The Fairbanks School Board is scheduled to vote on a resolution that encourages educators to promote and celebrate LGBTQ sexuality among all grade levels throughout the month of October.
Set for a vote at the Sept. 6 school board meeting, the proposal specifically highlights the work of LGBTQ activists, noting that the “LGBTQ community is a growing asset to the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District as students, staff members, and parents.”
It also states that Fairbanks schools strive to have students “acknowledge the history, culture and contributions of LGBTQ individuals, role models, and historical events from across the country and community.”
The resolution claims that Fairbanks schools are a role model for inclusion and equity, and that by promoting LGBTQ History month the district aims to “expose the prejudice and discrimination that LGBTQ people face based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and to celebrate their diversity and accomplishments from a source of empowerment and engagement.”
The latest resolution comes as the Fairbanks School Board has doubled down on promoting LGBTQ literature, explicit sex education and transgender policies throughout the district. This has led a growing number of parents to opt for homeschooling or private education.
TAKING ACTION
Click this link to see the full agenda for the Sept. 6 meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in the boardroom of the Administrative Center, 520 Fifth Ave.
Residents are welcome to provide public testimony, either in-person or by Zoom. Testimonies can be delivered by email at schoolboard@k12northstar.org. Phone testimonies can be given by calling 452-2000, ext. 11400 – no later than 4 p.m. on Sept. 6 – to sign up. Those who have signed-up in advance through the board office, will be called upon first, and if time remains, anyone else who is in-person, will be invited to testify until the one-hour time limit has been reached. Public testimony will be heard from citizens in the order in which they have signed up. Testimony is limited to two minutes per person.
