Images obtained by The Tennessee Star appear to show lessons about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA) History Month, unofficially observed in October, were distributed by Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) to social studies teachers using Schoology, the Learning Management System (LMS) used by the district.
The images appear to depict two lessons that are part of an LGBTQIA History Month curriculum, with the materials obtained by The Star covering the Lavender Scare of the 1950s and the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.
Popularized as a term in the early 2000s, the Lavender Scare saw gays and lesbians dismissed from public service due to purported security concerns during a period when the United States was increasingly concerned about the possible presence of spies for the Soviet Union.
The lesson offered to MNPS social studies teachers directly compared the experiences of gay and lesbian people to those of contemporary communists.
“Fueled by the same paranoia that drove the anti-communist Red Scare, the U.S. government targeted and dismissed thousands of workers suspected of being gay or lesbian, falsely claiming they were security risks who could be blackmailed by foreign agents,” the lesson explains, before laying the blame at the feet of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
It states, “While the government eventually rescinded its discriminatory policies, the Lavender Scare remains a stark reminder of the institutionalized homophobia and the resilience of the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The lesson did not note that, one of the final actions by the U.S. State Department under former President Barack Obama, the federal government apologized for the firings in 2017.
Similarly, while the second LGBTQIA History Month lesson notes that 49 people were killed at the Pulse nightclub attack on June 12, 2016, it omits the fact that the killer, Omar Mateen, called police and pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS) during the attack.
“The tragedy remains a stark reminder of the ongoing fight for equality, safety, and acceptance for LGBTQIA+ people everywhere,” according to the lesson.
MNPS did not respond to an inquiry from The Star, which sought to ascertain how the lessons were created or shared with teachers. PowerSchool, the company that owns the Schoology product used by MNPS to share the materials, told The Star that the company, “cannot comment on the School District’s use of the product.”
While Tennessee’s Textbook Transparency Act notably requires school districts to select one of four approved sources for instructional materials, it is unclear whether these lesson plans are part of a larger curriculum, or if they were created as supplementary material for classrooms. The Tennessee Department of Education did not respond to an inquiry from The Star.
Additionally, the LGBTQIA History Month materials were notably distributed by MNPS months after President Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at curtailing gender ideology and LGBT education in schools.
Trump on January 20 signed the first executive order, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, which ordered an end to all, “Federal funding, support, or subsidies for any program, activity, or entity that promotes gender ideology, including in education, healthcare, and employment.”
His second executive order, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, was signed on January 29. It charges various government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, to draft recommendations for, “eliminating Federal funding or support for illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.”
The Star contacted the Education Department to ask whether it was concerned about the LGBTQIA History Month materials potentially being used in Nashville classrooms, but did not receive an immediate response.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Images by Schoology.
There is no such thing as “gay” month. Public schools need cleaning up and a new leader. New mayor, new DA, new council, new police chief etc
maybe they need to focus on reading, writing, and math?
This “stuff” comes from the top down. MNPS should replace the head honcha. Sexual perversion is not a requirement for learning to read, write and do arithmetic. No wonder the majority of our Tennessee public school students graduate dumber than dirt.
Well, the good news is that with their self designation, as LGBTQIA+ continues to grow they only have nineteen more letters.
This crap is nothing more than grooming kids to this horrendous life style.
“Fueled by the same paranoia that drove the anti-communist Red Scare, the U.S. government targeted and dismissed thousands of workers suspected of being gay or lesbian, falsely claiming they were security risks who could be blackmailed by foreign agents,”
Except that was not a false claim, it was a 100% true claim. Keep this Sodomite propaganda out of our schools.