The Ballentine Elementary School in the Wake County school system has come under fire for using LGBTQ flashcards in a preschool class to teach them about colors.
The Wake County school is now investigating how the flashcards were used on Friday, May 27, in a class full of preschoolers saying that they were inappropriate for children that young. The flashcards include one card depicting a pregnant man.
The cards are in the “Progress Pride Flag Rainbow Families” collection sold by ByUsBox.com.
State Representative Erin Paré says a constituent emailed her saying that flashcards were used in a preschool class at Ballentine Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina.
“The district is concerned to learn of the inappropriate instructional resource found in a preschool classroom,” the school district said in the statement. “In order to help fulfill the educational goals and objectives of the school system, we strive to provide high-quality instructional materials that will enrich and support the curriculum and enhance student learning. “An initial review determined that flashcards were not tied to the district’s Pre-K curriculum, did not complement, enrich, or extend the curriculum, and were used without the Principal’s review, knowledge, and/or approval.”
The principal of Ballentine Elementary School was able to find the flashcards in the classroom and verified with the teacher they were used in the lesson. Once verified, the principal confiscated the cards and alerted the district superintendent and HR about the incident.
The incident comes amid an effort in the North Carolina General Assembly to pass House Bill 755 aimed at giving parents more control over what their children are taught in school, including giving them the option to opt out of what they consider “age-inappropriate classroom materials.”
“An initial review determined that flash cards were not tied to the district’s Pre-K curriculum, did not complement, enrich, or extend the curriculum and were used without the Principal’s review, knowledge, and/or approval,” Wake County Public School System officials said in a news release Friday. “The materials have been removed from the school. The district is reviewing the matter.”
In the Friday news release, Moore’s office pointed to a survey from a Republican polling firm that says 57% of North Carolina voters support legislation that would “make parents the primary decision-makers regarding their child’s health and medical decisions and provide parents with opt-out options regarding controversial surveys or age-inappropriate classroom materials.” “The members of the North Carolina General Assembly are currently reviewing legislation to address this very concern. Parents deserve to know exactly what and how their children are being taught,” according to the news release.
