Thanks to four radical school board members, the Osseo Area School District 279 scheduled “LGBTQIA+” indoctrination classes for every middle and high school student to attend in early April.

Teachers were not allowed to “opt out” of teaching the “LGBTQIA+ History and Culture” lesson, and the district deliberately made it difficult for parents to review the lesson materials in advance, or opt their children out of the politically charged, nonsensical course.

The lesson plan, which the teachers were required to follow to the letter, regardless of their beliefs, or even the lesson’s clear conflict with scientific fact, used references to celebrities and pop culture to encourage students to accept and affirm false pronouns, identities, and sexual deviancy.

The lesson then encouraged students to question their own sexuality, asking the children if they are “confused” about, “curious about,” and “questioning” their sexuality, fitting within at least one of the “Q” categories in its lengthy acronym: “LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Questioning, Intersex, & Asexual).”

The students were to be instructed to answer questions that were listed on a “Closure Reflection Sheet,” with prompts to use grammatically and scientifically incorrect pronouns and sexual references. Some of the suggested “gender neutral” pronouns included made-up words like “zhee,” “zhem,” and “zheres.”

Student failure to embrace the LGBTQIA ideals presented, or use the false pronouns prescribed, risked having their assignments being labeled “wrong” or “incorrect.”

Not only did the school district’s plan fail to honor teachers’ federal religious freedom rights, allowing them to “opt out” of the politically driven, unscientific lesson, but also parents were all but left in the dark about the lesson, and it was exceedingly difficult for parents to opt out their children.

On March 8, 2024, less than 30 days from the lesson, teachers were provided an advance copy of the district’s parent opt-out email. The email intentionally placed procedural barriers in the way of parents who the district knew would otherwise desire to review the lesson content and opt out their children.

If parents managed to successfully hunt down the link in the parent email to “fill out this form to schedule a time to review the lesson,” they were required to make an appointment to physically go to the district for the review.

The “Review LGBTQIA+ Learning Materials” page informed parents that “an identification card will be required to enter the Educational Service Center,” and “only those that submit a form and receive confirmation will be allowed to view the learning materials” on site. Buried at the end of paragraph five of the email was the actual “opt-out form.”

Osseo teachers and students came to Liberty Counsel for help. 

In our demand letter dated March 28, 2024, Liberty Counsel demanded the district allow teachers and students to opt out.

Thanks to our demand letter, the Osseo school district wisely reversed course, allowing teachers, parents, and students to “opt out” of “LGBTQIA+” indoctrination.

As a result of our work, more than 1,000 students were allowed to opt out of the indoctrination classes at just one school. At another school, over 400 students opted out. In fact, so many parents opted their children out of the lesson that schools had to open their cafeterias and auditoriums to accommodate the teachers and students who refused indoctrination.

In addition, at least 500 other children did not attend school at all on the day of the instruction, and teachers were allowed to opt out.

But that wouldn’t have happened if Liberty Counsel had not been able to take on this threat to religious freedom head on. Liberty Counsel never charges our clients, as few can afford to take on government agencies gone mad. Now, thanks to your support of our legal work, teachers and students in Osseo, Minnesota, Area School District 279 are once again free to exercise their legal religious freedom rights.

A WIN for the culture.

But this story isn’t just about the “win” Liberty Counsel was able to accomplish in Osseo. This story is also a “win” for our culture at large.

These days, it seems that the LGBTQ agenda has thoroughly corrupted our society. Child sexual mutilation, perversity, drag queens, and “man-boy love” acceptance seems to be pushed from every direction — in schools, television, movies, and music. But the fact that so many teens and preteens refused to participate in Osseo’s LGBTQ indoctrination is a clear sign that the younger generation is rejecting the LGBTQ agenda.

The tide is turning against those bent on destroying God’s designs for life, sexuality, and marriage. Liberty Counsel is proud to lead the charge against that deviant tide, and I am deeply thankful for people like YOU, a faithful Liberty Counsel supporter, who make this important work possible.

Help Liberty Counsel WIN MORE in 2024!

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