Michigan adopts new education standards incorporating gender identity and sexual orientation

‘This is wrong on so many levels. It shows how the utterly corrupt and radical teachers’ unions have forced the LGBTQ agenda and other miseducation into government schools and why parents need to get their kids out as soon as possible,’ said Michigan PIE President and Board Member 

The Michigan State Board of Education approved new state sex education standards, which include recommendations that students be taught about gender identity and sexual orientation, Fox News reported.

The “Michigan Health Education Standards Guidelines” were adopted on Thursday after a 6-2 vote, despite pushback from some parents and pastors who argued that the standards undermine parental rights and religious liberties.

By the end of eighth grade, students should be able to “define gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, and explain that they are distinct components of every individual’s identity,” the new standard says.

“This is indoctrination, pure and simple,” said Melanie Kurdys, United States Parents Involved in Education’s (USPIE) Michigan PIE president and board member. “The state is at war with nature and nature’s God, imposing a perverse idea of sexuality on children while pretending to give parents viable options.

“Opt-out is offered only as a legal remedy, but it’s highly impractical. The kids who have to leave the classrooms are stigmatized, sometimes by LGBTQ-identifying teachers who disparage the kids’ parents. This turns everything on its head. The kids whose parents want normalcy and solid education are the ones who are made to feel weird.

“Think about this: If the schools were distributing mind-altering drugs but offered an opt-out, would that make it okay to foist this on the rest of the kids who cannot opt out?”

On a recent USPIE presidents call, many participants reported serious moves into things like Transformational SEL, which integrates DEI into mental health programs in government schools. 

“These standards are full of requirements for mental and emotional health, opening the door for these corrosive programs,” Kurdys said. “There are also moves to teach children to see themselves as having disorders, like trans identification. Then the state moves to demand that the parents agree to medical treatments or risk losing their children.

“This is wrong on so many levels. It shows how the utterly corrupt and radical teachers’ unions have forced the LGBTQ agenda and other miseducation into government schools and why parents need to get their kids out as soon as possible.”

According to USPIE’s new report, “Are Government Schools Redeemable?” government involvement is one of the five roadblocks making government schools unredeemable.

“Government schools have failed most students by every key metric: reading and math, critical thinking, attendance, physical and mental health, and return on taxpayers’ investments,” the report says.

Some organizations are attempting to fix government schools, with many state governors leading the way.

“This is like trying to patch the iceberg damage while the Titanic is sinking,” Kurdys said. “Many parents are unwilling to wait, wisely pulling their kids out of government schools to homeschool or send them to private schools. Home and private school enrollment now accounts for 16.3% of American K-12 students.”

To hear from USPIE’s Founder and President, Sheri Few, tune in to the latest episode of USPIE’s podcast, “Unmasking Government Schools with Sheri Few,” on Tuesday, Nov. 25, with special guest Dr. Kelly Kohls, an educator, activist and businesswoman who has been on the front lines of exposing why education is failing our students. Dr. Kohls is also the founder and leader of the National School Boards Leadership Council, where she trains school board members to bring accountability and real reform to their districts. In this episode, Few and Dr. Kohls talk about teacher tenure, curriculum access, and how school boards can better represent parents and children. Listen to “Unmasking Government Schools with Sheri Few” on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify and X.