A Colorado father, Nathan Feldman, is suing his children’s school district for their policies. Feldman claims the district’s policy allowing the display of pride flags discriminates against students who are heterosexual and cis-gendered. He also argues that the school’s policies bar his two children from exercising their freedom of speech.
The conflict began in October 2022 when Feldman visited Slavens School, where his twin children were second-grade students. According to reports, he noticed dozens of Progress Pride flags displayed in classrooms and hallways.
Hence, he filed a lawsuit on November 10, 2022. According to the lawsuit, Feldman began emailing the school in October 2022. He questioned why they displayed pride flags beside the doors of his children’s classrooms. In addition, Feldman allegedly told his children’s teachers those flags are “not inclusive of all Slavens School students and only represent one viewpoint on the topic of sex.”
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Also, he asked if they could display a flag representing his children’s views. In addition, Feldman provided an example of a “straight pride” flag in the lawsuit. According to the suit, the teachers did not respond to his request to put the flag up.
However, Feldman expressed additional concerns throughout the month. Consequently, Slavens School principal Kurt Siebold allegedly issued an email to Feldman citing a district policy that supports “the right of its employees to put rainbow flags or other signs of support for LGBTQIA+ students and staff.”
In addition, Siebold told Feldman the displays are consistent with the district’s equity-based curriculum. According to the lawsuit, Siebold also told Feldman that “DPS doesn’t allow for other flags.”
Besides the district, the suit lists the school board, Superintendent Alex Marrero, Siebold, and other faculty and teachers as defendants. Although a spokesperson for Denver Public Schools disclosed that they had gotten the lawsuit, he did not comment further.
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Similarly, the district’s Board of Education did not comment on the suit. However, he told Fox News the board passed the resolution to support their LGBTQIA+ employees and students.
The resolution reaffirms the district’s commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all individuals. It also allows students to use their chosen bathroom or locker room. In addition, it affirms students’ gender identity and expression and honors students’ identities regardless of whether they receive parental “consent.”
However, Feldman wanted no part of it, especially for his children. Hence, Feldman’s lawyer, Michael Yoder, blamed equity policies like Denver’s for “the overt sexualization of content in elementary schools nationwide.”
Yoder said Progress Pride flags and gender identity books geared toward young children encourage students to ask about them. He added that they also encourage children to foster one-sided conversations around inappropriate topics in the classroom.
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Yoder said if more parents were like Feldman, then the district would have never rolled out these policies in the first place. “They’d be teaching kids about math and science.” He added, “They wouldn’t be talking about sexual orientation and homosexuality and having this flamboyant breeding ground for inappropriate content.”
In addition, Yoder said Feldman sets the “gold standard” for parental involvement in their children’s educational environment. While the lawsuit seeks $3 million in damages, Yoder said it is to hold the district accountable for “intentional discrimination.”
He also emphasized that Feldman never asked the school to remove the pride flags. Hence, he is “in no way attacking the LGBTQIA+ community.”
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