Chicago Public Schools has released a teacher training program which claims that sex is merely a social construct that that teachers must calls students by their preferred pronouns or face punishment. The 104-slide PowerPoint presentation featured several left-leaning ideologies that have appeared in other trainings across the U.S. of late.
The training program titled "Supporting Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming Students" argued that "everyone has multiple, overlapping identities" and that sex is assigned at birth but that it is "not rooted in biology," Fox News reported.
"Gender [and] sex are socially constructed, meaning they've been created and enforced by the people in a society," the presentation stated. As per the notes, "the concepts of Gender and Sex are actually not rooted in biology. Instead, they are socially constructed, which means they have been created and enforced by people in a society."
Another part of the presentation pushed for "intersectionality," which notes credited Kimberle Crenshaw, civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory. The presentation appears to have been developed by the Office of Student Health and Wellness.
Another concerning part of the presentation was how it instructed teachers to refrain from informing parents that their children identified as a certain gender or are using different pronouns. The presentation said, "Discussing a student's transition with their parent or guardian without the student's explicit consent is not permitted."
"Disclosure of this kind can create an unsafe situation for the student. This is both a legal and safety concern, and there is no age restriction on this guidance," the presentation argued. It also added that "parental consent is not required for a student name, gender marker, or pronoun change."
In an email obtained by Fox News, a list of trainings showed that the "Supporting Transgender, Non-Binary and Gender Non-conforming students" was longer than other programs. For this program, Chicago Public Schools allotted up to 109 minutes compared to just 28 minutes for health-related programs such as "Back to School Health Protocols" and 50 minutes for "Chronic Conditions." They also allotted just 63 minutes for "Protecting Chicago's Children" and 26 minutes for "Illinois Department of Human Rights." Meanwhile the "Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation" training program was allotted 55 minutes, while the "Information Security Awareness" program was given 71 minutes.
A teacher who spoke under the condition of anonymity lamented, "My school district is teaching false information about gender and sex to its employees - literally teaching them that it is all a social construct...What type of education are we providing when we are articulating lies to our students in the name of keeping them comfortable?"
According to Chalkbeat, Chicago Public Schools are facing major personnel changes of late. First, the district's interim No. 2, Maurice Swinney, is stepping down. Its chief medical officer, Dr. Kenneth Fox, is retiring. Last spring, CEO Janice Jackson failed to renew her contract and her top lieutenants LaTanya McDade and Arne Rivera have also left the district. Swinney claims that "public service takes a lot out of us" and that it was "time to move on."
