Aristotle said, “All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.” G.K. Chesterton followed with “education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.” It appears those quotes were not lost on President Barack Obama. As a result, he has moved to cement his legacy and complete his “fundamental transformation” of America by focusing his attention on our children.
On Friday, May 13, 2016, the United States Departments of Justice and Education issued “Joint Guidance to Help Schools Ensure the Civil Rights of Transgender Students” based upon their interpretation of Title IX of The Education Amendments Act of 1972. The “Joint Guidance” argues that under Title IX, schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student’s sex. The guidance makes clear that both federal agencies twist the word “sex” to include a student’s gender identity. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said, “there is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex.”
But let’s take a look at what Title IX actually says. Its key prohibition states,
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance….” 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a).
That key prohibition is subject to a number of exceptions, including this one:
“Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this chapter, nothing contained herein shall be construed to prohibit any educational institution receiving funds under this Act, from maintaining separate living facilities for the different sexes.”20 U.S.C. § 1686.
Based on those sections, the then-existing Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (predecessor to the Department of Education) promulgated the following implementing rule, which President Gerald Ford approved on May 27, 1975:
“A recipient may provide separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex, but such facilities provided for students of one sex shall be comparable to such facilities provided for students of the other sex.” 34 C.F.R. § 106.33.
Note the terms “gender,” “gender identity,” and “transgender” do not appear anywhere in Title IX or its implementing rules. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and sex only. If it isn’t sex discrimination, it isn’t prohibited. And if it isn’t sex discrimination, no exceptions for situations where “discrimination” may be permissible are needed. The law allows for schools receiving federal funding to segregate restrooms, locker rooms, and showers based on sex. This is the exact opposite of what the President is dictating to America’s schools.
The “Joint Guidance” ignores Title IX’s language completely. Should any American public school (elementary, middle, high, college or university) fail to allow biological males into girl’s restrooms, showers, and locker room facilities their federal funding is imperiled. The Department of Justice has gone so far as to sue North Carolina to force it to allow men into women’s restrooms. We now see that the president seeks to accomplish his societal transformation by shaping the minds and hearts of our children. Citizens, school boards and elected officials all over the nation are gearing up to fight against the president’s transgender mandate.
God created mankind and specifically indicated that He deposited His image, the Imago Dei, in the qualitatively equal yet uniquely complementary makeup of man and woman (Gen.1:26-27). The Imago Dei is contained in every single human cell. It is written into our DNA and it is reflected in our biological makeup. Accordingly, God defined marriage as the life-long, one-flesh union of one man and one woman with the capacity to produce children (Gen. 2:21-25). The apostle Paul later elaborated that the marital union is to be a living, breathing illustration of Jesus’ relationship with His Church (Eph. 5:22-33).
Clearly, the tenets set forth in scripture are under attack by this administration.
If children are taught gender is determined by what the individual thinks or feels, that is an assault on the authority of scripture. If the first couple of chapters in the Bible are deemed unreliable, what does that say about chapter three and if the first three chapters of scripture cannot be trusted…why would anyone need Jesus? He is the Savior from sin which originated in Genesis 3.
The threat, however, does not end there. We still have the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision foisting homosexual marriage upon us. This decision gives cart blanche for schools to serve as the mechanism to flush the Gospel down the toilet with or without a transgender restroom. Most schools employ some form of “anti-bullying” and/or sexual education curriculum. The sex ed. stuff usually comes as a part of the health and physical education (h.p.e.) curriculum. With Obergefell, schools have unprecedented opportunity to instruct our children that the Bible is wrong about the whole man/woman and marriage thing.
In New Orleans I fought repeated attempts from the sexual deviancy proponents to codify ambiguous, undefined terms like “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in state statutes. Special interest groups develop “model legislation” and try to get it enacted into law in one state so they could then pressure other states to follow suit. This same language is presented over and over again on the federal level and in state legislatures.
My most recent encounter with this came in the guise of a bill that required all Louisiana public schools to adopt a K-12 curriculum consistent with the “National Sexuality Education Standards.” This was clearly a ploy to slip one in on Louisianans. I had no idea what the National Sexuality Education Standards were and I’m sure no one in the legislature knew what they were either. As an aside, the Representative who authored this bill admitted to me that he hadn’t read the Standards even though he filed a bill requiring Louisiana schools to implement a policy consistent with them.
