CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg School officials said the Welcoming Schools program gives resources to teachers and staff if needed, and is not a curriculum.
Officials said it is designed to create an environment free of discrimination, harassment and limitations.
“When your child is not fitting inside the traditional mold, it's extremely stressful,” said Amanda Dumas, who has an elementary student in CMS who she describes as being “gender creative.”
Dumas said her child feels comfortable and accepted in part because of the Welcoming Schools program.
“His favorite place to be is school, and that's not what we expected when school started,” Dumas said.
The Welcoming Schools program's website says it “aims to create LGBTG and gender inclusive schools, prevent bias-based bullying, embrace family diversity and understand gender.”
The resources given to staff include books and lessons about differences and answers to difficult questions.
"I can tell you this isn't being taught to the children,” Dumas said. “It's just a way for children to understand and emphasize with people that are different from them."
The NC Values Coalition has started a petition against it, saying it crosses a line.
Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the NC Values Coalition, said parents should have been alerted.
“It's developmentally inappropriate,” Fitzgerald said. “It's great if you want to cover these things at home with your own child, but it’s not great if the rest of the parents are being forced to allow their children to be introduced to these concepts before they're developmentally ready for them."
Fitzgerald said she feels the anti-bullying policy CMS previously had in place was sufficient.
Dumas said she has seen a decrease in bullying because teachers had access to the program.
CMS sent a statement on Welcoming Schools: "Every child deserves an opportunity to thrive, academically and socially, at school."
"Students who face harassment are less likely to succeed academically. CMS makes resources and support available to educators and staff to protect and safeguard the emotional and social well-being of students."
"Welcoming Schools is a set of professional development resources dedicated to creating respectful and supportive elementary schools by embracing family diversity, supporting LGBTQ-and gender-inclusive schools, preventing bias-based bullying, and supporting transgender and non-binary students."
"Welcoming Schools is offered as a resource from the North Carolina Healthy Schools Department (Department of Public Instruction) and is used by other districts in North Carolina and across the nation."
"The Welcoming Schools professional development resources are not a curriculum and are not built as lessons to be taught to students. The resources do include lessons for teacher use if appropriate and needed but are optional. The schools utilizing Welcoming Schools professional development resources and training are doing so as the direct result of a need to serve students. These resources are accessed with the support of student services."
"The Welcoming Schools professional development program is grounded in research that links the social and emotional well-being of students with academic success, and the program helps to ensure that the school learning environment is free from the fear of discrimination, harassment and limitations."
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