Albuquerque Public Schools gives survey to students that asks if they are “cisgender” or “transgender”; asks students their history with illegal drugs and sexual intercourse

Concerned community members reached out to Parents Defending Education regarding a survey provided to students asking about their gender identity and potential drug usage at Albuquerque Public Schools. One question on the survey asked:

The next question asks about gender identity. There are many ways that people understand and describe their gender identity. Someone who is transgender describes their gender as different from their sex assigned at birth. Someone who is cisgender describes their gender as being the same as their sex assigned at birth. A nonbinary person describes their gender as being not entirely or exclusively man or woman. What is your gender?

The options provided are “cisgender boy or man,” “cisgender girl or woman,” “transgender boy or man,” “transgender girl or woman,” “nonbinary,” “I identify some other way,” or “I do not know what this question is asking.”

Other questions on the survey asked students about their experience with sexual intercourse and how they “prevent pregnancy” with “birth control pills” and “withdrawal” as options. The survey also asked students which drugs they have used, including “heroin,” “methamphetamines,” and “ecstasy.”

Parents were notified of the survey in an email on October 6, 2023. The email explains that the school district is conducting the survey “in partnership with the Department of Health and the University of New Mexico.” Students took the survey throughout October. Parents could opt their children out from taking the survey.