Oregon Department of Education only allots 15 minutes to virtual public comments in upcoming meeting on liberal sex ed standards

When the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) considers new sex education standards, the public will only get 15 minutes total for comments, which must be given virtually.

“Oregon’s new draft K12 sex ‘standards’ will be presented to the State Board of Ed on Thursday. The public gets 15m to (virtually only!) shame them for their plan, but must ‘pre-register,’” tweeted Mary Miller, a Catholic education advocate.

The new 43-page standards would teach 6th graders “how affirming healthcare is important for everyone, including people of all genders, people who are transgender, people who have other gender expansive identities, and people of all races and sexual orientations,” according to the draft posted on the ODE website.

“Affirming healthcare” refers to gender-altering procedures and treatments such as dangerous puberty-suppressing drugs that carry severe lifetime risks for people at any age, as well as genital operations critics say amount to mutilation.

In addition, the new sex education standards would define sexual and romantic orientations including heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, asexual, two-spirit and pansexual for the typically 11-year-old students. 

The new education standards also promote books, according to Miller, such as: When Aidan Became a Brother, a story about a transsexual prepubescent girl; Julian is a Mermaid, also a transgender book about a prepubescent child changing genders; and I am Jazz, based on the reality show featuring a transgender teenager. 

In fact, I am Jazz is already on the ODE’s list of recommended books, for grades K-3, as a tool to help build “self-esteem.” It comes with a handout that asks children a number of probing questions about their racial and sexual identities.  

A publisher blurb for When Aidan Became a Brother even appears to come dangerously close to advocating for child genital mutilation. 

“After he realized he was a trans boy, Aidan and his parents fixed the parts of his life that didn’t fit anymore, and he settled happily into his new life,” said the blurb.  

Ironically, the ODE’s new sex education standards devote a great deal of language towards novel “transformational social and emotional learning” policies that supposedly protect children from violence perpetrated against them by adults.  

Twenty-two states have passed laws prohibiting the use of puberty blockers and gneder-altering procedures before the age of 18. 

Miller provided a link for members of the public to pre-register their comments with the ODE for the Sept. 21 meeting.  

But the agenda, as published at the ODE board’s website, clearly shows the public comment period lasting from 11 to 11:15 a.m. 

In fact, the ODE board will spend almost as much time discussing the “Farm to School Technical Assistance Grant Rule Repeal,” as they will allow for public comments on the new sexuality standards, if the agenda is followed. 

The board also allows members of the public to submit written comments or testimony via email.  

But the 15-minute time allotment for public comments seems inadequate to the publicly stated intention of the board regarding the need for such feedback. 

“It allows the Board an opportunity to actively listen to and reflect on public feedback,” claims the ODE’s website.  

As Miller said: “Oregon’s DOE doesn’t seem to want parents at Sept board meeting about activist sex ed ‘standards’ pushing I Am Jazz, When Aiden Became a Brother, Julian is a Mermaid, etc on 8 yr olds….”