Nebraska Department of Education Postpones Controversial Health Standards

By Gordon Hopkins On Monday, August 30, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) published an updated meeting agenda and one action item on that agenda is to postpone consideration of its draft Nebraska Health Education Standards. Approval of the standards was originally planned for the fall of 2021. The scheduled meeting is scheduled to take place on Friday, September 3. The proposed Health Education Standards have been under fire in recent months from both political leaders and some members of the public, who object to some content on the subjects of race, sex and gender identity. According to a memo from Lisa Fricke of the Nebraska Board of Education, “The Teaching, Learning and Serving Committee has reviewed input and feedback from the public and other external stakeholders, and considered the public comment heard and submitted since April regarding the draft health education standards.” Fricke wrote, “Finally, the Board recognizes the need to reconsider stakeholder engagement processes with school leaders and other stakeholders. Therefore, the Committee proposes a statement to postpone the development of the health education standards, and recommends State Board adoption of the statement.” Local Reaction To Proposed Health Standards The standards were first released on March 10 of this year. Several counties in Nebraska passed resolutions objecting to the proposed standards, including Jefferson County. In April of this year, Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock sent an email to Patricia Timm of the Nebraska Board of Education, “The proposed sex education standards appear to represent a significant shift in approach to health education. Many of the new themes are sensitive topics that should be addressed by parents at home and not by schools. Children who are the same age often mature at different rates. Families approach many of these topics from different perspectives, and may choose to address them at different points in a child’s development. That’s why parents, not schools, should be the ones deciding when and how to educate kids about many sex-related topics.” Schoenrock went on to say, “These draft standards appear to be a radical departure from the norm. The standards would introduce kids to politically motivated and sexually explicit content at very young ages. The standards say that first graders should be taught to define gender identity. Fifth graders would be educated to 'explain that gender expression and gender identity exist along a spectrum.' This material goes far beyond basic biological facts about reproduction and clearly crosses the boundary of what’s appropriate to discuss in the classroom.” A number of school districts in Nebraska drafted letters opposing the proposed standards. One school district that did not is Fairbury Public Schools. FPS Superintendent Stephen Grizzle had previously said he wanted to hold off on such a letter because the NDE was expected to release a new version of the standards. A second draft was published by NDE on July 27. However, criticism continued. “While this new draft of the health education standards scraps many of the topics Nebraskans found objectionable, the standards still need improvement,” said Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts. “For example, this draft proposes to teach the concept of ‘gender identity.’ The continued presence of gender ideology in the standards leaves the door open for this material to be expanded either before these draft standards are approved or in future years when these standards are revisited.” Schools are not obligated to follow the proposed health standards and Fairbury Superintendent Stephen Grizzle has stated FPS will not do so. On Facebook he wrote, “our district does not support these proposed standards and is actively working to create different ones that better fit our community.” Not everyone is happy with the decision to postpone consideration of the health standards. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) of Nebraska issued a statement. “When some State Board of Education members chose to gut the draft standards written by Nebraska teachers and health care professionals by erasing LGBTQIA+ and racial equity health topics, they made a choice to put politics ahead of our students. Now, they’re doing it again,” wrote Sara Rips, Legal & Policy Counsel for the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) of Nebraska. “All students have a right to a public education and that education should include honest, inclusive, and age-appropriate health education at every grade level. We’re grateful for the board members who advocated for best practices in Nebraska schools and the youth and families who bravely shared their stories in the face of unbelievable vitriol. Locally and statewide, we will continue this critical work despite this temporary roadblock.”

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