A Georgia mom said her 6th-grade daughter came home with a health class assignment last week asking students to name sexual identity terms — such as gay, lesbian and transgender — based on their definitions. And she’s not happy. 

A Georgia mom said her sixth-grade daughter came home with a health class assignment last week asking students to name sexual identity terms — such as gay, lesbian and transgender — based on their definitions. And she’s not happy with Lithonia Middle School.

What were some statements on the ‘Identity Definitions’ assignment?

• A woman who is attracted to women [answer: lesbian]
• A man who is attracted to men [answer: gay]
• A person who is attracted to men and women [answer: bisexual]
• When the person’s gender identity doesn’t match the sex (male of female) the doctor said they were when they were born [answer: transgender]

How did the mom react?

• “Why are they teaching that in school?” Octavia Parks asked WAGA-TV. “What does that have to do with life?”
• “We’re talking about a sixth-grader who still watches Nickelodeon,” she told the station regarding her 12-year-old girl. “I’m not ready to explain what these words are nor what they mean.”
• Parks told WAGA she opted her daughter out of the health class.
• “I’m also going to take it to the board of education to see what they have to say about it as well,” she added to the station.

Octavia Parks 

The mother of a former Lithonia student also was interviewed. What did she have to say?

• Eva McClain said the sexual identity quiz wasn’t part of the curriculum when her daughter previously took the same health class from the same teacher, WAGA reported.
• “If a kid wants to know about their gender or know about their sex preference, it should come from the parents, not from the school,” she said to the station.

How did the DeKalb County School District respond to the issue?

• “DCSD has been made aware of this alleged event, and is working to verify its authenticity,” the district told WAGA in a written statement. “We will investigate this event and take action, as appropriate, once that investigation is completed.”
• It’s unclear if the homework assignment was part of a district-approved curriculum, the station said.