Parents say school district circumvented them by inviting kids to LGBTQ discussion with teacher

( Just the News )

In the eight months since the Supreme Court ruled that school districts must notify parents about LGBTQ-themed curricula and let them opt out their children, in the precedent Mahmoud, districts, elected officials and even judges have gone hunting for loopholes.

Suburban Boston's Lexington Public Schools refused to show parents curricula in advance while demanding they identify specific lessons for opting out, and claimed books that simply promote "tolerance" are exempt, according to a "Catch-22" lawsuit.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta convinced a federal appeals court that forcing school districts to actively mislead parents about their children's gender identity was not covered by Mahmoud at all because it doesn't involve "curricular decisions."

Colorado's Cherry Creek School District is the latest to draw scrutiny for using an old standby – lunch with a teacher – to discuss LGBTQ themes without parental approval.

The Colorado Parent Advocacy Network obtained a recording Jan. 28 of a school-issued invitation to students to join the LGBTQ club Spectrum in "Dr. Phelan's room" to discuss "LGBTQ-plus books and movies" and watch "some short films together." Spectrum members and those "interested in being an ally" are welcome, the announcer says.

Allegedly made during "morning announcements" at suburban Denver's Campus Middle School, the invitation asked 11-13 year-olds to "attend a lunchtime meeting in a male teacher’s classroom," media teacher Derek Phelan, CPAN told interim Superintendent Jennifer Perry and Board of Education members in a warning letter Wednesday.

Spectrum meets during lunch and recess and is sponsored by five educators including Whelan, according to the club directory. The club "supports a safe environment for our LGBTQ+ students and their allies!" and promotes events including the Day of Silence, organized nationally by Glisten, which rebranded just this month to obscure its gay and lesbian origins.

The announcement was "broadcast to students over multiple days" and the recording "reflects the exact language used in promoting the meeting to minor students," the letter says. It refers to a Colorado Open Records Act production that "verified" its claims.

"We CORA’d the email communications sent to all staff with the morning announcements & secured the recording of the morning announcements from a faculty member who submitted the concern through our Incident Reporting Tool," CPAN Executive Director Lori Gimelshteyn told Just the News.

"This meeting occurred during school hours and was promoted directly to students, without advance written notice to parents or an opportunity to review or opt their child out," possibly violating Cherry Creek student privacy policy, the letter says. 

Parental notification and opt-out rights "are currently receiving heightened judicial scrutiny nationwide," and even though Mahmoud "involves curriculum opt-out rights, it underscores the growing legal recognition that parents retain a fundamental role in directing their children’s exposure to sensitive content in public schools," CPAN told leaders.

The plaintiffs challenging California's so-called gender secrecy policies argue Mahmoud and its predecessor Yoder don't distinguish between curricular and non-curricular decisions.

'Environment of institutional endorsement and pressure'

The scrutiny on the district follows the hasty exit of Superintendent Chris Smith last month, which local TV station Denver7 said followed its investigation of allegations by "informed insiders" that Smith and his wife, the district's human resources chief, created a "toxic culture" in the district. Smith was under board investigation when he resigned.

Perry and the Board of Education did not respond to requests to justify the school-endorsed meetings with a teacher to discuss LGBTQ issues without apparent parental notice. Phelan, who hosts the meetings, did not answer whether he asked administrators to issue a public invitation or whether they approached him, and how many times the invitation was made.

CPAN invoked a district policy known as JLDAC, which concerns "screening/testing of students (and treatment of mental disorders)," as prohibiting public invitations to Spectrum, in addition to unstated policies that require parental consent for extracurricular activities "that may elicit personal beliefs, feelings, or self-disclosure."

JLDAC says "students may not be required, or encouraged in a school-sponsored context, to participate in any survey, analysis, evaluation, or activity intended to reveal information related to sexual behavior or attitudes, mental or psychological conditions, or other protected information without prior written parental consent," the letter says.

Schools must give written notice two weeks ahead, share "the content, purpose, and nature of the activity," disclose "who will have access to the information, and give parents a "clear method" to approve or deny permission.

"Discussions that center on sexuality, sexual identity, or attitudes, particularly when facilitated by school personnel and directed at minor children, necessarily implicate protected information under JLDAC," the letter says.

Simply calling participation "voluntary" doesn't erase its fundamental nature, CPAN said. Using "school announcements, authority figures, and the school day itself creates an environment of institutional endorsement and pressure that cannot be meaningfully separated from the district’s legal obligations."

CPAN didn't answer whether the audio recording was part of the CORA production or whether it has more materials from that production to release.