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San Juan Capistrano – The board for Orange County’s largest school district voted Wednesday night to approve a suite of new books for transitional kindergarten classrooms, including a controversial title promoting gay pride. Another book intended for fifth-graders included climate change alarmism.
Commencing at 6pm, the meeting included testimony from multiple parents who objected to the age at which children would be exposed to the concept of sexual orientation. The controversy surrounded the picture book “All Are Neighbors” by Alexandra Penfold. While the text is largely innocuous, the illustrations by Suzanne Kaufman included many images of rainbow pride flags, other rainbow imagery such as colored crosswalks, and at least one obvious gay couple.
One speaker began by stating that she had believed it was district policy to teach sexual orientation as part of health class starting in middle school, not in TK. Four- and five-year-old children, she argued, would necessarily be exposed to the idea of sexual preferences through the book because “You can’t have pride without talking about sexuality.”
“All it takes is one child to ask what that stands for to open that pandora’s box,” she added.
Another book, Two Degrees by Alan Gratz, caused even more controversy among board members. The YA novel connects wildfires in California, polar bears starving in Manitoba, and hurricanes in Miami to climate change and depicts people burning alive as a result of fossil fuel use. This is despite evidence that suggests wildfires are far more affected by forestry management than they are global temperatures or carbon emissions, and the polar bear population has been increasing near Hudson Bay. The book was also controversial for its depiction of racial issues in a divisive manner.
The district, which is California’s ninth largest, includes 33 elementary schools, two K-8 schools, ten middle schools, six comprehensive high schools, and five charter schools, making it one of the primary options for southern Orange County residents. The USD currently boasts 47,000 students, according to its website.
Despite parental objections, the entire suite of proposed books was adopted by a vote of 4-3. Broad President Krista Castellanos, Vice President Michael Parham, Clerk Amy Hanacek, and Board Member Gary Pritchard voted in the affirmative while members Judy Bullockus, Lisa Davis, and Gila Jones opposed. Jones noted that her opposition was specific to Two Degrees, and would have supported the rest of the package if it had been removed.
“These are all fantastic books,” President Castellanos commented just prior to the vote, “I’m looking forward to seeing all these books in the classroom.”
Another issue raised at the meeting was the USD’s “Identity Support Document,” a document circulated among staff to register student gender transitions with the school, regardless of parental consent or information.
Castellanos, Parham, Hanacek, and Davis are all up for reelection on November 5th of this year.
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