Nevada district approves sex-ed with phrases ‘boys and people with a penis,’ ‘girls and people with a vulva'

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A Nevada public school district approved a new sex education curriculum for elementary students following hours of public comment on Tuesday that will use new phrases to refer to males and females. 

The Washoe County School District Board  in Reno, Nevada approved the new Sexuality Health And Responsibility Education (S.H.A.R.E.) curriculum material for fourth and fifth grade students in a  5-to-2 vote. The new lessons will include the phrases "boys and people with a penis" and "girls and people with a vulva." Sex education lessons at The Washoe County School District (WCSD) begin in fourth grade and continue through senior year. 

The public comment was used to discuss and consider changes to the proposed 4th grade draft lesson, "Understanding Our Bodies," which specifically used the phrasing "Body with a Penis" and "Body with a Vulva." 

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In fourth grade, students will be taught about their bodies, friendships and puberty, while in fifth grade students will be taught about puberty, how a pregnancy happens, "liking and loving," communication, boundaries, consent, sexual assault and reproductive anatomy. The fifth grade curriculum also uses the terms "Assigned Sex At Birth (Male)" and "Assigned Sex At Birth (Female)."

The proposed 4th grade draft lesson called "Understanding Our Bodies" previously included the phrasing "Body with a Penis" and "Body with a Vulva."  (istock)

WCSD school board trustee Jeffrey Church, who voted no on the sex-ed curriculum, gave a public statement on the proposal at the meeting, which he provided to Fox News Digital. During his comments, he said the new curriculum would "alienate and marginalize half or more of the community" and "ignore constitutional religious beliefs."

"The proposal goes well beyond that by including LGBTQ+ material and changing male and female or boys and girls to for example ‘Girls and people with a Vulva,’" he said. 

"Send this back as I have asked please. Retain boy-girl," he added. "Remove misleading references to false national standards. Follow or change the regulations but don’t violate it."

Ben Smith, president of the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees, offered this statement to Fox News Digital: 

"The Washoe County School District recognizes that there is a wide range of valid and varying perspectives on the topic of sex education. Nevada protects and prioritizes parental choice, as does the school district. As a result, WCSD families make the final choice about the sex education curriculum their children learn and families are given the opportunity to ‘opt in’ to the lessons."

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While some public comments were in favor of the curriculum, many were at odds with the proposed changes. 

"It is silly, the phrases ‘bodies with penises/vulvas …’ are used ad nauseam," one public comment read, according to written records on the school website. "Just use the words girls and boys/male and female!!"

"My brief review of elements of this curriculum, as a mature adult, made me gasp," another wrote. "Potions of this curriculum are infantile, ignore biology and would sexualize these school age children (4th‐5th graders)."

Many parents spoke in favor of the curriculum, but many others expressed outrage at the new proposed language.  (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

"What, exactly, is wrong with keeping male/boy or female/girl? Who is this curriculum intended to serve," the commenter continued. "To me, it is the confused 'adults' in our county who are attempting to engender further confusion among the community so they can be the smartest, coolest people, and meanwhile recruit our children to their confused, immoral, degrading and perverse behaviors and thinking."

"Your job is education. PERIOD," a comment read. "Educate these kids with the facts. There is male and female. That's it. You can't change your chromosomes. You can call yourself whatever you want. You can pretend to be a volleyball. That doesn't make it true."

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"Why would anyone in this school district or anywhere else deem it necessary to call boys and girls by any other name or ‘description’?" another comment read. "The proposed name change to or description of ‘Girls and people with a vulva’ and ‘Boys and people with a penis’ would be totally absurd, very confusing, and absolutely unnecessary." 

"I have three young granddaughters and they know that they are indeed girls," the commenter added. "This change would take away their very identity as well as further confusing any child that may be questioning their gender."

Some spoke out in favor of the new language. According to the Reno Gazette Journal, Elvira Diaz, a parent of a just-graduated student, said, "When you teach together, they will respect each other and they will understand more." 

Fox News Digital previously reported that WCSD implemented a training program to certify certain teachers as "safe staff member[s] to discuss matters pertaining to sensitive topics," who upon completion of a voluntary three-part "Brave Space" teacher training program, receive a placard to display in their classroom indicating they are an "ally." These teachers support students who are reporting more stress and asking for more emotional support, due to COVID-19, "racial tensions," the "Capitol riot" and "unsettling times," according to a presentation shared by a concerned parent whose child attends middle school in the district. 

WCSD has other policies that have sparked outrage and caused controversy in the community.  (iStock)

Another district policy outlines protocols for staff about how they should communicate with the district's transgender and gender non-conforming students, allowing children to make decisions regarding their gender identity without parental consent and establishes policies to conceal these decisions at home. 

Staff is instructed not to "disclose information that may reveal a student's transgender non-conforming status to others, including parents/guardians or others staff members." 

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Under the policy, students are allowed to use names, pronouns, restrooms, locker rooms, school facilities, terminology, dress codes, as well as attend physical eduction classes and intramural sports that correspond with their chosen gender identity. 

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