I had to do some research to find out exactly what the Standards were and what I found blew me away. First, the contributors to the Standards include Planned Parenthood, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network), and SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States). Planned Parenthood and GLSEN are pretty self-explanatory entities. Nevertheless, what do you think their objectives would be in developing a K-12 sex education curriculum? SIECUS is an extreme sexual deviancy proponent that in many ways is even more radical than GLSEN if you can imagine that.
The Standards provide goals students should master. For example, for grades K-2, by the end of 2nd grade students should be able to:
- Identify different kinds of family structures
- Demonstrate ways to show respect for different types of families
- Identify healthy ways for friends to express feelings to each other
Consequently, you have Planned Parenthood, GLSEN, and SIECUS telling your 6 or 7 year old that they must be able to “identify” different family structures. Translation: “Johnny, some families have two daddies, some families have two mommies, other families have… [fill in the blank].” Then, they would coach little Johnny to “identify healthy ways” to express what kinds of feelings and to whom? This is what they want 2nd graders to master.
For grades 3-5, by the end of 5th grade the student should be able to:
- Describe the male and female reproductive systems including body parts and their functions
- Define sexual orientation as the romantic attraction of an individual to someone of the same gender or a different gender
- Identify parents or OTHER TRUSTED ADULTS of whom students can ask questions about sexual orientation
So, your 10 or 11 year old will have learned that homosexuality is equivalent to heterosexual attraction, will be encouraged to seek out adults other than their parents to discuss the wide world of sexual orientation and finally, will learn how to become an activist for sexual deviancy.
For grades 6-8, by the end of 8th grade the student should be able to:
- Differentiate between gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation
- Analyze external influences that have an impact on one’s attitudes about gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity
- Access accurate information about gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation
- Explain the range of gender roles
- Explain the health benefits, risks, and effectiveness rates of various methods of contraception, including abstinence and condoms
- Describe the steps to using a condom correctly
- Define emergency contraception and its use
We’re talking about 12 and 13 year olds here. “External influences” that impact a child’s attitudes about sexual orientation and gender identity includes parental influence. Instead of being taught to heed their parents, these kids will be taught to “analyze” their parent’s instruction. What do you think the conclusion of this analysis would be under the watchful eyes of Planned Parenthood, GLSEN, and SIECUS?
For grades 9-12, by the time the student is ready to graduate high school they should be able to:
- Analyze the influence of friends, family, media, society, and the culture on expression of gender, sexual orientation, and identity
- Distinguish between sexual orientation, sexual behavior, and sexual identity
- Advocate for school policies and programs that promote dignity and respect for all
- Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of abstinence and other contraceptive methods, including condoms
These Standards promote the ultimate rejection of sexual ethics as taught and understood by the Christian family. Schools are teaching children the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. Even more, children are being taught that their sexual orientation doesn’t necessarily have to match their biological makeup. Just because you look like a boy doesn’t mean you’re necessarily a boy. You may be girl. Or you may be agender. Abstinence is reduced to nothing more than another form of contraception.
I highlighted some of the madness from these Standards which you can view for yourself here http://www.futureofsexed.org/nationalstandards.html. Did I mention these Standards were published in 2011? This type of curriculum has been presented to legislatures and school boards all over the country. Obergefell provides a legal basis for sexual deviancy to be taught in school.
Scripture teaches that it is the parent’s responsibility to make sure their children are evangelized with the Gospel and discipled in the Christian faith (Deut.6:4-7; Ps.127:3-5; Mal. 2:15; and Eph. 6:1-4). How effective can we be if our children are being taught human sexuality, identity, and sexual ethics from the National Sexuality Education Standards? Make no mistake about it, the prize of this fundamental societal transformation is the children. Wicked policies are being crafted to snatch the hearts and minds of our little ones. Whoever molds the minds of our children will frame the American future. Regardless of President Obama’s transgender toilet mandate we must remain vigilant ensuring that the Gospel is not flushed away from our children.
