Representative Teresa Alonso Leon (D-Woodburn) has introduced HB 4091, which does a number of things. It develops a statewide education plan for students who are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; requires all statewide education plans to include strategies that provide for alignment with other statewide education plans; and directs Department of Education to revise processes for collection of racial and ethnic data for purpose of developing and implementing statewide education plans.

This bill also has a funding segment providing grants to educational entities implementing a plan from the Statewide Education Initiative Account. Hidden in the middle of what the Account can be used to fund is added “the minority gender identity or sexual orientation education plan developed under ORS 329.847. Even though it is bolded along with and next to the funding for Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander education plans, it runs together without notice. ORS 329.847 was also added as part of the education plan for early childhood through post-secondary education under all the statutes for students identified as slow-learners.

Rep. Alonso Leon chairs the House Committee on Education and made no mention of this added funding either in the bill summary or during the discussion, until the committee passed the bill. Why is this significant?

Parents are just finding out that their elementary student is being invited to join a QSA club at their school. They are asking why they aren’t informed of clubs. QSA stands for Queer Straight Alliance or Queer & Sexuality Alliance. It seems that the LGBTQ has taken their minority status as a right to invade elementary schools motivating middle school students who are questioning their identity to start QSA Clubs. A slide presentation with an invitation to join the QSA Club was presented to all 4th and 5th graders at Raleigh Hills Elementary School in Beaverton School District, and now showing up in other schools.

A public records request revealed predatory behavior on the part of the social worker, district personnel, and principal pressuring kids into joining this club by signing a contact form without parental knowledge or consent. The record shows district leadership, Pat McCreery, sought district counsel’s guidance on permission slips trying to not tell parents. The district’s legal counsel responded: ”In summary, it looks like the permission part is needed for student transportation, not general participation, and to answer the question of who is in the building before/after hours, not why they are there.”

For a club to be able to occur on a school campus, a teacher or other school staff has to be the sponsor and it has to get administration approval. The administrator approved Amanda Cook, Raleigh Hills Elementary Social Worker, as the school faculty advisor for the QSA Club. Her request states, “We have a small group of students now asking and advocating to start a QSA, and I’m hopeful we can start after winter break.” Did students contact her, or did she instigate the contact? Cook put together the material for the club invitation and used classroom hours for the presentation. Her office is the meeting place during lunch to avoid contacting parents.

The club is intended to be student run. However, Jeanette Schade says, “public records requests produced emails shared with many different campuses and district personnel to find a way to get QSA clubs going on October 20, 2021. This goes all the way up to the district level, pushing this hard onto other elementary campuses.” There are also emails crafting meeting notices so parents won’t suspect their child is attending. Raleigh Hills Principal, Jennifer DeMartino, is trying to find a way to get this club into elementary schools. It seems the Beaverton School District administration and QSA club promoters are finding ways to communicate to avoid public record requests.

The slides say QSA is a community where everyone belongs; students who identify as LGBTQ+, their allies, and those who want to learn more. One line says “What is said here, stays here” advocating to the students to keep things from their parents. Another slide addresses: What will we do?

• Have conversations about identity, gender, equal rights and social issues that are important to you
• Explore LGBTQ+ history and activism
• Discuss personal struggles and successes in a supportive space
• Advocate for change in our school and community.

Representative E Werner Reschke (R-Klamath Falls) responded to the situation, “This is shocking. It is grooming at best, evil at worst. Sexualizing children is wrong, period, full stop. It is child abuse, no matter whether done by a pedophile or by the state.”

Jeanette Schade, educator for 24 years, stated in public testimony, “It is absolutely appalling that school teachers and officials are partaking in this type of behavior who are supposed to be ‘safe’ adults. These are 9- and 10-year-olds. Keep the personal and social politics out of the schools. Stop this predatory behavior and get back to teaching reading, writing and arithmetic without indoctrination.”

HB 4091 opens the door to support these clubs and now targets the most vulnerable.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2022-02-12 06:48:43

Last Update: 2022-02-12 01:00:09