Virginia school district seeks feedback on new ‘gender combined’ sex-ed lessons with ‘inclusive’ language

Fairfax County Public Schools’ proposed changes for the sexual education curriculum feature gender-combined lessons on human reproduction using “inclusive” words and are currently under community review, according to the school website.

The proposed “Family Life Education Instructional Materials” focus on making lessons “gender inclusive,” noting that puberty is not specific to just boys and girls, according to the school website. The community has until Dec. 1 to comment on the curriculum changes before the school board votes on the recommendations.

“Polling has consistently shown discomfort with these concepts being taught to young ages transcends both racial and political lines – as well as with student speech being compelled,” Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, a parental rights group, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The Fairfax County Public School board’s track record of actually heeding community feedback is mixed at best – which is why it is so important for Fairfax parents to submit comments during this period.”

The fourth-through-eighth-grade material standards include normalizing the reproductive process as well as creating a more “gender inclusive” environment for all students. Though the materials aim to be inclusive, students who are “assigned male” will not view the video “Janet’s Got Her Period” or be involved in the “explicit instruction on the use of menstrual pads,” according to the school website.

All 10th-grade students will receive a lesson on “testicular self-exam and breast self-awareness,” the school website showed. In 10th grade, students will also learn about “sexuality and gender as aspects of one’s total personality” including “how sexuality develops throughout a lifetime.”

During the 2022-2023 school year, the Family Life Education Curriculum Advisory Committee will work to “explore and recommend changes” to include “gender spectrum” lessons in elementary school to create a “more overall inclusive” environment, the website stated.

Fairfax County Public Schools directed the DCNF to the Fairfax County School Board, which did not return a request for comment.