Chicago Public Schools under fire for kindergarten-and-up sex ed using unlicensed ‘health educators’ 

A parental rights group has raised alarms over a shocking sexual education curriculum for Chicago public-school students featuring unlicensed “health educators.”

The curriculum identifies female and male body parts in kindergarten, tackles gender identity by 1^st grade, and explains puberty blocker medications by 5^th grade, according to documents uncovered by Parents Defending Education. 

“Parents deserve to know their children are learning academics in school, not having their class time wasted with useless and divisive content,” Michele Exner, a senior adviser for PDE, says in an interview with Fox News. 

Even teachers have reportedly cited discomfort over the lessons, as the district has brought in “health educators” to teach sex ed classes, according to Chalkboard News. 

“While Chicago Public Schools (CPS) mandates comprehensive sex education for all schools, we know that many teachers don’t have the training or comfort level to implement this,” reads one listing for a position at Lakeview/Gale Elementary School. 

‘Hardcore queer theory’ 

The lessons proclaim a clear political agenda to students, says Rhyen Staley, who researched and exposed the sex ed curriculum on behalf of PDE. 

“You can start to see the process where they just slowly inch the kids and nudge the kids in the direction of hardcore queer theory,” she explains. “That’s why, by the time you get to 5^th grade, you see that they are starting to teach the kids about transgenderism and puberty blockers.” 

At the 1^st-grade level, the curriculum instructs children to “name at least two things they’ve been taught about gender role stereotypes, and how those things may limit people of all genders.” 

Second-graders learn how to “advocate for change” regarding gender stereotypes, while 4^th-graders have a “Gender Snowperson” to help them “explore the concepts of gender identity, sexual orientation, sex assigned at birth, and gender expression.” 

Meanwhile, children enrolled in CPS are failing to meet basic academic requirements. Reading proficiency lags at 31% for all elementary students, while math proficiency is at 19%. 

“Only one in six 3^rd-graders in Chicago can read at grade level,” Exner says. “How about the individuals in charge at CPS focus on carrying out the basic requirements of their jobs, instead of using their taxpayer-funded positions to push a radical activist agenda on children as young as 4 years old?” 

‘Parents/guardians as the primary educators’ 

Both state law and CPS acknowledge parental rights to review sex ed materials “from grades K-12,” according to Chalkboard. 

“CPS views parents/guardians as the primary educators of their children for sexual health, and the curriculum will be available for parents/guardians to review,” a district infographic even states. 

However, the district has routinely withheld information from the public about these materials, saying they’re exempt from open record laws. 

“When Chalkboard requested information from CPS about the curriculum materials presented to students at Lake View High School, the district said it would not provide them because of a ‘course materials or research materials used by faculty members’ exemption in the state’s public records law,” journalist Brendan Clarey wrote. 

Fox News also noted difficulties obtaining data from CPS. 

“Before Parents Defending Education uncovered Chicago Public Schools’ sexual education lessons, the district repeatedly denied requests for such materials,” Alec Schemmel reported. “Among those requests was a federal Freedom of Information Act request filed by conservative digital news outlet The Daily Caller.” 

Additionally, the district’s use of unlicensed health educators, and the intimate, mature types of questions aired in classes, has raised not only concern but tension between parents and schools concerning questions raised during these classes. 

For example, a 2015 blog post by Emily Marx, one of these instructors, highlighted the sensitive nature of her interactions with students. 

“As a Chicago Health Corps AmeriCorps member serving at Erie Lakeview Health Center, I teach sexual health classes to middle and high school students using a one-week curriculum,” she wrote. “During this week, we discuss anatomy, contraception, sexually transmitted infections, gender identity, and healthy relationships.” 

Marx described a range of questions from students “about the nuts and bolts of sexual health: How does the NuvaRing work? Can you still get pregnant if you have herpes? Why do I have cramps during my period?” 

However, the questions often become “less objective and require great sensitivity to answer,” according to Marx. 

“What do I do if my parents don’t accept me being gay? When is it OK to have your first kiss? How can you prepare yourself for being sexual with someone if you feel nervous?” 

While Marx acknowledges sex ed “needs to be a part of a continuous and open conversation with parents and/or teachers,” she notes the instructors’ ability to provide the first – and perhaps the last – interaction on such topics. 

“It is gratifying to know that I am a person students can come to with these questions, and I hope that they walk out of their classroom feeling that they received satisfactory answers.” 

‘Radical ideologies’ undermining the family unit 

Teachers such as John Stamper, who spent 13 years teaching in public and private schools, have warned parents of “radical ideologies” operating in classrooms for years without official acknowledgment. 

“For months and years even, many skeptics around the country said that no schools were teaching CRT and Gender Theory – but they made those claims because it was all hidden and kept only between the staff and students,” Stamper wrote in a book, Conflicted: Pulling Back the Curtain on Public Education. 

Stamper taught as a P.E. coach in CPS for one year before resigning in 2021. 

“Instead of being provided with the resources I needed to do my job, the school board decided to train all teachers on far left, political ideologies – and I was expected to integrate these theories into my class,” he wrote. 

“My job was to teach students how to throw, catch, kick, play sports, and stay fit – not affirm them if they wanted to change genders, act as if their skin color determines their life, apologize for being a man, or for being white.” 

By refusing to disclose information such as students’ changing gender identities, schools are actively opposing parental rights and involvement with their children, Stamper noted. 

“This type of secrecy and allegiance to the state undermines the sanctity of the family unit and ultimately hurts the child who needs his or her parents. In fact, creating an ideological separation between children and their parents was a tactic used by Nazi Germany when forming the Hitler Youth.”