Social studies lesson on transgenderism at Pearl L. Miller Middle School; neither parents nor school board were notified in advance

  • Kinnelon School District - New Jersey

Incidents

Issues

At the beginning of March 2022, middle schoolers (ages 11-14) at Pearl L. Miller Middle School in Kinnelon, NJ were given a lesson in social studies on the transgender rights activist Aydian Dowling. The presentation gives definitions for terms such as “gender”, “sexual orientation” and “non-binary.”

The lesson included two videos that endorsed hormone therapy as a solution for gender dysphoria. After parent outcry, the superintendent sent an email to explain that students had not seen any clips where hormones were injected or endorsed:

However, in the video at the two-minute mark, you can see Dowling injecting testosterone which directly contradicts the superintendent’s statement:

Superintendent DiGiuseppe specifically mentions new standards for New Jersey schools mandating and regulating representation of LGBT individuals in the curriculum but states that the given presentation had nothing to do with those standards:

From her letter to the community:

According to parents, the school never informed parents nor the board of education that this lesson was going to take place. They say it was only after students told their parents about the lesson that families were informed that Dowling would be speaking at an upcoming assembly and parents could opt out:

From ABCNews4:

Here’s a look at what some of the newly mandated standards include, according to Garden State Families:

References