Co-authored by Judy Pino and Patrick M. Brenner. Originally published at abqjournal.com on February 18, 2024.
Radical gender ideology is running rampant through New Mexico’s public schools. State-funded after-school clubs that encourage children to explore LGBTQ+ identities without their parents’ knowledge are appearing in school districts more frequently.
Children are being harmed by the dogged pursuit to incorporate gender ideology into New Mexico’s schools, and parents are finally saying enough.
A new survey published by the Southwest Public Policy Institute (SPPI) in collaboration with Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) revealed the extent of parents’ frustration over their children being taught age-inappropriate material at school when they were never asked for input or consent.
“I think it’s ridiculous that we are being forced to be okay with teachers speaking to our young children about sexuality,” said one concerned parent in the survey. “They have absolutely zero right to be approaching anyone’s child about this subject.”
Another frustrated parent wrote, “Clearly, numbers have not improved since we have shifted our focus from education to welcoming/providing/changing/endorsing alternative identities or sexuality preferences. Sexual preferences and politics should be left out of schools.”
Some of these New Mexico parents alleged they have been silenced by school boards and administrators when trying to voice these concerns. One Hispanic parent wrote that “the clear message from the former superintendent and school board was ‘they know better and we need to just go along.’” Another complained that “the school board doesn’t listen to public input.”
Schools have been so captured by gender ideology that some parents reported moving out of the state entirely. Others, however, said they don’t have that luxury.
“If there was another option in my area, I would definitely pull my children from the catastrophe that you call public schools,” one parent said.
New Mexico’s push to include gender ideology in public schools is so concerted that some parents are wondering why officials don’t have a similar focus on improving educational outcomes. According to a 2023 study by WalletHub, New Mexico’s education system ranked almost dead last at 47th in the nation, while its safety score was almost as low, at 31st. Safety issues and unchecked bullying within public schools are other major issues that New Mexico parents raised.
“The school’s inability to protect our granddaughter from vicious bullying and a physical attack left us no choice but to homeschool her online,” one grandparent said.
While many parents are frustrated by school boards’ refusal to address these issues, Hispanic parents and students are at a particular disadvantage. Many noted on SPPI and IWF’s survey that a “lack of understanding of culture,” as well as language barriers, prevent them from keeping track of what is being taught at their children’s schools.
Some report being talked down to and dismissed by school officials, like the concerned parent who was told that the school board “knew better” and should be obeyed without question.
Unfortunately, problems like these are being exacerbated, not remediated, by New Mexico’s public schools. Last year’s program evaluation of the Bilingual and Multicultural Education Program, which seeks to help English-language learners achieve biliteracy, found that the program has completely failed.
According to the evaluation, “Only 3 percent of all ELs (English learners) scored at Level 5 (Bridging) or Level 6 (Reaching), indicating that they have reached English proficiency.” What’s more, English-learning students in these programs are scoring lower in other academic subjects such as reading, science, and math.
Even Hispanic students that are not English learners are being underserved. The 2022 Nation’s Report Card stated that Hispanic students in New Mexico are performing, on average, 24 points lower than white students. This number has remained almost unchanged since 1998, when the gap was 27 points, indicating that measures taken to help Hispanic students succeed have not produced results.
Adding to the disparity in outcome is the fact that New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics without internet access in the United States. In the era of remote learning and online homework assignments, lack of internet access can mean a lack of access to educational resources.
The systematic failure of New Mexico’s public schools to remedy these issues, as well as the emphasis on gender ideology over basic subjects such as English, math, and science, is proving detrimental to student success and overall well-being.
Through its continued negligence and pursuit of radical gender ideology, New Mexico is producing a generation of children who will be able to describe “the experiences, activism, and legislation impacting the LGBTQIA+ communities” but will be unable to read or write proficiently.
“Schools were created to educate children, not to take the place of parents,” wrote one New Mexico parent. “Today, the school system has crossed the line from educating children to indoctrination of children.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Originally published at abqjournal.com on February 18, 2024.
3 replies on “Albuquerque Journal: New Mexico Parents Want Gender Ideology Out of School Curriculum”
Only a Communist (DemocRAT) male must change their gender so they can compete with real American women. Dem Tucking Perverts.
There was a time when this would be considered child porn.,and the
person would be arrested.
I totally agree! Educate don’t indoctrinate. Gender Ideology has no place in the schools period.