WEBSTER GROVES 鈥 Students in the Webster Groves School District were shown a sex education video without parental notification as required by law, state Attorney General Andrew Bailey said last month in a cease-and-desist letter to the district.
Bailey鈥檚 office received reports that students watched 鈥渁 video presentation that discussed gender identity and sexual orientation鈥 without notifying parents beforehand and 鈥渋n some instances refusing to honor parents鈥 opt-out decisions,鈥 according to the Jan. 29 letter to Webster Groves Superintendent John Simpson.
Bailey鈥檚 office did not respond to requests for details about the video reportedly shown to students, including when and at which of the district鈥檚 eight schools.
Webster Groves schools 鈥渕ust immediately cease and desist its use of all human sexuality materials and instruction except for those portions for which the district has provided the content to parents along with an opportunity to opt-out,鈥 the letter reads.
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Bailey, a Republican who took office in January 2023 after his appointment by Gov. Mike Parson, has made transgender issues in schools a key focus in his current campaign for attorney general.
In an appearance in St. 不良研究所导航网址 earlier this month, Bailey touted his office鈥檚 lawsuit against the Wentzville School District over its decision to discuss bathroom and locker room access for transgender students in a closed meeting.
Webster Groves is only the latest suburban school district scrutinized by conservative groups for curriculum and library books involving race and gender issues.
In a Jan. 30 response to Bailey, the school district鈥檚 attorney Douglas Copeland said the reports are inaccurate, and parents receive letters each year detailing the human growth and development curriculum along with opt-out information before the unit starts. Copeland also included a public records request for the reports and lessons referenced in the letter.
鈥淚 can assure you that the District is well aware of what is required by law, and conducts itself accordingly,鈥 Copeland wrote.
This year, parental notification letters were sent Jan. 22 along with . The deadline for opting out was Sunday, with instruction starting in a week.
Heath Borders, parent of a sixth grader and a ninth grader in Webster Groves schools, said he has always received links to curriculum with the information to opt-out.
鈥淲e have never opted out of human growth and development, but the district has been very accommodating of other requests we鈥檝e made, so I expect if we chose to opt out that the district would respect and execute our request,鈥 Borders said.
Bailey鈥檚 letter stated the video in question included a link to a 鈥渢hird-party website affiliated with Planned Parenthood.鈥
The Webster Groves health curriculum includes produced by Advocates for Youth, a Washington nonprofit for reproductive rights that is listed as a resource on the local .
The Advocates for Youth is inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity, according to the group鈥檚 site.
In Webster Groves, fifth-grade boys and girls will be taught together for most of the human growth and development unit but separated by their gender identities for one class, according to the .
鈥淪eparation allows students to ask more specific questions related to their own development,鈥 the parent letter reads.