A Vermont elementary school says it will no longer use the words “male” or “female” when teaching fifth-grade students about puberty and human reproductive systems.
Families of students at Founders Memorial School received a letter on April 20 informing them of the changes to the science and health curriculum.
The changes reflect the district’s desire to use “gender inclusive language,” Principal Sara Jablonski wrote in the letter.
“In an effort to align our curriculum with our equity policy, teachers will be using gender inclusive language throughout this unit. With any differences, we strive to use ‘person-first’ language as best practice,” Jablonski wrote.
Instead of referring to a person as a “boy” or “male,” teachers will say “person who produces sperm.” Likewise, they will no longer say “girl” or “female” but “person who produces eggs.”
The Essex Westford School District noted in the letter that teachers were working on editing worksheets to reflect the new changes.
While teaching students about the human body, the district said it will focus on “the physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty and briefly introduce the basic structure and function of human reproductive systems.”
Parents and guardians interested in viewing the materials themselves were told a binder containing the handouts can be found in the school’s main office.
The director of outreach for parents’ rights group Parents Defending Education shared the letter on Twitter.
“New language rules just dropped for 5th graders in Vermont and they don’t include the words boy and girl or male and female,” wrote Erika Sanzi.
Parents Defending Education did not immediately return a request for comment from The Post on Wednesday morning, but the group blasted the change in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Speaking about anyone in this way is dehumanizing in any context but these new language rules specifically apply to a health unit for 5th graders about puberty and reproduction,” a spokesperson for the group said.
“It is clear that the school has decided to be derelict in their duty to educate students in the name of equity. If anyone is wondering what it looks like when an elementary school has been captured by gender ideology, this is it.”
The letter received mixed reactions on Twitter, with some users comparing the practice to Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel “Brave New World” while others called for students to be pulled from public schools.
“Absurd. A person who produces sperm is, by definition, a male. A person who produces eggs is, by definition, a female,” one Twitter user wrote. “And sex is not ‘assigned’ at birth, it’s observed at birth. How exhausting all this nonsense is.”
The Essex Westford School District’s school board adopted a new equity policy in June 2021, under which schools would “use anti-racist and LGBTQIA+ affirming perspectives to inform curriculum decisions starting in Pre-K,” the Burlington Free-Press reported at the time.
The policy passed in an 8-1 vote.
The Essex Westford School District did not reply to a request for comment from The Post Wednesday morning.
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