroom, they will not even begin to try to learn the reading, the writing, the math,” said Simpson, who is a math teacher in the neighboring Boise School District.

“It does silence people,” Simpson said of the policy. “We do need a policy that respects parent involvement and parents’ decision-making — I agree. I actually don’t think this does it.”

Simpson added that “religion should not come into play” in the school board’s decisions.

“It’s about the morals and health of the pupils, not my morals, not anyone else’s morals, but the morals of the pupils that are in our buildings,” Simpson said.

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Other board members disagreed.

“I don’t want you to discuss my child’s sexuality unless I know you and I are on the same page. Sorry, I just don’t,” board chair Brook Taylor said.

“When you ask a 5-year-old their pronouns, this has happened, you are challenging that family through their child, and that is the school district challenging that family’s core beliefs because these are core beliefs,” Taylor said. “I want to preserve our rights to have all of our individual beliefs, and to me this policy does that.”

Board member Marco Valle said, “if I was to say ‘what is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life’ when I die, I would say number one: I raised a good family and I tried to do good. Number two: I passed this policy.”

Valle called the policy “so neutral,” and said it’s “not stopping the kids,” it’s “stopping the district.”

The new Nampa schools policy states that the school board recognizes the “rights of parents, guardians, and caregivers to discuss, address, and educate their child on every subject matter, especially the non-academic subject matters not addressed in the District.”

The policy also prevents staff from being forced to use a student’s new pronouns and requires students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their biological sex.

The policy came about because of a controversial high school psychology class that included discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation, according to a student. The class sparked debate at an April school board meeting, and the policy was first considered by the board in May.

In response to concerns about students who may not have a supportive family environment, Superintendent Gregg Russell said those students should be referred to a school counselor.

‘Absolutely Appalling’: Jim Caviezel Slams ‘Christian Bigotry’ Happening Around The World

Hollywood actor Jim Caviezel slammed the “Christian bigotry” he said is happening around the world, saying the promotion of Pride Month coming from places like the White House is “absolutely appalling.”

During the 54-year-old’s appearance on the Christian podcast “Prophets and Patriots” on Tuesday, he discussed how his new movie, “Sound of Freedom,” is a “rejection of what they are doing to our Christian culture right now.”

“Christian bigotry is the most accepted form of bigotry, right now, in the world,” Caviezel told the host. “And they are okay with that. Well, not anymore. That’s done.”

Sound of Freedom comes to theaters July 4th.

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The “Passion of the Christ” star also talked about Pride Month, calling out Disney and President Joe Biden for promoting Pride rainbows, Fox News noted.

“You want to put a rainbow flag on Mickey Mouse? That’s fine. I never asked them to put a Star of David, or a Crucifix, or a cross on Mickey’s ears,” Caviezel said. “Why are you doing that? Why are you putting the rainbow flag above the President of the United States? Above the United States flag? Absolutely appalling.”

The “Person of Interest” star also slammed a move by the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an LGBT nonprofit that critics say mocks the Catholic faith. The satirical group describes itself as “a leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns.”

“The big thing right now, the LGBTQ, all of that, when you are talking about grooming our children and the T part, is connected to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, what monastery did you go to? Are you really nuns? Where are the reporters asking these people these questions?” Caviezel said.

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“You just used a Crucifix as a strip pole of Jesus. That’s so blasphemous,” he added. “Would you do that with a Jewish Rabbi coming down a Menorah?”

In “Sound of Freedom,” Caviezel portrays Tim Ballard in the true story of a federal agent who quits his job and embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue a young girl from sex slavery in South America. It was produced by Angel Studios, the company responsible for the popular faith-based television series “The Chosen.”

The film will hit theaters on July 4, 2023.

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