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Public commenters challenge district curriculum on LGBTQ and abortion topics; superintendent invites follow-up
Summary
A public commenter raised objections to state-level guidance on LGBTQ and abortion instruction; Superintendent Grande said curriculum elements vary by grade level, invited the commenter to meet for specifics, and said the Early Childhood program would not be subject to the instruction referenced.
During the public-comment portion of the meeting, a community member identified as Bill Dragy of Post Road addressed the board to protest what he called state requirements about LGBTQ and abortion instruction.
"I'm here to protest Governor Murphy's Law which says the teachers must teach LGBTQ," the commenter said, adding later that he had questions about whether instruction included the abortion pill. The remarks included assertions about what is required in classroom instruction across grade levels.
Superintendent Grande responded directly from the dais, saying "it's not as simple as just giving you a yes or a no because ... there are different elements that are addressed at the various grade levels," and invited the commenter to meet with him in his office to review the district's curricula. He also said, "it hopefully certainly it won't apply to the Early Childhood new education that you're doing now," indicating the Early Childhood program being discussed that evening would not be the locus of the instruction cited by the commenter.
The transcript shows the superintendent repeatedly offering to discuss the matter in person and asking the commenter to meet for specifics. After the exchange, other members of the public raised unrelated items — a question about progress for a 2025 program and a request to enter student-athletes in a county gymnastics tournament — which the superintendent and staff said they would follow up on with the appropriate coaches or administrators.
Provenance: Public comment sequence with the curriculum objections begins at SEG 431 and runs through SEG 496; the superintendent's response appears at SEG 447–462.
