Fairport Central School District adds “nonbinary” option on Kindergarten registration form; district libraries feature books with graphic illustrations of sexual acts

On March 3, 2022, the Fairport Educational Alliance reported that the Fairport Central School District added an additional option for parents registering their children for kindergarten. The organization reported that the district “added a new category to the Health Examination Form.” Rather than allow parents to simply notify the district if their children were boys and girls, parents can now fill out a third option labeled “non-binary.”

On September 28, 2022, the Fairport Educational Alliance reported that libraries in the district had books available to students with explicit imagery of sexual acts. One book is titled It’s Perfectly Normal and features images of sexual intercourse. Another book is titled Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic and features images of sexual intercourse between two women.

On March 21, 2022, the Fairport Educational Alliance reported that “a 9th grade English Teacher conducted a lesson on Gender Pronouns.” The organization continued to report:

During the classroom discussion about Gender Pronouns the teacher also played a video from Columbia University titled “Why Pronouns Matter”. The video seeks to normalize gender pronouns and recommends all students introduce themselves with their “preferred pronouns” and instructs them to add pronouns to all their online profiles and digital signatures.

The Fairport Educational Alliance is an organization that “represents parents, grandparents, teachers, students, and taxpayers who are working to reclaim our schools from activists promoting harmful agendas.” The organization works to uncover what is being taught to students in the Fairport Central School District.

The school district has appeared to focus on the ideas of diversity and equity with a page online titled “Culturally Responsive Practices.” The term “culturally responsive” is often used to describe a method of teaching that includes the race, ethnicity, and gender identity of students as part of the lessons taught in classrooms. The district explains that it is committed to changing the material taught to students to ensure a “culturally responsive curriculum.”

The school district has a “Strategic Plan” published online that promotes focusing on the identity of students with the ideas of “culture,” “culturally-responsive instruction,” and “inclusion.” The strategic plan provides the following explanations for those prominent areas of focus:

• Culture: Multiple components of one’s identity, including but not limited to: race, economic background, gender, language, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, and ability.
• Culturally-Responsive Teaching: Differences are viewed as assets, each student is welcomed and affirmed, each student is challenged and supported through high expectations and rigorous instruction.
• Inclusion: Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision/policy making in a way that shares power and ensures equal access to opportunities and resources.