Contact: Karen England, Executive Director, Capitol Resource Institute, 916-212-5607, Kengland@capitolresource.org  

ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif., May 8 /Standard Newswire/ -- Elementary students are being targeted with proposed curriculum on homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality in Alameda Unified School District.

AUSD is now seeking community feedback -- and if the proposed curriculum is adopted, the district will not let parents opt-out.
 
Karen England will be at the meeting to testify on Tuesday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m.
 
"Alameda needs to hear the clear opposition of people with traditional values. People with traditional values are not inherently intolerant and wrong, but that's the lesson kids would get starting at age five," said Karen England, Executive Director of Capitol Resource Institute.
 
This multisexual curriculum is part of AUSD's "school safety" initiative. All students should be safe at school, but promoting safety and promoting multisexuality are not actually the same thing. Unfortunately, the social agenda first seen in San Francisco and Los Angeles continues to spread.
 
Storybooks, group discussions, art activities, and film are part of the lesson plans for kindergarteners through fifth graders in AUSD.
 
In kindergarten, being "welcoming" to all classmates is equated with supporting multisexuality. The first grade lesson plan trains children "to identify what makes a family" and teaches about same-sex couples. Third grade vocabulary includes "two moms" and "two dads." Fifth graders are required "to identify stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people."
 
"This curriculum ignores the fact that every child has a mom and a dad, to redefine ideas like 'family.' School absolutely should be a safe place, but this isn't just about safety. Students have to embrace highly controversial social values or risk being labeled as bigots," England said.
 
"Five year old kids aren't ready to think on their own about sexuality -- and their families' values will be dismissed. That's not an education in critical thinking. It's social activism," she said.
 
Parents will not be allowed to opt-out of multisexual lesson plans, if AUSD has its way. The district is interpreting state law to mean that parents have no legal right to opt-out of lessons on homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality, once the elementary lessons are implemented.
 
"[T]he curriculum, which focuses on inclusion and respect, does not fall within the guidelines for opting out," said AUSD, in a Frequently Asked Questions document released this spring.
 
By the same token, however, state law has nothing to prevent the district from allowing parent to opt into the curriculum. The district should be open with families rather than supersede them.
 
AUSD has conducted a series of community forums on this curriculum. On Tuesday, May 12, it will hold one more public hearing. On Tuesday, May 26, the Board of Education will vote.

To reach Karen England for comment, please call (916) 212-5607 or email @ kengland@capitolresource.org

AUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING INFO

Tuesday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m.
Alameda City Hall
2263 Santa Clara Avenue
(Corner of Santa Clara and Oak)

Proposed Alameda Lesson Plans

Read the proposed K-5 lesson plans
 
Frequently Asked Questions by AUSD
 
First grade AUSD storybook: Who's in a Family?
 
Second grade AUSD storybook: And Tango Makes Three
 
Video clips from third grade AUSD film: That's a Family
(Scroll down for the "Gay and Lesbian" clip)