DC Public Schools invite LGBT students to apparent drag 'performances' for Pride Month

WASHINGTON (TND) — As part of D.C. Public Schools' Pride Month celebrations, the school system sponsored an event – advertised alongside an image of a drag performer – where LGBT students could come to "performances."

The event invited “LGBTQIA+ identifying high schools students” from D.C. and the surrounding area to join D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) for an evening of “performances, food, ball competitions, and additional resources to kick-off Pride Month,” according to an Eventbrite invitation created by DCPS’s Engagement and Partnerships Office.

The invitation for the “Leading with PRIDE” event included an image of an unidentified drag queen, and said the event was intended “to create safe and affirming spaces along with educational and advocacy opportunities” for students.

It was not clear whether the event was for young students to participate in their own "performances," or watch them done by others. The National Desk (TND) reached out to DCPS for comment and to clarify, but did not hear back prior to publication. If a response is received, it will be added to this story.

Discovery of the event comes after increased media attention around the uptick in drag-related events for children during this year’s Pride Month.

The trend has circulated around schools, school districts, public libraries and even military bases.

Last week, the largest American airbase in Germany and headquarters of the U.S. Air Force in Europe cancelled a “Drag Queen Story Time” for kids following backlash.

Read more: “Air Force base drops 'Drag Queen Story Time' from Pride Month plans following backlash”

In Erie, Colorado, a public elementary school announced it would be teaming up with three other elementary schools to bring kids to the local gay pride celebration, where special guest and local drag queen Shirley Delta Blow will read to kids during the event’s “Drag Queen Story Time.”

Other Pride Month events for kids being held around the country include a “Kiddie Korner” at a local county “PrideFest” in Illinois, sponsored by two publicly funded libraries, and a “Queer Youth Open Mic Night,” held at a sex shop owned by a local school board director in Washington.

Read more: “School board member hosts LGBT youth event at her sex shop”

“There was a time that we could all agree that drag queens provided entertainment for adults and didn’t belong anywhere near children,” Erika Sanzi, outreach director for Parents Defending Education, told TND Monday. “Since that consensus seems to have disappeared, we need to state unequivocally that schools should not host or promote any events with drag queens, period,” she continued. “If a parent wants to take their own children to drag queen performances outside of school hours, so be it, but this kind of entertainment targeted at children has no place in a school.”

In 2019, GOP state representatives sought to ban performances “in which [a] child simulates sexual activity,” such as DCPS’s recent event for students, following a drag performance by a nine-year-old boy which generated a flurry of criticism.