In Colorado, a middle school has been ousted of creating a private pro-LGBTQ+ club and talking to students about LGBTQ+-related issues.
The mother of a former student said students were told not to share anything from the club meetings with her parents.
A Colorado mom explains how her middle school child was invited to join a secret GSA club where the teacher spoke about gender and sexuality while urging students to hide information from their parents. pic.twitter.com/1zMegyyBeg
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 8, 2022
Erin Lee said in the video that her daughter was invited to a Genders & Sexualities Alliance (GSA) club and was told to keep the conversations that are held during the meetings a secret.
During an interview with a conservative magazine, The New American Magazine, Lee revealed that her daughter was told that if she wasn’t entirely comfortable in her body as a female, then she was transgender.
“She explained to my daughter that if she is not 100% comfortable in her female body, then she’s transgender,” Lee said. “She then told the kids that parents aren’t safe and that it’s OK to lie to them about where they are in order to attend this meeting.”
Lee explained that her daughter was invited to the club by her art teacher last May but did not specify whether the comment came from the art teacher or another school faculty member.
Lee alleges that the staff member emphasized heterosexuality is not normal and that parents are not safe confidants for their children.
“She doubled down that parents aren’t safe,” Lee said. “[and] that heterosexuality and monogamy are not normal.”
According to the New York Post, Parents Defending Education (PDE), the national grassroots organization, identified the art teacher as Jenna Riep, who ran the GSA club.
When Lee’s daughter was in attendance, the guest speaker was Kimberly Chambers, director of SPLASH Youth of Northern Colorado.
As per PDE, Chambers is a paid substitute teacher and a paid team member of the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment and has access to students’ information.
The parents’ group obtained emails between Chambers and the art teacher in which Chambers expressed concerns about the girl’s well-being due to her mother’s objections to the club.
‘Splash’ or ‘Skittles’ run by Kimberly Chambers, who we pay! Is teaching this BS in our schools ! pic.twitter.com/3bkohPCUpr
— @PeytonsMoon🐦 (@peytonsmoon) May 10, 2022
After the art teacher said the girl hadn’t attended school since the controversy began, Chambers allegedly suggested talking with school officials “about doing a well-child check or whatever is within the policies of the school.”
Lee told the magazine that her daughter has been attending a private, Christian school and is “doing much better.”
