The Utah Board of Education passed social studies standards on Thursday for middle schoolers emphasizing LGBTQ and minority communities, according to Fox 13 News.
The standards for fifth and sixth graders reflect an emphasis on diversity with a focus on minority and LGBTQ communities, John Arthur, a Utah middle school teacher who helped craft the standards said, according to Fox 13 News. The revisions, the first in more than a decade, faced backlash from parental rights in education groups such as Utah Parents United, who said the standards are “indoctrinating” students and promoting “social justice.” (RELATED: Utah School District Gives Parents The Option To Identify Their Children As Transgender Or Non-Binary)
“One of the biggest changes in these new standards is more of our kids in our schools are going to be able to see themselves reflected in these standards – students from minority communities, immigrants, refugees, students with disabilities, LGBTQ+,” Arthur told Fox 13 News.
During the revision period, nearly 2,00 comments were submitted with some critiquing the standards for containing Critical Race Theory and communism, KUER News reported. One standard in the curriculum asks students to “research and summarize the accomplishments and contributions of a minority community in the United States today.”
Other comments submitted during the revision period said the standards weren’t appropriate for elementary school students with fears that the standards would make the classroom political, according to KUTV News.
A teacher sets up her classroom at Freedom Preparatory Academy as they begin to prepare to restart school after it was closed in March due to COVID-19 on August 13, 2020 in Provo, Utah. The school is planning to have students return on August 18 for five days a week instruction, but with reduced hours during the day. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
The standards will be officially published in the coming weeks along with a model curriculum based on the standards, according to Fox 13.
“I hope that with the new standards, there’s a renewed commitment to actually teaching our kids the things that they need to know about the story of us,” Arthur told the outlet.
The Utah Board of Education and Utah Parents United did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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